My dealer is telling me they will not replace the headliner that is now stained from water leaking through the 3rd light. I would think they are responsible for that. Anyone know about this and what avenues to take?

 

wow thats ridiculous! take it to another dealer

 

That's BS. I don't know why the resistance, they get paid for the repair from Ford if authorized. Lazy?

 

That's what I thought, pure BS. I mean what I shoot a a spark plug through my hood, would they not take care of the hood? I will go to the top if denied, it will be my last ford if they denie also. It's principle

 

Call Ford customer relations and request they open a case. Document everything!

 

A guy I work with is having the same issue. He has an 09 King Ranch and it has stained his headliner and his leather seats and the center console in the rear. I told him about the leaking problem the 04's had with the 3rd brake light and he took his in and that's where his is leaking at. Now they are fighting him against replacing the parts stained by the leak.

 

My stain was only about the size of the palm of your hand and light in color. They where able to remove the stain so I have no worries. The headliner doesn't have the cardboard backing like some liners so there is no damage. They also replaced the entire light as it comes with a new designed gasket.

I'm sure if the stain couldn't be removed I would of been able to have it replaced, just a matter of speaking to the right people and being heard. There is no way anyone should accept damaged interior because of a faulty gasket, etc. We pay good money for these trucks and it's not accectable.

 

3rd tail light leaking is a TSB.

 

Yes, that is why they replace with a new light and a new designed gasket, but apparently they aren't replacing anything that gets ruined by the water damage.

 

They are probably going exactly according to the TSB and I bet the TSB doesn't list the headliner as a replacement part option, so that's why they gave you the "it's not covered" line.

I'm sure if you ask again, they will put in a second warranty claim request.

 

If I can no longer see the water damage/stain, why would I put in another claim? Why worry about something thats no longer there?

 

I know I'm a bit late on this topic but, I just bought my truck 3 weeks ago. The first real rain we had after purchase, I found a fair amount of water on the inside of back sliding window and the back of the headliner was soaked. The dealer immediately said it was the 3rd brake light and replaced it yesterday. Today I took it through a drive thru car wash and a little water ran down the window again. Of course the dealer told me they checked it for leaks and said everything was fine. Is there anywhere else on the back of the cab that has been known to leak? I saw that there is a service bulletin for the sat. antenna and the brake light. Perhaps they reinstalled the old style brake light w/o the new revised gasket? Any opinions?

 

Sliding rear widows have been known to leak around the seals between the fixed window and the slider. The Sirius antenna is also prone to water intrusion.
If I had a sun-roof, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night.
My 1978 E-150 had water intrusion problems and I sure thought the FoMoCo would have addressed this issue in 32 years.
As far as the OP's problem, maybe the headliner should be sagging down blocking the drivers vision?

 

My truck is going in for what appears to be the same leaking 3rd tail light problem everyone else is having. I just got the truck back a week or two ago when it died at a stop light, they said it was a faulty air sensor. Yeah...

 

Try again or try another dealer.

My 09 KR has the leak. It has damaged all the seats in the rear and the headliner is wet/soaked. They said they'd replace the third light, replace the seats, and the won't replace the headliner but they're going to take it out and clean it. The shop manager said they've done that with recently with a few and they've came out fine.