Inari

I have a 2006 which I bought two months ago. I'm still learning how everything works. What would cause the rear brake lights to stay on, and how do you fix the problem? I was visiting friends, and I opened the automatic side door and then closed it again. While locking all the doors, I noticed the brake lights were still on. I locked and unlocked the doors, released and pressed the parking brake to no avail. Then we found that the lower front lights -- the ones shaped like lozenges were also wouldn't go off. One of my friends, who is a retired mechanic, fiddled with the light switch under the brake pedal, to no avail. He then showed me which fuse controlled the battery, so I could take it out to shut it off after I got home.

When I arrived back, the rear brake lights were no longer an issue. However, I noticed that my rear door was unlocked. I'm a landscaper and I have all kinds of equipment back there. Could something bumping the rear door ajar cause the light to stay on? Also, earlier that day I tried to drive off with my parking brake on. I couldn't drive it very far but I could tell I'd put a lot of pressure on the parking brake apparatus. Would that cause a brake light malfunction? Is it just a temporary problem, a minor inconvenience? Or is it likely to come back again and become a permanent problem? And, is there an easy fix? (If it's a hard fix, how can it be done?)

Thanks, Inari.

Inari

The lights that stayed on weren't tail lights, but fog lights and safety lights. This phenomenon is part of a built-in safety feature. (I'm including it here, so that others don't make the same mistake and end up needlessly replacing brake light switches. My two former mechanic friends were also fooled.) Apparently, if you unlock the doors with the key fob, these lights come on and remain on, until you click the doors locked again, and then they fade out. (Phew! Owning this van after my '95 Voyager sure is a steep learning curve.)

Inari