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.
Driver's side headlight goes on/off intermittently. Every time I take it in to get looked at or replaced, it works. Will go out after driving a few miles, but will turn back on when I turn off/on headlights. Then it will dim and go out again after a few miles. I never got a recall notice in the mail from Toyota for this, but when I took my car to the dealer to get the accelerator recall fixed, they told me that Toyota would cover if I had less than 50,000 miles. I have been dealing with this off and on issue for a long time because the light works part of the time and I only know that it is out when someone tells me they saw me in town with a headlight out. Toyota quoted me $150 for the bulb and additional $105 for labor to install because I am over the 50,000 miles. This should be a warranty covered by Toyota as it is a known problem with these cars. Toyota should have notified owners of this potential problem.
My headlights turned them self off on any given time either one on a time or both at the same time same thing happens if the highbeams are on day or night to correct this problem temporarily you have to turn the lights on and off quickly and you have no guarantee how long it will stay on I spoke to the Toyota corporation and they will not help because my car has 90,000 miles my car is 2008 to fix this problem the dealership is charging $1200 I have extended warranty on the car but electrical is not covered.
On 09jul2012 4:00 P.M while driving my Prius 2008 hybrid, heading home on I15N, the electric power on the vehicle shutdown without any previous warning, or alert. I immediately maneuvered the vehicle to the right shoulder of the highway. Immediately called aaa for a towing into Toyota of escondido, located on 231 Lincoln parkway, escondido, ca 92026 ph# (760) 746-0674. Today 09/01/2012 - currently experiencing problems with intermittent hid headlight operation: I've got a package 6 2006 Prius. One of the headlights keeps going out. I can't really tell when or how it goes out since I can't see it. I'll notice it when I see the reflection in the back of another car. If I turn the bright lights on and off it has no effect, but when I turn them all the way off and back on the light comes back. Request a safety recall for Toyota to take care of the electrical corrective actions.
The headlights and rear lights on my 2008 Toyota Prius intermittently go out. Several times I've brought the car to the local Toyota dealership to have them repaired only hear there is nothing wrong or get a bill for replacing the lights or various associated parts. On at least six occasions I've been stopped at night by people at traffic lights telling me my lights are out. My husband was stopped and cited by a police officer for both headlights being out. At the time my husband was traveling for business and had to stop and spend the night at a hotel because he couldn't safely continue driving. The last time I brought the car in for this issue the previous night the light had been out but it was working when I got to the dealership. The serviceman said he would look at the issue but if the lights weren't acting up then there was nothing he could do. While I was waiting I googled "problems with Prius headlights" and found the issue was common, and in fact, had caused a class action lawsuit. When I brought the attention to the serviceman he said, "that's why I said I'd heard about the issue but Toyota isn't taking monetary responsibility for this issue." Essentially, I repeatedly engage is the same routine of going to the dealership, paying for something that doesn't work, then having my lights malfunction at night when I need them.
- Austin, TX, USA
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I have a 2008 Prius. I was driving in the evening on the freeway and noticed the reflection of my headlights in the bumper of the car ahead of me. My right headlight seemed to be off. I turned my lights off and on again quickly and they both went on again. This has happened repeatedly over the past two months. Sometimes they both stay on. Sometimes the right one fades. My spouse noticed that both lights were alternately flickering as I drove behind him one night.
Both headlights abruptly turned off while traveling home at nights going approx. 50 mph. Turned lights off and then back on and both headlights came back on. This is the third time this has happened. Each time it's both the headlights.
Passenger side head light went out in November, 2011, tried to replace bulb myself, took to dealer who replaced it "free, under warranty!" now driver-side head light went out, called dealer, told no longer covered under warranty and referred to lawsuit which had Toyota not taking blame or doing a recall but extended warranty to 5 years, 50,000 miles. But my car was at 60,000 miles in November. Called dealer again and told that they did it as a "courtesy". huh" why" if they told me it wasn't covered but they were doing it as a courtesy, I would still be singing their praises. But instead, I feel I was lied to. So I took it to another dealer, repair cost $211. For about 5 minutes of work. From the lawsuit, I read that this can happen over and over again. My bf says that sometimes when I'm following him in my car, my light would randomly go out! definitely an expensive & dangerous problem w/ these great cars!!
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving 45 mph, the headlights failed and reilluminated independently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the headlights needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure continued. The manufacturer was contacted and provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 91,000 and the current mileage was 92,000. The VIN was not available. Updated 9/26/12
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact started that the headlights failed to operate upon engaging. The contact mentioned that the failure occurred intermittently while driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who replaced both head lamps. The failure recurred the same day the repair was performed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who diagnosed that the headlight and socket needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was no longer under warranty. The approximate failure mileage was 65,200.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact was driving 35 mph when the driver's side headlight failed to illuminate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the dealer stated that the headlight needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 50,000 and the current mileage was 75,000.
My headlights will go out for no reason while I am driving or they will go dim while driving. I have been pulled over by the highway patrol on 2 different occassions because they though I was driving unsafely without 1 working headlight and each time I was able to turn the lights off and then turn them back on and both lights would then work. The highway patrol said that they are becomming aware of this problem because they are seeing this problem more often. I reported this to the Toyota dealer and they had no answer other than to replace lights that at the time were working just fine. This is a major safety problem. NHTSA must do something... investigate and/or recall of the Prius for defective headlight electrical systems before people are injured or killed.
Water drops observed in both headlights most likely due to faulty seals in both headlights. Went to several dealerships and I was told by one that this is "normal". this is my niece's car and I have several other vehicles and none of them have ever had water condensation in any of my headlights! I have also called other Toyota dealers and get a mixture of whether or not this is a covered item under the certified pre-owned warranty. Now that her warranty is coming close the end of term (12 months or 12000 miles) the dealership that she bought it from is balking at replacing the headlights. I don't know what the problem is, since I would think that the dealership would get reimbursed by Toyota North America (similar to what my BMW dealership would). Not sure if she has the halogens or the hid's, which have other complaints of random failures while driving.
Headlights go on and off at random while driving. Sometimes they wont come back on until I turn the switch off and back on. Sometimes only one light will go off and not come back on until I turn the switch off and back on several times.
My Prius headlights are very erratic and unsafe. While driving, one or the other and sometimes both go off. No bumps or other incidents have occurred. They just go off. By turning the lights off and then back on, they always correct themselves, until the next occurrence, which may be in minutes, or days. This condition is entirely intolerable and is not due to loose connections or bad bulbs or any other cause. It obviously is a defective firmware or hardware sensor problem. It is very unsafe, as it has happened to me at night while traveling through an intersection. I have looked at reviews on the internet and it appears that many Prius owners are experiencing the exact same problem. Thanks and I hope enough complaints come your way to cause a corrective action of some sort!
We were pulled over by a policeman and was notified that our passenger side head light was out. We shut the lights off and then turned them back on, they stay on for a few seconds or minutes and then they turn off. We understand that is a real problem with the Prius. We have had 3 priuses and this is the first time we had a problem. If you have to have a dealer put in your light it can be $300 to $500. ( for changing a light bulb that is not even funny).
Just like many other Prius seen on road, my Prius got the headlight problem, it was starting two years before, sometimes its right headlight on would be suddenly off, if I turned it off and put it back on again and the right headlight would be coming back again. Unfortunately, starting from last week, when I turned on the headlights, the right one just on for around 10 seconds, it would be automatically off but now the right light didn't come back again. I believe it is not only my car problem. I have seen many Prius car on the road having this problem too. It may be caused the manufacturer defect.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that his headlights would diminish slowly and over time they would not function. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who advised him that he needed to replace the bulbs. Within a few months after the bulbs were replaced, the failure had recurred. The manufacturer was contacted and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 78,000. Rvk
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- La Center, WA, USA