No brake lights! Problem solved!

Well, I noticed last night when I backed up in front of a window that I didn't have any brake lights!!! God knows how long I've been driving like this and I'm thankful I never got rear ended. I checked all my fuses and they all looked to be fine.

After doing a little research I found out that my brake light switch was done/broken/burnt. I'm righting this just in case it happens to someone and it might help them out. It's located just above the brake the pedal and it cost me $20 to fix. All you have to do is disconect the plug, give it half a turn and pull ou the switch and install the new one. It took me 2 minutes.

GM part# 96874572

Here is a couple of useful links I got my information from. (hope I can do this)

http://www.fixya.com/cars/t1233265-2004 ... lights_not


A picture of the switch and location on page 7.

http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/h18.pdf


Hope this helps someone in the future! I sure feel safer with brake lights working now.

i hate that stupid thing. it broke on me 2wice. at the dealer the first time it cost me $7 2nd time i went it was $12???? wth? anyways yeah its easy 2 replace, just make it where as soon as u tap the pedal the lights come on. also this unlocks the automatic cars shift from park. they shouda made the check tail lamps light in the dash for a warning. [-X

I really wish it would indicate something somewhere, I only caught it by luck. If I would of got rear ended it could of been my fault. I guess I'll keep an eye on it from now on, I'll check my brake lights every other month or so.

^ i kno i caught it by luck 2

Great info! thanks for the warning.

same prob here! it took an observant motorcyclist to inform me at the traffic light... gotta have it fixed asap!

Last year when my stop switch went bad, I had the opposite effect, my brake lights worked, they just wouldnt turn off, people at work were constantly telling me I left my lights on LOL

Quote:

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Originally Posted by johnygogo

If I would of got rear ended it could of been my fault.

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They'd have hard time proving it since your tail lights would've been destroyed. :lol:

actually, lit filaments bend in a crash. so if you get rear ended and the filaments are still straight, the lights weren't on.

There are many scenarios in which my lights would be off and I still could get rear ended. For example if I slow down for obstruction on the road, then start speeding up to the 35 mph speed limit, and the person behind me has been going through songs in their his the while time and is still going 60 mph... :o

thats when you check skid marks, and not the ones in your underwear :P


i took a month course on crash forensics for my damage appraisers license.

That would be a fun class to take imo.

Rabbit. How can you tell if the bulbs were on or off if they are all led? :) :o

i dont know, you cite them for non oem equipment?


it was an interesting course. but just like everything else it doesn't give ALL the answers.

Just replaced mine today. My wife was driving her Fit behind me this morning because she had to take the Fit in for a recall ( Honda recalling 700,000 Fit models over engine fears - 97k in U.S. — Autoblog

Of course, like a woman, she says "I think your brake lights weren't working or something, it was hard to tell. The sun was shining." I don't know how it can be hard to tell if brake lights are working. They either are or they aren't. Anyways, I checked, and sure enough, the damn switch was stuck in the off position. Went to the dealer, paid $15 with tax for a new stop lamp switch. PITA, but I'm glad she caught it before I got pulled over. Also, the switch is kinda tricky- it comes in the box with the plunger thing stuck all the way out. When you install the new switch, turn the car on, press the brake pedal down as far as you can, and pull the plunger out as far as you can. The plunger thing can be hard to pull out, a little more force than I thought. So I spent about 2 hours trying to figure out how to adjust the pedal so that the damn lights would turn off (Don't do that). Wish I had known that before I went down that route. Here are some pictures to show what I'm talking about

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/j...k/IMG_0980.jpg

As you can see, the switch (white thing connected to yellow plug with black base, small black plunger is touching a nickel I had inserted in there temporarily) has a plunger which is pushed almost all the way into the switch. You don't want to have a nickel in there, but instead press down on the brake all the way, and pull out the plunger at the same time. This resets the switch (I think). I hope it saves at least someone a little aggravation. Now I could replace the switch in <2 minutes.

As an aside, my wife used to drive a ford escort. While attempting to pull it into the garage one day for an oil change, I had to floor it just to get the thing to move- obvious problem with the auto tranny. After I asked my wife why she didn't mention it to me, she said "oh, I thought the car was just getting old". But, at least she gave me a solid "yes" on my next 2 car purchases...

I had this same thing happen a few days ago. Couldn't get out of park, brake lights not working. I read up on it and along with this thread and the picture, I was able to change it myself. Got the part from the Chevy dealership for $11 and after about 10 mins (I have carpal tunnel), I got it switched out.

I took it by the dealer first and they wanted $90 just to look at it! I'm glad I looked it up after that. I saved myself $79!

Thank you for this thread! :D

Super easy fix..$10 part. Had no idea what the problem was until a google search..praise be to the internetz..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by joalesh

I had this same thing happen a few days ago. Couldn't get out of park, brake lights not working. I read up on it and along with this thread and the picture, I was able to change it myself. Got the part from the Chevy dealership for $11 and after about 10 mins (I have carpal tunnel), I got it switched out.

I took it by the dealer first and they wanted $90 just to look at it! I'm glad I looked it up after that. I saved myself $79!

Thank you for this thread! :D

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Who knows how long I didn't have brake lights -- I found out when the car failed inspection. Thanks to all for the tips and photos. The local parts store had the part and $9.73 later we're back in business.

Since someone may do a search on this subject and wind up here, I'll post this even though the thread is older: I discovered a faulty brake switch on my 2007 Chevy Aveo LS 5 when I couldn't shift out of park without putting a spare key in the shift lock override slot and pressing the override mechanism. I had no idea what to do when it first happened (never encountered this on any prior vehicle); fortunately I was able to call the mechanic from the parking lot where I was stuck and he told me the steps. He also said my brake lights might be out so when I got going I backed up to a store front and checked in the glass; sure enough, no brake lights. I'm not a DIY person but was glad enough to get it into the shop and fixed, before I got hit due to no lights.

Can i ask if ANY of you, EVER fixed the REAL problem with the locked out shifter/bad brake lights? IF you still have the cars now,...or before you got rid of it?? You all replaced it once or MORE, so you must have been told there is a short in the wiring someplace, leading to the brake lights...right? The part you replaced is not the problem, if you fixed the problem permanently, you know it was a short circuit in the brake lights someplace. I was wondering if you ever found out where the short was located?

I have it in my 2006, and have replaced that freaking switch/relay over 10 times!!! At $15 a pop, it will last 1 day, or 6 months, but then stop working again, then work for weeks or a day, then not work for months, then work for weeks, etc... so I have been told by my NEW mechanic that it is a short in the rear brake lights, that he has only had to replace that 'switch' once in 30 years of repairing cars. It is always a short circuit, to the rear brake lights.

I know this is an old post, but maybe you all found the short, and I can narrow it down in my car. It might be in THE same spot in ALL Aveos, "poor design". Because this is a VERY common problem. So now I am going everyone how they fixed it permanently. Or did you get lucky and all have a bad switch/relay, and it worked on the first try. If you'd let me know, id be grateful.