I'm glad to hear that Subaru/Toyota might actually be paying attention to their customer's issues. That said, the design of the trunk/tail light housings, coupled with the gaskets not being sealed all the way around is the biggest issue.
If you have a 2016 FR-S/BRZ/GT86 with the supposedly thicker gasket, the safest bet is to tape or otherwise cover the gap between the trunk channel and the tail light housing, so the water flows right over the gap and off of the car. I'd do that as a preventative measure even if you've never seen any condensation. It's bound to happen eventually until they change the design of the car.
Our gaskets (Gasket Ninja) are made from a high quality neoprene rubber foam almost twice as dense compared to the stock gaskets, so they're more resistant to water and air. Whatever gasket you use, seal it and tape up those gaps!
Quote:
Originally Posted by PMok
Hmmm I went back and found my old post where I first raised the idea of improving the seal against the thicker gasket that @ wdninja was developing... I ended up buying one of his early prototypes and using it on my 2013 BRZ.
Fast forward to today, I recently traded the 2013 for a 2016 and went to swap my old painted tail lights (still using the prototype gasket) and to my surprise, found that the OEM gasket on the 2016 tails are thicker than the ones I remember on the 2013. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised, as with how big this thread has gotten and how many people come in to the dealerships with this problem, surely Subaru has paid some attention. Putting them side by side, the 2016 gasket seems about the same thickness as the Gasket Ninja product. I didn't take any exact measurements though. The adhesive for the gasket still only seems to run along part of the top side though, not all the way around the gasket. So my recommendation for anyone with the thicker 2016 gasket, is to still follow the directions/video that you'll find on the Gasket Ninja website to weather-seal the gasket to the tail light housing, if you live in a rainy area, park outside a lot, or are generally concerned about water getting into the housing.
And of course if you don't have the thicker 2016 gasket, I'd suggest you buy the Gasket Ninja product, yeah it sounds frustrating to have to spend money to fix something that Subaru should have fixed for free, but for the peace of mind and end to the frustration, it's well worth it. |