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.
After about five minutes, (varies greatly), one headlight will often go out. Usually it is the left, but not always. Sometimes it is the right. The car has hid headlights, and I usually run them at all times for safety. The headlights will flicker subtly back and forth between the two until one goes out. Going back and forth between high and low beams changes nothing, but quickly turning them off and then back on will re-set the condition, that is, the headlights both come on. Tapping on all known connections has no effect, and either driving or trying to duplicate the condition parked seems to give the same results, that is, the condition is easily duplicated while parked.
Passenger side headlight continues to fail after replacing bulbs numerous times. Passenger headlight works 20% of the time and fails 80%. can occasionally get the light to work again by turning off the lights and turning them back on again. Toyota suggested repair is $1,000+ and no longer covered by warranty.
My 2007 Prius front hid headlamps shut off while I was driving down the ca 14 freeway! I turned the headlight switch off and then on to get it back working again and barely avoided an accident. Driving at 70mph and have the road go completely dark is dangerous for anyone!!!
2007 Toyota Prius...passenger side headlight had been flickering and turning itself off for past month..when light switch is turned off then on, the light continues to work normally. While driving last night, both headlights shut off. I turned the light switch off then back on...both lights came back on. I will be taking to dealer in the near future.
2007 Prius w 95,000 miles. Left hid headlight goes out after being turned on for a few minutes. Cycling the switch to off and back on returns light function, only to have it fail again a few minutes later. Replacement of hid bulbs has not resolved the problem, so this is not normal wear, but an electrical design issue with the vehicle.
- Santa Clara, CA, USA
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2007 Toyota Prius with hid headlights started to go out without warning. Both headlights have had this occur, sometimes the bulb will come back on while driving or it may be on the next time the lights are turned on. I have not had both bulbs go out at the same time but am worried that this will occur at some point. I have received a letter from Toyota that indicates that this condition is normal for hid headlight bulbs but does not advise when the bulbs should be replaced. My Toyota dealer advised not to worry about the condition until the bulb stops working altogether? the replacement of these bulbs is very expensive ($250 per bulb). I believe this is a safety issue and needs to be addressed. I will have to have the bulbs replaced before winter when more night driving is needed. I believe this is a design issue as well as a safety issue.
Intermittent and unexpected failure of both headlight bulbs (independent of each other, and not usually at same time). Turning headlights off then on will usually remedy the situation temporarily. Has been happening for about 18 months, possibly more. Started when vehicle only had about 35,000 miles. One time almost had an accident driving at night, other driver said that she did not see me approaching due to headlight failure. Has not been corrected.
Hid headlights periodically extinguish. Can be turned back on by switching light switch on and off. Had only been one light at a time for about two months prior to today's date, then, last night, while driving, both lights extinguished simultaneously, though both went back on when light switch turned off, then on again. Very frightening experience. I have listed date of dual headlight failure in "incident date" box.
Passenger side headlight flickering for almost a year. Finally stopped working a week ago while driving to airport. On driving home from airport last night driver's side headlight simply turned off while going 40 miles an hour. Fog lamps continue to burn but no headlights on either side. On reading of other's complaints today after calling my dealer to find out what I should do about the problem and getting a quote for $400 replacement, I discover that this is a known issue. I then walked out to my car and did what others said, turned the headlights off then on again. Guess what, the lights came on.
Auto model Toyota 2007 Prius - exterior lighting - headlight failure no accident - no consequences. Suddenly the left headlight started to go out after working fine at initial turn on. The symptoms are exactly those described in NHTSA action number PE09019. After the light turns off, if the headlight switch is cycled - the light comes back on - only to fail some time later. It is an intermittent and sporadic failure. Sometimes when fender is struck, the light will go out. Taken to dealer - they were unable to repeat this failure. No parts replaced. Will take Prius back to dealer tomorrow.
Problems with the headlights in 2007 Prius. The first one on the passenger side went out on 07/07/09 when the car was two years old. This one was covered by warranty. The headlight on the driver side has now gone out intermittently. The same way as the previous headlight. We also had to replace one of our brake lights.
My 2007 Prius started having right headlight failure when I would drive on a rough road it would turn off then back on some 6 months ago. My husband checked the wiring and it came back on. The car had 45000 miles on it at this time. About 3 weeks ago both of them started turning on and off and 2 nights ago while driving home I had to turn them on and off 22 times and they would come back on and then get dim and then turn off. I took it to them at the dealership and they stated the left light was bad and the light and ballast were replaced for the tune of 614 dollars. They did nothing for the right light. I called and opened a case with Toyota who will not pay for ay of it. This should be in a recall!
My 2007 Toyota, Prius passenger side randomly stops working. When turn off the switch and turn on it starts working. This has been going since mid April of 2010. On 08/18/2010 both the headlights stopped working on the freeway. As soon as I turned off the switch and turned on, both head light started working. I have talked to another Prius owner and he seems to have the similar problem with his headlights.
The left hid headlight on my Toyota 2007 Prius went out at 63,000 miles. Took to the dealer for service. I was told that not only would the bulb have to be changed but the chip in back of the bulb would need to be replaced also. Price to replace the bulb/chip was $490. Neither were covered under warranty. Also advised by the dealer that they usually see this happening in pairs and could expect to see my right light go out as well. That would be an additional $490 to replace.
Toyota Prius 2007 with hid lights. One or the other headlight randomly turns off, but to the driver they are unaware unless both turn off at the same time. Toyota dealer replaced bulb twice but problem persisted. Finally the service manager who is also a friend of mine, told me the problem is in one of the circuit boards and he replaced it. That was 5 months ago and it has been fine since then. Toyota, this should be widely known by all your dealers and fixed.
Hid headlights flicker out intermittently and randomly. Turning the lights on and off again turns the offending light back on - this on/off procedure is required 1 time every 5-10 minutes. Sometimes both bulbs go out at the same time. Sometimes one or the other goes out only once during a 20 minute trip. Sometimes they go out 10 times during a 20 minute trip. Changing the light bulbs didn't solve the problem.
I am about to replace the second headlight on my 2007 Prius at a cost of approximately $600. The headlight, which costs approximately $175, has repeatedly failed which failure is apparently caused by a defect in the design and construction of the headlight. This is a serious safety hazard which Toyota should replace immediately. In addition the car is designed so that the front bumper has to be removed in order to replace the headlight (a labor cost of approximately $400). The cost alone is somewhat of a deterrent to replacing the headlight.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Trona, CA, USA