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 went out by themselves. I turned the switch off and then back on and the lights came back on but this problem repeated itself multiple times (20+) on my way home.
My right headlight went completely out. I went and purchased a new set to replace both lights and had them professionally installed. Not even 3 months later my driver side headlight went out. Within 2 weeks of this happening my passenger side just went out again. I had nothing at that point and had to drive with high beams on to make it home. I have only owned this vehicle for 4 months and feel this is going to be a constant situation to deal with.
Driving down dark mountain road and both lights went off. Terrifying as I tried to keep car from driving off mountain in dark. Screamed with grandchildren in car & thought we would crash. Minute later parking lights came on & I had to try to get down steep curvy mountain with parking lights
I was driving down the highway and both headlights suddenly went out. The fog lights remained on. When we went inside a store and came back out to continue driving, they came back on again. They then failed again, both headlights, in a separate instance, turning themselves completely off while I was driving on the interstate, in an area with no lights, leaving me in the dark. I was able to resolve the issue this time by turning the light switch off and then back on again, but I am concerned this will continue to happen. I have done some research, and it seems this is an ongoing issue with Prius' within the same year (and surrounding years) as mine, and something the company probably needs to deal with.
The tail lights intermittently go out when driving at night, while the brake lights are fine. It is related to a problem with poor quality tail light sockets on this model and year. Replacement bulbs do not address the problem. This seems to be a common problem, not unique to my vehicle only.
- Methuen, MA, USA
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While driving at night, on numerous occasions, either one or both headlights cease to function. By turning them off and back on again, they work for awhile, but then may or may not go out again depending on who knows what. My right headlight was replaced at 15,000 miles and the left one was replaced at 20,000 miles - both under warranty. I was told at the time that it would have cost me over $200 each if it was not under warranty. Just looking at complaints for the 2007 Prius cars for this year alone, 23 out of the 60 complaints on this website sound exactly like mine. I understand that this has been an issue with all the 2006-2009 Toyota Prius cars and that Toyota somehow fixed this problem when they revamped the car in 2010. My dealer said to bring it in to see if it was a ballast problem or faulty lights--all very expensive to fix and there is no guarantee I won't have the same problem again in the near future. (see Toyota chat line where folks have been charged up to $2500 only to have their lights go out again in a few months) I don't understand why Toyota doesn't have a recall to fix this problem. Not only is this a waste of time and money to the owner of this car, it is a safety hazard. No warning light goes on in the car to say the headlights are not functioning, and it isn't always easy to tell the lights have gone out, depending on how well the roads are lit. What is Toyota waiting for" does someone have to die because their headlights unexpectedly go out while driving at night before something is done to fix this issue" I hope not.
The hid headlights on my 2007 Toyota Prius appear to be defective. When I turn the lights on initially, they both illuminate, but the lights dim progressively, and after several minutes the lights are essentially dark. This occurs in both headlights and started only this month. This is a significant safety issue, as it is very dangerous to drive without working headlights (particularly when one assumes that the headlights are working since they turned on initially). It is my understanding that the issue is beyond replacing the hid headlight bulbs; according to the repair shop I visited, there may be a defect with the hid electronic control units (ecus). I understand as well that this is a defect that has occurred in numerous Toyota Prius vehicles and that Toyota in 2011 agreed to a settlement of a class action lawsuit that provided some repair coverage for certain owners.
The right headlight had to be replaced. It would turn off and if I turned the lever on and off while I was driving it would come on for a while. On a dark night it was dangerous. I replaced the right headlight and it cost a total of $229.55 which I thought was outrageous. Now the driver's side headlight has gone out too. I might have to drive it only in daylight unless I can find a cheaper way to replace the headlight. I was stopped by the police for the first headlight out, but given a warning. I bought the car to save money but headlight replacement costs are way too much in my estimation.
I have been told a few times over the last couple of months now that we had a headlight out in our Prius. I would later go back and investigate, flipping the lights back on to check. But the lights were on full blast, no problems. I dismissed this as people not seeing things correctly. Obviously the headlights were working, that it until we got on the interstate last night and both of the headlights went out while we were driving 70mph. We managed to get home by the dim light of our fog lights, but this is very dangerous! fog lights were not meant for nighttime driving. When we got home, we started playing with the headlights again, and like magic, they decided they were going to start working again. They turned on full blast, no flickering or anything. Looking up our issues today, apparently this is an issue with the hid headlights and is a common known problem for the Prius. People have paid hundreds or even thousands of dollars to have their headlights replaced only to have the same thing happen again. Seems like the guts of this car are flawed and need to be repaired. Presently I'm stuck. I'm not going to spend hundreds of dollars to replace headlights that really don't need replacing when people are saying it does not good. Toyota really need to address this. Can't have headlights going out when you're going 70 on the interstate. Someone is going to get killed from this.
Within approx. 5 minutes of starting my car with the headlights they automatically turn off. You are able to keep clicking them back on, but then they turn off again. Thus making it impossible to drive at night, for fear of causing an accident. Huge safety factor.
The driver side headlight randomly goes out. One time both headlights went out. When I take it to my mechanic, he can't ever make it happen. If I turn the lights off and turn them back on, the light comes back on. It happens regularly, and continues to this day.
I have a 2007 touring Prius with hid headlamps and 1 of the headlamp assembly started leaking water and Toyota of kingsport, tn. Replaced it on Oct. 28th 2013 and charged me $342.30 after discount. Now the new headlight and the other one is going off while driving and this happened on May 29th 2014. There is no way a headlight should fail in 6 or 7 months. Thank you for listening to my complaint, as I can't afford to keep replacing these very expensive headlamps. I went online and it seems I'm not the only one with this problem and can you get Toyota to do something about this? I would appreciate any help you can give us Prius owners with the hid headlamp system.
I was driving at 5:00 am on 5-3-14 to the beach and my headlights went out in complete darkness. Luckily there was no other traffic around and I was scared to proceed on my trip. I turned the headlight switch and the headlights came back on. I proceeded on my trip with caution and when it got light I drove without my headlights and safely got to the beach. This incident could have resulted in a bad car accident and death since I was in complete darkness. What should I do ?
Driving along interstate 70 at night, headlight intensity suddenly dropped. Stopped in a safe place on the next exit ramp and determined that both high beam and low beam of the left headlight had gone out. Resumed the rest of the trip at a safer speed. Next morning, tested the headlights and they all worked ok, but later in the week the same thing happened.
I was returning home from a trip with a friend and driving on major freeway late at night, very dark with little visibility in a rural, unlit area..all lights in vehicle shut down while driving 70-75 mph. We could not see anything even the road, was like driving blind and very frightening trying to navigate the Prius off the road safely without getting hit by other vehicles. Once I stopped the vehicle off the side of the road in the far left lane we turned the vehicle off, but left the hazard lights on and let the vehicle sit for a few minutes. We started again, lights came on, and I drove the vehicle another 100 miles without any incident until we entered the city. I had a similar problem driving the 12 remaining miles home, but the front yellow lights worked and I had the hazard and brake lights working. The city lights improved visibility. I took the vehicle in and the only problem they could find was with one of the headlights. I was told I needed to replace both. I can't emphasize how dangerous and frightening this experience was for my friend and I, still unsure how we avoided a tragedy. I would like the NHTSA to investigate and make a recommendation to have some type of warning in the vehicle.
One vehicle headlight keeps going out but when you turn the lights off at the switch, then back on the light comes on again. The dealer changed the bulb despite us telling them the light comes on if you turn the switch off and back on. We had the connector checked and cleaned to no avail. I did a little research and it turns out that many other Prius owners are experiencing the same problems. This is a safety issue that is very expensive to troubleshoot and fix.
I was pulled over while driving at night by Kansas highway patrol and advised that the passenger side front headlight was out. I exited a few miles up ahead at wichita and spent the night. The next morning I drove to my original destination of enid, ok and took the car to the Toyota dealership for service, and they told me they couldn't find anything wrong because the headlight worked perfectly. Since then, I have had problems with that headlight working only intermittently and I've taken it to my home dealership in columbia, mo (machens Toyota) and been told they can't find anything wrong. My daughter has been stopped in this car by local police twice, advising her that the headlight is out, and I've been told this same thing by friends on numerous occasions. It seems that the headlight works initially when turned on, then it ceases to be illuminated after about a minute or so. If I go ahead and turn the lights completely off and then turn them back on, it will work again for a minute or two and then go out again. I have "googled" this and discovered that this is a common problem, and some consumers have spent up to $2600 trying to get various parts replaced and still, the problem has not been fixed. This appears to be a serious manufacturing defect and I cannot or will not be able to afford spending thousands of dollars trying unsuccessfully to remediate this important safety issue!
12/18/13 is the first of many incidents when the headlamps suddenly go dark. The problem is random and intermittent, sometimes the left, sometimes the right, sometimes both go dark at once. This is a serious safety issue. Replacing the headlamp does not correct the defect.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Little River, SC, USA