Apparently a known issue with the HID lights coming on or off intermittently.
2009 Toyota Prius lights problems
111 complaints (22% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 80,000. 1 crash reported.
- owner complaints
- 111
- of this car's complaints
- 22%
- typical mileage
- 80,000
- crashes
- 1
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Headlights2
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Toyota Prius lights problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2009 Toyota Prius lights
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
What 2009 Toyota Prius owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
The front lights and break lights sometimes turn off while I am driving. Both of the lights or one of them.
Headlights intermittently go off, and I wound have to switch it off and on for light to come back on, but for few minutes until it does it again, and I drive Uber at night. I have searched the problem online, it seems to be a common problem on the second generation Prius from 04-09, I called few repair shops and they acknowledged the problem but did not have an answer to solve it.
My 2017 Prius is having headlight failure. I was told by my neighbor that my headlight was out. I bought a new one and went to replace it but they were both working. Thought it was a defective bulb so waited to replace it. I check both headlights when I come to a stop behind a car so I can check the reflection of the headlights. Sometimes they are both on sometimes only one is on, Occasionally both are OUT. What I have noticed is when I turn on the car, immediately the headlights are bright,(not high beam) and immediately go dim. This acts like a bad contact or high resistance somewhere in the circuit. The headlights going on and off seems to be a circuit breaker of some kind. Fortunately I don't drive much at night, however I am having to drive more at night and the possibly of the headlights both failing is TERRIFYING. I started to research the problem and it seams I am not the only person having the problem. The internet is full of other people having the same problem. It seems that nothing is being done about it. I am hoping that Toyota is NOT deciding to just let the people kill themselves because it will be nearly impossible to prove that the headlights were out at the time of the accident so they will not have to pay a lawsuit and not have to fix a recall problems. I am 74 years old and been an auto mechanic all my life so I know about automobiles and wiring. I doubt that anything will be done, and wonder how many people have been killed because no one will dig deep enough into the problem to find the problem and fix it.
In december of 2018, I pulled my car up to a redbox station to return a movie. I pushed the park button on my 2009 toyota prius and got out of my car to put the movie into the slot. The car apparently was not in park and continued to move forward (I tried to catch it, but was unsuccessful, and hurt myself in doing so) until it slammed into a parked car in the same parking lot. My insurance listed it as an at-fault accident and fixed my car and the one that my vehicle had hit. (I told the adjuster I knew that I had put the car in park) I also had a 700.00 deductible to pay for fixing my damaged car. As time went by, this started happening more and more frequently. I would push the button for my car to go into park mode and it would not go into park. I would have to put the car into another gear and then it would go into park. Other weird things with the car were happening as well. Sometimes the car would not turn off and more and more when I would start the car, the dashboard would be completely black. I mentioned to my mechanic that this was happening, however, I could not make it happen whenever I took it to him. I did manage to get it on video though that it was happening. I just recently learned from my mechanic that this has been a safety issue with this car and that it's a bad combination meter. He also informed me that toyota only allowed for 9 years from the date the car was manufactured for this problem to be fixed. How come I did not receive any notification that this could happen and how do you put a time limit on a safety issue such as this one. My car did not go into park mode and ended up slamming into another vehicle. I could have easily fallen under the wheels of the vehicle as it kept on moving or it could have easily hit another person. I am hoping someone can investigate this for me and get back to me with information on how I can get this fixed.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 toyota prius. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the driver side low beam headlight failed to illuminate. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer moor automotive located at 1246 hartford turnpike, vernon, ct 06066, who replaced the driver's and passenger's side headlight bulbs. The contact stated that approximately 8 months later the passenger's side light bulb failed. Both bulbs were replaced at daytona beach toyota located at 451 n nova rd, daytona beach, fl 32114. The failure recurred for a 3rd time and was replaced by an independent mechanic. The failure mileage was 75,667.
Headlights go out after a few days.. Replaced over 8 bulbs. Checked connectors, checked wiring.. No problem found and the problem still exist.
One of the front headlight sometimes work sometimes not.I just get this car today and after purchasing I saw this problem.
The headlights come on and off. Bulbs have been replaced, fuses and still they periodically come on and off. When I take the to dealer they say no issues.
Every day one of my headlights are not working. One day it could be the left one, the other day could be the right one. I'm afraid both might go out during night time driving.
Questions about the 2009 Toyota Prius lights
Does the 2009 Toyota Prius have lights problems?
Owners have filed 111 complaints about the lights of the 2009 Toyota Prius, 22% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2009 Toyota Prius lights problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 80,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2009 Toyota Prius lights?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Toyota Prius have the most lights problems?
The Toyota Prius model years with the most lights complaints are 2007 (1,061 complaints), 2006 (941 complaints) and 2008 (583 complaints).
Other 2009 Toyota Prius problems
Brakes 199Acceleration 71Electrical 60Driver assistance 32Engine 26Fuel system 24Transmission 22Body 19Airbags 17Steering 13Suspension 5Seats 2Visibility 2Seat belts 1Tires 1Wheels 1
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2009 Toyota Prius?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history