Any easy DIY for Cleaning Third Brake light

[B401]

Has anyone come up with an easy DIY fix to clean the center third brake light? From what I read it is very involved and you have to break the seat side bolster clips and pull out the rear deck shelf to gain access to it which just sounds like a big headache. I have a small water haze spot that annoys me from when I got my 21 M3 tinted. I was going to use a thin glass cleaning cloth and wrap it around a thin plastic spatula or cardboard but I don't want to rip the foam seal that is around the light. Ugh why did they design it like this

 

[GreenHokie]

I too would be interested in hearing of an easy way to get to the back side of that rear glass section. Like you, I can see a few water/soap residue lines on the back side of the rear glass where the 3rd brake light sits. The residue was a by-product of my rear glass tint job. Unfortunately, everything I’ve seen/read on this indicates there is no easy/clean way to access this area without some serious dismantling. On mine, the water/soap residue lines are not very noticeable unless you get real close to the vehicle and know what to look for. Of course, being as OCD as I am, it does bother me sometimes…. but not enough for me to tackle taking apart most of the rear to access/clean what I need!!

 

[B401]

I too would be interested in hearing of an easy way to get to the back side of that rear glass section. Like you, I can see a few water/soap residue lines on the back side of the rear glass where the 3rd brake light sits. The residue was a by-product of my rear glass tint job. Unfortunately, everything I’ve seen/read on this indicates there is no easy/clean way to access this area without some serious dismantling. On mine, the water/soap residue lines are not very noticeable unless you get real close to the vehicle and know what to look for. Of course, being as OCD as I am, it does bother me sometimes…. but not enough for me to tackle taking apart most of the rear to access/clean what I need!!

I don't know I feel like I cant Unsee it ever since so I try not to look, but I will attempt soon and try a thin long piece of cardboard wrapped with glass cloth and see if that works.

 

[JohnnyMa]

Yea that's been the only way I know of to clean it - spatula wrapped in a microfiber cloth doused with window cleaner. Sadly it does destroy the foam insert; I just replaced it with a .5"x.5" window foam trim piece available on Amazon and elsewhere, cut it to fit, and tucked it in that space between the glass and the rear deck. This blocks the center brake light from bleeding light into the cabin, and is mostly unnoticeable from inside the cabin. I wish tint installers did a better job blocking out that area.

 

[Kerune]

I too would be interested in hearing of an easy way to get to the back side of that rear glass section. Like you, I can see a few water/soap residue lines on the back side of the rear glass where the 3rd brake light sits. The residue was a by-product of my rear glass tint job. Unfortunately, everything I’ve seen/read on this indicates there is no easy/clean way to access this area without some serious dismantling. On mine, the water/soap residue lines are not very noticeable unless you get real close to the vehicle and know what to look for. Of course, being as OCD as I am, it does bother me sometimes…. but not enough for me to tackle taking apart most of the rear to access/clean what I need!!

Did you ever figure out a way to clean this?

 

[GreenHokie]

Did you ever figure out a way to clean this?

Unfortunately, still only two undesirable options as far as I know:
1. Full dismantling of the body/trim panels around the trunk area to access & clean the glass
2. Wedge some type of thin scraper tool (wrapped with a cloth/microfiber towel) between the glass and brake light housing to access/clean the residue. Unfortunately, this will destroy the OEM foam seal surrounding the brake light. You might be able to replace the foam yourself but it will probably not look good/right, and you may get/see some light bleed around the brake light.

 

[Kerune]

Unfortunately, still only two undesirable options as far as I know:
1. Full dismantling of the body/trim panels around the trunk area to access & clean the glass
2. Wedge some type of thin scraper tool (wrapped with a cloth/microfiber towel) between the glass and brake light housing to access/clean the residue. Unfortunately, this will destroy the OEM foam seal surrounding the brake light. You might be able to replace the foam yourself but it will probably not look good/right, and you may get/see some light bleed around the brake light.

Thanks, you never tried asking service if they can charge to access that area and clean it? I wouldn't mind a small fee for them to handle it but I expected to see more people going this route first. I tried to push around that area but yeah I don't want to be replacing that foam seal myself as it'd just be another thing to OCD about.

 

[GreenHokie]

Thanks, you never tried asking service if they can charge to access that area and clean it? I wouldn't mind a small fee for them to handle it but I expected to see more people going this route first. I tried to push around that area but yeah I don't want to be replacing that foam seal myself as it'd just be another thing to OCD about.

Nah, I’d tackle the body panel/trim removal myself before I let anyone (even Tesla Service) touch it. In most situations, I can do a better job at removing & reinstalling trim than any of the pros…

 

[Kerune]

Nah, I’d tackle the body panel/trim removal myself before I let anyone (even Tesla Service) touch it. In most situations, I can do a better job at removing & reinstalling trim than any of the pros…

Hah fair enough, I swapped out the steering wheel and OEM media screen of my previous car so I can agree that taking off panels yourself is the only way you can guarantee that all clips/screws go back in properly.

 

[DanoVT3]

Ugh. I just had my windows tinted today and they got a bunch of soapy water and moisture in my 3rd brake light. Will this ever clear up on it's own? Unfortunately it's 27 degrees out and we are just getting started with winter so I doubt this will be evaporating anytime soon. Frustrating. Came here looking for a solution for cleaning this as well.

 

[GreenHokie]

Ugh. I just had my windows tinted today and they got a bunch of soapy water and moisture in my 3rd brake light. Will this ever clear up on it's own? Unfortunately it's 27 degrees out and we are just getting started with winter so I doubt this will be evaporating anytime soon. Frustrating. Came here looking for a solution for cleaning this as well.

Sorry to hear and welcome to the club. The moisture will definitely evaporate & disappear. Unfortunately, when it evaporates, it may leave behind some visible residue/water marks. Hopefully, those marks won’t be too bad/visible in your situation. However, I have a feeling you’ll see them. If so, then there’s still no easy way to access that area to wipe/clean, without some significant dismantling of interior body panels/trim.