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.
My 2007 Toyota Prius headlights keep going out. Some light manufacturers tell me that this car is the problem, not the bulbs. I had the first set of bulbs replaced with some other work at about 20K miles. The next set was replaced at about 60K miles 2 yrs later. Now they are out again at 76K and 14 months later. Toyota issued a recall for a refund, but the first one was covered under insurance, these next two aren't, yet it appears that I'm going to have to replace these bulbs every 1 - 2 years, which is absurd. They just go out, no flickering or dimming, but just go out with no notice. Toyota should have to recall this issue, make these cars safe, and make it so the bulbs don't have to be replaced every year or two.
After 20K miles the headlights need to be replaced at a cost of over $600. Headlights intermittently go out and come back on. Sometimes passenger side only, sometimes both lights dim then come back up. Turning the headlights on and off seems to correct the issue.
This is a known problem. My headlights fail randomly left, right, or both. If I turn off the light switch then turn it back on the lights will come back. I believe Toyota should acknowledge this as a design problem and fix it. This can cause a dangerous situation at night.
Headlights for 2007 Toyota Prius hybrid 4dr keep going out; the dealers are charging up to $800 to change the bad headlights. I have replaced three drivers side headlights and now the passenger side go out. This is safety concerns as Washington state poor driving conditions with rain and seasonal snow, early night fall.
- Grapeview, WA, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
Both 2007 Prius headlights fail at once leaving me in dark while driving. Many other complaints from Prius owners. Go back on when switched off then on. Intermittent electrical defect. Not qualify for. Class action. 60,000 mi. Requesting reopen investigation. For recall. Urgent safety matter.
Headlamps for my 2007 Toyota Prius fail at night. Bulbs are not burnt out, but the power to them will just shut off. They will work again for a short time if you shut them off and back on again. Happens on both driver and passenger side. Very dangerous, both lights have gone out at teh same time. Manufacturer says cost of repair is $300.
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that the passenger side headlight failed. The passenger side headlight would fail intermittently. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostics or repairs. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.
Two years ago the hid headlights in my 2007 Prius began to fail intermittently. First it was the driver side light only. I found that if I turned the light off and on again the light would work. More recently, both lights began failing. Recently I was on a curvy back road. Both lights failed. Everything went totally black. I managed to turn the lights off and on again and swerve just in time to avoid an accident. I had both lights replaced by Toyota at my own expense since I had more than 50,000 miles on the vehicle. I called Toyota and told them about the incident and that it should be handled as a safety recall before someone is seriously injured or killed.
I am experiencing intermittent headlight problems. The headlights would take turns going out. This would happen while driving. First, the passenger side, then the driver side, and sometimes both. If I turned the light switch off & back on, the headlights would come back on. The problem was very intermittent at first (starting at 41000 miles) but became a real nuisance at 49000 miles. I took the car into the Toyota dealership at around 52000 miles. They said that it was the bulbs. I have replaced both bulbs and the problem still continues.
Driving late at night on the interstate and both headlights failed. Couldn't see anything. Quickly turned headlight switch off and then back on and the lights came back on. Failed again every few minutes. If flipping the switch on/off didn't work we most likely would have all been dead as it was so dark out you couldn't see the road or anything else to stop safely. Had to pull over for the night and stayed at a hotel. Replaced the lights at the dealership. To afraid to drive at night so don't know if the problem still persists. So don't know for sure if it was the headlights or an electrical switch malfunction.
The hid headlights going off while driving with no warning, but if the switch is turned from on to off the light work again momentarily until they go out again. Very unsafe driving conditions, could lead to injuries.
On 10/16/2010 my husband and I attended a wedding reception at a lodge in the Sierra mountains northeast of lake Tahoe. The lodge was reached by driving our 2007 Toyota Prius from our hotel at lake Tahoe northeast on Nevada state highway 431, a steep, winding two-lane road over the summit of mt. Rose at an altitude of 7,100 feet above sea level. After the reception was over we left to return to our hotel. When we left the lodge it was early evening and the sun had set, so we drove with our headlights turned on. Approximately one mile down the road both headlights suddenly went out, plunging us into complete darkness. Since we could not see the road, which had no shoulder, a hillside on the right and a steep drop-off on the left we had no choice but to come to a complete stop. At this point we feared that we might fall victim to a vehicle ramming us from behind since we had no lights on our car. I desperately turned the headlight switch on and off trying both the regular and high-beam settings and, finally, turning the car off and on. This seemed to work and the headlights came back on. But after driving about another mile the headlights again went out. Again, by manipulating the switch and turning the engine off and then on, we managed to turn the lights back on. We then proceeded safely to our hotel without any further incidents. We experienced no additional problems until December, 2010, when we noticed that the headlights seemed to be dimmer than they should be. Then in January, 2011, one of the headlights went out permanently and we took the vehicle to a Toyota dealer for service. I wish to point out that we had no prior indication that the hid headlights were dimming or otherwise malfunctioning. Neither had we received any communication from Toyota that there could be a problem with the headlights or with the electronic control unit. Our experience on October 16, 2010, was a life-threatening situation which could have resulted in a major tragedy.
Both headlights failed while driving. On my way to an event, I noticed that I could not see in front of my vehicle. I turned on and off the high beams, which caused the normal beam headlights to work. As I dropped off my car at valet parking, the valet told me that both my headlights were off. I turned them off and on and they started working. Since my vehicle has 59,000 miles, it does not apply for the class action settlement Toyota negotiated a few months ago. However, I believe many 07 Toyota Prius vehicles that have more miles than the extended warranty allows are having this problem. I have reviewed the database and noticed several recent complaints that state both headlights have gone off, which is different from the hid vehicle issues in the PE09019. Because of that, I believe this is a more serious problem and defect and ODI should investigate this problem.
Driver's side hid light bulb turns off intermittently while driving. Turns back on when headlights are shut off and turned back on, but is significantly dimmer.
Intermittent headlight and brake light failure. If I turn car off and on again, lights work. Was pulled over by a police officer in January. I have headlight failure about once a week, and I likely to continue to get pulled over and cited. I have taken the car into the dealership and they are unable to find a problem.
Complaint involves failure of the hid headlight system on 2007 Toyota Prius. I have had both hid headlight bulbs and electronic control units replaced before 36,000 miles and the headlight system has failed again before 60,000 miles. Fixing the problem requires replacement of hid headlight system by Toyota, costing $2,000 and seems to last less than 30,000 miles before system fails again. Symptoms involve intermittent flickering or failure of one or both headlights. Light returns briefly if light switch is cycled off and then on again. If Toyota is unable to solve this obvious design flaw, then they should be forced to replace these items indefinitely at no cost to the owner.
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Prius. The contact was driving at night approximately 45 mph when the headlights began to flash intermittently making it difficulty to see; yet, the contact was able to continue driving. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer offered a customer support program which provided a remedy for the high intensity discharge headlight. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 80,500.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Franklin, TN, USA