While driving at night my passenger headlight went out. Thinking it was the bulb I went to Autozone to buy a bulb. The employee at the store said it was probably not the bulb since it sometimes would work. After a few more weeks it changed to the driver side headlight. It has gone out multiple times while driving on the freeway at night. Then I looked on line and see others have this problem and Toyota doesn't cover it.
My headlights went off while I was driving in my 2008 Toyota Prius at night. I was out in the boonies on highway 20 in the mountains, driving 55 miles an hour, when my headlights went off. There are no street lights in the boonies and It was pitch dark, a very dangerous situation, to say the least. I'm lucky I didn't run off the road or get in a wreck. I'm 74 years old and my vision is not as good as it used to be and I had to drive 40 miles to my house, with just my fog lights. I tried the lights the next day and they worked just fine. Great! Its bright daylight out and I don't need them and they work just fine. What the heck is going on?
I haven't had the car looked at yet. I called my local Toyota dealer, to see if there was a recall on the problem, they said there wasn't and it's probably the light bulbs and it would cost me $120 just to look at the car and assess the problem. I checked on the internet and found that this is a common problem for this car and replacing the light bulbs cost around $500 and it doesn't solve the problem. So, I don't know what to do. Why would I spend $500 on the problem, when it doesn't solve the problem??? I can't believe there is no recall on a problem of this nature, as it's a very dangerous defect.
Very unsafe, and recall needs to be made. Left headlight goes off randomly, and sometimes comes back on when headlights are turned off and then on again.
Sometimes one, sometimes the other, sometimes both headlights just go out while driving. Turn switch off then on and lights return. Unable to solve. Happens frequently (say six times per evening) and cops stop us often. Would very much like to have a solution but do not want to pay Toyota to go "chasing" an electrical problem.
- Burleigh W.,
Jefferson, NH, US
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The right headlight was going out intermittently and tonight they both went out at the same time. One time I turned on my brights and then turned the lights off and back on. They came on for a few miles and then went out again. I don't feel I can safely drive my car at night because our city has a low light ordinance due to NASA observatories in our area so there are no street lights either. Very dangerous!
The headlights fail every time I drive the car. I thought it was the bulbs at first so I kept paying to have them replaced, but then was told by one of the mechanics that he has the same model and year prius that does exactly the same thing. Always the driver side headlight and sometimes the passenger side. It flickers and dies. If you turn the lights off and then back on again, the lights come on for anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes but then die again. I was driving at 9:00 PM about a month ago on a dark country road. As I prepared to make a left turn, my headlights BOTH died and I ended up in a ditch. If I have to drive anywhere at night, it is always an adventure because I cannot keep both lights on - and sometimes both fail. So far they have both come back on when I switch the lights off and then on again, but I am concerned about both eventually NOT coming back on. It isn't the bulbs. I have replaced the bulbs repeatedly and they are obviously not the problem. One thing I have noticed is that the issue with the lights failing seems to occur more frequently when it is rainy or foggy or just really moist.
Prius headlamp works intermittently ..... goes off without notice - very dangerous in winter weather
Dealer doesn't know what is causing it (but there are reports of hundreds of failures nationwide) and wants to replace bulb + replace ballast/computer chip for a total bill of over $1,000.
Have a long term warranty (good to 100,000 miles) but this dealer (not the original purchase dealer) doesn't want to bother with contacting the long term insurance company - claims can't find the phone number on his computer even though they have done warranty work from this insurance company on this Prius.
Ever since my fiance and I have had this car (late 2015, bought used with about 98,000 miles on it) there has ben intermittent headlight failure! We thought we needed the headlights replaced and that would solve the problem. First of all, the specific headlight type for this vehicle (VIN JTDKB20U583350879) is very expensive. About $100 per bulb! Secondly, they are so difficult to replace that my trusted, long-time auto shop had to remove the entire front bumper to replace them, costing me $300 in labor. That's a total of $500 for repairs, just for headlights! Then, just a few months later, the intermittent headlight failure started again. It is happening now (Sept 16, 2016) and is a threat to my safety. I have been pulled over twice by the police for having a "burned out headlight," but I switch the lights off and back on again and they work fine for another 20 minutes or so. This problem is absolutely a threat to the safety of drivers, passengers, and others on the road at night. Headlight replacement itself is so outrageously expensive that it is absurdly unfair that unsuspecting vehicle owners should be responsible for the cost. Toyota needs to recall these vehicles and pay for the repairs to the electrical system. I am afraid that if Toyota does not take responsibility for this problem, they will eventually be sued by someone who is hurt in an accident caused by this problem.
My wife, 2 children, and I were road tripping tonight, and at about 1:30am both our headlights spontaneously failed on our 2008 Prius while going down the highway at 65mph. Fortunately, we are safely off the highway in a safely lit place, and now our headlights are spontaneously better. We're freaked out and trying to find somewhere safe to spend the night until we can drive in daylight because we don't know if they'll go out again. It looks like we're probably sleeping in a hotel parking lot until daylight.
Does anyone out there know how to help force Toyota to make this defect right? Any lawyers, safety activists, or friends who know lawyers with advice are greatly appreciated. We currently own a car that we can no longer drive at night.
I found this article on this situation, and it describes our problem perfectly:
I have to replace a head lamp bulb ever month randomly between both headlamps. If any one knows why let me know please the bulbs are expencive even when I do the work. My email is jwkostrzewa@gmail.com
I was driving down the unlit interstate at 70mph at 11:30 at night and my headlights shut off..... Both of them. I quickly flipped the switch off then back on and they came back but this could have easily caused a fatal accident.
I had this problem before, and it cost me $550.00 to replace the bulbs and ballast at Toyota dealer. The damn same thing is happening again. My lights blink out and I have to turn them off and on again to get them to work. I'm ready to tape flashlights on the hood, because I'm not spending another $550.00 for headlights.
My headlights turned off unexpectedly while I was driving on the interstate. Each time I was able to turn them back on manually, but was quite impossible to see at 70mph on a rural stretch of road!
I was given this car by my dad and the light problem was one of the main problems in the car. He said that he'd been having problems out of the lights but never fixed them just dealt with it. My right headlight goes out for about a month and then suddenly pops on foe an hour. I clicked the lights off and then on again because my left headlight tends to just go off while I'm driving and lo and behold the right one went out again. I have changed the bulb twice. There should have been a recall on this issue and they charge you an arm, leg, and neck to fix it. I just feel like when you manufacture something, if its not properly built and thousands of people are complaining about an issue they should be responsible for the errors. With all the money the company makes it shouldn't be a problem fixing a few cars issues that the company built wrong.
Head light works intermittently on my 2008 Toyota Prius
Both HID headlights come on when I turn on my lights. After driving for an undetermined amount of time (the time frame varies) the driver side headlight turns off. I am able to get the light to come back on by turning my lights off and then back on. This is a huge safety issue however, since I am unable to see the roadway during the time it takes to turn the lights off and back on (I drive county roads where there are no street lights). I have had the headlight replaced, however that did NOT resolve the problem.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
While driving at night my passenger headlight went out. Thinking it was the bulb I went to Autozone to buy a bulb. The employee at the store said it was probably not the bulb since it sometimes would work. After a few more weeks it changed to the driver side headlight. It has gone out multiple times while driving on the freeway at night. Then I looked on line and see others have this problem and Toyota doesn't cover it.
- Stacey C., Seal Beach, CA, US