This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Hid headlights intermittently go off. Turning the headlights completely off and on again will make the headlights turn back on. One or both headlights will then go out again within a few minutes. I do not know of a way to correct this failure. Others have reported spending thousands of dollars at the dealership trying to have this fixed.
I have a 2006 Prius with headlight problems. One will go off for no reason. If you turn the lights off and on the light then works. This happens to both sides and only a few times have I lost both lights at the same time. Very unsafe. I have the hid package and see that there are over 60 other complaints. Toyota needs to fix this problem before someone gets killed. I have been dealing with this for more than a year. The dealer has no information from Toyota about this problem. Please help!
Headlight failure at random times on my 2006 Toyota Prius with hid headlights. Lights always work correctly when first turned on. During trips of 15-30 minutes, one headlight usually fails. The left goes out more often than the right. When failed, neither the dim nor bright will work. Function is restored by turning the headlight switch off and then back on. Have had several dangerous moments when leaving brightly-lit streets, making turns onto dark entrance ramps. Suddenly, the absence of expected headlighting is obvious while scanning in the darkness for the curbs, edge of the road, etc. It took me some time to diagnose the problem as upon startup, both headlights always work correctly. I now believe the problem is in the headlight control circuits, not in the bulbs, as much of the time, both right and left headlights, dim and bright, work fine.
Headlamps going out, sometimes the left headlamp and sometimes the right, also both can go out. To correct the problem temporarily you have to turn the lights off and on again they will work for a short time. No parts have been replaced yet Toyota says they need for them to act up before they can diagnose.
- Akron, NY, USA
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The headlights on my 2006 Toyota Prius randomly and intermittently turn off and/or dim significantly. Driving at night all of the sudden without any warning both headlights turn off. This happens every time I drive at night (I am sure it happens in the day time but I can not see it) and under normal driving situations.
The headlights on our Toyota Prius began malfunctioning at 55000. They would flicker, fade and then fail. I had to flick the switch off then on and they would stay on a few minutes before fading away. I noticed there are quite a few complaints about this on some Prius discussion boards. The cost to fix this is more than $400/light as the whole assembly has to be replaced.
My hid headlamps cut in and out. My tail lights cut in and out. I've got a Toyota extended care warranty. I've already had several tail lights replaced by the dealer. This is a safety issue and a defect. Toyota should have a recall because of the defective lighting systems in their hid equipped cars.
To date we have not had an incident, however I believe the failure of our headlight and the lack of Toyota to correctly identify and correct this problem is unacceptable. The failure occurs everyday while driving the vehicle. We were told by the dealership to replace the bulb. The cost of the repair is over $500. After reading many complaints, the wiring or connection seems to be the problem, not the bulb.
Hid headlight operation is intermittent. Dealer replaced component, however it is doing it again. Technician states it is due to the component overheating. First replacement was under warranty. Now they want about $500 to fix. They should have corrected the component overheating design defect with an updated component the first time.
Intermittent hid (high intensity discharge) headlight on a 2006 Prius. Appears to be a common complaint, the dealer said they need to replace the xenon headlight ($300) and the headlight computer ($500) to correct this. But the problem is intermittent, sometimes the headlight works and other times it doesn't - seems like a serious safety issue.
Premature failure of hid headlight bulb in Toyota Prius. Not three years old and 45K miles. Replacement cost is exorbitant and there are many failures going on.
I have a 2006 Toyota Prius w/ 59K miles. We started experiencing issues w/ the headlights a couple of weeks ago. We'd turn the lights on and randomly would either get 1 light, 2 lights, or no lights. Flicking the switch again would usually reset the lights, but not for long. I just took it to the dealership and was shocked when they told me it would cost $872 to fix. After I heard the quote, which is not covered under my extended warranty, I was so mad that I told them to just leave the bulbs in. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. I think this is actually extremely dangerous. In fact, so dangerous that someone is going to get hurt or killed, especially when they are unknowingly driving with one light or worse, none.
I have a 2006 Toyota Prius and my headlights go out randomly, quite often while driving. While driving you can start off with all lights on and then while in low beam the headlights will go off leaving you with fog lights and while in high beam all of the lights go out. The car was taken to a Toyota dealer who said "Toyota knows this is a problem" but we still have to pay. I have children and when my lights went totally out I was lucky enough not to have had an accident. I have read others complaints on an internet blog site and there have been several other owner's with this problem. What does it take to have a recall on these vehicles and have Toyota held responsible for faulty equipment before an accident happens and people are injured due to this.
I have a 2006 Prius. My headlamps go off suddenly while driving I have noticed this for the past year. This is extremely dangerous for nighttime driving. I am told that, yes, it is ridiculous and dangerous that a 2 year old car has headlamps that are not working well. The cost is $1150.
I own a 2006 Toyota Prius, purchased new. The car now has 44,000 miles. Beginning at about 35,000 miles and ever since, the driver side hid headlamp will flicker and then go out. This usually happens within the first 10 minutes of driving. By turning the headlight switch "off", then back to "on", I can get the bulb to come back on. This happens all the time. I realize that this can seem like a simple "replace the lamp" situation. However, I have friends with priuses, and all have the same problem, one, or sometimes both headlights suddenly going out. This can be a real safety issue. I did not take my car to Toyota for a replacement as it is now out of warranty and replacement costs for this can easily run to over a thousand dollars. I have discovered that hundreds of other Prius owners are having the exact same trouble with their cars. Most of these are 2006 or 2007 models. Some have had the entire hid system replaced under warranty only to have the problem return. It is scary driving a car whose headlights are prone to suddenly going out. Toyota has been aware of this issue for quite some time. I would like to see a recall to address this situation as it is obviously a safety issue.
About six months after purchasing my 2006 Toyota Prius the headlights starting going out while I was driving. I took it in to the dealership and they replaced the bulb. They had said that they had never heard of this before. The lights worked for about two months then occasionally would go out again. Now that my warranty has run out they are going out every time I drive the car. This is a real safety issue. When you turn the switch off and then on again they come on for awhile then turn off again. They have never not come on, but drivers in front of you get a bit upset when you start flashing your headlights behind them! I've noticed on line that this is a common issue on the Prius. I hope that you can force Toyota to recall and repair this issue.
My car is equipped with hid-type headlights. The passenger-side headlight will occasionally extinguish at random times. This hid lamp failure does not seem to correspond with any specific driving conditions, I.e. bumpy road, extreme temperatures, driving in a turn, etc... it just happens randomly and without warning. This has become a problem since I cannot always detect when the lamp has or will fail; and my state requires that my car has two working headlights to be considered "safe." Turning the headlight switch off, and then back on, will generally fix the failure, but only if I identify the problem and only then temporarily. This does not appear to be a simple loose connection problem or a burnt-out bulb.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- San Clemente, CA, USA