While driving at night, on numerous occasions, either one or both headlights cease to function. By turning them off and back on again, they work for awhile, but then may or may not go out again depending on who knows what. My right headlight was replaced at 15,000 miles and the left one was replaced at 20,000 miles - both under warranty. I was told at the time that it would have cost me over $200 each if it was not under warranty. Just looking at complaints for the 2007 prius cars for this year alone, 23 out of the 60 complaints on this website sound exactly like mine. I understand that this has been an issue with all the 2006-2009 toyota prius cars and that toyota somehow fixed this problem when they revamped the car in 2010. My dealer said to bring it in to see if it was a ballast problem or faulty lights--all very expensive to fix and there is no guarantee I won't have the same problem again in the near future. (see toyota chat line where folks have been charged up to $2500 only to have their lights go out again in a few months) I don't understand why toyota doesn't have a recall to fix this problem. Not only is this a waste of time and money to the owner of this car, it is a safety hazard. No warning light goes on in the car to say the headlights are not functioning, and it isn't always easy to tell the lights have gone out, depending on how well the roads are lit. What is toyota waiting for? Does someone have to die because their headlights unexpectedly go out while driving at night before something is done to fix this issue? I hope not.
2007 Toyota Prius lights complaints
Page 8 of 37: complaints 191 to 220 of 1,061, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The hid headlights on my 2007 toyota prius appear to be defective. When I turn the lights on initially, they both illuminate, but the lights dim progressively, and after several minutes the lights are essentially dark. This occurs in both headlights and started only this month. This is a significant safety issue, as it is very dangerous to drive without working headlights (particularly when one assumes that the headlights are working since they turned on initially). It is my understanding that the issue is beyond replacing the hid headlight bulbs; according to the repair shop I visited, there may be a defect with the hid electronic control units (ecus). I understand as well that this is a defect that has occurred in numerous toyota prius vehicles and that toyota in 2011 agreed to a settlement of a class action lawsuit that provided some repair coverage for certain owners.
The passenger side headlight went out a few weeks ago. It came back on intermittently, and then both headlights went out.
The right headlight had to be replaced. It would turn off and if I turned the lever on and off while I was driving it would come on for a while. On a dark night it was dangerous. I replaced the right headlight and it cost a total of $229.55 which I thought was outrageous. Now the driver's side headlight has gone out too. I might have to drive it only in daylight unless I can find a cheaper way to replace the headlight. I was stopped by the police for the first headlight out, but given a warning. I bought the car to save money but headlight replacement costs are way too much in my estimation.
Right headlight will go off. Recycling the switch will usually relight the lamp.
I have been told a few times over the last couple of months now that we had a headlight out in our prius. I would later go back and investigate, flipping the lights back on to check. But the lights were on full blast, no problems. I dismissed this as people not seeing things correctly. Obviously the headlights were working, that it until we got on the interstate last night and both of the headlights went out while we were driving 70mph. We managed to get home by the dim light of our fog lights, but this is very dangerous! Fog lights were not meant for nighttime driving. When we got home, we started playing with the headlights again, and like magic, they decided they were going to start working again. They turned on full blast, no flickering or anything. Looking up our issues today, apparently this is an issue with the hid headlights and is a common known problem for the prius. People have paid hundreds or even thousands of dollars to have their headlights replaced only to have the same thing happen again. Seems like the guts of this car are flawed and need to be repaired. Presently I'm stuck. I'm not going to spend hundreds of dollars to replace headlights that really don't need replacing when people are saying it does not good. Toyota really need to address this. Can't have headlights going out when you're going 70 on the interstate. Someone is going to get killed from this.
Within approx. 5 minutes of starting my car with the headlights they automatically turn off. You are able to keep clicking them back on, but then they turn off again. Thus making it impossible to drive at night, for fear of causing an accident. Huge safety factor.
The driver side headlight randomly goes out. One time both headlights went out. When I take it to my mechanic, he can't ever make it happen. If I turn the lights off and turn them back on, the light comes back on. It happens regularly, and continues to this day.
I have a 2007 touring prius with hid headlamps and 1 of the headlamp assembly started leaking water and toyota of kingsport, tn. Replaced it on oct. 28th 2013 and charged me $342.30 after discount. Now the new headlight and the other one is going off while driving and this happened on may 29th 2014. There is no way a headlight should fail in 6 or 7 months. Thank you for listening to my complaint, as I can't afford to keep replacing these very expensive headlamps. I went online and it seems I'm not the only one with this problem and can you get toyota to do something about this? I would appreciate any help you can give us prius owners with the hid headlamp system.
I was driving at 5:00 am on 5-3-14 to the beach and my headlights went out in complete darkness. Luckily there was no other traffic around and I was scared to proceed on my trip. I turned the headlight switch and the headlights came back on. I proceeded on my trip with caution and when it got light I drove without my headlights and safely got to the beach. This incident could have resulted in a bad car accident and death since I was in complete darkness. What should I do ?
Driving along interstate 70 at night, headlight intensity suddenly dropped. Stopped in a safe place on the next exit ramp and determined that both high beam and low beam of the left headlight had gone out. Resumed the rest of the trip at a safer speed. Next morning, tested the headlights and they all worked ok, but later in the week the same thing happened.
I was returning home from a trip with a friend and driving on major freeway late at night, very dark with little visibility in a rural, unlit area. .all lights in vehicle shut down while driving 70-75 MPH. We could not see anything even the road, was like driving blind and very frightening trying to navigate the prius off the road safely without getting hit by other vehicles. Once I stopped the vehicle off the side of the road in the far left lane we turned the vehicle off, but left the hazard lights on and let the vehicle sit for a few minutes. We started again, lights came on, and I drove the vehicle another 100 miles without any incident until we entered the city. I had a similar problem driving the 12 remaining miles home, but the front yellow lights worked and I had the hazard and brake lights working. The city lights improved visibility. I took the vehicle in and the only problem they could find was with one of the headlights. I was told I needed to replace both. I can't emphasize how dangerous and frightening this experience was for my friend and I, still unsure how we avoided a tragedy. I would like the federal safety agency to investigate and make a recommendation to have some type of warning in the vehicle.
One vehicle headlight keeps going out but when you turn the lights off at the switch, then back on the light comes on again. The dealer changed the bulb despite us telling them the light comes on if you turn the switch off and back on. We had the connector checked and cleaned to no avail. I did a little research and it turns out that many other prius owners are experiencing the same problems. This is a safety issue that is very expensive to troubleshoot and fix.
I was pulled over while driving at night by kansas highway patrol and advised that the passenger side front headlight was out. I exited a few miles up ahead at wichita and spent the night. The next morning I drove to my original destination of enid, ok and took the car to the toyota dealership for service, and they told me they couldn't find anything wrong because the headlight worked perfectly. Since then, I have had problems with that headlight working only intermittently and I've taken it to my home dealership in columbia, mo (machens toyota) and been told they can't find anything wrong. My daughter has been stopped in this car by local police twice, advising her that the headlight is out, and I've been told this same thing by friends on numerous occasions. It seems that the headlight works initially when turned on, then it ceases to be illuminated after about a minute or so. If I go ahead and turn the lights completely off and then turn them back on, it will work again for a minute or two and then go out again. I have "googled" this and discovered that this is a common problem, and some consumers have spent up to $2600 trying to get various parts replaced and still, the problem has not been fixed. This appears to be a serious manufacturing defect and I cannot or will not be able to afford spending thousands of dollars trying unsuccessfully to remediate this important safety issue!
12/18/13 is the first of many incidents when the headlamps suddenly go dark. The problem is random and intermittent, sometimes the left, sometimes the right, sometimes both go dark at once. This is a serious safety issue. Replacing the headlamp does not correct the defect.
The headlight went off while I was driving. I found out that headlights can only be changed by the dealership. The earliest appointment to change a lightbulb is the following wednesday (more then a week later), and the estimated cost for the change is over $500. This causes incredible hardship - this is something the buyer should have been told of before buying the vehicle.
Today (and many other days) one or both of my headlights and/or taillights have extinguished completely on their own while operating the vehicle at low and high speeds. This is especially frightening when both headlights extinguish where we live (out in the country where streetlights do not exist). On several other occasions, I have been pulled over on the way to work by various law enforcement organizations (local police, sheriff, highway patrol) due to my headlights and/or taillights being out. Turning them off and then on, or tapping the taillight with my hand (obviously impossible to accomplish while driving) solves the problem for a few minutes at a time. Every day, at least 5 of my coworkers inform me that I have a headlight and/or taillight bulb which needs replacing. I drive this car as a commuter to work and to drive my children. It concerns me greatly that toyota ignores this problem!
Headlights sometimes go out or fail to stay lite---turning them off and back on seems to correct issue for my 2007 prius,so far. There is a service notice issued but we need a required recall to make dealers correct issue for free.
While driving at night, both headlights simultaneously turned off, without warning. Some panic,but, turned light switch off/on (pure luck on my part) and lights again came on -- probably within 10 seconds of having an accident or going off the road. No emergency pull-off lane, or area was available.
The bulbs turn off intermittently for no reason. I already replaced the bulbs but the problem did not go away. This is very unsafe. I made my research and there are many complaints of this kind of problem with the 2007 prius. Toyota should recall and fix this problem. This is very unsafe.
We own a toyota prius and have had the dealer replace the headlight 4 times. The first time we simply got in the vehicle and when we turned it on we realized it was not working. After we had it fixed about 2 months later we got pulled over and given a warning to get it fixed. We did so again and again with no solution. Since our last time the dealership has advised us to go to the toyota dealership but there telling us that is simply a bad headlight and it will cost about 200 to fix it. I showed them where in 8 months it was changed 3 times and they simply said it must be human error because everything else looks fine.
The right front head lamp goes off out after 10-15 minutes of being on. Once I turn the car off and allow it to rest it will begin to work again.
Since 2008, the headlamps on my car have been going in and out. The dealership replaced one of the lights in 2008, but it has continued to be a problem. Sometimes one light goes out, while other times they both go out and it can be quite dangerous. They will usually come back on when turned on and off, but it's still dangerous, particularly on the interstate traveling 70mph at night if both lights flicker off. A quote of approximately $500 was given to repair the vehicle at the dealership. Toyota hasn't been very forthcoming with support, knowing that there are multiple reported issues with the hid light and it's the most common complaint on websites regarding this make, model and year.
Headlight and taillights go out and then come back on. Also, when on they seem to be very weak.
Right headlight flickers and goes out, leaving only left headlight on. Turning headlights off and on causes both headlights to work again. Problem repeats randomly in about 10 minutes. I also noted that once both headlights went off.
Both headlights suddenly went out while driving on an unlit mountain highway. Happened again the next night while driving on another highway. Turning the light switch off and on again brought the headlights back on. Previously, driver's side headlight would suddenly go out intermittently. This was the first time both headlamps went dim at the same time. Very scaring and dangerous situation as there was no visibility as soon as the lights went out.
Hid headlight will go out while driving and this has happened 4 times with the most recent 2 days ago. All of the times this has happened, the bulb and computer are replaced at a cost of $700.00+. Very expensive on going problem.
My lheadlights flicker, and go out all the time...I have 2 teen daughters that are of driving age and they cannot drive at night due to the lighting issue...I have been on the freeway going upwards of 75 mile per hour on highway and both headlights have went completely out...I assumed toyota was a good brand it is soo dangerous to drive my car at night!!
Almost every time I use the headlights, one or both will extinguish at some point. If I turn them off and back on, they will come back on as if nothing had happened. The occurrence is random, but happens most of the time I use them. Sometimes I can see when one goes out, but frequently, I don't know until I either get on a very dark road or am stopped behind another vehicle and see the reflection in their car. I think this is dangerous on at least two levels - they will go out when I really need them or oncoming traffic won't see me properly.
In the beginning we would be driving down the road the left headlight would go out then the right side starting going out. If we turned them off and right back on the would come on and sometimes stay on and sometimes not. Then occasionally the y will both go out at the same time leaving totally in the dark. We replaced the bulbs and that helped for a while but they started again. I then replaced the ballasts. That did no good. This is not only annoying but a big safety hazard.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2007 Toyota Prius?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history