I have a 2008 toyota prius and the hid headlights go out after being turned on for about 20 minutes. I can turn the headlights off and back on an the headlights will work for another 20 minutes until one will go out again. I do not leave the lights on all of the time while driving. The replacement bulbs are $150 at toyota and they say it is not covered by the extended warranty. I do not think the bulbs should stop working so soon.
2008 Toyota Prius lights complaints
Page 15 of 21: complaints 401 to 430 of 583, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Driving to work again in the early a.m., my driver's side headlight went out again, but didn't know it until I was stopped by police. After the officer told me one of my headlights was out, I turned them off, then back on and the officer told me that both lights came back on. He also told me that they have had to stop numerous prius vehicles with this problem, which supports my contention that this is a serious issue that the federal safety agency or toyota needs to address and have fixed w/o having the consumer pay for it, or be hurt if this causes an accident. I have filed several safety complaints now with the federal safety agency and have never gotten a response. I would appreciate knowing if these reports are being evaluated or simply ignored, but please do your job and address this situation before someone gets hurt.
The hid left headlight works intermittently on my 2008 prius. My car is beyond warranty for this and toyota has offered "customer support" for this problem at a reduced cost. The reduced cost is in excess of $1000 for control ecu and bulb replacement. Prius forums suggest I contact you for assistance in this safety matter.
2008 toyota prius. Upon driving the vehicle the right headlight dims. After approximately 60 seconds both light turn off.
A number of times since we purchased our new prius in september of 2007, I've questioned in my mind whether our hid headlights were bright enough. I would normally put the thought out of my mind since I wear glassed to read, and I figured that maybe I just need regular glasses. About a month ago things changed while my wife and I were driving from atlanta, ga., to pensacola, fla. To visit family. About 15 minutes from our destination, a sheriff pulled us over, informed, us that one of our headlights was out and almost gave us a ticket. Since we obviously had no idea that one of our lights was out, he gave us a warning instead. The next morning I opened the hood to see if there was a loose connection. When I turned the lights on to test them, they were working and I was not able to duplicate the issue. Every time that I started our prius while we were in florida I checked the lights and they were both on. There were a couple of times, after we had been driving for 30 minutes or so that I would check the lights before turning the car off and the passenger side headlight was out. I tried turning the light-switch off and then on and some times the passenger headlight would turn on and other times it would stay off. Since that time, I have checked our headlights on a regular basis and found either the passenger headlight was out or the driver's side headlight was out. Turning the switch off and then back on would sometimes cause the light to come back on but other times it would cause that light to come back on and the other headlight to turn off. Other times, by turning the light-switch off and then back on, both lights would turn off. This is frustrating for me and worries me greatly since my wife is the primary driver of our prius. I hate to think what would happen if both headlights would turn off while my wife was driving at night on a dark street or highway. This is a gravely important safety issue for my wife and I.
Tl*the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. While driving 40 MPH the contact noticed that the headlights suddenly shut off without warning, within a few seconds, the contact activated the headlights switch and they began to function normally. The failure was not diagnosed and there were no prior warnings. The current and failure mileages was 56000.
Hid headlight malfunction - driver side headlamp goes out randomly but comes back on when turned off then back on.
Noticed driver side hid headlight was out on freeway. After stopping and starting car, it worked again. Later noticed that it turns on for a second and turns off on its own and must turn off and on again a few times before it stays on ... For how long? 42,000 miles on vehicle. This is dangerous in that it performs sporadically.
Driving to work in the early a.m., my driver's side headlight went out again. I turned off my headlights, then back on and both lights came back on. I had been driving for probably 20 minutes with just one headlight, and didn't know it, which was very dangerous. There must be something wrong with the electrical system supporting the lighting. This is a safety hazard and it has me worried every time I get on the road that both lights could go out at any time pre-dawn, dusk or night. It is likely making all prius owners focus too much on their headlights rather than concentrating on their driving, which is also very dangerous.
I have toyota prius 2008 with 52000 miles and both hid lights need replacing costing over $500.00. Was told they have never had problem at dealer and yet was able to find many incidents that indicate is common and a defect in the lights. Toyota gave me a case number, but would take no responsibility.
Driving to work in the a.m., and about 5 minutes after leaving the house, my driver's side headlight went out again. I turned off my headlights, then back on and both lights came back on. There is definitely something wrong with the electrical system supporting the lighting. This is a safety hazard and it now has me nervous every time I get on the road that it will go out at any time day or night. It is likely making prius owners focus too much on watching for signs their headlights are still on instead of concentrating on their driving.
Driving down the road last night (6/19) and my driver's side headlight went out as I was crossing over a bridge. I closely followed the car in front of me and as soon as I got off the bridge I turned off, then back on my lights, and both headlights came back on. This is a continuing safety issue that needs to be addressed!!!
Hid headlights unexpectedly shut off while driving. When I turn them off, then back on, they work perfectly fine, but I don't know when they'll go out again. This is clearly a safety issue. It does appear that the hid headlight equipped prius has some electrical or design defect.
Hid headlights unexpectedly shut off while driving. This is clearly a safety issue and appears to be a defect with the electrical system or design of the lighting components other than the bulbs because if I turn them off they come back on fine every time like there's nothing wrong with them.
Hid headlights that unexpectedly shut off while driving, but come back on when manually turned off, then on. Appears to be problem with the electrical system, not the lights, or a design defect.
I own a 2008 toyota prius and on two separate occasions the hid lightbulbs have flickered and gone out while driving. The replacement cost of the lightbulbs is in excess of $200.
Tl*the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. While the contact was driving approximately 30 MPH the driver side headlamp flickered and became inoperable. The vehicle continued in operation. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for inspection where the technician stated the headlamp failure was common. The headlamp was replaced at the cost of $250.00. The identical failure occurred on a separate occasion with the passenger side headlamp. The authorized dealer had been notified to schedule an appointment for the other headlamp replacement. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000.
2008 prius driver-side headlight goes out frequently but will come back on if you turn the lights on then off again. There is a problem with toyota hid lights as the vehicle is only 2 years old.
Toyota prius hid headlights fail intermittently when driving. Sometimes it is the left headlight, sometimes it is the right headlight and sometimes it is both. Especially dangerous when both headlights turn off by themselves and we are driving at night.
Both hid headlights have gone out in under 40,000 miles in my 2008 toyota prius.
2008 prius with hid headlights. The problem is that the driver's side headlight goes out intermittently. Turning the lights off and back on again sometimes restores the defective light. This is a safety related issue that appears frequently on the prius chat list and is an expensive fix. Toyota has chosen not to address this issue at this point.
Tl*the contact owns a 2008 toyota prius. The contact stated that the headlights on the right side of the vehicle kept failing and turning off. They were replaced twice. The contact called the manufacturer who replaced the headlights the first time at no expense to him. The contact then received a letter stating the second pair of headlamps would be replaced at a reduced rate. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000. The current mileage was approximately 30,000.
I have a 08 prius. The last few months I have been having problems with my headlights. I have people tell me I have a light out, but when I check its working. It seems that I am driving in the dark sometimes with just my fog lamps, I turn the lights off and on then they seem brighter. Headlamps cost $179. Plus labor. Toyota will not guarantee that is the fix and talking it may cost upwards of 4-5 thousand dollars for dependable lights. This seems like a crime too me. I hear of a possible recall of this problem but not really sure what to do about the problem now, I don't have 4-5 thousand dollars to have properly working headlights.
The hid headlamp of my 2008 toyota prius was working intermittently and I got a traffic ticket for it. Since I was unaware that the lamp was out, the ticket was only a warning. I had the lamp replaced at my expense at 36300 miles and $300!
I own a 2008 toyota prius that has intermittent headlight failure. I have been traveling to and from washington hospital center and my residence in southern maryland. Approximately, 75 miles each way daily to visit my mother in icu. I have been stopped on numerous occasions by the metropolitan police department as well as the maryland state police for a headlight out. While being issued a citation, I turn my lights off and on again so the officer can see that it is a mechanical failure, not negligence on my part. This is a safety issue that needs to be repaired by toyota.
2008 toyota prius headlights - the car only has 2 years and 30k miles and the passenger headlight flickered until it finally stopped working. Went to the dealer and they want over $300 to change a light bulb!! So trying to do it myself and I have to take the car apart. It is unbelievable!
2008 toyota prius--44,000 miles, LED headlights keep going out--$166 part + $45 labor. I replaced one in january, 2010, now another april 19, 2010. These are very pricey lightbulbs and need to be recalled and not priced to the customer. The incident date below is the second occurrence. When the police stopped and issued me a warning to tell me that my front headlight was out, he also said that my rear tail-light was out as well. There are definite problems with toyota and their prius lighting and I'm tired of paying the bill. My bill today is $250. I also bought a $1100 extended warranty which was of no use.
2008 toyota prius hid headlamps are intermittent while driving. Public and personal safety hazard! Replaced hid bulbs with the proper type, and the intermittent continue to occur. Phillips d4r hid bulbs are the recommended replacement bulbs. Hid headlamps wink off at random, when the brakes are applied. I think that the internal mechanism of the headlamp beam adjuster (which consists of a weighted, damped and movable subreflector) may be hitting the bulbs and causing them to prematurely fail, or the bulbs and ballast are faulty. Phillips d4r hid bulbs are extremely expensive, and are extremely difficult to replace because the access to the back of the headlamp assembly is very cramped and confined.
Hi, while driving to work this morning, my left headlight flashed and then stopped working. My 2008 toyota prius is about 1.75 years old with approximately 28,000 miles. I have heard from other prius owners that they have had problems with their headlights. I have also heard the replacement cost for the headlight is $300.00. I find that hard to believe, nonetheless headlights in everyother car I have owned seem to have a life of 10 or more years. This is a safety issue because I drive to work early in the morning when it is dark and I sometimes don't return home until after dark. The bulk of my driving has been in the daylight, however I need my car to get to work. Also on 3 occasions my cruise control accelerated beyond where I set it. For example I reset the control after having hit the brakes. I got back to my speed and set the cruise control at 70mph. I noticed a short while later the car was going 95. I hit the brakes to slow down and the car immediately came out of cruise control and slowed down as it should. I now take the car all the way out of cruise control shutting it off after I hit the brakes. I next turn the control back on and reset the cruise. Using the cruise this way I have not had the problem of the car speeding up. Ii figure I will continue to use the cruise this way and observe whether there is any problem. However,I don't believe toyota intended for the cruise control to be used this way. Thank you
Thank goodness nothing happened yet but my toyota 2008 prius has headlight issues. My passenger side headlight keeps going out. I find out that it costs anywhere between 200 to 300 dollars or more to repair. And fixing it does not guarantee it won't happen again! Toyota sent me a letter explaining the problem and that if I bring it in to a dealer that it will only cost me 150 dollars plus labor. Well thanx for nothing toyota.
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