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 was driving down a familiar road when my headlights went out. My car is a 2007 Prius. In talking to a repairman at the shop I discovered that high intensity (and high heat) bulbs would stop working without any warning if the bulbs became too hot. If they were turned off for a few seconds they would cool off and work again. As a result I have no way of knowing when the bulbs are going to go off. I took the car into the Toyota dealer and was told that although both bulbs appeared to be working, the fact that they had both stopped working indicated that they must have an internal short and should be replaced by the same type of bulb, with the same problem at a cost of $807. The only reason I am alive to report this incident is because I was on a straight stretch of a familiar road, and there were other cars around. I turned my lights for 30 seconds and then turned them back on. At least one of the headlights came back on so I could continue home. I requested headlights that would not go off and on without warning however so far Toyota has only offered to replace the headlights with the same unreliable headlights.
2007 Toyota Prius with 47K miles. It lost power while driving on the highway. The car barely made it to the side of the road. After a little while, it restarted. The warning lights indicated there was no gas but the tank was full. The screen also showed that the battery was dead. This is the second time this happened. The dealer says the car checks out.
2007 Toyota Prius - diver side headlamp goes out intermittently while driving. If the headlight switch is turned off and then on again then the lights go on again. Failure repeats itself. Updated 06/01/09.
On multiple occasions one or both of the headlights on my 2007 Toyota Prius have gone out without warning. The lights come back on when I turn the light control completely off and then turn it back on. The lights will then work for awhile before turning off again. There is no alarm or notice the headlights have gone off. I reported the problem to Toyota (800-331-4331) two weeks ago. When and if they return my calls, it's typically right before the person calls goes home for the day. On multiple occasions, I have called and there have been "communications errors" on the Toyota end. They tell me someone will call within 24-72 hours and we start all over again. In my opinion, they are avoiding me.
The passenger side headlight turns off intermittently at night. Comes on and goes off randomly, even when on a flat surface or sitting still. Recently I was driving on a dark, winding road and it went out presenting an extremely dangerous condition. According to the discussion boards, this is a very common indication and very expensive remediation item which will prevent many from fixing during out current economic crisis. I am very worried about my wife driving at night in this car don't want my children in it at night. This is a very serious issue in that the driver could hit something resulting in injury to the occupants, or another car could become confused by the headlight failure resulting in an incident. Again, the message boards are loaded with discussion on this item.
- Newtown Square, PA, USA
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Hid headlamps on my 2007 Toyota Prius do not function properly. For the past several months they have flickered off and on. Turning the light off and then on, while driving corrected the problem for a while. Now one lamp only stays on for 1 minute or less. The other still goes off and will turn back on if the lights are turned off and then back on. Toyota's response is to want to charge me $350 for a new bulb or over $1000 for a controller board for the computer. From what I have read on line my car is not the only Prius with this problem. We need a recall now before some one's lights fail at night and they die!
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that the high intensity (hid) headlights would become inoperable intermittently. The dealer stated that there was a wire defect that caused the shortage in the headlights. The front driver's side headlight was replaced for $400 at the contact's expense. Less than six months later, the passenger side headlight was replaced. In addition, the entire lighting assembly was replaced for $350 at the contact's expense. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 30,000 and current mileage was less than 48,000. Updated 04-17-09 updated 04/21/09.
At 4:45 pm on 2/5/2009, I drove my 2007 Toyota Prius West on sw andover St. In seattle wa. I slowed as I made a right turn to park perpendicular to the street with a 6 foot high chain-link fence in front of me on top of a retaining wall. The bottom of the wall is 6 feet below street level on a paved parking area. As the Prius approached the fence, I braked to stop, but the car did not slow, so I floored the brake. The car hit a fence post, pulling it out of its mount and then the car moved over the top of the wall pushing the pole and fence over its hood & roof, . the front of the Prius dropped to the area below the wall while the rear remained on the top. The fence mesh stretched but slowed the Prius's forward movement and kept the rear from going over the wall.. the dashboard was still lit and I lowered the electrical windows and yelled for help. The first arrival told me to "turn off the car". this is significant because the only way he could have known the car was running was if he heard the sound of the Prius's gasoline engine that only kicks in at higher speeds. I opened the door and jumped down to the pavement. The police came and made a report. I did not receive a citation. The Prius was extracted by a tow company and hauled away. Fortunately I received no physical injury. The chain link fence was truly a safety net. On 2./12/ 2009, my insurance company, usaa, declared my Prius "totaled" and made a settlement payment. I thought perhaps my brakes had failed. I had my Prius receive a routine 25,000 mile check at the Toyota dealership just eight days before the accident. From articles on www.consumersafety.com I learned that similar accidents with the Prius have happened to other people. After reading their experiences, I now believe that "unintended acceleration" was the more likely cause of my accident.
I owned a 2007 Prius and lately it has these problems. The left head light goes out while driving more often than the right headlight. On several occasion, both headlights went out on it's own during driving. This is a serious problem that can lead to death if drivers were nears hazardous road such as California hwy 1 where drivers can fall off the cliff on turns with sudden headlights went out. To reset the lights by turn off and on again but the problem repeat with one light goes out every 5 minutes while driving. I think Toyota needs to issue a recall before someone got serious injury from this clearly a flaw in design. Steve
I've been having issues with my right headlight going out intermittently. If I cycle the power the headlight usually comes back on. The dealer says there's nothing wrong. I've been pulled over once for an equipment violation already. Last night the headlight went out leaving me with limited visibility. As I rounded a corner I almost hit a deer standing on the shoulder as I couldn't see him/her due to the limited visibility.
I have a 2007 Toyota Prius with about 40,000 miles on it now. At about 37,000 miles, my driver's side hid headlight would periodically go out while driving. Soon afterwards, the passenger side headlight would go out, an once both went out. The lights would come back on if the switch was turned off and then back on. I had the car checked by Toyota and had to replace the driver's side bulb for about $400. Now, the passenger side bulb is starting to go off more frequently and will have to be replaced. I was shocked that these hid bulbs did not have a longer life, failed so suddenly and at their high cost of replacement. It is a serious danger to be driving at night and have your headlights fail, particularly when replacement is not a simple or inexpensive task. The bulbs are not easily accessible. Public forums show that this is a common occurrence in the Toyota Prius, the replacements are from a different manufacturer and have no reported problems, yet no recall was made.
I own and operate a 2007 Toyota Prius. To date I have been extremely satisfied with the vehicle. However, recently I have been experiencing intermittent failure of my passenger headlight and occasionally the brake light on the passenger side. This is a safety concern because I do not know when the light is on or off. The other day I was pulled over by the police and received a repair order. The cost from the dealer to replace the bulb is $535, apparently this is maintenance and a non warranty item. Personally I think there is a design flaw if it requires a mechanic to change a lightbulb. I am posting a message here in hopes that this will convert into a safety recall. I am going to work with the dealer and Toyota to try and get this repair covered. Wish me luck!
Started noticing my passenger side head light going out sporadically. Just as the others, by turning them off, then on, the lights come back on. Was actually stopped by a va state trooper, who advised his father-in-law had the same problem & that this was a manufacturer error. So, I took this issue to my dealer due to having an extended warranty. They called my warranty company before starting work to fix this $500 issue (which, all they did was replace the bulb). It then started occurring on my driver side. When I took it in to have this fixed / looked at, was advised the warranty company had denied the charge with the dealer & the dealer had comp'd the charge as a courtesy. Based on these reports, I just called the dealer to advise them of these issues & am hoping for a resolution to this issue.
I have a 2007 Prius, starting around 39,000 miles, I noticed my right headlight was out, but the next time I started my car it was working. After a few weeks I noticed both the left and right headlights would randomly go out. I took my car into the dealer multiple times, but when I was at the dealership they could not duplicate the problem. I was told to bring my car back when the problem existed. I took my car in to the dealer and at that time both lights were out, at the same time. The tech that wrote up my ticket saw both lights out, the reached in the drivers side window and turned the lights off, then back on. Both lights worked, they kept the car overnight and could not duplicate the problem. I have since taken in the car and duplicated the problem, the service manager was made aware of this problem. They checked my car out and suggested to change both hid lights and the computer that controls each light, one for each side. The cost of this repair will be over $1,500. Lately this failure occurs consistently everytime I start the car. I drive to work at 5:00am in the morning so this problem poses a hazard as now both lights will go out at the same time. I have had cars flash their lights when I have not notice both lights have gone off. The lights now seem to dim, then go out so I do not notice when the street lights are bright. I have read on priuschat.com/forums, that this is a problem that many people have written in to complain.
Indicator lights flashed. Malfunction indicator lamp stayed on. At 2,644 miles, 12 V. battery dead & replaced. I was told to keep the gas tank half or a quarter full or the reserve gas tank would cause the car to run on battery. The battery might have died because the car sat too long before it was sold/at 8,879 miles, I went in. After filling the gas tank & taking out the nozzle, gas spewed & bubbled out. The car stalled while driving slowly & while in park. Indicator lights flashed. The malfunction indicator lamp and master warning lights stayed on. It took 5 min. To turn off the car. I started the car. Those lights stayed on. I was told I left the "trunk door" open & ran down the battery. (not true.) there is a gasket around the access hole and if a person "is a little bit off, " the gas will regurgitate. (I was not " off" & did not top off the tank.) they reprogrammed the computer. The gas tank had not been filled so I knew they did not fill the gas tank and try to recreate the situation as they said they would. I bought gas at a different pump. I stopped at a stop light. I could feel a loss of power in the car. When I pushed the gas pedal, the car would not move. I turned the car off and on 3 times before it would move. It crept slowly through the intersection as the traffic signal turned red. I took the car in at 8,936 miles. I was told if my problem is associated with the battery that was taken out of my car, it is not at repair person's responsibility because he did not touch my battery. When a battery is disconnected for a certain amount of time, if something is not reset, it could cause problems. Then, he said no trouble found/my car stalled and/or had a loss of power. I took it in at 9,014 miles. No trouble found. I was told that my problems could have been caused by a faulty gas pump overfilling my tank. The gas station is new. The manager said the pumps were inspected. If there were a faulty pump, everyone would have problems.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Folsom, CA, USA