I've been pulled over at least twice for my headlight issue, but the worst is that my wife drives the car from time-to-time with my kids, and I'm worried that they'll both go out and NOT turn back on! I only recently located a pair of headlights being sold for $55 on Amazon.com that is 1/3 the price of any auto parts store, and located several online videos on how to change the bulbs you self.

From the research that I've done, there are three possible sources of the problem:

1. Bad light controller, this will result in intermittent on-off issues, but never a burn-out type shut down. It's a $400 item, and a last resort in my opinion,

2. A bad igniter, this will cause the light to do the same as above. It's a $300 fix, and a second last resort...unfortunately the bulbs (in this case, for HID's) does not come with the igniter,

3. Lastly is a bad bulb. I'm not sure of the validity of this claim, as several owners who went through the (formerly) expensive option of replacing the bulbs still experienced this issue on an ongoing basis...sometimes as quickly as same-day. The two schools of thought are either a HID bulb dies like a street light...it will flicker and fade until it finally does not turn on anymore, or - a dead bulb dies and never turns back on.

As option 3 is the least expensive, and least invasive, I plan to attempt this fix first, but I never expected to have this issue with "upgraded" headlights. If I had the option to go with standard bulbs I would, they'd last substantially longer, and cost substantially less to repair each time they did eventually go out,

The 'intermittent' headlights turning-off problem is a 'definite safety hazard' and even though my Prius is out of warranty period, Toyota should pay for replacement of both headlights bulbs, as well as both 'ballasts' which activate headlights.

I'm 69 years old and my reflexes aren't as good as when I was young, therefore when the headlights go off, I may not be able to react as quickly and could possibly crash while not being able to see where I'm going. If I turn-off the headlight switch for about 10-15 seconds after the bulbs go out, I've found they will again light as soon as the switch is turned back On.

This problem started after the recall period was over, and now I'm stuck having to pay for repairs to resolve this problem.

I've read that just replacing the 'bulbs' may not fully resolve the problem and that also replacing the 'ballasts' at the same time is the best solution.

It's too bad Toyota will not stand behind their products having this problem, because their cars are otherwise quite reliable and they risk loosing 'repeat/loyal customers' for future car purchases.

Purchased car used from Toyota Marin...was given 3 days to evaluate with right of return...Both headlights would turn off and this happened on 3 consecutive nights. Very, very dangerous....I told them I wanted to return the car.They replaced the bulbs on the automobile. BUT + it was a good thing I drove the car every night otherwise I would have been stuck with a very costly repair.

It was only later that I discovered this can be a very big problem for Toyota owners. I bought a Toyota because I wanted something safe and reliable. Toyota as a brand has a terrific reputation. I was shocked that this problem was not the subject of a recall because the repair can be extremely expensive and I would like to know what the engineering defect actually is? IF they turn off again I am stuck with an expensive problem!! And money saved on the fuel bill will just go into a costly repair bill!!

I just purchased this vehicle and did not know about this major lighting issue. This definitely would have influenced my purchasing options and steered me even further away from Toyota products. The fact that Toyota no longer builds reliable cars and is constantly sweeping well known and documented issues under the rug on the regular basis is very disappointing. Toyota used to be the brand that was known for reliability, now the entire company is a joke and, that's coming from the owner of a Toyota and a Lexus.

Toyota, please get your act together. Voluntary recalls are how you keep your customers buying your product. It makes the customer feel like you care about their safety. Letting your loyal customers drive at night with no headlights is a life risking issue and you better believe I will sue you if it ever happens to me.

I just bought this car from a private party and the second day of ownership, I took my family out to dinner. When we got in the car to go home, I turned on the headlights and as I started to get on the highway at a relatively high speed, the lights went out completely. I turned the switch off and back on quickly, and the lights came back on, but I had to repeat this process 20+ times on our way home. I looked online and found this problem to be widespread. Why isn't Toyota issuing a recall to fix this problem????

The right headlight, low and high beam, started to intermittently turn off a couple months ago. I had the bulb replaced but it didn't fix the problem. So, I searched online and it turns out this is a common issue with the Prius, but not recalled.

Update from Feb 3, 2015: Turns out the headlight was not replaced. It came back on while at the mechanic so they charged me for a replacement that they didn't do! Anyhow, now both go on and off at will, sometime both at the same time. The repair estimate is $350 - $800 depending on the need for the ballasts to be replaced as well.

I called Toyota and they filed a complaint. They said the more calls they get, with similar complaints, the more likely they are to issue a recall. So CALL! The number is 800-331-4331

My wife and I bought this car used in November 2012. Within a few days my headlights started going off by themselves. One would go off and after I got back in the car to go somewhere else they both would be on, then the other light would go off. Sometimes they both would go out. I informed the dealership where we bought it from and they replaced the headlights telling me the lights would last 5 years. Last year, 2013, in November the problem started again. I informed the dealership and they wanted to charge me almost $500 to replace the headlights. I will not pay for something the dealership should have fixed the first time I told them about it. I love my Prius but I will not use that dealership again.

It appears that cycling the headlight switch on and off turns the light back on. It is annoying and at night, of course, sort of dangerous. It also subjects me to receiving a ticket from the police if seen driving with one headlight out.

Update from Mar 11, 2015: The cost of replacing the bulb, which is supposed to be the fix, is well over $400. They say that they have to take off the front bumper to get to the bulb. The bulbs themselves cost over $100. I can't afford to get it fixed. I either park the car, try to sell it, don't drive at night, or drive with the problem.