My 2004 toyota prius's hid lights are going off intermittently and coming back on when I turned them off and back on again. The driver's side is going off again and will come back on again when I turn it off and then back on. Also, my headlight leveling system warning light is coming on. When I drive on the highway light goes off, I feel very unsafe. I have to turn them off and back on in seconds to avoid a possible accident. Dealer can't find the issue. They recommend to change the bulbs but it doesn't solve problem.
2004 Toyota Prius lights complaints
Page 3 of 7: complaints 41 to 70 of 184, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Passenger side headlight goes off intermittently.
Headlights (hid) intermittently go out regardless of speed or road conditions. Turning the light switch they come on again and it randomly occurs making driving dangerous. I have replaced the headlights yet the incident recurs randomly making it necessary to turn the lights completely out then on again.
Both headlamps go off and on sporadically, as follows: approximately thirty (30) days after buying this used car, the left hid headlamp appeared burnt out. Both left and right headlamps were replaced on or about january 8, 2013, as recommended for this type of light. On installation, either light would flash on but then go out again, but turning the headlamp switch off then on agan seemed to rectify the problem. Both headlamps then remained on for approximately two weeks, at which point the left headlamp was sporadically out for approximately two weeks, when it would go on only if the headlamp switch were turned off them back on again. Both headlamps then worked for approximately six weeks, at which point the left headlamp went out for approximately four weeks, but then came on after approximately one month when the police found the right light to be out. They said it needed to be fixed; that it is a safety hazard, at which I explained the history of toyota prius headlamp issues and that I would pursue an appropriate remedy for this manufacturing defect. The right headlamp remains out to this date, but did come on for approximately one week in the interim. Turning the headlamp switch off then on again has not helped since the day of installation.
Recently, vehicle has started intermittent outages of hid headlamps. Usually on the driver side, but sometimes on the passenger side. Apparently this is the result of a computer called the hid ballast or something. Toyota is quoting outrageous sums to fix the problem. This vehicle should be recalled and the problem fixed for free.
A couple of month ago, I thought I noticed that the front drivers side hid headlight was off when the passenger side was on. I was driving in my other car while a family member was driving the prius. When I looked at the prius a short time later, both light where on. Over the past couple of months I have noticed that the driver side headlight has been intermittently off when it should be one. Cycling the lights off then on appears to turn both headlamps on for some period of time. There is no indication in the car when the failure occurs, and I am concerned that this creates an unsafe situation while driving at night. While trying to determine if this is a known problem, I came across owner chat groups where others where complaining about the same problem. I also read that there might be an the federal safety agency investigation into similar complaints. I would like to know if an investigation has happened and if so, what was the outcome?
The passenger side headlight goes off every 10 to 15 minutes of driving. Toyota settled a lawsuit on this issue for 2006+, but not my car.
Both headlights would cycle on and off. Turning the headlights off and on with the switch would make them both come on. Unpredictable how long before each headlight would turn off, but they are not in sync turning off and on.
Both headlights turn off and on intermittently without warning while driving. It is very dangerous driving in the dark.
Both headlights suddenly went dark. My wife and I are about 95% sure the entire dash went dark as well. We stopped and toggled the headlight switch, and everything came back on. The dealership recommended replacing the "high intensity discharge" headlights, but they do not know why the dash would have gone dark.
Consistently a single headlight on my 2004 toyota prius would flicker and go out. "it may go off again, in another five or 10 minutes, but I could get them to work again by turning them off and turning on again.
My passenger side hid headlight goes out a few minutes after turning on. When turned off and on again comes back on only to go out a few minutes later.
One of the headlights operates intermittently. Turning the headlights off and back on causes it to light again.
Hid headlights turning off repeatedly, will go out randomly having nothing to do with movement, on time, the light will come back on if switch is turned off then on again but lights are unreliable. Condition is obviously dangerous during night, fog or poor road conditions. Random turning off has kept re-occurring until present time, where light will persist on for only a few minutes at a time. Toyota dealer wants 1,000 or more to repair, while light bulb only costs less than 50 dollars on amazon, stating the defect may have to do with a fuse and or ballast.
While driving my 2004 toyota prius home at night on a dark, winding road, both headlights suddenly went out!!!! There was no light! Pitch black! Crazy! I couldn't believe that my lights were out. My brights were not working either. I didn't know what happened to the car! I thought I was going to wreck/crash. I was about 18 miles from home. As I drove, I turned on my dome lights so the oncoming traffic could see me. After turning the car lights on and off, they came back on, but what a nightmare!!!!! I found out that other toyota prius owners had the same problem with there cars. Toyota needs to fix this problem!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Toyota needs to recall and replace these faulty headlights!
2004 toyota prius with hid headlights is used as a taxi cab. On september 25th, 2012 the drivers side headlight would begin to flicker and turn off after around five minutes of operation. The hid bulb replacement did not resolve the matter. Headlights must be turned off and then on again in order to resume their operation.
The headlights go out randomly while driving at night. You have to turn them off and then turn them back on for them to work and they only last a minute after that. Huge safety issue!!
Random failure of lights, began with driver?s side and continues to occur randomly with greater frequency. Passenger side also turns off randomly, though with less frequency. Many occasions, I have had both lights turn off while driving.
Had the hid headlights replaced 6 months ago because they were intermittently going on and off. Same thing is happening again.
Both headlights go out without warning frequently now. The immediate remedy seems to be to turn switch off and on again to restore them. This has recently become a regular problem as I drive at night. Thankfully the 'fog lamps' are functional and now I am sure to have them switched on in addition to regular headlights so that I am still visible to other drivers.
Left and right headlights failed in november and december of 2009. Headlights were replaced. Left headlight has failed in 2011. I drive 10,000 per year. I do not do much driving with my headlights on.
Single drivers side headlight goes off/on intermittently - fixed by turning headlights off/on.
The passenger headlight and taillight stopped working. We replaced the tail light bulb only for it to stop working two days later. We replaced the tail light bulb once a week for a month, and for now it continues to work. The headlight, however, continued not working for about two weeks, then began working again only for the driver side headlight to stop working. After turning the headlight switch off then back on both headlights began working. However, after 10 minutes both went out again. Ever since then, it is always a guess as to which headlight, if any, will work at dusk. Sometimes they will both work for about a week before quitting. I was given an odi# of 10453541.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota prius. The contact stated that the high intensity discharge (hid) headlights would intermittently fail. The failure recurred for approximately one year. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where they advised the contact that the balances on the front headlights needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure and the current mileage was unknown. The VIN was unavailable.
Headlights go out randomly and only come back on by turning light switch off than on. Replaced bulb and problem continues.
Both headlights went out on narrow winding roads at night. Almost crashed into tree. I turned the switch back off and than on and lights came back on. Since than, the right headlamp goes on and off at night and sometimes both go out. The dealer says it will cost over $1000 to fix. I have read many complaints. Am I entitled to some kind of help? My wife will take the car on occasion and it has happened to her. Is there a recall? I don't think it is a light issue if they go back on what is being done about this?
I was driving at night on a narrow country road, lined with trees, at 55 MPH. Suddenly , both head lamps shut off. It is a miracle that I didn't wreck, I could not see a thing, and braked blindly. As I was coming to a stop I turned the light switch on and off and the lights came back on. Before I could get home, the lights went off 2 more times!
Intermittent headlight problem. I purchased the car with 111,500 miles on it, and almost immediately noticed that the passenger's side headlight is intermittent when viewing my reflection in the bumper of the car in front of me. Sometimes it runs fine for over an hour, other times it doesn't last 5 minutes. Turning the headlights off, and immediately back on relights the headlight. This is not only happening at night, but also during the day when they are used as daytime running lights. I made a video of it happening: http://tinyurl.com/intermittentpriushid I am not the only person having this problem with their prius. Others have reported this problem with 25,000 to 40,000 miles. It is very hard to notice because the hid headlights are so bright it is hard to tell when one is not working, which actually means this problem may have existed on my prius for a long time without the previous owner noticing. To illustrate my point, this priuschat thread has over 870 responses to date regarding this hid headlight problem: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-care-maintenance-troubleshooting/34584-headlight-problem-17.html thus far I have not noticed this problem in my driver's side. This is a very real safety concern.
Headlights dont work, overheating bulbs $800 to replace, you go toyota your car sucks.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 toyota prius. The contact was driving 35 MPH when both headlights failed intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who confirmed that the ballast failed for the headlights. The manufacturer was contacted but the vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 90,000 and the current mileage was 96,000.
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