[sharky]

Noticed last night that the rear center break light was not flush to the rear glass. There is about a 1/4 inch gap. As a results, at night, when stepping on the breaks it also light up the cargo area in red. It wasn't a big deal before I noticed it. Once I noticed it, it is annoying. Always looking into the rear view mirror on a stop sign. I'll probably get some black tapes to block the gap.

I had no such issue with my Integra and older Hondas, strange!!

 

[Ray]

Hmmmmmm...mine is right up against the glass. I do not get any light leakage into the back when the brake is on at night. Sounds like somethings wrong, I would suggest that you check out another MDX at the dealer.

 

[dMDX]

Noticed last night that the rear center break light was not flush to the rear glass. There is about a 1/4 inch gap. As a results, at night, when stepping on the breaks it also light up the cargo area in red. It wasn't a big deal before I noticed it. Once I noticed it, it is annoying. Always looking into the rear view mirror on a stop sign. I'll probably get some black tapes to block the gap.

I had no such issue with my Integra and older Hondas, strange!!

Honda/Acura used to have a warning light on the dash board to warn the failure of brake lights. As part of cost cutting to make the MDX competitive, they decided to remove that light and have the light leak from the back as an alternative. Just kidding.

Mine does not have this problem. Are you sure that is from the gap of the light housing rather than reflections from maybe a glazed or dirty rear glass?

 

[Nxtr06]

And to think that I thought I was the only one. After reading your post I had to check out mine as well, I to thought it was just reflection of the glass. After a closer inspection I did notice the gap as well, as in the whole assembly is not flush with the glass. Thanks for pointing this out next time I visit my dealer I will remind them about the Yugo fitting center mounted tail light.

Aloha, Nick

 

[DMor]

Ahhhh...I have "brake light leak" too! Looks like I have yet another spot to tuck some screen spline!!

 

[sharky]

Checked the rear brake light housing more carefully last night. It is definitly a fit and finish problem. There is about a 1/4 inch gap between the housing and the rear glass. The gap extend all the way across the top trim piece of the tailgate. I can push it in and can see that if fitted correctly, there will be no light leak.

I'll see if the dealer can doing anything when I have time.

Can more people check and see if there are more cases of this?

 

[Arzoo]

Noticed last night that the rear center break light was not flush to the rear glass. There is about a 1/4 inch gap. As a results, at night, when stepping on the breaks it also light up the cargo area in red. It wasn't a big deal before I noticed it. Once I noticed it, it is annoying. Always looking into the rear view mirror on a stop sign. I'll probably get some black tapes to block the gap.

This is an old thread, but I just noticed that my '03 has the same problem. Anyone else notice this?

 

[JoeKenny]

Same deal here on my '03 ..

 

[jaomdx]

My 02 didn't have this "feature" but my 03 does...hmmm....

 

[Arzoo]

I'm going to call the dealer this morning about this (and a few other things).

 

[tnguyenmdc]

Same problem here on an '03.

 

[m2pc]

Just checked, yup, on my '03. Let us know what the dealer says.

 

[Arzoo]

Well, looks like this is just poor fit-and-finish on all 03's. The dealer tried to reduce the gap, but it didn't really help at all. They checked another X on the lot and said it was the same, so that's just the way it is.

 

[jonnygoodboy]

Gap on '02, too

There's a gap on my '02, too. I've done plenty of night driving and never noticed any "light leak" so far...

 

[jonnygoodboy]

No Leak

I looked really hard for a light leak on my '02. Even though there's a gap (I can feel with my fingers, ~1 centimeter), no light whatsoever leaks into the cabin. No red glow, no nothing.