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.
I am the original owner of my Prius and it has worked wonderfully except for having to replace the headlights. About 4 years ago I had an accident and the front bumper and driver side headlight was replaced. It is now flickering and turns off. The passenger side headlight was also replaced 4-5 years ago and it died about 6 months ago. This is a serious problem since the head light flickers and dies while driving. I almost drove off the road on a side street because I could not see.
Intermittent failure of headlight (left and right, though not simultaneously). Problem can be temporarily corrected by turning headlights off, then on. This issue occurs while driving (twice within a one hour drive) and when the car has just been started. Fuses have been checked and headlight bulbs have been replaced with no resolution.
2005 Prius hid headlights go out while driving and continue to go out intermittently as they will relight if cycled on and off. Replaced bulb and issue continues.
- Renton, WA, USA
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The first time happened about a year ago and the issue gets worse. I took the car into the shop to replace a headlight as I thought it had burnt out. When I arrived, the passenger side light was working again. The issue has been so bad now that both headlights may turn off with no warning and cause complete darkness while on the road. From what the shop told me is that I will have to possibly replace the hid headlamp cpu in order to ensure no further issues. This is a severe safety issue that seems to plague the make and model of Toyota.
My front passengers-side headlight keeps going out every 5-10 minutes but will turn back on if I turn the headlights lights off and back on again. This has caused me to get pulled over & nobody seems to know how to fix it...
My left head light goes out intermittently. The light goes back on when I turn the lights off and then on again. This seems to be a problem that Prius owners are regularly experiencing.
While driving a headlamp will extinguish and I can turn on/off quickly and will come back on. Sometimes this happens every couple miles and can alternate between headlamps and sometimes both fail at the same time. Also if trying to drive on one, the other can fail also requiring a turn on/off reset.
The right side headlight goes out multiple times for no apparent reason. I have to turn the lights off- then back on--it will come back on--only till it goes out again.
Our neighbor noticed that our right headlight was out. It proved to be intermittent, going on and off at unpredictable intervals but getting worse with time. We had both headlight bulbs and modules replaced, a procedure that required the removal of the front bumper, among other things, and cost $1,212.98 at an independent garage. We suspected that the cost would have been even higher at a Toyota dealership. Now, beginning on or about October 23, 2014, the same problem has recurred, this time involving the left headlight. Given the high cost of repair and the fact that, obviously, the fix is only temporary, we have not had the headlights replaced again but are attempting to avoid driving the vehicle at night or in bad weather. Given the apparent frequency that Prius owners have reported this same problem, my wife and I do not understand why Toyota has not developed a generic fix and issued a recall.
Intermittent drivers side headlight failure. Light will work for a short time, and go out while driving. This has been a chronic problem with this car. I bought it from a friend and it has been a problem for them, and other Prius owners that I know.
For the past 200 miles or so, the left front headlight has begun to turn off after a couple of minutes when switched on. The hid bulb and ECM was replaced, at considerable cost, but has not yet been resolved. I have an appt for Toyota dealership service in a week.
I had an accident in March 2013 which caused front end damage. The car was repaired with the headlights being replaced. Every since the repair the headlights have been going out for no apparant reason. At first just the right headlight, now both lights shut off at the same time and I have to turn them off and back on to get them to emit light. The dealer said it was the headlights themselves but why do both of them go out at the same time and why do they come back on and continue to work. At first this occured maybe once a day but it is occuring frequently. I do not think it is the bulbs becasue they keep shutting off at the same time which suggest it is something else.
The headlight just turned off. In reading up on this issue, it has become apparent that this is a known issue with hid lights in a Prius. Fortunately it only happened to one headlight and not both.
The front headlights will randomly flicker out, usually one at a time but sometimes both at the same time. One can get it back on by toggling the headlight switch on and off, but extremely dangerous when on an interstate at night. A ton of owners are having this same problem, but apparently there is as of yet no recall. You can switch out the expensive bulb, but that also apparently doesn't fix the problem.
First passenger side then drivers side headlights failed within a month of each other. Able to relight headlights by turning on and off switch, but then they would go off again. Both replaced by Toyota dealer at over $300 per light! now, the drivers side headlight is off again several months later, still able to switch it on for awhile, but it fails as I am driving.
Multiple failures of hid lights going out. It will switch from one side to another. Sometimes results in both headlights going out. Most of the time a quick flip of the headlight switch will bring them back on. It is completely random. Instances when both lights go out, each time had to make a quick pull over to wait for a moment, as the normal quick flick to get the lights back on fails, thus causing a quick panic to get to a safe place on the side of the road in the complete dark and hope that other vehicles around you can see you and let you over.
In mid June 2012, while driving on the freeway I noticed the left side headlight was not on, initially I thought the bulb was bad since I had already had to replace the right one. I had planed to take the car to elmore Toyota of huntington beach, ca to have the bulb replaced but the following day the light was working. After a few days it started happening again. I found that if I turned the lights on and off the headlight would come back on, I have had this problem for over a year now. Today I decided to take the car to the dealer's service department, now they can't seem to tell me what is the true nature of the problem, all they want to do is sell me a new bulb. After doing some research on my own I now understand that this has been an ongoing problem since 2007 and that the NHTSA has investigated this and has decided that this is not a safety issue. I would like to see if the persons responsible for this decision would like to go on a long night drive with me on a mountain road. Right now I want to officially file a complaint about this problem, my 2005 Toyota Prius is unsafe to drive because the headlights are not dependable and there is no telling when they will stop working.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- San Diego, CA, USA