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.
Left front headlight. It goes out after 5 minutes of driving. I replaced the bulb and it still goes out. The cost of bulbs are very expensive and Toyota should be made to replace this item and have all 2007 Prius recalled. One accident could cause a major catastrophe on the roads because lights turning off in the middle of a drive is unnerving and dangerous.
While driving to work one headlight went out and stayed out until I stopped the car turned off the lights and then turned them back on. This went on for a week and we took the car into Toyota dealership where the replaced the bulbs at no charge cause we were under warranty. However, this problem has continued to happen over the last 80000 miles. Now we are seeing both headlights go out at the same time and or one or the other. We are tired of purchasing new headlights over and over again..
I love my Prius but my headlight situation is terrible. I drive 56 mile one way to work. I leave at 5:00 so I do a good bit of night driving. My headlights go out averaging 10 times per trip. All I have to do is turn them off and then back on. But when you are going 70mph it makes you nervous. Worse is on country roads with no streetlights, when they both go off simultaneously it scares the dodo out of me and the wife. Usually one goes out at a time but occasionally both at once. Toyota replaced both bulbs twice and the computer board that controls each light independently once, while it was under warranty. But the older the car gets the more this happens.
During cold weather I lose all odometer speedometer backup light gas gauge. Back up lights have caused a lot of close call when I'm backing up one time I got close to hitting a pedestrian because they did not know I was baking up I have ran out of fuel on the freeway and I never know how fast I'm going. This problem is well documented and Toyota knows a bout the problem but will not issue a recall.
While driving home late at night, the hid headlights started failing. First, the driver's side went off, then the passenger side went off. After driving to the shoulder in the dark, I turned off the lights and switched them back on. I was able to make it home with the passenger side light working for the rest of the way. Driver's side failed again after 10 minutes. I ordered replacement bulbs online and replaced both lightbulbs. Passenger side seems to work fine. Driver's side however turns itself of anywhere from 5 minutes to 1 hour. I am told by Toyota dealer that the ballast may be defective. Ballast replacement is about $250 parts and $100 labor. My headlights were already changed under "warranty" at around 35,000 miles for the same problem. Going by the countless complaints about the Prius hid headlights on the internet, why is there no recall" Toyota is clearly creating a security risk that may cost lives. Is the NHTSA going to wait until someone actually gets killed because of failing headlights before mandating a recall for Toyota"
- Elk Grove, CA, USA
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I bought this car new. In 6 years, 88K miles with regular routine maintenance, I am on right headlamp number three. It turns off of it's own Accord, with no warning light or dimming. It just goes completely dark. At first, you could turn the lights off and back on and it would work again for a little while, but that ultimately failed. Because these are monodirectional hdl lamps, they retail around $125 --- to replace one at the dealer has been estimated at around $550. I replaced the first one myself, and had the second one replaced at a local garage. Now on the third bulb which is failing. It is a safety hazard, not to mention it makes my vehicle illegal and unsafe to drive at night. I never know when it's going to go out; I have been pulled over but not cited by local police for having the light out. I know that this is a common issue for Prius vehicles in '05 through '07 - the dealer acknowledged as much. However, because I am out of the warranty period, the onus to pay for this defect falls to me. Ironically I purchased the car to save money and gas and now am having to shell out $500 every 18 months or so because of this continually failing right head lamp. I have read it may be a housing in the lamp assembly; that was estimated to cost around $2000 to replace. Seriously. Toyota does nothing - no recall, no warning, nothing. It's wrong and it's negligent not to address this.
My headlight on drivers side keeps going out. I turn the lights off then on again but now the light is almost burned out. I was told I need about 350 for the whole assembly. That's to much! no normal person has that just laying around and I've been pulled over for it twice now. If I would of know the maintenance on this car was so expensive I wouldn't of bought it!
Driver side headlamp went out and passenger side headlamp flickered. This made it very difficult to see. After turning the lights off and on again the lights came back on...but continued to act up. I sent an email to Toyota below is the email thread of their response. I am shocked by the response!! they told me the hid headlamps are designed to turn off to prevent overheating! see below. From: "ask Toyota" to:[xxx] sent: Saturday, September 14, 2013 6:09:08 pm subject: Headlamp/ballast problem [incident: 130913-000071] thank you for contacting Toyota motor sales, U.S.a., Inc. We apologize for the issues you are experiencing with the hid headlights on your 2007 Prius. By design, hid bulbs will turn off if the bulb is starting to overheat in order to protect the electronic control unit. There are times by simply turning off the headlights and then back on; the hid bulbs will turn back on. We are not aware of any part updates regarding the hid headlight system for the Prius. We can't guarantee that a design change would be made, but your honest feedback may help us to evaluate different alternatives. Your email has been documented at our national headquarters under file #1309140862. If we can be of further assistance, please utilize the following link to find a variety of avenues to contact our offices, www.Toyota.com/support/contact.html. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Passenger headlight would go out intermittently. Driver's side headlight would go out intermittently. Driver's side headlight went out permanently. Took car to dealer where driver's side headlight was replaced. Three days later passenger side headlight went out. Bought an hid headlight from amazon at one third the price and replaced passenger side headlight. One week late driver's side headlight went out permanently thirty days after being replaced by the dealer.
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while stopping the vehicle, the headlights failed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis where it was stated that the headlights needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000.
The rh (passenger) headlight turned off. This was not a burnt out bulb, because after turning the headlights off for a few seconds and turning them back on the headlight would come back on. After driving a little while it would happen again. This happened many times until the hid bulb was replaced, but then after having a new bulb for about a month the problem came back, but this time turning the headlights off then back on would not turn the rh headlight back on. The rh (passenger) headlight will not turn on at all now.
Toyota sold me a brand new Prius with a headlamp not working. After I signed all the purchase papers, they pointed out that the right headlamp was not working and told me that it was alright to drive home and return the next days for repair. After four or five trips to the Toyota service department, they replaced the defective control unit. At a later date when the car had about 50,000 miles, I was driving on a freeway from los angeles to menifee, ca, at night in the hov lane. I seemed to have difficulty seeing the road and thought something was wrong with my eyes. So I switched lanes to the slow lane where, with less glare from the oncoming cars, I realized that both headlamps were not working. This was a dangerous situation on the high speed crowded freeway, so I pulled off the road at the next exit. Toyota replaced the headlamps, and I was compensated for the cost of repair upon the outcome of a class action lawsuit. Recently I noticed that the headlamps were failing again at around 115,000 miles. Immediately I had Toyota repair both headlamps, as I didn't want to experience the hazard of both headlamps failing again. From my personal experiences, there is a dangerous design flaw in the Prius that must be addressed especially before both headlamps fail again. I am concerned the next time the headlamps fail I will have no advanced symptoms and both might fail again simultaneously while I'm on the road at night.
I purchased my 07 Prius from a dealership in September of 2012. There was only 1 previous owner & at that time my car's mileage was around 55K. I commute 1 hr and 20 minutes to work (one way) & my first incident occurred after dropping my son off at daycare early in the morning, almost a month after purchasing my car. I noticed my right headlight was out. When I got into my car, I turned the headlights off and back on. Both my headlights came back on so I didn't think twice about it. Afterwards, almost every month I noticed my right headlight turned off, which started to concern me, but after getting quotes on how much the repairs would be I knew it would take some time for me to budget the costs into my monthly expenses. After another month or so, I found myself driving on highway 55 westbound (cary, nc) at around 9pm at night & both of my headlights suddenly shut off. Highway 55 does not have much lighting in the first place & I am very lucky that my 2 year old son was not with me. I panicked but quickly turned my headlights off & on again. Fortunately, they turned back on. Now almost every month, & aside from one of my headlights failing nearly every 2 days, both of my headlights randomly shut off. In fact, my headlights shut off again this morning at around 5:45am during my commute to work on highway 55. I did some research but found Toyota has only agreed to pay for repairs for '04-'09 models (with the same hid headlight issue) through the earlier of 5 years warranty and 50,000 miles or reimburse drivers who have already paid to have the problem corrected. I've already contacted Toyota at 1800-331-4331 and filed a complaint but I was told that my car (at 102K miles) was now ineligible for this program. This issue should be an official recall to avoid any severe accidents it can cause for owners who cannot afford upfront repairs.
Passenger-side high intensity headlight started intermittently failing. The light goes out randomly and unexpectedly. Turning both headlights off and back on again temporarily fixes the issue.
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that the headlights became inoperable intermittently. The contact stated that after turning the headlight switch off and back on, the headlights functioned normally. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis. The technician stated that the headlights would have to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 75,000.
I have previously filed a complaint regarding this vehicle # 10520690. Now this vehicle can no longer be driven at night as both headlights go out while driving. This is extremely unsafe and scary. If this were the only vehicle I had to drive I would have a real problem because I can not trust to drive it after sunset. Toyota needs to fix this problem!
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving 50 mph, both head lights failed. The contact was able to turn the lights back on once activated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection and they stated that the headlights needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 83,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- San Diego, CA, USA