We were driving on route 95 in south carolina it was raining we had been using our bright lights when we suddenly lost our bright lights. When we got to our destination we pulled into a toyota dealership we were informed our head light and fixtures would need to be replaced due to the fact they both sides had exploded we were treated very poorly by toyota.upon investigation this is a common problem with the toyota avalon and a extended warranty had been issued of which we were never notified of and it had expired.a short period of time before the event happened and it cost us $2600 dollar and had to drive with a hazardous vehicle.
2008 Toyota Avalon lights complaints
Page 4 of 8: complaints 71 to 100 of 209, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The headlight high beams went out while driving. This is a known defect and toyota is not addressing. They want 3500 with labor to fix this issue. Should be a recall. Headlights going out at night at unpredictable times should be paid by toyota.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota avalon. The contact stated that the headlights would fail sporadically and without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician diagnosed that the headlight assembly needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 90,000 and the current mileage was 97,614.
Had to replace both high beam bulbs on two occasions (august 4, 2010 (under warranty) and february 4, 2010) including having an electrical component evaluation performed with the last incident.
Both high beams went out at same time while on dark country road. Low beam on right side cuts out after a few minutes of driving. Toyota knows there is a problem because they extended warranty to 72000 miles for the hid lights. This happened after the warranty. The sudden loss of both high beams created a dangerous situation. Fortunately it did not cause a crash. The low beam cutting out as it does is dangerous. My local dealer says both headlight assemblies need to be replaced at a cost of $2660.00. Headlights are a necessary safety feature. Toyota must know they have a problem because of the warranty extension and the numerous complaints on the internet. A friend with the same model had the same issue. I am requesting the federal safety agency to demand toyota recall the toyota avalon limited cars with this type of headlight assembly and replace the lights with a reliable system.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota avalon. The contact stated that the headlights would fail sporadically. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the headlight assembly needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 45,000 and the current mileage was 48,000.
We purchased this car in may 2013. For the past few months, the right headlight has been going off intermittently and now the left headlight is starting to do the same thing. The headlight may or may not come back on while driving but will come back on the next time the car is started. Checking online revealed other complaints concerning the same issue, including both headlights going off at the same time - definitely a safety issue. At this point in time, it appears the high beams are okay.
The high beam headlights stopped working. I later learned the bulbs were shattered. Toyota dealer says because the car now has 80,000 plus miles they will not fit it. The cost to repair is $2600.
Head lights quit working in december of 2010 high beams, toyota fixed them, high beams quit working again on december 24th 2013. This has happened twice.
My 2008 toyota avalon has a defective high beam / low beam headlamp. The high beam bulb burst while in use one night. The vehicle has less than 43,000 miles, but the 60 month warranty expired in july 2013. I noticed the problem in august, just after the warranty expired. My vehicle was due for a safety inspection in october, so I researched information to repair the headlamp and discovered that it is a common problem for 2008 toyota avalons. I went to the dealership in september to determine the repair cost. When the service rep. Saw low mileage, he thought the car was under warranty and estimated the repair to be approx. $1000 to replace the defective headlamp assembly. When he realized the car was out of warranty, he suggested replacing the $65 bulb. I'm concerned that a $1500 repair was instantly reduced to $65 because the car is out of warranty. If the problem is reported within the original warranty period the whole assembly is replaced at no charge and the warranty is extended another 12 months or 12,000 miles. Now I am concerned that the bulb will blow out again at some inconvenient time. High and low beams are required in ma as an annual safety inspection item. Obviously, they are critical for safe driving at night. Why isn't a repair for a common problem / safety hazard like this a recall issue?
Tl- the contact owns a 2008 toyota avalon. The contact stated the driver's and passenger's side headlight stopped illuminating independently. There was a manufacturer recall for the exterior lighting. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated the vehicle was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 49,500. Da
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota avalon. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, the passenger's side headlight malfunctioned. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the wiring harness and headlights needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 73,000.
While driving my vehicle the headlights will go out intermittently. Initially we thought it was the right bulb but sometimes its the left bulb. After contacting the dealership, we were told that it will be about 1500.00 to fix this problem. After doing some research, I found out that the problem will not be solved and many owners of the cars are spending in excess of 2500.00 and the problem continues. Its a safety hazard. I contacted toyota co and the response I received was "the high intensity discharge bulb has an enhanced light output for a better field of vision and thus safety. The bulbs will turn off if the bulb is starting to overheat in order to protect the electronic control unit. There are times by simply turning off the headlights and then back on the hid will turn back on." the lights can be on for 5 minutes and they will turn off. After doing further research I learned this is not an isolated incident but widespread with 2008 toyota avalon. Its dangerous and a safety hazard. Something should be done.
Both high beam lamps went out at the same time while driving at night on a hilly road without any other lights on road -- both bulbs went bad. Dealer at service just wanted to replace them. Several months later I came across bulletin online that stated toyota would replace housing for lamps with new one provided car was under 72,000 miles and 5 years. Although my car was at 4.5 years at time of incident, when I called into toyota, I was at 5 years 1 month, although still under mileage. I was told to have dealer call toyota, which they did not do, despite me repeatedly asking them to do so over the next few months. In the end, I called toyota again and after they were able to reach the dealer, they said that since it was out of the warranty, I am responsible for any repairs or replacement of housing to their new design. I had replaced the high beam bulbs of course, at significant expense since they are not standard bulbs available at auto parts stores, but I fear they will again fail me at night while on a dark hilly road. Plus now, right after finishing another dealer service, one low beam hid lamp is not staying on and goes off. Checking online, I do not seem to be the only one with headlamp issues on this model, high beam or low beam. Please investigate.
Low beam light flickered on and off, tried the high beam lights of which neither would come on. Took the car to the dealer the next day. The dealer tried new bulbs which immediately blew out. The dealer said that both light assemblies were defective and needed to be replaced at a cost of $ 1400.00 each. Was advised that toyota knew that these lights were defective and issued the service bulletin tbs #0044-10 rev 1 extending their warranty from 36,000 miles to 72,000 miles but would not recall them. This car was 1600 miles past the warranty so was not covered. If toyota thinks that lights going out while driving down the highway at night is not a safety issue, I don't know what is.
Bought used in feb 2013. Used little until may. Headlights off and on without warning. Got progressively worse. Took to dealer and they had to install new headlight assembly as per toyotaservice bulletin 0044-10 at a cost to me of $2600. Calls to toyota corporate and toyota extra care resulted in there maintaining that though they knew the problem existed (they even designed a new system) but maintained it was my responsibility and at my cost. For sure most manufacturers would have issued a recall.
When driving, my car has the drl option that utilizes the high beams at a lower voltage during the day. About a couple weeks ago I noticed that my high beams seemed to not be working which is very odd for both bulbs to be out at the exact same time. Sometimes, I need my high beams on dark curvy roads in the area that I live in. I called my dealership(capital toyota) about it and of course they swept it under the rug of: "we havent heard of that before" the service writer was gratious enought to give me a toyota corp. Number 18003314331. So I called and through a couple holds they proceeded to tell me that due to "legal" (you would think that they would be concerned "legally" that owners are having issues seeing at night due to an substandard parts)resonsibilities they would not cover my car in what they are calling an extended warranty soley for the headlight issue they are fully aware of. They said the warranty was for 5 years from the date the vehicle was put into service. My car is one month past said date. Keep in mind that I purchased this car in early june '13. So I was not aware nor did I receive any sort of notification that there was anything that needed to be done or it would have. In fact when I purchased this vehicle I called my local dealership to see if it needed to be caught up on any recall's/tsb's and they said "no". This is a big safety issue that needs to be brought to the national recall level of service if toyota does not see the need in fixing something beyond my control. From what I understand about the issue, simply replacing the highbeam/drl's will not fix the issue. Not to metion the fact that I could receive a ticket by the police for my high beams not working properly. Please keep me informed of any forthcoming information.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota avalon. The contact stated that the low beam headlight malfunctioned and would fail sporadically. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The technician was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 71,500 and the current mileage was 78,697. ## VIN passed ## toyota avalon 2008 ##...updated 11-12-13
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota avalon. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 MPH, the driver's side headlight failed. The contact mentioned that the driver's side headlight would fail intermittently. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was advised that the entire headlight assembly needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 65,000 and the current mileage was 85,000. The VIN was not available.
Low-beam headlights fail intermittently and randomly, including when needed most on dark winding roads creating a severe safety hazard. Temporary solution is to turn off headlights and turn back on to restore lights. Failure is occurring more frequently. Toyota acknowledges problem but refuses to correct for vehicles with more than 75k miles. It costs over $1500 to repair, which is not covered by manufacturer extended 100k mile warranty. They claim it is a wear issue. A full recall must be issued before someone is severely injured or killed. Many similar complaints are found on-line. Manufacturer knows it is problem.
High beams worked sometimes and not other times. Now the high beams and daytime running lamps are completely out. While getting service at the dealer last year, I asked them to check the high beams, but they just said that they were working at the time and they couldn't find any problem at the time. Now that they have stopped working all together - I went to a new dealer and they said that toyota was aware of the problem but didn't do a recall to notify owners, instead toyota just replaced the headlight assemblies as new customers went into dealers with headlight problems. Then toyota extended the replacement to cars up to 40k miles. When I complained to the original dealer who couldn't find any problem, my car was well under 40k miles; however, now I'm told that it will cost $2,600 to fix since the car is now over 40k miles! Why didn't toyota proactively alert owners to this problem so the lights could be replaced? I will never buy another toyota product again.
Headlight on low beams goes out while driving. Will come back on if the car is turnd off and restarted. Happens multiple times. Replaced that light, now the other light started doing the same.
High beam headlight bulb bursts. Seems to be a well referenced design flaw the toyota has failed to recall. 21300 exterior lighting:headlights:high/low beam dimmer switch bulletin no:tsb-0044-10 date of bulletin:08/16/2010 summary description: toyota: high beam/drl bulb inoperative. On some vehicles, the high beam/drl bulb may become inopertive or shatter. A newly designed high beam/drl housing assembly (including the applicable bulb) is available in the event this condition h.
On february 27, 2013 I noticed that both high beam headlights were not working. At that time our 2008 avalon had about 73,000 miles on it. After doing some research on the internet, I learned that toyota had a known problem with the headlight assembly mechanism on the 2008 avalon and had extended the warranty to address this issue in certain circumstances. I contacted my toyota dealer and was informed my car was not eligible for this assistance due to the age and mileage. On may 3, 2013, I noticed that my driver's side low beam light was not working. I did some additional research and learned that the progression of the known headlight assembly problem would eventually lead to the intermittent failure of all head lights. I called two repair locations and received quotes in excess of $2800 to replace the headlight assembly mechanisms. I then called toyota's customer service number and was informed that toyota would not do anything to assist fixing a known safety defect.
Vehicle experiencing the inoperative of daytime running lights(drl) and high beam and low beam bulbs. Previously replaced bulbs. Problem continues after bulb being replaced. Lights return to normal operation when switched to off position and back on. No specific patterns of occurrence. Explanation by dealership when checked was that they did not detect a problem at the time of service. Note entered by service advisor stated "electrical problem".
Driving in dark 2-lane country road, needed high beam for safety and better visibility. High beams did not turn on. During the trip almost hit a coyote but was able to avoid due to driving 45 MPH (20 MPH below posted speed limit). Also, due to slowed speed we constantly were creating a long queue behind us causing many vehicles to unsafely pass us, thus creating another potential hazard. Went to the dealer to fix problem but it would cost $2000 to fix! Toyota was aware of this problem (service bulletin#tsb-0044-10) and they did extend the warranty, but they wouldn't honor that in our car because we were 2 months past the extended warranty period. That was the only time we needed to use the high beam after owning it for 6 months, so the problem could have happened way before the end of the warranty period. Toyota customer service of course was not willing to step up and or at least partially pay for the repairs. Their customer care representative was very indifferent. Toyotas have definitely slipped in quality and customer satisfaction. I will not recommend any other toyotas to my friends and relatives.
Evening interstate headlights fail at 65 MPH then return after headlight switch is cycled to off and back on.... Third occurrence in as many months. No recall info on toyota website. Over 100 complaints on same issue. Does someone have to be injured or killed before this problem is addressed??? Original owner, maybe not for much longer. Get off your butt toyota and address this dangerous situation.
Left headlight works for only about five minutes then turns off but turns back on right away if I turn off then on all lights dealer replaced light in august 2011 but within a few months same problem is occurring. Return to dealer got only a denial of any "ongoing" problems reported (edmunds says otherwise from many irate toyota owners). Dealer only offered to replace the built again ($178.00) or "charge labor to ck the full electrical system (ignoring that only the headlight electrical assembly need be checked and that the assembly can be replaced for around $300.) dealer really wants to ignore the problem and just sell more bulbs. This is likely my last toyota (after having four.)
We have a 2008 toyota avalon. The highbeam lights were hardly used and they went out one night at the same time. We brought the car to a dealership and they had the bulbs replaced. They did tell us that bulbs usually go out one at a time but had no explanation why both went out at the same time. We indicated that the user's manual suggested to look at other parts as burned bulbs would usually be caused by a problem in the electrical system. We were told it was only the bulbs. We just learned after the visit that toyota had sent a bulletin to the dealers about the problem that some 2008-2010 models have a problem with the bulb housing, not the bulbs and the fix is to replace the housing. However, this is not a recall.
We were driving on mountain roads in a snowstorm at night, and discovered we did not have high beams. We took the car to our mechanic once we returned from our trip, and were told that both high beam light bulbs were shattered. Our mechanic told us that this is a issue that toyota is aware of, and that they had issued a service bulletin in january of 2010 for this specific problem. We purchased this car pre-owned certified from a toyota dealership in february of 2011 (more than a year after the service bulletin was released). This problem should have been taken care of before we purchased the vehicle, since the dealership was aware of the service bulletin, and the car was "certified." we were told that the repair would cost $2,400, and was not be covered under our extended warranty. This is a very dangerous problem with this vintage avalon that should warrant a recall, not just a service bulletin.
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