I'm having an issue with one of the tail lights, namely the one inside the box (although on the driver's side). Sometimes the light works fine and other times it is completely dark. It seems to stay illuminated or burned out for the entire time the car is on, and doesn't seem to cycle between working or vice versa until the car has been shut off and started again. I get a tail lamp failure indicator on the dashboard when the light isn't illuminated, but this doesn't appear when the light is working.

What confuses me is that I'm not sure whether this is an electrical problem or a problem with the bulb itself. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Replace the bulb - the filament is loose. It's a 5-watt #2825 bulb (or equivalent). If you can get a "long life" bulb, do so.

 

I had the same problem with the bulb just to the left of that one. Sometimes it would work fine, sometimes it was out and I had the tail lamp failure message. I was also unsure of if it was electrical or the bulb.

I ignored it until the bulb went out entirely, then bought a new bulb at O'Reilly's. Problem fixed! Not electrical

 

I have had the same taillight warning pop up a few times. It only stays on for a few seconds and goes off. It hasn't come on in a week or two, so I haven't had a chance to pinpoint the bulb. I read that it doesn't necessarily mean a taillight bulb and could be a headlight bulb.

 

The most likely culprit is a loose bulb connection. Check to see if the bulb is snug in the housing. If it is loose and wiggles, then the bulb is not making good contact and can go on and off. If this is the case, use a small screwdriver or a nail and bend the metal connection in the housing to make it tighter. Reinstall bulb. Make sure the bulb is snug in the housing. Problem solved!

 

check bulb. loose connection like stated above. happened to me, replaced bulb still had the error, had to check contact and it was not touching good

 

ever since the dealer changed out the bulb in mine, it has had the same problem. I have to get out of the car sometimes and smack it with my hand and it works.

 

I've seen where the bulb looks perfect but for whatever reason it has an intermittent failure that comes and goes. I would just start with replacing the bulb and seeing what happens as it's a cheap fix and it's probably close to needing a replacement anyway.

Also, on my last Lexus, I had a strange case where the bulb was new but I kept getting random failures. It turns out it was the housing the bulb screwed into had an internal failure. Not sure if it was corrosion or what because I cleaned the contacts and it still had the issue. I bought a new one from Lexus and the problem was solved.

This was what it looked like, it unclipped from the harness so there was no splicing involved.