wife drove my vrs estate today , i followed to take other car to garage, i notice the rear top brake lights not working, I've only had car about 6 wks so don't know if its ever worked ! is this a common fault, where should i start looking for fixing ? 

thanks

 

On the estate the lamp is a single unit containing LEDs. Most likely the supply is not getting to the lamp.

Can't remember exactly how it is wired but most likely the wires go to the near side rear storage box. Look behind the cover and you will see a mass of wires from the rear lights and from other places going along the side of the car to the front, also the washer pipe. If you have a CD jukebox then look behind/underneath it for signs of water and corrosion on wiring connectors.

During the winter the join in the washer pipe can be forced apart by freezing, filling the area with water. (Always use a strong solution for the washer bottle to avoid this).

Clean up any corroded connections and check.

Less likely but not unknown is a broken wire inside the rubber boot where the wires go from boot lid to body at the top of the boot lid. You can take the boot out of either hole to check, but is held in well.