Headlights come on intermittently. Usually they work fine, but every so often since my friend first told me my lights were out last week, they don't turn on whether the car is running or not. It can happen to one or both lights at a time, and is unpredictable, making me afraid to drive at night. I took it to the mechanic's today, but the lights were working and he couldn't determine the problem. The bulbs are fine, as long as they are able to turn on, and the mechanic agreed the bulbs do not need replacement.
2005 Toyota Prius lights complaints
Page 2 of 13: complaints 11 to 40 of 346, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Headlights intermittently go out while driving. Immediately will come back on when switched off and then on..
The combination meter on my 2005 toyota prius is not working. So my instrument panel will go out or go dark and my car will keep running
The head light on the drivers side randomly goes out. If I turn the light switch off and on it may come back on. New lamps have not fixed the problem. This problem has happened at night while driving on the interstate.
The hid headlights work upon start up then shut off after about 10 seconds. Replacing the bulb does not fix it. This is a safety issue as the headlights dont stay lit during nighttime hours.
The headlight will go out, and it will come on again if you turn the headlights off and turn them back on again. This will happen multiple times in an evening, and it happens every time the car is driven.
Driver side headlight keeps going out and I have to turn off headlights and turn them back on to make them work. This is not safe at all. It happens standing still and driving.
Headlight goes out repeatedly. Headlight works again after headlights are turned off then on again. Started with the same one headlight going out. Now the other. Sometimes both go out, including at night. Each time the headlights must be turned off then on again and they work for a while longer. Lights go out when stationary and when driving.
The headlights are prone to turning to off randomly, sometimes one side, other times both sides. After turning them on/off at the steering column they will come back on for a while then the issue starts over. This problem occurs with the vehicle either moving or in the stationary mode. No headlights when driving at night is a definite safety hazard. So far, toyota refuses to honor a fix!
Headlight came off and on while I'm driving all fuse ok all bulbs ok looking on the web appears like this is a common problem on this vehicle also radio light same problem
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 toyota prius. While driving 25 MPH at night, the headlights failed to work without warning. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted at 800‑331‑4331 and stated that the VIN was not included in a recall. The approximate failure mileage was 181,308.
The headlights are continually replaced (once every 6 months for the last year and a half or more), and replacements of authorized parts keep failing, consistent with issues presented in this forum: https://priuschat.com/threads/headlight-problem.34584/. I have checked and rechecked with dealership but they only offer $500+ replacement and no recalls or fixes for the general issue.
Passenger headlight goes off intermittently. Turn switch off and on and comes on again. Have had bulb replaced x2 and now toyota dealer says that toyota has a bulletin about it. Note to the tune of $500 to fix. In researching this seems to be a common problem. It's a hazard at night or in rain or inclement weather and evidently something toyota has had complaints about enough to put out a bulletin. Vehicle in motion, highway miles. I believe some sort of short but certainly not mechanic. This has been happening since january 2017. Two new bulbs plus labor and now told wiring mechanism. Help. If toyota knows a problem, address it in a recall.
Head lights dims after 2 minutes of driving then few seconds later completely shots off.
Lights would go off while driving, at first 1 side or the other, acouple times both went off with the last time almost causing a collision and I had my kids in the car.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 toyota prius. The contact stated that the instrument panel failed to illuminate after the vehicle operated. The contact also stated that the reverse lights failed to illuminate. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the instrument panel unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 230,000.
Intermittent hid/xenon headlight operation. Must cycle power using headlight on/off switch to reignite headlight. Happens occasionally during cold starts in the morning as well as during vehicle operation.
The passenger side headlight has gone out 3 times in a 3 year period. Each time the bulb has been replaced at significant expense ($300 at the dealership), but has gone out again after a period of several months. The last time it happened was 11/2014. Since then we have been unable to use the car at night due to the obvious safety issue it presents. We cannot and will not continue to spend hundreds of dollars to replace these bulbs when there is clearly a defect in the system. Based on the hundreds of similar reports I have seen online about this very issue, I know my story is not unique. I request that a recall be issued for the affected model years, which includes 2005!
My driver's side headlight doesn't stay on. It will go on for a minute then turn off. If I turn the headlights off and on, it starts back up again, then goes out again. I replaced the headlight control and it still continues. It does this if I'm driving or not.
My headlight intermittently goes off while driving & then back on. I paid a local mechanic to check it out; he couldn't find any loose connections, etc. But did advise me of a class action suit for this exact problem on the 06 - 09 model yrs. I've contacted both a local dealership & toyota corp. Who both refuse to fix it at no cost to me (see attached response from toyota corp.
Left headlight is dim, goes out, comes back on when lights are turned off and then on again, but then dims and eventually fails again. This happens whether in motion or stopped, regardless of speed, and whether turning or going straight. I read that this is very common among 2005-2009 priuses, and a design change in 2010 fixed it. That means it is caused by a design problem, and toyota should do a recall to fix it.
The headlights are going on and off while driving. They will stay on for a few minutes and then the left or right one will go out so then I'll reset the lighting and it will come back on and then I will go out again. Sometimes the right sometimes it's the left sometimes it's both.
Takata recall im having a problem in headlight of my toyota prius 2005 the driver side always missed up and once I turn it off and on it works for a while then same problem I been pulled over by the police many time I have changed the light but same problem its also dangerous sometimes when im driving in a curve where is no light and the light turned off I found my self in the shoulder that really weird.
One headlight or both will randomly go out while driving. Has happened sporadically 6 or so times over the last 6 months, including this evening when both headlights failed. Totally random, can happen on short or long trips, city streets or highway. So far lights have come back on by cycling the light switch on and off
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 toyota prius. While the vehicle was stationary, the brake lights malfunctioned. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 130,000.
Both headlights will flicker and go out, mostly at different times than the other but can happen at the same time. By turning the headlight switch off, then back on after 10 to 15 seconds they will come back on. Driving on the freeway this leaves you in a very dangerous situation. Thank god for fog lights, a life saver at 70 miles an hour. This can also happen sitting in my driveway before leaving for work.
One of my front headlight always goes out once I make a turn by using a turn signal. If I switch the headlight off and on again, the head light will come back. I read similar post from website, and found some people have the same problem with me. We all suspect this is a design problem by the manufacturer.
Head lights turn off after being on for a while. Turning off headlight switch and turning it back on turns the light back on. High beam stitch does not affect the light which is off. This happens while in motion on both highways and city streets. This occurs frequently
Headlights go off, one at a time, intermittently, while driving on any road. If I turn the lights all the way off and then back on again they will usually stay on for 15 minutes before going off again. I am not aware that they have both gone off at once, but I have not driven the car at night yet
I was driving through nevada at 11 pm at night towards reno (approx. 180 miles away) on I-80 at 75 MPH when suddenly my headlights went out. I immediately tried turning the lights off and on manually with my left hand, and the lights came on again (I couldn't see anything in the dark, scared out of my mind). Then, about 2 minutes later the same thing happened (I was driving slower this time). I did the same turning off and on again, and the lights came back on again, although somewhat dimmer. A few minutes later (5 minutes?) I was passed by a vehicle, that then slowed down and came in behind me, and then turned on the police lights and I immediately pulled in an exit ramp (fortunately there was one right there). After the policeman checked my license and registration, he informed me that one of my headlights was out. He asked me to try and flick on and off the lights a couple of times, and to try the brights, but none of this brought it back into working order. He then out of the blue mentioned to me (without me bringing this up) that the prius' were notorious for having intermittent issues with the headlights, especially on the passenger side of the car (which is the side that was out, coincidently). He let me proceed using one headlight without ticketing me. A few miles later I pulled into a rest area and turned off the car for a few minutes while I went to the bathroom, and when I got back into the car and turned on the headlights they both came on, but within 20 seconds the passenger side light went out again. When I got home the next day and turned on the headlights they were both working again. This intermittent failure of the passenger side headlight has occurred a few times in the past, and I have had the toyoto dealer look into it and they claimed that it was fixed. However, this time it was life threatening.
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