[rohan_2911]

I own a Skoda Kushaq purchased in June 2022, which has done about 17,000 kilo meters.
Within a month of purchasing the car, I had an incident where I hit a tree branch while reversing. Fortunately, the damage wasn't significant and only caused a few cracks on the rear right brake light assembly.


The damage to the rear brake light assembly

I generally keep the assembly covered with transparent sellotape to prevent water seepage. However, during the monsoon season, some water would seep in and drain out when the boot door was opened and kept in the topmost position. The rear brake light assembly in the Kushaq is split into two parts: one part is mounted on the boot door, while the other part is mounted on the body. The damage and cracks were mostly on the part of the light mounted on the boot door.
This rainy season (2024), I started getting a ‘Check Rear Brake Light’ warning indication on my MID. Initially, I thought the sellotape had worn out, allowing more water to seep inside during heavy rain. A few weeks ago, I reapplied fresh tape after removing the old one, and the warning went away for some time.
However, a few weeks ago, the warning reappeared and persisted. I assumed the brake lights were no longer functioning properly and needed to be replaced. But as I was washing the car a few days ago, I was shocked to notice that water had filled up to the halfway mark of the reversing light assembly and the brake light assembly. This part of the assembly was mounted on the body, which I hadn't been paying attention to earlier. I suspect that the water was shorting out some contacts and drawing a higher current, triggering the warning indication.


A few inches of water filled all the way upto yellow dotted line!





Warning on the MID


Initially, I thought I had no option but to replace the entire rear right brake assembly. However, upon closer inspection, it looked like I could drain the water by drilling a few small holes in the light assembly, which I did the next day.




Dismantling the rear brake light assembly - quite easy to do, all you need to do is unscrew 2 screws





Tilting the Brake light assembly to get most of the water out




All the water did not drain out




Getting the drill ready




Water draining off the small hole I created on the section that houses the reversing light




Water draining off the small hole I created on the section that houses the brake light





Using a tissue paper to wick off all the remaining water with capillary action





Created a small hole in the Brake light assembly that was attached to the boot door as well





Taping up the holes - I want to see how much time it takes for water to fill up ! So that I know how chronic the problem is





Started the car - and Voila the warning symbol was gone !




All in all a day well spent - and a lesson learnt, will keep a close eye on this sort of stuff and will check all the peripherals and accessories at least once a few months.

[ajmat]

Frankly, you should replace the tail light. It is only a matter of time before the internal corrosion accelerates and creates more electric problems. As you live in a hot humid city, that would be a wise thing to do.

[Manoj2268]

I agree with Ajmat. That taillight needs replacing asap. Euro cars will throw random errors for electrical faults and will impact driving sooner or later.

[Storm2.0]

Thats an ingenious way to fix the issue Rohan !
IMHO you should use a premium quality cello tape and you are good. As long as the lights are working and water seepage is kept under control, you need not replace the entire assembly. You might have to replace the worn out tape once in 7-8 months that's it.

I have myself resorted to this solution, when some dim witted person rammed into my parked car right in front of my house and fled the scene, thereby damaging the driver side headlight.

As far as corrosion of internal elements are concerned, you need not worry about that as long as you can keep the water from entering inside and getting retained there.

[condor]

Nice to see that hand-drill after so long. Reminds me of the carpenter who had made a sofa set at our house - using a rope driven manual drill - yes, a rope was used to turn the drill bit !

*

Coming to your post, why not replace that tail lamp - if possible under warranty.

[Mortis]

You get red coloured 3M brake light repair strips. It's basically red tinted PPF meant for repairs like this.
Although like it's been mentioned before, water has already seeped in and corrosion would have started that may cause an issue down the line

[PrasadS]

While i commend the effort taken for this, below are my own personal views, please don't take offence.

Water has invaded a place where it should not. Especially in an area where there are currents flowing. Driving an electrically complex car with many sensors, it's an recipe for disaster. The light's might conk off without you being aware and you will be on road with non functional lights at the back.

Being a forum of people who love cars and live cars, it feels a bit sad to see the lights in such condition with broken and taped glass. Just like i won't like to see my friends or family members using broken/taped prescription glasses, i would hate to see a car, especially a good looker like Kushaq, on road like this.

If the assembly is expensive, this drilled hole might cause claim issues saying fiddling was done with it. Insurance companies don't like to part with their(or is it our?)money!
As i don't know the reason why you went for this instead of replacement, i just implore you to change it the soonest you can at your convenience.

[MT_Hyderabad]

There is a difference between preventive action and corrective action. You removed the water from the light assembly, but the ingress is still possible. This will lead to fogging of the lights every now and then.

I will try to fix it permanently by changing the light itself. It is a good temporary fix, with emphasis on the word temporary. Overtime muddy water will block this hole and you will risk wire shorting.

I am myself running on a windshield which has a small chipping due to a stone/pebble hit. I am aware about the associated risk, but I will not encourage others to follow my actions.

[rohan_2911]

I'm thankful for all the comments - I will replace the brake light assembly as soon as I get the chance !

I recognise the dangers of this jugaadu fix on a car that relies on electronics

[rohan_2911]

Originally Posted by condor

Nice to see that hand-drill after so long. Reminds me of the carpenter who had made a sofa set at our house - using a rope driven manual drill - yes, a rope was used to turn the drill bit !

*

Coming to your post, why not replace that tail lamp - if possible under warranty.

I can't replace it under warranty as there's a small crack on the unit - that was likely caused by me hitting a tree branch when reversing - can't claim warranty on what essentially is my mistake !

Mod Note: Thread discussed enough - closing it.