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.
I have a 2006 Toyota Prius on which both hid headlights intermittently fail. I started observing the problem around with around 40,000 miles on the car. The most frequent occurrence is that only 1 light goes out, though on more than one occasion, both headlights have failed simultaneously. When I approached my Toyota dealer with the problem, pointing out that it appears to be a defect and a significant safety concern, they told me the bulbs need to be replaced and this is not covered under my extended warranty. Though I did not get a written quote, the cost was identified at about $350 + labor and taxes per side. I expressed my significant concern at this cost for an issue which appears to be a design or manufacturing defect and I was only directly to contact the Toyota customer care center.
I have an intermittent driver's side headlight on my 2006 Prius. I have been stopped by the police for safety reasons and I am concerned as it goes out, without warning, at night. The frequencies is every few minutes of so. I must continually switch the lights off and back on to get the headlight working for a few minutes. Toyota knows of this problem but will not acknowledge it or fix it. The dealer knows of the problem but insists that I spend over $600 for a headlamp. (they later agreed to give me the lamp but want a $200 "deductible" to fix it.) I have been trying to get this fixed for over a year now but have had no results.
Standard headlight failure in a 2006 Toyota Prius. I've replaced 4 sets of bulbs since December 2008. The bulbs fail in normal operation, typically the low beam fails first, then the high beam. Generally both bulbs fail within a few hours of each other. I've had he car to the dealer twice for this problem. The first time, they could find no problem. The second time - today - they say the sylvania silverstar bulbs I've been using aren't Toyota parts so that's the problem, not the car. I was convinced this is defect in the vehicle that the dealer just can't be bothered to identify, but after a brief google search I found that I am not alone. Most complaints involve hid systems, but there are numerous posted complaints involving the standard headlight system installed on my car. This is a serious safety defect and it will lead to serious injury and/or death if it is not investigated and corrected quickly. Please intervene on my behalf and on the behalf of all the other Prius owners who are getting no support from Toyota in resolving this defect.
- Vienna, WV, USA
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I own a 2006 Toyota Prius. One or both of the headlights go off while driving. Turning the light off then on will bring the lights back on. Apparently this is a problem shared by many Toyota owners with the high intensity discharge bulbs. (deduced by online blog chat) replacing the bulbs seems to require replacing a headlight light control ECU sub-assembly. Working headlights can run close to $900. Toyota rationalized this extremely expensive system by estimating that it would last 7 years and provide better light. My vehicle is only 3 yrs and 8 months old so those bulbs didn't live up to their life expectancy. Also, I would say that on my own subjective evaluation the headlights always appeared rather dim. The light seemed just barely acceptable.
I have an intermittent problem with passenger side hid light on my 2006 Toyota Prius. Several people have informed me that the light was out. When I checked the light it was back on and working. I find from the internet that this is a huge problem with the 2006-2008 Prius. I am attempting to get the Toyota dealer to solve the problem. It is a highway safety issue that Toyota needs to resolve with a recall.
2006 Toyota Prius, L headlight has been turning itself off while driving. On 8/13/09 both headlights began turning off while driving. I was able to turn lights off and back on again and lights came on for a few minutes then started turning off again.
The passenger side headlamp on my 2006 Prius will unexpectedly turn off. If I quickly turn the lights off and on again, then it will usually fix the problem but not all of the time. This headlamp failure happens about 80% of the time that I use my headlamps. The dealer wants $1700 to fix the problem which they say has an unknown cause. The cost is excessive for me at this point.
Hid lights intermittently failed. Sometimes turning them off and then back on would temporarily "fix" the problem. Replaced driver's side light several months ago. Just replaced the passenger side light today at the dealer, costing over $250.
My 2006 Toyota Prius has a problem with headlights going out intermittently. Toyota says they replaced lights after we insisted there was a problem. They noted problem was caused by a short that they say nothing about fixing. It took 2 visits to get problem resolved due to intermittent nature. I think this is a defect and dangerous. They need to address this problem. There are numerous postings on web of this and all indications are that lights and control modules have problems. I am writing to national center for dispute settlement, but think ODI needs to step in. Thanks.
I own a 2006 Toyota Prius. I am experiencing failure of the headlamps for the second time in 15 months. Last year when the headlights would go out while driving, turning off the headlights and then turn them back on the lights would have the light working again for a short time. I had the lights replace last summer and they then worked. Now the issue is starting again. I have own many different cars and have never had to replace headlights multiple times in 15 months.
I complained to my service dealer about a front headlight in my 2006 Prius that kept turning off. I was told that to repair the problem it would require a new part to be installed at a cost of approx. $400. I indicated at the time that I was unprepared financially to pay $400 to fix the issue. In the meantime I have discovered that this is a known issue with quite a few Prius models. In fact currently I consider this problem to be a major safety issue as very often my left, right and sometimes both headlights will shut off while driving the car. This is extremely dangerous at night as I have found myself driving on the road and both headlights shutting off at the same time. The work-around for this safety hazard is currently to turn off and turn back on the headlights but as you can see this is not a permanent solution. I love everything else about this car except for this dangerous problem and feel that as a consumer I should be able to drive a car in which I am confident the headlights will not automatically shut down while driving. There is obviously some fault in the design or performance of the headlights mechanism and Toyota should perform a recall on this, or at least pay for the necessary fixes to repair this issue.
Intermittent hid headlights of Toyota Prius 2006-2009: The hid headlights tend to fail intermittently after the vehicle is 2 -3 years old. These lights can be restarted by switching the headlights off then back on. It is only a matter of time before both lamps will fail in a serious situation and serious injury or death will occur. I highly recommend that Toyota be made to recall these vehicles and either change out these lamps or replace them with some other lamps that have definite failure so that the owner knows they must be replaced. The cost to replace the headlights is very expensive and Toyota should also be forced to modify these vehicles to encourage headlight replacement asap.
Headlights fail intermittently while driving. Headlights work again after light switch is turned all the way off and on again. This appears to be a frequent problem with this car based on internet postings.
The headlights on my 2006 Toyota Prius start going out on their own after about 18 months. I had both replaced in fall of 2007 and they both started to fail again in spring of 2009. They will both go out on their own while I am driving or one at a time will go out. Turning the switch completely off and back on turns the headlights back on.....for awhile.
On my 2006 Toyota Prius, the hid headlamps frequently flicker and turn off at differing times. I've had the connections checked in case something was loose, but all connections were tight. I'm worried the lights will shut off when I'm in an area with no streetlights to light the road, thus potentially causing harm to myself and my occupants.
Hid headlamps on a 2006 Toyota Prius will shut off at random times. Turning the lights off then back on will re-engage the headlamps. There have been times where both lamps have shut off at the same time.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Huntington, VT, USA