Rear window leak

[TheWaterman83]

Update on mine. Dealer made good and got FCA to cover the repair. Hopefully this will last a while. I seem to have taken care of all the leaks on the truck (knock wood). Sunroof drains, rear window, fixed the weather stripping on brake light. Last one would be the shark fin. Hopefully that doesn't leak because I really don't want to pull down my headliner.

 

[Rager170]

I too am having this issue. 2021 Laramie with about 14,500 miles on it.

I overheard a service manager or someone while I was sitting in the waiting room say they wouldnt take on the job and to send me to where I purchased the truck.. I am waiting for a call back from them and hoping I dont have to get into a fight with them over this.

We shall see...

EDIT - Just got a call back and they claim it is coming from the 3rd brake light. I asked if they were sure as I have read that there are other causes for it and mentioned such.. He said they claimed to have found it at that light. Back ordered part but hoping that will be the end of this. Only time will tell.

 

[mikeru82]

We're going through this now. I noticed water drops on the inside of the window frame during a heavy rain storm a couple weeks ago. Finally got it in to the shop last Friday. They claimed it's coming in at the 3rd brake light. I showed them the pics I have with drops of water at the bottom of the cracks on the rear window frame, but they insist they have to first replace the brake light. It's frustrating but they won't budge on it. I'm thinking of just taking the truck to the dealer my daughter worked with, which is about an hour away. They replaced the window in her Rebel without even leak checking because of the cracks in the frame. Probably should have just gone there in the first place, but because of the distance it wasn't something I could just do during my lunch break.

 

[TJ1789]

I got the drip… and the crack. I just picked up my truck from the dealer, they replaced my rear window under warranty. My goal was to get it back from the dealer then put the marine gasket around my 3rd brake light. I can’t get it off. Is there a trick to removing the 3rd brake light? I’m curious if the techs siliconed it…

 

[mikeru82]

I got the drip… and the crack. I just picked up my truck from the dealer, they replaced my rear window under warranty. My goal was to get it back from the dealer then put the marine gasket around my 3rd brake light. I can’t get it off. Is there a trick to removing the 3rd brake light? I’m curious if the techs siliconed it…

Remove screws and it pulls right off. I think it's safe to assume they did silicone it on if you removed all the screws and it won't come off.

 

[TJ1789]

Remove screws and it pulls right off. I think it's safe to assume they did silicone it on if you removed all the screws and it won't come off.

Thanks for the response. I won’t force it off then…

 

[gwatt86]

Thanks for the response. I won’t force it off then…

Have you tested it with a car wash/hose or had rain since it was replaced? Curious how it is.

As for replacing the 3rd brake light gasket, I did that with a marine gasket but when I took the original off, I didn't see any evidence of water leaking through the gasket. I guess its possible it could be going in through screws but I don't know, I'm skeptical on the 3rd brake light leak for myself.

 

[TJ1789]

Have you tested it with a car wash/hose or had rain since it was replaced? Curious how it is.

As for replacing the 3rd brake light gasket, I did that with a marine gasket but when I took the original off, I didn't see any evidence of water leaking through the gasket. I guess its possible it could be going in through screws but I don't know, I'm skeptical on the 3rd brake light leak for myself.

I just got my truck back last night. I’ll monitor it and get back to you.

 

[mikeru82]

Have you tested it with a car wash/hose or had rain since it was replaced? Curious how it is.

As for replacing the 3rd brake light gasket, I did that with a marine gasket but when I took the original off, I didn't see any evidence of water leaking through the gasket. I guess its possible it could be going in through screws but I don't know, I'm skeptical on the 3rd brake light leak for myself.

3rd brake light leaks are definitely real. Pretty much all truck makers have issues with this. Dealership said there is evidence of water leaking through the 3rd brake light, and I'm not disputing that. But when there are visible cracks on the rear window frame with drops of water at the bottom of the cracks, it's hard to argue that those aren't leaking as well.

Edit: added pic

 

[gwatt86]

3rd brake light leaks are definitely real. Pretty much all truck makers have issues with this. Dealership said there is evidence of water leaking through the 3rd brake light, and I'm not disputing that. But when there are visible cracks on the rear window frame with drops of water at the bottom of the cracks, it's hard to argue that those aren't leaking as well.

Edit: added pic
View attachment 144371

Yes, agreed. It just seems more likely its leaking from those cracks, or at least much easier to believe compared to the 3rd brake light.

 

[Alejandro_Andretti]

I got the drip… and the crack. I just picked up my truck from the dealer, they replaced my rear window under warranty. My goal was to get it back from the dealer then put the marine gasket around my 3rd brake light. I can’t get it off. Is there a trick to removing the 3rd brake light? I’m curious if the techs siliconed it…

You just have to get a firm grip on th housing and pull from th bottom up. When I replaced my bulbs it was hard to pull off but I just forced it and no issues

 

[Greg Hill]

So yesterday I had my factory slider window replaced on my 2019 Ram 1500 Big Horn with a solid window by a glass company here in Louisville. The road noise is reduced considerably and I’m looking forward to not having a leaking rear window. The shop where the work was done saved the old window for me to look at. What a piece of crap. The frame is made out of extremely brittle plastic. Mine was broken in several places. Glad to be rid of the slider which I never used.

 

[wegasque]

So yesterday I had my factory slider window replaced on my 2019 Ram 1500 Big Horn with a solid window by a glass company here in Louisville. The road noise is reduced considerably and I’m looking forward to not having a leaking rear window. The shop where the work was done saved the old window for me to look at. What a piece of crap. The frame is made out of extremely brittle plastic. Mine was broken in several places. Glad to be rid of the slider which I never used.

I've also thought about replacing it with a solid pane this if/when my rear window starts leaking. The slider is nice and i use it occasionally, but wouldn't be the end of the world if it wasn't there.

 

[c3k]

No, its not.

I did just find a video on partially removing the headliner which doesn't look too difficult. You remove the 4 Airbag plastic covers (Two on top of headliner, other two on the side near the seatbelts), remove the 4 screws behind that, and then it should come down enough to allow me to put some silicone *hopefully* at the source of the leak. I tried to shove silicone up there without removing the headliner a while back but I obviously didn't pinpoint it.

Got a link to that vid?

 

[Scram1500]

Got a link to that vid?

Infotainment XM antenna install. Big help when I sealed my shark fin, jump to the 6 minute mark

 

[Handycraftman]

If the hand allows, you can unscrew it through the cabin lantern, there is enough space for work, that's exactly what I did on my truck.

 

[c3k]

Rear window was replaced 1-6-2020 under warranty.
It has now developed the usual crack next to the slider, not all the way thru to the outside yet so no leak there.
But is is leaking alright...
Took some effort to find this (soapy water and positive pressure did not pinpoint it, due to operator error mainly)
Anyway, upper drivers side corner, have not seen anyone reporting this location for a crack so far.

I have a leak in this EXACT location.

I have not pulled off the roof trim. (Your pic shows it's a simple pull-off.) But, I did the hose test. With the wife holding the hose in that spot, the leak on the inside started in just a few seconds.

 

[TJ1789]

Have you tested it with a car wash/hose or had rain since it was replaced? Curious how it is.

As for replacing the 3rd brake light gasket, I did that with a marine gasket but when I took the original off, I didn't see any evidence of water leaking through the gasket. I guess its possible it could be going in through screws but I don't know, I'm skeptical on the 3rd brake light leak for myself.

We’ve had a few hard rains and there isn’t any water coming in. I hope it stays that way.

 

[kapinallinen2]

I have a leak in this EXACT location.

I have not pulled off the roof trim. (Your pic shows it's a simple pull-off.) But, I did the hose test. With the wife holding the hose in that spot, the leak on the inside started in just a few seconds.

I popped the end of the trim before checking on how to do it correctly... Don`t just go and pry on the end, the removal needs to get started from the middle of the roof.

 

[Brookelf]

Same problem here 44,000 miles and after rain in Dallas the last few weeks I started to notice a mildew smell. I removed my mats and speaker box to find a puddle of water and mold under them. I thought third brake light since that happened on my 2015 Ram 1500 that I traded in for transmission problems. I ran silicone around the light nope no fix. I took the truck to dealership was told that it wasn't covered under the extended warranty. My service guy said he would try and get it so I only have to pay a deductible since I was close to the factory warranty. I'm do to take the truck in o the 12th for the leak to be found which I've found since then its leaking around frame on passenger side I took a gallon jug of water and let water run around seal and water is streaming into cab at a high rate. I didn't get the extended warranty on the first truck but after numerous problems with the transmission while under warranty I thought with this one I would buy the extended warranty to be safe. Guess I should have read the small print. Hopefully my dealer will make it right or maybe Ram Cares on this forum can start a case for me on a problem that's known to these trucks. The first thing my service guy did was get in the truck and look for cracks and say the frame is what cracks happens all the time. Should there be a disclaimer caution rear window frame cracks. Window needs to be replaced every 30,000 miles as part of your scheduled maintenance. Please make this right RAM!!!!