My left headlight goes out while driving. If I turn my headlights off and then back on it comes right back on, but only for a few minutes usually. This is a huge safety concern and I can't afford a ticket for not having a working head light.
I went out to a meeting and left after dark, had no headlamps. Stopped and played with the switch and headed home. Got a few miles from home and headlamps blacked out and had to drive the rest of the way home with my emergency blinkers on. Frightening!
I've been driving Toyotas for YEARS, but the fact that they have issued so many recalls in recent years, and REFUSE to fix this extremely dangerous issue--my headlights cut out completely with NO warning!--makes me reconsider whether I want to buy another potential troubled vehicle from Toyota!
Right headlight goes out. It will come back on if you flash the headlights on and off. However, it soon goes out again. I went to my independent mechanic for this. I have a longstanding relationship with this guy, and he's had success in the past. He put a lot of effort in. He changed the ballast once and the bulb twice, but the problem resurfaced almost immediately. I should have don't this earlier, but I googled this recently, and this is a notorious problem with 2006-2009 Priuses. Also got pulled over for this once. Trooper was a nice guy and let me go without issuing a summons. Anyway, I am going to suck it up and go to the dealer tomorrow. If they intend to skin me alive over this, I will be heard.
Known formally as high-intensity discharge (HID) lights, they either work intermittently – making nighttime driving a lot more exciting – or fail entirely.
2008 prius nasty light problem. the left rear tail light goes off and when banged on it goes on and the left front marker light also deserves a bang. now we were stopped by mister state trooper approx. two weeks ago, very nice fellow no ticket. we removed bulb and reseated socket. still goes off. called lebruen dealer in canandaigua and was quoted $96 including diagnostic to replace bulb. what!!!!! asked about a recall and was told no recall for that problem. now looka here peoples if you have complaints for head light problems and bang on the light and it works how long would it take to realize you got a problem with wiring for headlights and taillights and banging or tapping especially on the left side. it ain't the bulb . could it be the socket but why the left marker light????? WHY DO YOU IGNORE SUCH PROBLEMS ??? YOU CAN'T HIDE THIS FOR MUCH LONGER. anybody out there with this problem care to weigh in??? the headlight problem you can see but the taillight isn't noticable until someone tells you .but i still have to get it fixed. oh my god!!! i managed to type this without swearing although its very close!!!
Toyota, you should be providing compensation for this headlight failure. I was on the highway over the mountain pass at night, and my headlights were going out and it was incredibly dangerous.
The headlamp is very expensive by itself and replacement requires the front end of the car to come off, so labor is outrageous for fixing a defective leadlamp. This is a known issue in this model year Prius. Why aren't the bulbs cheaper at this point?
Driving at night I had my headlights dim. I turned on my high beams and they went out completely. I was in the dark. I frantically looked to see if I could pull off the road - which I couldn't safely. I turned the lights off and back on again. This time they came on - full amount. Not more than a minute later, the right front headlight went out completely. I drove home and called Toyota Service. I took the car in and they replaced both HID bulbs at the tune of $526.50 with labor. This same exact problem occurred a week before and I thought it was a fluke. It wasn't. I'm worried about safety with this happening. I started searching on the WEB and found that this is a common occurrence with 2006-2009 Prius. A class action suit was filed against Toyota in 2011 and they settled by meeting the demands, but never recalled and did anything for the rest of us out here that would eventually have this problem. Now with my car being at over 80,000 miles, I'm sure they think a headlight going out is normal. My concern is - it wasn't just a headlight. It caused my entire headlight system to shut down and only came back on when I fiddled with turning it on and off. What if someone out there doesn't do it and ends up in an accident? Toyota needs to recall these cars and fix the problem!! NOW!!!
While driving I noticed that my right headlight would dim over a short period of time and it would go off. When I turned the lights off and then back on, it would come back on. This is a safety hazard as well as a defect that causes a vehicle to fail state inspections.
I purchased a new bulb from Amazon for $50. "Dealer only" part at $300 as far as auto parts stores were concerned. Dealer cost to replace $300. I would never have purchased a car that was fuel efficient but needed $1200 headlights if I knew it ahead of time. Ridiculous. What I've saved in fuel I more than spend on "special order" parts. That's the financial part. Going down the road in the dark is the safety part of my complaint. They "know" about it but they don't have to fix it?
The left (driver's side) headlight keeps going out. I bump the side of the car next to the headlight cover with my hand and it comes back on. It can go out anytime, while driving or not. I know it isn't the bulb. This is a safety concern and I think Toyota should either have a recall or a solution to the problem.
I was on my way home from performing in a concert. While 2/3 of the way home (of 30 miles) my lights all went out. Pitch black. I pulled over to the side of the road. There were huge rocks at the side which I almost hit. I knew I couldn't stay there, so I pulled back into the road and slowly traveled on and tried the lights on and off and finally after a few minutes, they came back on and stayed on. I felt like I was in the twilight zone. How could this happen???? I could have been easily killed! I though maybe it didn't really happen. But it happened to me again tonight, so I looked it up and sure enough - it's a defect in the car. Now what!?
The situation of losing head & rear lights while driving almost gave me a heart attack. In pitch black I had to maneuver to the side of the highway, not knowing exactly where that was. I am lucky to be alive! I turned on my flashers (thank heavens they worked) and drove the last 8 or so miles crawling along with only the flashers giving intermittent light. I don't dare drive at night now!
Toyota USA
Max Paul's Ardmore PA Toyota:
Hopefully you are monitoring this and will do the right thing by your customers.
I am another in a long line of Prius owners asked to pay for a Toyota design flaw: Toyota engineered the (last gen) Prius model such that the front bumper assembly must be removed in order to replace a headlight. Then, Toyota fought to prevent the failure of the HID headlamps from constituting a recall notice. Toyota, and Max Paul's Ardmore Toyota continue to ask their unsuspecting customers to pay for the cost of this design flaw, people who paid a premium price for the trim package including the HID headlight "upgrade".
To All Toyota Prius Owners affected by the HID headlamp problem: do not agree to pay the suggested amount to have your local Toyota Dealer's Service Dept. replace HID headlamps. This is not your fault. Yes, you need to pay for the cost of a replacement lamp - no one expects a lamp to last forever; however, Toyota must be responsible for labor costs to replace these headlamps since it was their design that requires this complicated work to replace a lamp, rather than an easily accessible alternative.
I successfully argued against paying the $275 cost of replacement and suggest you all do the same. Do not go silently along with the amount your Toyota dealer is willing to charge you for something that is not your fault. Argue with them. Toyota knows this is a design flaw. Prius owners know this is a problem. Demand to speak with the service manager, the dealership owner.
The Service Manager at Max Paul's Ardmore Toyota suggested that I "got a really great deal" today for my service bill. Seriously? I had to engage in a protracted discussion with the service rep, who had to refer me to the service manager in order to reduce the suggested cost of $275 - to replace a headlamp.
A known problem of headlights flickering off while driving! I had my family in the car going 80mph down a dark Idaho freeway when all of a sudden -BLACKNESS-!! If it was the Toyota CEO's 3 year old strapped into the car seat behind me then perhaps they would recall these dangerous lights.
Looking at the internet for this, it looks like I won't be able to get it fixed for free due to the mileage of the car (over 90,000), and the fact that the "warranty" was only extended to 50,000 miles, but the site recommended filing a complaint on this and two other sites, so that's what I'm doing. I have calls in to the service manager at two different dealerships to discuss the issue, and I'm going to make it clear that I don't think I should have to pay for it. To me it clearly warrants a recall.
At first I thought it was the light bulbs and kept having them replaced, (which this is the first car I haven't been able to replace on my own) Then one guy said the bulb was just loose. Next time another guy "adjusted" them. I think at one time they "fixed" the problem. Now it's happening again. Not safe driving at night!
I didn't realize the extent of the problem with 2008 Prius'. Problem started around 150K miles and has continued with the alternate headlight going out within a month or so. I recently got ticketed for having a low beam headlight burn out while I was driving. I tried to explain to the officer, but he told me "take it to court" so I am. What a pain in the butt as I live in western NJ where there are a lot of farms and I have to take back roads. Without headlights the likelihood of my hitting a deer is drastically increased. I see that there is no easy fix for the headlight burn out. Moisture in the headlight assy is ridiculous. At least I have enuf evidence that I can give to the court to explain my lack of a headlight. From what I can see Toyota sucks on this issue!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
My left headlight goes out while driving. If I turn my headlights off and then back on it comes right back on, but only for a few minutes usually. This is a huge safety concern and I can't afford a ticket for not having a working head light.
- Marilyn F., Virginia Beach, VA, US