Symptom explainer · every vehicle on the site
Tail lights or brake lights fail
Most reported: 2015 GMC Yukon with 247 reports. Across the 92 model years on this site with at least five, owners filed 1,778.
- 1,778owner reports
- 92model years affected
- 55,000median miles
- 10involved a crash
- 9involved a fire
These owners find a tail light or brake light dead, and then learn the fix is a whole lamp assembly rather than a bulb. Water inside the lens comes up again and again.
Which cars report it most · By model · When it happens · What it is and what to do
The 25 vehicles with the most reports
Each row is one model year. The bar is its count of tail light failure reports; the share is how much of that car's complaint file this problem takes up. Bigger sellers draw more reports, so read the share alongside the count. Red dots mark crashes and fires in these reports; amber marks a recall on the same system.
- 124748% of its complaints60k mi
- 22014 Dodge Durango1 fire15921% of its complaints60k mi
- 312240% of its complaints71k mi
- 412024% of its complaints50k mi
- 59435% of its complaints52k mi
- 67839% of its complaints53k mi
- 72014 Hyundai Sonata1 crash3 fires527% of its complaints75k mi
- 84711% of its complaints50k mi
- 94622% of its complaints41k mi
- 102017 GMC Yukon1 crash4623% of its complaints54k mi
- 113723% of its complaints50k mi
- 12348% of its complaints35k mi
- 133322% of its complaints61k mi
- 143013% of its complaints45k mi
- 152014 Cadillac SRX2 crashes246% of its complaints61k mi
- 162417% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 172014 Kia Sorento1 fire202% of its complaints80k mi
- 182010% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 192016 Honda Civicrecall192% of its complaints5k mi
- 20171% of its complaints40k mi
- 212016 Hyundai Tucsonrecall121% of its complaints60k mi
- 22123% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 232023 Chevrolet Bolt EUV2 crashes1210% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 241211% of its complaintsfew mileages
- 25112% of its complaintsfew mileages
Where it dominates the complaint file
Model years with at least 25 reports, ranked by the share of all their complaints that describe tail light failure. That takes most of the sales-volume effect out (small sellers still swing more).
- 124748% of its complaints60k mi
- 212240% of its complaints71k mi
- 37839% of its complaints53k mi
- 49435% of its complaints52k mi
- 512024% of its complaints50k mi
- 62017 GMC Yukon1 crash4623% of its complaints54k mi
- 73723% of its complaints50k mi
- 83322% of its complaints61k mi
- 94622% of its complaints41k mi
- 102014 Dodge Durango1 fire15921% of its complaints60k mi
By model, every year together
The 12 models with the most reports. Each chip is a model year; the darker chip is its worst year.
- GMC Yukon387
- GMC Yukon XL233
- Ram 150025
When it happens
1,071 of the 1,778 reports state a mileage. The middle half fall between 40,000 and 75,000 miles; the median is 55,000. Each column is a 20,000-mile band.
Reports by model year
Every report of tail light failure, grouped by the model year of the car. 10 involved a crash and 9 a fire. 5 people were hurt.
What owners describe
Share of the 1,778 reports that use each phrase. One report can use several.
What got replaced
Reports that name the part, across every vehicle.
What it is and what to do
It's a small group, close to 1,800 complaints across the vehicles on this site, and heavily weighted toward a few models. The 2015 GMC Yukon and Yukon XL and the 2014 Dodge Durango account for close to a third of it between them. Water, moisture or fogging comes up in about 42 percent of reports. Owners mention an assembly or housing about twice as often as a bulb. The median mileage given is about 54,000.
Moisture is the thread running through the recalls in the data. Acura's 19V-256 and 25V-259 dealt with water getting into the tailgate lid lights and wiring on some MDX models, which could kill the tail lights. Tesla's 22V-844 used a software update to fix tail lights that could fail to light at random.
An older case shows how these disputes can end. In NHTSA's 2004 investigation EA04-021, GM said some brake and tail lamp sockets were failing early and set up a 6-year, 72,000-mile special coverage policy on almost a million vehicles, then recalled the ones that policy hadn't already fixed. So ask the dealer whether any special coverage or service bulletin applies to your lamp. NHTSA also posts the bulletins manufacturers send it, searchable by year, make and model.
Checking is simple. Have someone stand behind the car while you press the brake pedal and switch on the lights. Firestone notes that on some vehicles a dead brake lamp also turns on the brake warning light on the dash, so that light can be the first clue.
Don't leave it. The recall language is direct: tail lights and brake lights that don't light reduce your visibility to other drivers and raise the risk of a crash. Until it's fixed, avoid driving at night if a tail light is out.
Tell the shop which lamp, whether it's constant or comes and goes, and whether you've seen water in it after rain or a car wash. Run the VIN through NHTSA's recall lookup first. For anything else, get the failure on a repair order during the warranty; the FTC says a defect reported in that period must be fixed even if the warranty ends before the repair.
Sources
- Why is my brake light on?, Firestone Complete Auto Care
- NHTSA recall 19V-256, Acura MDX tailgate lid lights
- NHTSA recall 25V-259, Acura MDX tailgate lid light wiring
- NHTSA recall 22V-844, Tesla tail lights
- NHTSA investigation EA04-021, GM brake and tail lamp sockets (NHTSA investigation file)
- Check for recalls, NHTSA
- Resources related to investigations and recalls (manufacturer communications), NHTSA
- Warranties, FTC Consumer Advice
- Complaint counts, mileages and phrase shares: NHTSA complaint files as tallied on this site
Counts are unique NHTSA complaints on the 1,040 vehicle model years that have a page here, grouped by the word patterns described on the method page. A vehicle needs five matching reports to be counted in this ranking. Checked Sep 27, 2026. All problem explainers.