Our 2011 Prius model III with moonroof and roof solar panel is used seasonally as it's not the best vehicle for Michigan winters, so we drive when roads are not snow covered. The headlamp issue has been ongoing since we purchased brand new. The first few times the dealer covered. But lately we get approximately 3 months of drive time and have to replace the headlamps. We have had them replaced five times. My husband is a big believer that if one goes out, you replace both because it usually isn't long before the other will go out. This is something that we believe is a glitch with the make of the car and model year.
This little Prius has been great aside from the headlamps and the dimness of the headlights. Even with the brights turned up, its like driving our Lexus on low beams. We love our Toyota hybrid products, just wish there was a better solution to the problem! Would really like to see this issue with headlamps resolved as people buying Prius's do so to be conscious of our environment and the economic factor of 40+ MILES PER GALLON... Lol.
My daughter's Rav4 AWD hybrid is looking like my next option for hybrid replacement vehicle after we drive the wheels off this Prius At 110k miles, its going to be a while. By the time I get to trade in, cars will probably be "Jetson style" drones!
Driving in the storm yesterday and all of a sudden my headlights go out. (driver side headlight). Almost crashed my car because I could not see anything on the road. Pulled into Cupertino CA to check my car, headlight on the driver side is out and the passenger side light was very dim. Something must be wrong here, so I looked online to see if there is a problem but Toyota won't admit to it. They charged me $180 to look at the car to see if it qualifies for their repair problem.
I was told from the employee they are taking in tons of 2010-2011 Prius with the same problem and parts for the kit is currently back ordered from all the shops. Seems to me that there is a recall in order for this problem. Toyota is not admitting that its a problem so they are charging customers $180 just to look at the car? That is just ridiculous! I heard the program will be going till October 31, 2019 regardless of mileage.
Like I said before its not a recall. Currently there is a Class Action Suit just for this problem. Love my Prius but I don't like to be charged if there is clearly a problem with the cars headlight kits. Toyota do right by your loyal followers and admit there is something wrong with the headlight units.
Initially, my left headlight burned out. Not thinking much of it, I replaced the bulb. Then the light burned out again. When I went to replace it, apparently, the seat for the bulb was "melted" so that the bulb would not seat correctly...therefore, the light now aims at the center line of the road and cannot be made to stay facing directly ahead of the vehicle. Approximately 6 months later, the passenger side headlight burned out. I replaced it with a new bulb, but it too will not face directly in front of the car. This makes driving in the dark VERY unnerving and dangerous, when all you can see are the center line and the trees on the right side of the road. I've heard that other Prius owners have also had issues with the headlights going out frequently. A friend of mine said that the problem became so frequent with her Prius, and Toyota denied any responsibility, but only wanted to charge her a huge amount of money to replace the bulbs, that she decided to go with the new Hyundai Hybrid, and sold her Prius. Is there not a recall on this issue?
My 2011 Prius has been bullet proof except for this annoying problem with the headlights burning out frequently. At first I thought I must have forgotten when I last replaced my bulbs but since I STARTED KEEPING TRACK I HAVE NOTICED AS CLOSE AS 6 MONTHS APART FOR REPLACING THESE BULBS!!! This simply is not acceptable!!! You save on gas but pay for bulbs as frequently as every 6 months. I am not using HIDs or very bright light bulbs, just normal ones and they go for less than a year. I have read that there may be a TSB for thin wiring going to the headlights maybe causing the premature bulb outage. ?????
Both main headlamps have burnt out regularly for ~2.5 years. It seems to be getting more frequent. Luckily I can buy the part and install it myself, but to actually go to a mechanic and check the electric wiring is a different amount of time and money entirely.
Have had to replace headlights at least 5 times since car was purchased, but 3 times in the last 2 years, and now twice in the last 6 months. Issue begins with driver's side light going out and then the passenger side light is too dim for use at night. Have to use brights to see. This is not a mild-annoyance, it is a significant safety issue. This should be a recall. Was quoted $900 for the fix. Completely absurd for a key safety feature of a vehicle.
It seems Toyota has a CSP about this problem. The dealer said it was a TSB but in talking with Toyota they called it a Customer Service Problem and offered no help beyond standard warranty. When asked how long they knew this problem existed, I was told 3 to 4 years. I tried to explain, if I had known of the potential, I would have returned the vehicle while it would be a covered repair. Their reply, "sorry you did not know".
For the 5th time I am replacing one or two of the headlight bulbs. I no sooner replace one and the other one or the same one goes out again. This is becoming ridiculous. The car has had this problem since about 2 years into owning it. We're changing light bulbs like underwear! Now my right head light is foggy and always has condensation! What a shame, such a nice car otherwise!!!
Have owned many (over 20 cars) over the years and can only recall replacing one headlight rarely in a car. Had several other Prius that never required replacement. Seeing similar complaints leads me to think there is some engineering problem.
its really annoying spending $50.00 on headlights every three months because my headlight keeps dying on me for no reason on the passenger side. can anyone think of any reason why this is happening?
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Our 2011 Prius model III with moonroof and roof solar panel is used seasonally as it's not the best vehicle for Michigan winters, so we drive when roads are not snow covered. The headlamp issue has been ongoing since we purchased brand new. The first few times the dealer covered. But lately we get approximately 3 months of drive time and have to replace the headlamps. We have had them replaced five times. My husband is a big believer that if one goes out, you replace both because it usually isn't long before the other will go out. This is something that we believe is a glitch with the make of the car and model year.
This little Prius has been great aside from the headlamps and the dimness of the headlights. Even with the brights turned up, its like driving our Lexus on low beams. We love our Toyota hybrid products, just wish there was a better solution to the problem! Would really like to see this issue with headlamps resolved as people buying Prius's do so to be conscious of our environment and the economic factor of 40+ MILES PER GALLON... Lol.
My daughter's Rav4 AWD hybrid is looking like my next option for hybrid replacement vehicle after we drive the wheels off this Prius At 110k miles, its going to be a while. By the time I get to trade in, cars will probably be "Jetson style" drones!
- ROTO-ROOTER O., East Leroy, MI, US