Intermittent hid (high intensity discharge) headlight on a 2006 prius. Appears to be a common complaint, the dealer said they need to replace the xenon headlight ($300) and the headlight computer ($500) to correct this. But the problem is intermittent, sometimes the headlight works and other times it doesn't - seems like a serious safety issue.
2006 Toyota Prius lights complaints
Page 28 of 33: complaints 791 to 820 of 941, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Premature failure of hid headlight bulb in toyota prius. Not three years old and 45k miles. Replacement cost is exorbitant and there are many failures going on.
I have a 2006 toyota prius w/ 59k miles. We started experiencing issues w/ the headlights a couple of weeks ago. We'd turn the lights on and randomly would either get 1 light, 2 lights, or no lights. Flicking the switch again would usually reset the lights, but not for long. I just took it to the dealership and was shocked when they told me it would cost $872 to fix. After I heard the quote, which is not covered under my extended warranty, I was so mad that I told them to just leave the bulbs in. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. I think this is actually extremely dangerous. In fact, so dangerous that someone is going to get hurt or killed, especially when they are unknowingly driving with one light or worse, none.
2006 toyota prius both headlights occasionally go out while driving.
I have a 2006 toyota prius and my headlights go out randomly,quite often while driving. While driving you can start off with all lights on and then while in low beam the headlights will go off leaving you with fog lights and while in high beam all of the lights go out. The car was taken to a toyota dealer who said "toyota knows this is a problem" but we still have to pay. I have children and when my lights went totally out I was lucky enough not to have had an accident. I have read others complaints on an internet blog site and there have been several other owner's with this problem. What does it take to have a recall on these vehicles and have toyota held responsible for faulty equipment before an accident happens and people are injured due to this.
I have a 2006 prius. My headlamps go off suddenly while driving I have noticed this for the past year. This is extremely dangerous for nighttime driving. I am told that, yes, it is ridiculous and dangerous that a 2 year old car has headlamps that are not working well. The cost is $1150.00.
I own a 2006 toyota prius, purchased new. The car now has 44,000 miles. Beginning at about 35,000 miles and ever since, the driver side hid headlamp will flicker and then go out. This usually happens within the first 10 minutes of driving. By turning the headlight switch "off", then back to "on", I can get the bulb to come back on. This happens all the time. I realize that this can seem like a simple "replace the lamp" situation. However, I have friends with priuses, and all have the same problem, one, or sometimes both headlights suddenly going out. This can be a real safety issue. I did not take my car to toyota for a replacement as it is now out of warranty and replacement costs for this can easily run to over a thousand dollars. I have discovered that hundreds of other prius owners are having the exact same trouble with their cars. Most of these are 2006 or 2007 models. Some have had the entire hid system replaced under warranty only to have the problem return. It is scary driving a car whose headlights are prone to suddenly going out. Toyota has been aware of this issue for quite some time. I would like to see a recall to address this situation as it is obviously a safety issue.
About six months after purchasing my 2006 toyota prius the headlights starting going out while I was driving. I took it in to the dealership and they replaced the bulb. They had said that they had never heard of this before. The lights worked for about two months then occasionally would go out again. Now that my warranty has run out they are going out every time I drive the car. This is a real safety issue. When you turn the switch off and then on again they come on for awhile then turn off again. They have never not come on, but drivers in front of you get a bit upset when you start flashing your headlights behind them! I've noticed on line that this is a common issue on the prius. I hope that you can force toyota to recall and repair this issue.
The headlights on the car have an intermittent failure problem - they go "off" at random times when you are driving.
My car is equipped with hid-type headlights. The passenger-side headlight will occasionally extinguish at random times. This hid lamp failure does not seem to correspond with any specific driving conditions, I.e. Bumpy road, extreme temperatures, driving in a turn, etc... It just happens randomly and without warning. This has become a problem since I cannot always detect when the lamp has or will fail; and my state requires that my car has two working headlights to be considered "safe." turning the headlight switch off, and then back on, will generally fix the failure, but only if I identify the problem and only then temporarily. This does not appear to be a simple loose connection problem or a burnt-out bulb.
Auto headlight goes out on my 2006 toyota prius.
2006 toyota prius, hid headlight failure. Blinking and then complete failure of light after only 40k miles. Dealership charges $320+ for just the bulb. Online chat forums show that this failure is very frequent and costly to consumers and the dealerships control the access to the bulbs.
The headlights on my 2006 prius go out frequently, but intermittently. I have had the dealer check them at the last two maintenance checks, but they said they could see no problem. Today, I was driving early in the morning in the dark and both lights went out. I shut them off and turned them back on and both came back on.
Intermittent headlight failure. The headlights will intermittently turn off. By turning the lights on and off, the lights can be turned back on. The problem is difficult to duplicate and prove to toyota service technicians.
Hid headlights on 2006 prius keep failing. First failure at about 14k miles; two failures between 20k and 30k miles. Total of five hid failures: 2 for passenger side light; 3 for driver's side light. Failures are intermittent, often while driving. Hitting hid lamp lightly often restores light. Initially bulbs were replaces (twice). Subsequently, the entire unit (including computer board) were replaced. Bulbs should last life of car-- neither original hid light lasted the first year.
The car headlights go in and out all the time. We've already replaced both the left and right side twice. When a light goes out, you can turn it off then on again and it will work for a few minutes (and sometimes hours). I have researched this and it is a major complaint of the 2006 toyota prius. Why hasn't this been recalled yet! This is very dangerous, as you don't know when your headlights will work or not.
One or sometimes both hid headlamps go out without warning, and can be re-lit by turning off and turning on the headlight switch. This affects both low and high beams. I've nearly run off the road when the lights went out abruptly on a narrow mountain road. I have had to turn on my fog/driving lights routinely as a backup.
Toyota prius 2006 headlight malfunction the headlights on my prius will go out randomly every 5 to 10 minutes. Usually it is just one or the other but occasionally it will be both headlights at the same time. To resolve this you have to turn the lights off and then back on again. Toyota is aware of this rampant problem. The solution from toyota was to replace the entire headlight assembly at $1216. This problem showed itself soon after the warranty expired. People are not going to pay that kind of money to repair this design flaw. This is not just a burned out bulb. Instead people will continue to allow these lights to cycle off and will apply the manual off/on. This creates an extremely dangerous situation - especially when both headlights go out at the same time at night. Toyota should be required to recall and repair this design flaw.
I have a 2006 prius. The hid headlights are not reliable. They work sometimes & sometimes they don't. The problem is with the hid bulb. They turn off & on unexpectedly. The dealer price to replace the one bulb was $479. Both of my headlight failed within a week of each other.
My front headlight does not always work reliably. It will stop working sometimes when I am driving, but may return to normal operation when I power off the car. When I tried to get this repaired, the technician could not find anything wrong. After researching on the discussion boards, I have learned that there are many other prius drivers that have this same problem. The car is only 2 years old. I believe that there is a design issue with the headlight drive electronics.
After 3-5 minutes of running the headlights, the driver's side just turns off. I can turn the car & headlights off & when I turn them back on again, it works just fine. The dealer cannot replicate the problem. Although they have seen the same complaint from another owner. They recommend replacing the hid headlights for $385 plus labor. After searching the internet, it appears this is a known problem with the pruis and toyota should cover it. I have 47k mile and an toyota expended warranty but they say it is not covered. This begin occurring for over 2 months. The light does not fail every day.
Head lights on my 06 prius keep going out.
Head lights & tail lights turn off intermittently in 2006 prius. Procedure: start car turn on headlights wait one or both lights go off turn off lights turn on lights lights are back on. Repeat above...
Prius headlights started going off sporadically. Sometimes right sometimes left sometimes both. Hard to tell when it will happen. Sometimes turning light switch off and on solves the problem. First noticed this last weekend (today is sept 24th 08). Do not know yet how to reproduce intentionally, but it has happened at least three times this week.
My 2006 prius headlights have started flicking off while I'm driving, one or the other, or both at the same time. They will come back on if the lights are turned off, then back on, although they may go back out again in 1-2 seconds, or later. This problem has been reported by other people on the internet (see wiki.answers.com). It's dangerous because the lights go off while driving. The dealerships have not been able to identify the problem.
The right head light works intermittently. I have a certified used vehicle with an extended warranty. The dealership nor the automaker will do anything unless they can replicate the issue. My extended warranty does not cover the headlights, which cost around $400 to replace. The dealership and toyota's only solution is to drive in with the headlight not working. That seems like such a terrible solution.
2006 toyota prius headlights stop working while driving. Stop car and turn off and back on and lights work again. Many times only one light is working until I recycle the switch. The lights hids and the car is out of warranty.
The headlight intermittently turns off. Usually, turning the lights off and back on will fix the problem. Toyota is telling me to replace the bulb, but that doesn't make sense when the light still works fine after turning them off and back on.
Headlights go out while driving at night. I bought the car tonight, drove off the lot, thought the headlights seem horrible but didn't think much of it. I went down the road and noticed I saw more from the cars around me. I had the driving lights on, but they only show a very short distance in front of the car. I turned onto the main road (4 lane, divided highway) and hit the high beams - the lights went completely out at approximately 60 MPH on a road I was unfamiliar with. This is extremely dangerous, I had to stop in the middle of the highway and turn on the flashers to try to see to get off the road. This is a toyota "certified" and virginia state inspected a few week ago "supposedly" car that was driven from the showroom floor to the highway before the lights went out. I don't believe this could have been tested for either the va inspection nor the toyota certified inspection and now wonder if anything on the toyota certified inspection was really done. The marker light (proper name? Yellow lights) on the drivers side also does not work which would fail both these inspections if properly done.
Headlight goes off intermittently (no accident caused it ... It just happens).
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