My headlights are intermittently failing on my 2006 prius. The dealership has replaced both the left and right (as a pair) headlights at ~20,000 miles and again at ~48,000 miles. And now at 55,000 miles, they are replacing another front headlight hid bulb. There were two additional times that I requested the toyota service department check the lights as I had been told by a police officer that front and/or back lights were out, but the dealership said all of the lights were functioning. My lights appear to work intermittently. I may have both headlights working for a week or a month or more, then one of both may go out, and then one or both may start functioning again. It's completely variable. I never know if one of both headlights will work at any given time. It's frustrating and scary- as I don't know what to do to fundamentally resolve the issue and ensure that I have functioning headlights! Approximate dates: jan 2008 - police officer told me a light was out, dealer could not reproduce april 2008 - both headlights replaced september 2009- both headlights replaced february 2009- police officer told me lights were out (1 front, 1 back) march 2010- headlight replaced
2006 Toyota Prius lights complaints
Page 11 of 33: complaints 281 to 310 of 941, newest first, as owners wrote them.
My hid light on my 2006 prius burnt out on driver's left side. Took it in for a replacement and they told me that I have to replace both for a price of $500 and will only warranty for 1 year. I was told the average span for a bulb is 2.5-4 years. This is a ridiculous price for a light bulb. You should put pressure on the company to bring the cost for this safety repair down to a reasonable level.
1996 toyota prius - (3) things I have noticed when operating car. (1) when braking and going over rough pavement, car will behave as though it is hydroplaneing - the brakes not slowing the car for a brief period until car settles down. This can happen when going as slow as 5 MPH. The faster one is going when hitting the rough pavement, the farther the car will travel before braking sensation re-appears. I believe this occurs everytime I travel rough pavement (la city streets, not back country or 4 wheeling). Note that warning light on dashboard does light suggesting loss of control. I called dealer service center and described problem, they assured me that no safety warnings or recalls had been made. 2) when turning off cruise control, car will accelerate slightly for approximately 1-2 seconds. This is most noticeable when trying to exit carpool lane in heavy traffic and spacing is limited. Again called dealership and assured no safety notices or recalls. I now cover brake when turning off speed control. 3) car just eats up hid headlight (9 in 80k miles + 2 original installed) and taillight bulbs (11 + 2 originally installed). Again no safety notices or recalls. I replace them as I notice them. I have never had both headlights go out at once as described on your website. Note that other than the above issues/concerns, this car has been a great car with no service except for gas, oil changes, and replace the bulbs when they go out.
My 2006 toyota prius headlights are malfunctioning. My headlights go off intermittently. Mainly the right headlights but both lights have this problem. If I turn off and then turn on the lights then they will work ok for a little while. I am worried that both lights may go off and will put my family at risk at night.
In 2009 I purchased a 2006 toyota prius. Immediately after purchase the head lights randomly shut off. Sometimes one at time and sometimes both at the same time. Recently I was driving over a dark mountain pass in the snow and the headlights both went out at the same time. It took me three times, turning them off and on for them to come back on. We could have been hurt or killed. This happens often, at least five to six times when we are driving our car at night and my son has been pulled over and ticketed twice. We called the dealer and even though we bought the full extended used car warranty, toyota does not cover the headlight issues and are telling us it's going to cost between $500 - $1500 to have the headlights replaced. It's obviously an electrical problem, but toyota said they issued a statement saying it was not. The lights even go out when you turn on your blinkers, off course randomly. I even went for a night time drive with my salesperson right after I purchased the vehicle and he saw the lights go off. He said I would just have to replace them at my cost even though it was obvious they were going on and off when we hit even the slightest bump in road and even though it was supposedly a certified used car. Toyota knows there is a problem because it's issued a statement and there are blogs all over the internet about it, yet they refuse to help their customers maintain a safe operating vehicle. I've again called the dealer and have another appointment about this issue in a couple of days. We are hoping they acknowledge that we've purchases three toyotas from them in the last three years and that they will fix the headlights for us before someone gets hurt or killed. All three cars we purchased from toyota are also involved in their current recalls. We are very unhappy with our toyotas and feel very unsafe driving them with family members and children in our vehicles.
Toyota prius 2006. Rt. Front (passenger side) headlight goes out for no reason. After this is will not come back on, even if I switch from low to high beam. I turn the lights off and on that corrects the problem for about 3 to 15 minutes, then it goes off again. Toyota said it was the bulb and replaced it at about 34,000 miles under warranty, but it did not change anything. Then the next chance I had to bring it in it was out of warranty, so they will not cover. I thought it may be the igniter or transformer so I replaced that, but it still does the same thing. I see many prius' around town with their right front light out, so it seems to be quite common. I read on the internet that lots of prius people are having the same exact problem, but of course toyota denies that there is one. Toyota simply charges $300. To replace the bulb, or $600 to replace the igniter, or $1,100 to replace the whole headlight assemble. Replacing the bulb does not fix it, neither does the igniter, not sure about the whole assembly. The light goes off whether the car is parked or driving down the road, so vibration is not the problem. This is a huge safety hazard. Toyota is producing lemons, then simply replacing the bulbs and hoping your warranty runs out. Toyota is making a ton of money off of this defect at $1,100 per light assembly, and even then I am not sure the problem is being repaired. This problem seems to be more common on 2006 and 2007 models. I just drove to the airport and back (45 min each way) and my light went out probably 30 times. Many owners don't seem to know that their light is out. I notice, but I still feel like I am a huge road hazard. I would repair it if I knew what the actual problem was. The toyota factory surely knows what the problem is and how to correct it, but if they bring the problem to the surface they know that they will be forced to pay for another recall, meanwhile they make a ton of profit off parts and repairs.
Driver side hid headlight fails intermittedly.
The hid headlights on my 2006 toyota prius intermittently go out one at a time. Once they go out they stay out unless I manually turn them off and then on I cannot determine when one of the headlights goes out. The problem is when driving with only 1 headlamp I have had several instances when the other headlamp has gone out as well leaving me with no headlights at night. If I hadn't known to turn them on/off I would have been driving on a road at night with no headlamps.
Reference your case pe09019, closed in august 2009. I also own a 2006 toyota prius on which the headlamps fail daily. As stated in the report it usually starts with only one lamp failing but it often ends with both lamps out. I will not drive without my fog lamps on for fear I will be in total darkness at a crucial time such as a sharp curve or turn in the road. I have been waiting for someone to take action and force a recall as it is extremely expensive to replace these headlamps. In light of the current findings against toyota, you should reopen the investigation. I am not certain by any means but I had heard your organization had over 500 complaints regarding this issue. Why did you only interview 40 owners? Do we have to wait for someone's death, perhaps mine or one of my family members, before we take this situation serious enough to force action on toyota's part? How could something as serious as headlamp failure be dismissed so casually?
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 toyota prius. While driving at various unknown speeds, the headlights would fail to illuminate intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however they were unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was contacted but would take no liability claiming a defect did not exist in the vehicle. The failure and current mileages were 53,945.
Both headlights on 2006 prius turned off after less than 5 minutes on road. May have exhibited flashing before total failure of both headlights. Confirmed headlight on light was present during failure. One car coming towards flashed their lights to convey my headlights were off. I then slowed down and turn lights off then back on. Both came back on and stayed on since then. I have been checking each time I get in or out of car than headlights are on and functioning normal at beginning and end of trip. Fyi, I do not use headlights as daylight running lights.
Headlights of 2006 prius go on and off at will. I reported this to toyota dealer and was told that they had to change both bulbs. The intensity of the bulbs are normal when they come back on and I have never owned a car where the bulbs recover on their own. It appears to be a wiring problem of some kind and toyota's solution of changing the bulbs does not seem to be a reasonable solution. Also the one year guarantee of an expensive repair does not seem reasonable. The toyota website shows hundreds of complaints for the same condition.
2006 prius hid headlights go out intermittently. There doesn't seem to be a fix that toyota can provide. This is very upsetting, even more so if you drive at night a lot. Toyota doesn't admit there is a problem and states the only course of action is to replace the headlight. Why am I to pay an extreme amount of money to replace a headlight when the headlight works? It's just faulty and intermittent (be it wiring, a computer glitch, or something else). This problem with the hid headlights occurs multiple times each time I drive the car. Furthermore, it is hard to determine when the headlights are working properly. I have taken my prius to a toyota dealership and they refuse that the lights are faulty and ask that you replace them. It is scary to drive my prius at night and it is no fun explaining this strange situation to a police officer who doesn't care and still gives you a citation. I just want toyota to acknowledge and fix the problem.
I own a 2006 toyota prius. I have had a problem with my passenger headlight working intermittently. I thought the light was failing until one night I was driving home and all the lights turned off and it was pure darkness. I quickly corrected the immediate danger by turning the light switch off then on and they came back on. This has happened two other times. I received what I thought was a recall notice on the hid lights. When I took the notice to my local dealer, they informed me that the recall was on the price of the hid bulbs and not on the actual bulbs. They had reduced the price from $300 to $150. Now, after looking into it further, it seems that I am not the only one experiencing this same problem.
2006 toyota prius with the hid headlights. The headlights randomly turn off. At first I thought I was seeing other things, like neighboring cars switching in and out of lanes, causing the amount of light to diminish. So far, it is either one or the other headlight, not both simultaneously. Through the random process, which would be initiated each time the lights are turned on, it is only a matter of "time" before both lights extinguish at the wrong time, at highway speeds.
2006 toyota prius - my hid headlights have been randomly, unpredictably flickered on and off, sometimes the left, sometimes the right and sometimes both completely unexpectedly. The light switch must be flicked on and off multiple times to bring them back. Within minutes - or even seconds - they may fail again repeatedly. I do not drive at night very often but others who do are at great risk. Can you imagine the reaction of the cars in front of me while I a flicking my headlights at them repeatedly! Potentially volatile. The repair is replacement of hid lights at almost $600.00 and is not covered by their warranty, which is wrong! This has been going on for a couple years and mechanics have not been able to trace issue other than faulty headlights or faulty computer controls. There are tens of thousands of prius owners affected. Check the online blogs like priuschat and you will see. This is a significant safety issue which while I have had not accidents I have had numerous incidents of concern and need for quick sudden evasive action when the lights would fail unexpectedly. We who have been forced to spend hundreds for repair should be reimbursed and a full scale recall must be instigated for the safety of prius drivers and our companions in other vehicles on the road.
2006 prius. Within first 18 months of owning the car (I am original owner - took possession of car in march of 2006) experienced headlights going off by themselves. Took the car in for service thinking headlight needed replacement. Was told by service rep (at greentree toyota in danbury, ct) that it was not the headlight but a problem with connection that toyota recognized but was not sure how they would address. I waited for solution. As time goes on, more frequent incidence of headlight spontaneously turning off. I received a notice from toyota company approx. 4 months ago stating the problem was a defect/connection problem. My toyota dealership/service dept. Told me it was not and refused to fix the connection problem. Both headlights will go out at exactly the same time, leaving me in complete darkness. If I quickly switch the headlights off then back on again they will illuminate. The headlights going off at the same time happens at least once every 20 minutes.
We own a 2006 toyota prius. The right (passenger side) front headlight works intermittently. It will turn off without warning. If you turn the lights off and then on again, it comes back on as if nothing is wrong. It will then blink out again at a later time without warning. This is a dangerous product defect. It is impossible to tell if the light is on or off unless someone tells you. We have been stopped by the police for this problem, but not ticketed yet because we can make the light come back on by turning the lights off and then on again. Toyota refuses to recall or fix the problem. Instead, they charge$500 to replace the lights, without addressing the mechanical defect. Many many other prius owners/drivers have voiced the same complaint.
Defective headlights.
Headlight (driver's side only) sometimes turns off while driving. If I turn the lights switch off and back on, the light will turn on and work properly for a while.
Headlights intermittently go off when placed in the on position. Sometimes one, sometimes both. Does not matter if it is low or hi beam. This problem is ongoing since incident date. Toyota sent letter describing how hid bulbs reach the end of their life by intermittently going out and states that you should minimize turning them on and off which can't be prevented if they go out while you're driving. I don't accept this to be fact, I think it's an electrical problem .
Prius hid bulb failed before its estimated lifetime. These bulbs are very expensive (us$ 300.00) plus labor (us$ 200.00) and they failing over and over again. This item should have been recalled by toyota and replaced for free, since customers paid premium price up front for security benefits of the accessory in question.
Headlights failed on my 2006 toyota prius. One about 36,000 miles, second one about 37,000. It cost over $500 to replace them. Now one of the new ones has failed again. I wrote toyota for help and they had an extended warranty salesperson call me saying "you need to protect yourself against what may happen in the future." I asked if headlights were covered and he said yes, but that I needed to wait 30 days after buying the policy. Wrote toyota again saying that was unacceptable. No response. I know many other prius owners have had this problem. Since my light has gone out right away I'm wondering if it is an electrical or computer problem with the car.
Intermittent failure of hid headlamps on 2006 toyota prius.
Intermittent failure of hid headlight in my 2006 toyota prius.
Intermittent and frequent failure of hid headlights in 2006 toyota prius. One light or the other and sometimes both will go out. Turning the light switch from on to off and back on will relight the bulb but at lower brightness. Frequently must do this several times as the bulb may stay on for a few minutes to 1/2 hour. Toyota refuses to acknowledge design / faulty components in hid control / power module.
I own a 2006 toyota prius with hid headlights. In may 2008, around 45k, I noticed that my headlights were dimming and at times turning off at random intervals. I was only able to correct this by turning off my headlights and then turning them back on. I took the car to toyota where they replaced the bulbs and some other items. This lasted for a while and the problem re-occurred. Again, I replaced both bulbs but the problem continues. The bulbs are very expensive and to replace them one has to completely remove the front bumper of the car, which is also very expensive. I recently searched the web and found that there are many prius owners experiencing this same problem. This is a very dangerous condition. Just last night, while traveling on highway 270 in gaithersburg, md, both my headlights went out at the same time. The dealership tells me that there are "no" known problems and that toyota has "no" recalls or bulletins on this issue. This is quite troubling considering the number of complaints. Some have spent a lot of money and have yet to resolve this life threatening problem.
There is a class action suit against toyota due to intermittent headlight failure. Please check this link to see if a recall should be imposed. Thanks http://www.lemonlawclaims.com/toyota_prius_headlight_failure.htm.
Intermittent failure of lights. Car had 20,000 miles on it when headlight starting failing intermittently. After about another year the other side started failing intermittently. I and others on yahoo prius group have the same problem with the headlight going off intermittently. Could cause an accident, as at times they both go off. After turning them off and then back on they burn but you never know if one or both will go off. Toyota knows there is a problem with the headlights on the second generation prius but has made no attempt to recall or repair the problem. We are all left on our own to solve the problem.
Headlights turn of intermittently on both my daughters 2006 & 2007 toyota prius. Mostly the right one sometimes both. If you turn the headlights off then back on the headlights come back on for a while then you have to do the same thing again. Also I notice many other priuses that have the same problem. Please look into this problem. Thank you.
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