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 constantly go off by themselves sporadically. I never know when the issue occurs only if I see my headlights reflected in the car in front of me do I know whether one of the lights are out. Turning the lights off and clicking them back on temporarily resolves the problem, but it is a constant problem that is unsafe and scary at times because it causes extreme visibility issues. This has happened at any time, while I'm on the street, while I'm parked and on the highway.
Takata issue: I am filing this complaint on behalf of caela erickson, my seventeen-year old grand-daughter. The vehicle was recently purchased used as her first-vehicle. The first time she drove it at night, the headlights dimmed and then actually turned of! this was while she was driving on a dark and winding back road here in the ojai valley on a busy holiday weekend. This is a very dangerous situation and one that could have had tragic consequences. When we took the vehicle into the local dealership, we were informed that there had been a class action suit settlement years before and that, although the car had been sold used to the previous owner through another dealership, the repair work had not been done. We were informed that the work required to completely replace both headlight systems...work that must be done to make the car safe to drive and that will cost nearly $1000...is no longer covered. This is totally unacceptable. If the problem was bad enough to be covered in a class-action suit, why didn't the original dealership insure that the vehicle was safe prior to re-selling it? it seems to me that as the sales end of the Toyota corporation, it was their responsibility to have corrected this dangerous problem prior to putting it back on the road. I believe this incident is an example of why this problem needs to be up-graded to a recall! there should not be a time limit on safety issues and consumers should not be placed in danger and/or have to foot the bill for Toyota's decision to purchase sub-par products from takata.
While at a stop sign I turned on my brights and the headlights went out for about 5 seconds then flickered back on. The headlights have been flickering randomly as well.
The car's hid headlamp just goes out sporadically. So far, it is "solved" by turning headlamps off and on again; but it repeats itself. The front right strut was broken shortly after we bought the car (55 days ago) and needed replacement. We replaced strut.
The headlights come on but after about ten seconds the left light only goes off. If I flick them off completely and then on again they start the process all over. The light bulb works but it seems to be something technical or electrical. The car was in motion when this happened because I was following my mother and she pulled over to let me know I was running on just one headlight and a cop could pull me over for it. I have to get my car inspected again for license renewal but we have to fix this first!
- Black, MO, USA
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I was driving my car in the dark and the head lights failed leaving me driving in complete darkness. When I stop my car and turned it off and back on the headlights come back on. I was driving at that moment on an circle exit ramp that had no street lights; complete darkness.
On numerous occasions I have been pulled over for faulty headlamps but as soon as I power the lights off and back on the bulb is operational. I have taken the car to Toyota multiple times and they have been unable to determine the cause of the problem. They are telling me to replace the entire wiring for a problem that has been posted publicly since the 2006 models came out. This should be covered by a recall as it is unsafe. The lights go off while the car is still or in motion. Note I bought the car used in 2010 but it's clear that this has been an issue since the car was new based on the web forums I have been reading.
When the car is turned on and the headlights are turn on, a few seconds later the headlight on the left hand side goes off. When turned off and back on again, they turn right back on. The same thing happened on the road (freeway to be exact). Have to keep turning it off and back on to be able to see the road clearly. Tried replacing lightbulb but still having the same problem happening. Scared to drive car at night with my children because this can cause an accident.
The headlights will flicker out without warning while driving on the road at night. Sometimes it's one and sometimes it's both (which is a scary occurrence on a windy road at night). It also does it while it's idle and stationary. I've changed the bulbs and I know it's not a connection issue because the quick fix is turning your lights on and off quick. They come back on but not for long. It seems to be a manufacturer malfunction. I'm seeing hundreds of exact complaints online for the same vehicle. I'm not sure what else to do. Thank you.
Headlight failure! well driving near my neighborhood the hid headlights suddenly shut off causing me to lose Focus on the road for a brief moment putting pedestrians at risk. To go from the illumination of a high intensity discharge to nothing is very unsafe. I have read multiple forums this is not a one-time occurrence and from what I've read you guys are well aware of this problem and have yet to issue a recall. May I ask why?
Driver side headlight will intermittently turn off. When the driver side headlight goes out if the head lights are turned off and back on the driver side will be on for a few minutes.
Reading about the headlight issue, also exists on my car. Has been this way since I bought it with 148K miles on it. I had the one headlight die thing happen. Dealership said they knew about the issue but that it wasn't part of a recall. I had to get lower voltage aftermarket headlights to get 2 to work at the same time and to avoid the $400 cost of replacement bulbs. Rediculous. I was afraid the headlight left on would shut off as well. You'd think Toyota would take responsibility for an issue occuring on all their same type of car, but they haven't. very disappointing. Sorry, even with one headlight hid bluish light, still hard to see. We really need two working lights and no stress when it comes to replacement. This should be an easily affordable experience, but its not. Read on the web, lots of other people also have this issue and it doesn't go away.
My headlights keep going out for no reason. The bulbs are not burned out but they will go out and I have to turn them off and back in. It makes driving at night very dangerous.
The right headlight turns on and then at some point while driving goes out. I have changed the headlight and it did not solve the problem. It is a lot of money to deal with diagnostics, but the problem isn't resolved. It is a safety hazard to only have one headlight working. Toyota should be paying for these malfunctions because accidents can be their fault for such a safety violation. There are many other people that are experiencing the same thing. This happens ever time I turn on my headlights for the last year trying to resolve it. It could have been for longer and I never noticed because the lights turn on initially.
My right headlamp has been intermittent for a couple years. It would resolve if I turned headlights on and off, it has become much more of a problem in frequency. I live rural without street lamps and it is becoming more dangerous. I was driving on a country road and hit a deer.
I was driving home yesterday evening when both of my headlights went off. Unfortunately for me I was in the middle of going through a long curve in the road. I quickly turned off the headlight switch and then back on again. They did come back on but I nearly drove off the road going 45mph! could have had a serious accident due to the headlight failure. I can no longer take the risk of driving late at night when I need to due to this safety hazard!
The instrument panel combination meter on my 2007 Prius causes the instrument panel lights to fail to illuminate when starting.this happens haphazardly with lights not functioning for multiple startups and then suddenly functioning as normal. The lights work one minute then then they don't. the lights will fail at the starting of the car and remain off for the entire drive during each occurrence. While in this disconnect mode the car will fail to shut off when stopped and the start/off button is pushed.you must hold button down for a few seconds as you would with a computer that wouldn't shut off normally and it will shut the engine off while still leaving you in accessory mode then you must tap twice quickly to shut off completely and that some times won't work so I 'll need to leave the car for as short a period as I can and pray nobody steals it. I know this problem is common with some Prius years and there has been an extended warrantee of 9 years established to help somewhat with this problem. I believe this was initiated by Toyota to stave off a possible and more costly recall. Why hasn't there been a recall for such a dangerous faulty part as the combination meter" the dangers are apparent : driving with no speedometer or warning lights, automobile failing to turn off correctly.correcting this problem is very costly repair $800 plus. The 9 year warrantee helps some and I believe a calculated move to avoid helping others such as myself. When I reported my problem I had owned my car 9yrs. And 5 mos. The dashboard lights are not something you'd expect to lose unless you might have to replace a fuse to repair it. If this repair costs $800 then Toyota's technology is faulty and inefficient.big question : why was this problem treated to an extended warrantee instead of rectified for all concerned by a recall "
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Los Angeles, CA, USA