This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The headlights (hid) stop functioning intermittently. One or the other or both will randomly shut off. The lights will come back on if they are turned off then on again. The issue has been happening for several months.
While driving the passenger side headlight went out, I replaced the bulb and the problem continued. It turns off shortly after starting the vehicle wether it is driving or sitting, when I turn lights off and on again light will turn back on for a moment and turn off again, this happens while I am driving and I am afraid to drive it and be pulled over for not having working headlights.
I was driving at night on the freeway 280 and suddenly both headlights went out, it was so black you couldn't see anything on the road. Talk about scary, try driving at 65 mph on a road that curves when you all yo can see is black. I was able to jiggle the switch the headlight switch off and on several times and the lights finally came back on. With my heart pounding I continued to drive home only to have both headlights again go out together. This happened 6-7more times until I reached home. I was actually shaking by the time I got out of my car. Why were both headlights malfunctioning at the exact same times" I took the car to the dealers the next day and after inspection they told me I simply needed new headlights. I thought it was an electrical malfunction, but they insisted that it was just the headlights going out and that this happened all the time. Why would they be using headlights that they know both go out at the same time?"this is highly dangerous. People could have a heart attack if not an accident! I spent $500 to replace the two headlights. However, I just recently experience the exact same problem of both head lights going out. My car is at the dealers this very moment for the same problem. I hope my 2005 Prius gets recalled for this headlight problem so other people to not have to experience this trama and dangerous situation. I was surprised to learn that this headlight problem is common to the Prius. Outside of this dangerous headlight problem I love my Prius.
Digital dashboard sometimes is completely blank for extended periods so that I can't see my speed, fuel levels, odometer, and other info. When I start up it happens and continues the whole time I am driving. It is causing other problems related to the hydrolic braking sometimes as well when this happens.
Me and my family traveling down the interstate at 70 mph in the dark when a tractor trailer all of a sudden started to change lanes when we were directly to the left of it. Luckily the lane to our left was open and we were able to quickly change lanes to avoid collision. It turns out our 2005 Prius headlights were not working and the truck did not see us. Had to turn lights off then on again to get them to work. The rest of the way home one light would go out, then the other would go out. Had to turn switch off then on again to get them to turn on again. This is definitely a major safety issue with this car. Why is there not a recall.
- Huntersville, NC, USA
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Last night while drive 1.5 hours home, the driver's side headlight would shut off, and if I noticed and flipped the lights off then on, it would come back on. If I didn't notice, then the passenger light would also go out leaving me in darkness. I began timing the interval, and it came out to be intermittent between one and two minutes, regardless of terrain, speed of vehicle, smooth or bumpy roads, straight or curvy roads, etc.
Passenger side headlight is intermittent. This has happened at least twice before and I believe the bulb and some other electronics had to be replaced. The dealer charges a huge amount for this repair.
While driving in any direction in all conditions, the left headlight began flickering in May 2015, shortly after left headlight began flickering. They do not work at all now.
We were on the overpass going from highway 87 to us 101 North in san jose going about 70 mph heading to the san fransisco airport. It was 8pm, and very dark. The headlights just shut off, while the dashboard indicator said that the lights were still on. We tried frantically tried turning the lights on and off again to see if they would come on, and they didn't. we took the next exit and stopped in front of a hotel were we could see the headlights in the window, and they were off. We turned the car off, counted to 10, then turned the car back on. The lights came back on. We turned on the foglights in case the headlights turned off again. They stayed on all the way to the airport and almost all the way home. They turned off for about 1 mile, and then turned back on.
Head light will intermittently go off. I can turn the light switch to off and then back on and the headlight will come back on. Usually this happened on a street or highway when the car is in motion and lights are switch on. This happens off and on when the car is being driven. Usually it is the left headlight, but occasionally the right headlight goes off as well. This has been happening for several months. The Toyota dealer quotes $500 to make repairs! I did research on internet and found that this problem is pretty common for certain years of the Toyota Prius automobiles, 2005 included.
Since September of 2014 I have had issues with the dashboard lights. They have become dimmer and dimmer. Then during the week of 8/24/15, I started my car and the dashboard lights came on, but when I turned on the headlights, all dashboard lights went black. I had turn signal lights, but nothing else unless I turned off the headlights. This was extremely dangerous as I was driving home after dark. I had no idea how fast I was going, what gear I was in, if I had enough gas to get home, etc., etc. The next morning I took a 20-mile drive and when I stopped, I could not get the car to shut off by pushing the ignition button. I tried multiple times and the engine finally turned off, but the display panel was still dimly lit. I then drove directly to the dealership to have whatever was wrong repaired. After a mechanic checked it out, it was determined the computer needed to be replaced and they had to order the part. This is not an item that is normally serviced and I have no clue if the dealership checks it during a servicing of the car. So I wondered if there was a recall on it. In checking on this website I find I am not the only person who has had this problem and that I thought there would be a recall on it. When I picked up my car I asked about the recall and I was given paperwork stating it was a "warranty enhancement program" for "9 years with no mileage limitation from the date of first use or before September 30, 2013". letters were sent out to Prius owners of cars from 2004 to certain 2009 models. I never received a letter and am very concerned if Toyota knew there was a problem why didn't they not do just a "warranty enhancement program" but a recall? they would that eventually all cars would have this problem and it should be replaced. This is an extreme safety issue!
I have been experiencing some problems with my headlights. I changed the bulb and a month later the light stopped working again. I took it to the dealership they blamed it on the bulb, I tried to return the bulb to the store and they tested it and said everything was ok with the bulb so it had to be the headlights. I'm also having problems with the dashboard lights. The speedometer and gas gage completely failed. At the same time I was told my ABS brake system needs to be replaced! this is too much happening at the same time and I have to pay for all of it out of pocket.
Headlight on the driver side keeps turning off every couple of minutes. The only way to turn it back on is to flip the headlight switch. It looks like this is a defect in many Toyota Prius 2005 models. I would like the dealer to fix the issue even if tye car is beyond the manufacturer warranty as this is clearly a manufacturing defect.
The headlights on my 2005 Toyota Prius go out on a much to frequent basis. I have replaced both headlights multiple times. This last time, I took the car to the dealership (northshore Toyota) to ask if they could check the headlights. I thought it could be a bad connection. They checked the headlights and said they both needed replacing, although one was working when I brought the car in for service. They did not mention anything about an issue with the headlights, and gladly took our money for replacing the lights. Upon further research, I learned that this is a problem with headlights on Toyota Prius. I feel this is a safety issue and should be addressed by the manufacturer.
Noticed passenger headlight appeared to be out intermittently. Would turn back on after restarting lights. Consistently winks out and will restart after turning lights off and on again. Also noticed now that the drivers headlight will also go out and both lights are off at certain times, night or day.
The passenger side headlight randomly turns off while the switch is still in the on position. It is temporarily fixed when I flip the switch for the lights off and on again. The last three times I have driven in the night it has unexpectedly turned off.
Originally the passenger headlight would shut off randomly. I would flick the lights on and off and it would turn back on. Then this past new years eve both headlights turned off and I flicked the lights on and off and that did not work. I shut off the headlights with the switch for a few seconds and luckily they turned on again. However the kept on shutting off more consistently. First the passenger then both. This is ridiculous. And the car was not safe to drive. I replaced both headlight bulbs at my own expense. The bulbs worked great for 2 days. Now both headlights will not stay on for more than 45 seconds. My 16 yr old son also drives this car and this is unacceptable. If something were to happen to him because of this known defect that Toyota is not willing to fix. This is terrible! fix this problem! new bulbs is not the fix. There is something else seriously wrong here.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Bothell, WA, USA