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.
Headlights turn off randomly. Both left and right headlight turn off by itself or both will turn off together while driving. Paid $385 for new hid light as it is not covered by warranty, but issue still occurring. Prius in shop for the third time and dealer says most likely I will have to pay for another new hid light to ensure that it is not simply a headlight issue. We have been pulled over three times for this issue and given a fix-it ticket once. Definitely a safety issue as the headlights turn off in the middle of the night on dark roads.
Hid headlights on 2006 Toyota Prius go off whenever. Turn light switch off then back on, lamp lights back up. Very random anytime anyplace any speed. Left side light goes off the most but the right one goes off sometime.
Since around 40,000 miles I have been having intermittent headlight failures in my Toyota Prius. The headlights continue to flicker out, before it only happened on my driver's side headlight or my passenger's side headlight, but now it is both times. This happened randomly and there were no crashes or damages to the car involved. I have the hid headlight option installed. I brought the car to a dealership and they reported that there were no issues. They said that the problem couldn't be recreated and only offered to replace the parts but not under the warranty. The headlights continue to flicker out.
Both headlamps would go out intermittently, turning them off and back on would work for a while, but eventually over a 2 week period would not come back on. Toyota first denied the problem telling me it would cost 750 each bulb plus labor to fix. I found on a Toyota web site the problem with 2006 Prius headlamps showed the dealer and called an 800 #. I was assigned a case # and in a short time my dealer called and said they could fix the problem for labor cost only about $198. If this problem goes to a recall status they will reimburse my labor cost. I now see 16 complaints for the same headlamp problem on 2006 Prius on this site.
I own a 2006 Toyota Prius with high intensity discharge headlights. After less the a year and a half of ownership both headlights go dim and then go out while driving independent of each other. Many times both will go out one right after the other. They do this often, but on a random basis. When the switch is turned off then on the come back on for a short period. The Toyota dealerships I have taken the car to say they think it is the bulbs, however they can not guaranty it. They also tell me that Toyota has a long back order on the bulbs. In reading a few hybrid web sites and blogs, I have read numerous other owners complaining about the exact same problem. When driving down a dark highway it is very dangerous and scary to all of a sudden have no headlights on a car that is less then two years old. And then to be told that it will be over $750 to "maybe" fix the problem.
- Clovis, CA, USA
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Multiple intermittent outages of passenger side hid headlight while driving. Serviced by a dealer twice with dealers not able to repeat outage. Pulled over by police officer for outage.
The head lights on my 2006 Toyota Prius go out after a period of time driving. If you turn them off and then back on they come back on for a while then go out again. I have had both the bulbs and control module replaced ant the tune of $500 but the problem still persist.
In Sept 2006, my left headlight began to go out intermittently. It can be restored by cycling the light switch off and back on. Toyota at first said that they could not duplicate the problem. The frequency increased, and finally, they (1) asked me if I had had any accidents (no), then suggested that the bulb was defective. It costs ~$1,000 to replace it. I didn't at the time, but eventually the sheriff caught me and I had to fix it. It was ok for a while, but now the right side lamp is also doing the same thing, and occasionally, both lamps go out at the same time.. I can't afford another $1000 light bulb. This is really getting to be a *)#*. and, it's unsafe. (I spend 5 hours a day in the commute, and eventually it's going to get me killed).
Failure of both hid headlamps while driving over a two week period, and after only 2 years and 75,000 miles on the car. Needed to stop driving at night due to the safety risk until I could get them fixed. It turned out to be an hid computer malfunction and both the computer and headlamp needed to be replaced. The cost was about $750 for each computer/headlamp combination; ie, $1,500 total. The make of my car is a 2006 Toyota Prius, purchased in late '05.
At approximately 50,000 miles left headlight started to blink out after 10 minutes to one hour operation. Light could be re-lit by turning out and turning on headlights again. Cost of replacement of light, lamp housing and ECU, in excess of $1000 at 60,000 miles, right headlight showing same problem. Replacement cost of bulb in excess of $400. Loss of headlamps one at a time or both at the same time makes night time driving hazardous. Unexpected repeated loss of lights is unacceptable.
Head lights and rear lights suddenly went out while driving on the freeway at night. A tractor trailer almost killed me as a result of the light failure. I took the vehicle to the dealer where the vehicle was purchased. They told me to call corporate. " it is not covered under warranty" was the comment made. I called corporate and was given a reference number.200712041057. I was told that someone from the dealer, atlanta Toyota would contact me and assist me with this problem. No one has called. The corporate office also stated someone would call. I am still waiting. I will hold Toyota liable if I am injured as a result of light failure while driving at night. This is a safety issue and should be addressed immediately!!!!. the dealership, atlanta Toyota does not give a ?!@#$% about my safety. They did not offer to repair the problem and randy penland states he " thought it was a relay problem. I also filed a complaint with the customer relations manager carole newcomb. I told them exactly what I am telling you. Frankly their response was unacceptable. All they wanted was my money when I purchased it. No customer survive at all. Please let them know. Needless to say I will not be returning to that dealership. Never.
Hid headlamps fail intermittently while driving. Failed headlamp can be reignited by cycling the headlamp switch. L/R side failures are independent of each other. Dealer advised that both ECU and bulbs must be replaced at cost of $1,000 per side. Obvious safety issue with widespread failures among Prius owners with hid lamps indicating catastrophic design and/or parts issues.
Hid headlights go out without warning. Sometimes just one, sometimes both. Shutting the lights off and back on turns them back on. Sometimes this happens frequently, other times not at all or infrequently. Car is no longer under warranty. To date has not been corrected as those who have had it corrected advise of very high costs (thousands) and some have had similar failures with the replacements.
I own a 2006 Toyota Prius. I am having problems as well as many other 2006 Prius owners with the headlights turning off while driving. The issue is resolved for a short time by turning the lights off and back on again- until the lights turn off again a few minutes later. I have had it in to 2 Toyota dealers and they are stating that it is bad lightbulbs. In order to replace these lightbulbs (2) it is $900!! and might I add that the Toyota dealers no not carry these lightbulbs in stock. Therefore, this leads me to believe that these lightbulbs on a 2006 new Prius should not be going out while driving in the dark and are not a regular replacement item if Toyota does not even keep the lightbulbs in stock. I currently can not drive my car at night because it is a safety hazard. My lights could turn off at any second and I could easily get hit/and or killed in an accident due to failing headlights. I am currently in the process of dealing with Toyota and this issue. I also have the extended warranty on my car which I have spent a lot of money for and they are claiming this is not covered under the warranty. I am sorry but if there are numerous 2006 Prius out there that are having this defect, then it should be turned into a recall rather than have everyone pay for their own new $900 lightbulbs! I never would have bought this car if I had known I would have to replace special lightbulbs every 2 years for $900!
Continual problem with headlights on my 2006 Prius going out. I took my car into cabe Toyota in long beach a few times and they could not find the problem or recreate it. I have been have trouble with it for 6 months, finally on my las vists Toyota tech departments told them to check grounding and if not at fault just to replace the lamp assembly now the other headlight S going out randomly. Replacing the headlight I do not believe will solve this safety related issue. I am starting to hear that this is a wide spread problem with the 2006 Prius, Toyota is rather silent on this issue.
Headlights on 2006 Toyota Prius intermittently shut off. First right side, than left. Once lights shut off, the switch can be turned off and on and thereafter lights will stay on for a short while than shut off again. From my reading on the web, this is not an isolated case, as other owners of the 2006 are having the same identical problem.
Hid headlights on this model go out intermittently while driving; turning the lights off and then on again restores the headlight. Exact number of failures and date of first failure below is an estimate, as it is nearly impossible under most conditions for the driver of the car to know that one or both headlights are out--increasing the danger of this situation. Rainy or dusk conditions are a particular problem. Toyota is apparently aware of this situation; the dealer to whom I took it for repair acknowledged this and said that it affects a limited range of VIN numbers in 2006 models only. Local dealer has replaced both headlamps and says this will fix the problem. This is a serious safety hazard about which drivers may be unaware; drivers should be notified by the manufacturer since Toyota and the NHTSA are aware of this problem. I see that there have been at least three previous complaints regarding this problem on the ODI website.
Problem started in August 07 with driver's side headlight intermittently shutting off. No high or low beam, often very dim. Headlight bulb replaced due to short circuit. Replaced driver side headlight assembly. Module has also been replaced. Dealer currently suggests that it cannot be fixed if problem cannot be duplicated. Dealer said they have spoken with Toyota and they are not aware of other people having this problem. Dealer does not consider this problem a safety issue. Problem has yet to be resolved and the car will again be going into the shop.
Intermittent headlight failure. Can be either headlamp. Typically one headlamp goes out but sometimes both. They come back on if I shut off and turn back on.
The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that the headlights would not illuminate. She turned the lights off and then on and the lights illuminated. The failure occurred intermittently. She also stated that while driving 50 mph, the high beam lights dimmed. The dealer was unable to diagnose the cause of failure. The powertrain and fuel system were unknown. The failure mileage was 35,000 and current mileage was 37,800.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Redondo Beach, CA, USA