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 headlight has began failing after only 45,000 miles. If I turn off the car and turn it back on, the headlight comes back on. It is an intermittent issue. The dealer has told me that I need to have the bulb replace already and it is not covered under the Toyota extended warranty. They want almost $500 to replace one hid bulb! there must be a problem with Toyota's supply of hid bulbs! there is no way that people can afford to pay 500 every 45,000 miles to replace one headlight! these things are supposed to last for many years and I've only had my car for just over two years. Is there anything you can do to help with this? there are hundreds of complaints on the internet from other Prius owners experiencing this same problem. Thank you.
The headlights on my 2006 Toyota Prius randomly turn off, luckily only one at a time so far, then turn back on when I switch the lights on and off, or after I restart the car. The car is 2.5 years old with about 55,000 miles on it.
Hid headlights failed prematurely on a 2006 Toyota Prius. Manufacture states would last life of vehicle or approx 190,000 miles. Dealer has indicated it will cost $900 to replace 2 bulbs (incl labor to remove bumper). I have read that hundreds of owners experienced exact same problem with 2006 Prius. Obvious that there was a material failure issue and the dealer will not budge to replace defective bulbs/controllers. Safety issue as the light goes out intermittently - without warning.
The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Prius. While driving approximately 35 mph, the exterior lights on the passenger side lost power. As a result, the contact could only drive with the high beams activated. He stated that the exterior lighting on the passenger side has been losing power intermittently for the past year. The vehicle was driven to the dealer on three occasions. The first two times the mechanic stated that the failure could not be duplicated. On the third visit, the dealer stated that the computer that controls the hid headlights was defective and needed to be replaced. The mechanic also stated that the hid headlamp needed to be replaced. The vehicle has been repaired, but the manufacturer has not been notified. The VIN was unavailable. The current mileage was 51,056 and failure mileage was 38,000.
- Spring Grove, PA, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
'06 Prius. Had it's hid headlights changed a year prior due to the lights just 'turning off' while driving. Flicking them off/on would turn them back on for a bit. They would turn off randomly and often while driving, often with both lights turning off completely. This is a serious safety concern, considering they were replaced and continued to fail following that replacement.
My Prius 2006 driver side headlight is malfunctioning. I took it to Toyota dealer to check it out and they said the headlight 'leveler' sensor was defective - which I didn't replace because it was out of warranty. Two weeks later (June 2008), I got in a car accident (side-swiped). It was the other driver's fault (uninsured). However, since it was dark, the police suspected the defective headlight may have caused the accident. My insurance paid for repairs ($3,000) and replaced the headlight leveler. The driver's side headlight is still malfunctioning and I was stopped by the police on 11/16/08 about my defective headlight. My car is past warranty and research on Prius chat forums shows that it's a Toyota defect. I'm concerned that I will get into another accident because of this www.priusonline.com/viewtopic.php?F=3&T=11141&St=0&sk=T&sd=a&start=135.
Hid drivers side headlamp turns on when switched on but after a few minutes it flickers and turns off. The headlamp must be turned off and back on to re-light the whole time the car is being driven. This defective light is clearly more dim in color as well.
One of the headlights stopped functioning intermittently at about 30,000 miles. Dealers service department said they could not recreate the failure, suggested that everything was in order, and therefore did nothing to address the problem. Now, at 35,000 miles, I am having incidents of both headlights going out. This is extremely dangerous, as it's unpredictable. I suddenly find myself driving in the dark with only my parking lights on. I took the car to the dealer and asked again for them to fix the problem. I was told when I picked up my car that they again had found nothing wrong - the headlights were "performing" and the service department supposedly didn't have enough time to diagnose the problem further (even though I left my car for the day and left my cell phone for them to contact me). I believe this is a very serious manufacturer's defect with the headlights, as I have now found numerous internet posting describing the exact same problem - headlights that fail intermittently at very low mileage with no warning.
2006 Toyota Prius purchased from beaman Toyota in nashville, Tennessee, February "06 (even though Toyota says the delivery date was November "05) at approximately 25000 miles, the driver side high intensity headlight began to go out when I was driving, I couldn't see it. I would see that it was out in the reflection of the trunk lid of another vehicle. If I simply turn the light switch off and back on the light would come back on and would not go off for a while. At first, it only happened sporadically, but over some months got much worse. I took it to a dealer, they replaced the bulb. They said it was under warranty and the $430 was covered. $430 for a headlight bulb"?????? they said they had to take the bumper off the car to get to the bulb. I let that pass, but then the passenger side headlight did the same thing. Again, it was sporadic. In October ?08 it began to cause a real problem. I could not drive more than a mile without it going out. On November 14, 2008, I took it back to the dealer. Again it was a bad bulb. I have watched this problem for quite a while and I do not believe it is the bulb. Even though I had purchased the 100,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty, naively thinking it would take care of things like this, I was told it would cost $535 and that I would have to pay out of pocket because it was considered ?maintenance? and was not covered under warranty. $535 for a headlight bulb????????maintenance???????? what if both headlights go out while driving at night??????? if I live, you know who I?M going after. But, not only is this a safety issue and just plain wrong, this is a really poor design. I know Toyota has to make a profit, and everyone else who even breaths on this bulb has to make a profit. But, this is exorbitant and I consider it gouging. I also found I could buy this bulb on the internet for $108. Why has Toyota not addressed this problem ?" this is a serious safety issue.
One or both headlights will stop working. Turning light switch off and then on will restore working lights. Problem occurs frequently (multi times in a day) and dealer can not find a problem.
Driver side headlight goes out intermittently, goes back on if I shut lights off and turn back on. Dealer says bulb is bad, not covered on regular or extended warranty. This is a serious safety issue. This has been going on for several months.
My 2006 Prius' front left headlight has been shutting off randomly and will re-light only when I turn the lights completely off and turn them back on. This is extremely dangerous as the only way I can tell when my left front headlight is out is when I see my reflection in a car behind me. I took the car to the dealership and was informed there was nothing wrong with my car. However, upon further research I have found out this is happening to numerous Prius owners. Nothing has been done to correct this failure because I can not get the light to "shut off on command". this happens every time I turn on my car - both lights will be operable for approx. 5 - 15 minutes (never know exactly when it turns off) then the left bulb will go out. I know it is illegal to drive with a headlight out and very dangerous, but don't know how to fix this problem!
Hid headlights went out intermittently and were able to turn them back on to continue to work. I took the Prius to the Toyota dealer and they replaced the computer board and headlights on both sides of the car.[right side and left sides] this was done in 2007. I bought the car new in 2006. And now the right side is having the same problems as back in 2007.
2006 Toyota Prius headlights intermittently go on and off, usually one at a time, but sometimes both at once. Turning them off and then back on temporarily resolves the problem. The problem with intermittent hid headlight operation appears to be common with the Prius, but is also occurring with other models. I own a sienna with the same problem. The dealer first replaced the hid computer $1,100, then the bulb $400, and now tells me I need a whole new headlight assembly for another $1,100. This is all in three months. The service technician said "if its not working, give it a little hit with your fist." Not easy to do on the highway. The point is that inoperable headlights are a safety issue, police officers can stop you for it, and you cannot pass inspection without operating headlights. Reading the posts on this site, it is clear that there is a manufacturing defect that is contributing to the problem.
Intermittent failure of hid headlights on 2006 Toyota Prius. Occurs frequently when driving, either light or both turning off randomly. In every case to date switching off and on again has restored the failed beam(s).
Both headlights intermittently go out. Each will turn on, but then one or both will go off while driving. They will go back on when the lights are completely switched off and then switched on. Sometimes it will occur with just one headlight. Other times, it will happen to both. The dealership services dept. Told me that the problem is common with this model. It cost me almost $900 to repair. I also got warning ticket from police when one light went out while I was driving.
My headlamp will turn off at random times. At first it was just the driver's side headlamp, now it is both headlamps. It occurs almost daily. I took my car into the dealership and told them about the issue. The replacement of the headlamps will cost over $700. When the car was under warranty they found no issues, as soon as it was out of warranty they wanted to replace them. After I did not replace them, all of a sudden they could run a diagnostics to determine if they were faulty. Where was this diagnostics the first two times?
Hid passenger headlight intermittently go off. Turning the headlights completely off and on again will make the headlights turn back on. Will work for a day, sometimes and then it happens again. Has been reported 220+ times at NHTSA site.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Charlotte Hall, MD, USA