Headlight problem

[MBranstein]

Wow! It's been a while since I posted. Love our 2006 Prius, but we started having the headlight problems at 60K miles. We just brought our car in for the headlight problem and they replaced the affected bulb. I'm waiting for the bill, as they have not faxed it to me. I'll keep you updated with the price we paid and the results I get from called Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.

What DOES irritate me is that the service tech I talked to on the phone said the bulbs should only last for 1-3 years - nothing near the 8 others have communicated on the site.

[Lady PC]

We have a 2006 "the works before leather" (can't remember the package #) Silver Prius, well used with 95,000 miles and still LOVING IT like we did the day we got it new from Bernardi Toyota in MA (thanks to manager Mike Benson after waiting out multiple dealerships for over 6 months wait)! What a JOY to use and promote. Our first problem has been the "intermittent" dysfunctional HID that started perhaps in the summer of 2008. It was so intermittent and the HID are so bright that I didn't even notice it until others told me I had a light out.When I started commuting a longer distance and at night this fall I was stopped by several police in several townships for the problem (getting a warning each time). After the second time I "learned" to just turn the lights off and turn them back on again and they seemed to "reset" themselves. I did this after my third "stop" and asked the policeman to check the lights for me again and they were amazed that they were both on stating I could have sworn you had a light out. I got away with about 4-5 warnings and then when I was driving at midnight and both headlamps went out (they did reset after turning off) on an unlit road, I was "inspired" to do something about this annoyance. My husband called Toyota after reading this thread and contacted Georgeanne of Toyota who said she would work with us to get the problem resolved. The first Toyota dealership in Salem, NH Rockingham Toyota acted like they hadn't heard of the problem when I went in for oil change and they implied it would be our responsibility (we did not get extended warranty and I think they indicated that the HIDs would not be covered anyway). Several months later when I needed another oil change I decided to try Hurlbert Toyota in Epping NH (nice inviting new structure and good location off RTE 101 ). When I called up for the oil change I asked about the HID problem and she (Service woman) seemed very familiar with it saying that most likely it is a sensing leveler in the lights. At time of oil change I gave Noreen (service woman) Georgeanne's telephone number and told her there must be a work order number for the call my husband made 3+ months ago. I took my seat at 10:00 for oil change and was out of there by 2:00 with headlamps fixed and oil changed.They charged $548.00 of which I was responsible for $31.30 (oil change). I am thrilled to have everything back to pristine working order and grateful for the "no hassle we'll take care of it" service of Hurlbert and Toyota, although I thought 2+ hours seemed excessive to switch out the bulbs and reconnect wires. With Toyota paying for the lights it was well worth the time to wait. The HID should be on a recall list not just a bulletin but I must admit that I greatly appreciated Toyota and Hurlbert "fixing the problem" with no upfront expense of mine other then the frustration of the problem in a 2 year NEW car.

[wstben]

wstben had the headlight problem with both headlamps. First one replaced under warrenty. Second one replaced after warrenty. Toyota customer service paid the second replacment after a discussion with them. There are apparently some defective HID lamps out there. These quoted prices for a headlamp replacement ($520) remove the prius from an economical class to a specialty class.

[tran]

add me to the list.... Its an 08 package 6 with only 5,415 miles!! just dropped it off to the dealer and they say its from moister... i just want it fixed and hope it doesnt come back...

[jillyjack]

I have exactly the sanme problem. They are dim, or flicker, or one goes off. If i turn them off and back on they will go on strong again. I first thought it was a fuse or headlight probelm but the dealer said no and told me it was some exorbitant amount to get it fixed. So i didn't. I did go the the ntsb (?) website like others suggested and reported. I think it is a faulty design and prius should issue a recall.

[mimigreenberg]

I also have a 2006 Prius and have the same problem. I have a friend with one and he has the same problem. I have seen 4 other Prius's with a headlight out at night???

I also have a problem with the electric window not stopping mid way. It only will go down or up all the way. I also have a problem with the battery going dead for no apparent reason.

Sounds like I have a lot of problems, doesn't it.

I took my Prius in to the dealership about 4 months ago re the headlight and tail light problem. They said they couldn't help me??

Yikes, I'm calling them today.

[stomsf]

I had the same problem -- 2007 Prius, bought in late 2006. First started getting the problem in Summer of 2007, had the dealer inspect inspect inspect and FINALLY replace one bulb (right) in October 2007. A few months ago we noticed the left bulb going out, same behavior, they would come back on if cycled off then back on, but at a much dimmer intensity.

Called Toyota, after a long bout of phone tag finally got an appointment to have their local dealer look at it. They offered to pay for the relacement bulbs today, but wanted me to pay for labor which I wasn't really happy about, as this seems to be a chronic problem that's well known by Toyota. But safety first -- getting both headlights replaced at a $150 labor cost.

[Tom D]

I had my 2004 Prius's driver side HID headlamp bulb replaced by Dublin Toyota on Oct. 15. Two months later the flickering-dimming-extinguishing problem occurred again, with the new bulb.

I called Toyota Corporate Customer Experience Center (800-331-4331), explained that I had not yet gotten the reimbursement for half of the $600 first bulb replacement that they promised almost two months ago. Also said I'm not interested in replacing the bulb every two months, nor in going through the expensive trial and error of replacing a bulb, then if that one fails replacing the ballast, then if that fails replacing the computer, each time paying many hundreds of dollars. They sent the case to the rep who handled my original bulb replacement, and she's supposed to contact me within one business day.

Meanwhile I called the Toyota dealer who replaced the first bulb. They said they can do nothing until they see the car. I explained that the failure is intermittent. They still insisted. I think I'll wait to hear from Corporate.

Anybody hear more about recalls or class action lawsuits?

[windstrings]

Originally Posted by mimigreenberg

I also have a 2006 Prius and have the same problem. I have a friend with one and he has the same problem. I have seen 4 other Prius's with a headlight out at night???

I also have a problem with the electric window not stopping mid way. It only will go down or up all the way. I also have a problem with the battery going dead for no apparent reason.

There are links about the window problem... without going into furthur detail and hijacking this thread..... if its the drivers windows.... I'm just making sure you know that that button is "designed" to push all the way for the window to respond by going all the way...... but if you only want it part way.. you gently push it so it doesn't bottom out and you should have full control.
If thats not the issue.. I think you can try to reset it.... chances are when your battery went dead, it fouled up the programming.

if so, try pulling up on the button all the way until the window hits the top and continue to hold the button for another 2 seconds or so... now go down and do the same.
this tells the computer where the upper and lower limits are again and it should work.

I'm just going by memory here.. if that doesn't work...go look up that issue on the forum or pm me.

As far as batteries.... I always suspect dome lights being left on and such.... the battery is pretty small and designed to boot the computer up and run light accessories for a limited time. Once the computer is up, it utilizes the main "big" battery thats 200ish volts to fire up the engine and turn back and "recharge" that accessory battery.

turn your car off.... go put your key somewhere far away so it doesn't light up your dome light when you walk up and "trick" you.. and go get back in your car and inspect to see if "anything" is on. Check the light in the back too behind the hatch thats on the lower left.

a little light like that won't bother you much if you drive your car often.. but 3 days or so, and it will drain that small battery.

again, there are many threads about this elsewhere.

[windstrings]

Well if you've read the previous notes in this thread, you will know I replaced the bulbs in both of my cars.
My car has worked flawlessly since... I bought those cheap ones on ebay... 70.00 buck for two!

My wifes car started acting up again with the drivers side bulb. I had "saved" my original bulbs that had not gone bad and I simply put one of those in place of the bulb that was acting up... this was about a month ago and no problems!

I'm almost absolutely sure this is problems with the bulbs.
When I inspected the old bad bulb and compared with the other "good" old bulb there were differences. The bad one had a glazed line running down the material inside the bulb... almost like it had melted into glass and maybe wouldn't fire properly any more....

At any rate... I haven't seen any case yet on this thread yet where a new bulb "or good old bulb" doesn't fix the problem.