Headlight problem

[rusty houndog]

Has anyone had any experience buying D4R bulbs from velocitygetter.com:

2 x VG D2S D2R D4S D4R HID Xenon Bulbs for OEM Stock Xenon 4300K 6K 8K

or

HID Safty Features Wires Self installation Business Opportunity HID Xenon Conversion Light Kit ??

They appear to have 4300K, 6000K, and 8000K bulbs. I'm looking but have no data to work with.

[AvonWoman]

Hummm Hi All I just came home from Toyota and googled to find out from other Prius owners if they are too experiencing this headlight problem. I guess so! Same deal, right light out, left light out and sometimes they both just go out. I drive around turning my lights on and off as that puts them back on. Next I'll be buying a light switch. I have been told by the dealership today, that the computer boards are faulty and that my extended warantee will cover the upgraded boards however the same headlights can not be used, they are not compatible to the new computer boards, so beings warrantees do not cover headlights I will have to buy 2 lights at 400.00 each. I am not happy about this and do have a call out to Toyota CS..........I think enough of us have to call Toyota and this should be a recalled item and include the headlights!!

[windstrings]

Huh Huh..... then why won't your regular bulbs work once they replace the faulty board?... Why must they do both?

And why do those who only replace the bulbs with the same type "D4R", it fixes the problem?.... even with the cheap bulbs that cost 35.00 bucks a piece?... We're talking HID bulbs here... you know, the ones they want hundreds of dollars for "a piece"?

These types of dealers are the very reason Toyota finds it too expensive to step up to the plate and just recall or fix everyones IMO.

They want to replace the boards ballast, remove the bumper, new bulbs, tons of labor when all along the problem is fixed with a simple bulb replacement.

But dealers milk the manufacturer as long as they can and its all survival of the fittest and they ruin it for the honest folks that just want thier lights to work and aren't interested in trying to cheap Toyota out of everything the can in parts "and" labor.

I hope I didn't beat around the bush too much!

There.. I feel better now....

[twestheimer]

I have had the left one go out in my 2007 prius and if I turned the lights off and on it would work for a while and then be out again. I let the dealer replace the bulb and it is OK but the cost! $ 345 for the bulb!! + 1/2 hr labor. I have bought a bulb from a 3rd party supplier and will see how that goes for $ 100+

[kdub]

I stumbled upon this website when I was having trouble with my headlights and lurked for a month or so. Left HID went out under warranty... no problem. Covered and replaced. 2 months later right one went out, out of warranty. Argued with tech for a few minutes, paid dealership $494 to replace, left and called Toyota as soon as I got home and opened a case immediately. They called back within 2 days and received my reimbursement check 3 weeks later. No questions asked other than, "You had to replace your HID?". They are aware of the problem but apparently it is not serious enough for a recall. Call them and ask for Nicole (1-800-331-4331 x 73113). She knows what is up.

[JamesClements]

Both lights were failing and I had to do the on-off trick to get them on again. Bought bulbs from plasmagarage.com for $129 (a pair). Installation was hell but I got them in right and both have been working great for a week now, fingers crossed!
I bought the HID-D2R Xenon bulbs which are supposed to be same as factory install.
2005 prius, 80,000 miles. Best miles/tank 54.5 miles per gallon.

[reelmates]

I've got a 2007 prius with 41,000 miles. Same problem, head lights. 6a.m. one dark morning lost headlights totally on a dark curvy road, wife freaked out. Took to dealer replaced auxillary battery, labor and battery around $250.00. Not covered by extended warranty. Dealer wanted to charge around $900.00 for bulbs and labor (have extended warranty) this not covered. Said no to bulbs, (still not working right after battery installed). Went on line saw this forum, called Toyota, they opened a case, Paul assisted, ended up paying $200.00 for the labor everything else Toyota took care of directly with the dealer. Have to say I am pleased with the Toyota Experience. Wife still doesn't trust car (she drives it most the time). She wanted to get rid of it after the no light, dark road episode. Scared she's going to buy it one dark morning or night. If this doesn't fix problem whatever is to be replaced next is covered by extended warranty. Wife has informed relatives to contact our attorney if anything happens to either one of us because of no lights. Truly hope problem is fixed because we both loved the vehicle until the no light episode on a dark road.

[Syclone]

The HID headlight problem seems to be the single largest source of complaints about the 2006 Prius. Toyota needs to acknowledge the problem and issue a TSB.

I've been getting notices for Car Stats. Here is the latest set of reports off of their web site:

2006 DEMO CAR COMPLAINTS: 0 on file plus other Safety Car Reports.

[qbee42]

Originally Posted by reelmates

<snip>
She wanted to get rid of it after the no light, dark road episode. Scared she's going to buy it one dark morning or night. If this doesn't fix problem whatever is to be replaced next is covered by extended warranty. Wife has informed relatives to contact our attorney if anything happens to either one of us because of no lights. Truly hope problem is fixed because we both loved the vehicle until the no light episode on a dark road.

If your wife seriously thinks a headlight failure will kill her, she is driving too fast. Headlight failure is always a possibility with any car, HID lights or not. A smart driver will keep options open, just as a smart pilot is always looking for the next place to land. Tell your wife that this was a problem, it's now fixed, but it could happen at any time with any car. Treat it as a training exercise.

Tom

[SteveRadich]

I bought a certified preowned 2006 tonight, drove it off the lot after checking it over / test driving it during the daylight (and doing all paperwork while it was getting dark). Getting on the highway out of the dealer I hit the hi-beam headlights at about 60 MPH and had NO LIGHTS. This seems like they COULDN"T have done a Virginia safety inspection NOR the Toyota certified inspection on this car. I had to stop in the middle of the highway and turn on the flashers to try to see to pull off the road.

As to the last reply about headlights can go out in ANY car - yes, that's possible, however most cars the headlights are fully self contained with a simple 12 volt hot and a ground and the chances of BOTH going out are almost nill. Of course the chances should have been also very low on this car and I can only get it to have one go out right now sitting in my driveway.

This is a REDICULOUSLY important safety issue and should be recalled immediately. The Loudoun County Sheriff's department didn't want to write a complaint on this, I feel STRONGLY that they should - however I've filled out the NTSB safety concern forms.

As to safety - Considering I was on a highway I've been on ONCE in my life, which was on the earlier test drive in the daylight (not the same way I came TO the dealer) and had no lights at highway speed at night, AND PRIOR TO THAT had almost no low beam lights (I was actually looking and couldn't see the next stripe / line ahead of me), NO street lights, and no cars behind me to light the road this is EXTREMELY dangerous and easily could be a deadly accident, especially in a car you aren't yet familiar with. I had *NO* idea where the flasher was to turn on to try to see with them and was completely stopped in the middle of the road looking for a flasher button.

I won't go so far as to say this is a death trap type problem, but it's not that far from it - What if a tractor trailer was coming when I hit the brakes since I couldn't see? Granted you could argue if one was behind me i would have seen SOMETHING making it perhaps less dangerous, but I think you can clearly argue this MUST be corrected immediately - and SHOULD have been caught in the VA safety inspection of the car, OR the Toyota Certified inspection.

I bought the car at Miller Toyota in Manassas, VA and will say the sales process went VERY smoothly - I will assume at this point that they're going to fix this since it happen about 2 miles from the dealer, however it means I have to waste a few hours driving there and going back to get the car (unless they can fix it while I wait). I didn't expect to buy a car that couldn't be driven at night when it was certified and a premium over a "non-certified" car - nor did I expect to have to take part of my day to return a car for a MAJOR SAFETY problem like this. I tried to call them but couldn't get an answer and once i got the lights to work again continued driving home with little light (mainly driving lights).

I'll post again how tomorrow goes, but wasting 2-3 hours reading up on this problem and the frustration of thinking I got a car with electrical problems is rediculous after paying for a "certified" pre-owned.