Headlight problem

[windstrings]

Originally Posted by talonts

outsourcing.
From Philips email I got today:
"Thank you for your submission, the D2R HID bulbs are 85V 35W. D4R bulbs are 42V 35W. If you have any further question let us know."
.

Therein may be the source of allot of our issues.

IF the D4R bulbs truely are "new" for 2006 and for the first time they are using half the voltage of their successful predessesors, that may explain why the symptoms keep acting like they aren't getting enough amperage from the voltage supplied and further explain why a second blast helps them along.

Maybe they miscalculted the voltage that would be needed for these new bulbs. Regardless, it seems some of the foreign D4R bulb manufacturers don't have the same problem "so far".

If thats the case,.. it only means that other vendors recognized the issue and changed thier bulbs to match the new lower voltage of the D4R ballasts.

Why phillips who is supposed to be the big dog in bulbs hasn't figured it out, I don't know.

Plus, I'm not an engineer but when you lower the voltage by half and keep the wattage the same, you must "double" the amperage to get the same job done.

This means allot more heat and oxidation of internal bulb parts as heat oxidizes.
(Volts X Amperage = wattage)
"amperage" causes heat.

There is always good reason why heavy use appliances run at 220V instead of 110V.. the amperage is half and so half the size wires are needed and poteintial heat issues are less.

[BShanahan14rulz]

Originally Posted by talonts

2 - the wiring from the bulb to the ballast is less than a foot long (more like 6" - see the 06 housing above, you can see the silver jacketed wire and a bit of the ballast where it is hanging off the back of the housing). If it were that sensitive to resistance changes, it would flare out from temp differences from day one.

Wouldn't the difference between a cold bulb and a hot bulb be a very big difference in resistance? Not to mention when you "dissolve" the electrodes in such a small area as an arc chamber, concentration of metal mixed with salts increases. the problem -doesn't have- to be extremely sensitive to change in resistance.

That said, everybody here has had valid points but we still have no conclusion! Dang I wish I knew what was going on!

[ATX]

I have an '04 Prius and have the same problems: winking out that is temporarily remedied by turning the lights off and back on again.

[ATX]

Originally Posted by ATX

I have an '04 Prius and have the same problems: winking out that is temporarily remedied by turning the lights off and back on again.

I also registered a complaint online at the Office of Defects Investigation's site.

It seems that the more people that log complaints on this government site, the more likely we're all to see some sort of action from Toyota.

[ATX]

Originally Posted by ATX

I also registered a complaint online at the Office of Defects Investigation's site.

It seems that the more people that log complaints on this government site, the more likely we're all to see some sort of action from Toyota.

There's a slew or recent(ish) articles on the problem. Links coming up

[ATX]

Originally Posted by ATX

There's a slew or recent(ish) articles on the problem. Links coming up

I have an '04 Prius w/ the same headlight problem.

I registered a complaint at: Office of Defects Investigation (ODI), File A Safety Complaint

It seems that the more people that log complaints on this government site, the more likely we're all to see some sort of action from Toyota.

There's a slew or recent(ish) articles on the problem:

Prius HID Headlights: Toyota Tagged by Tall Poppy Syndrome? | The Truth About Cars

Is Toyota HIDing from Prius Headlight Problem? | The Truth About Cars

http://www.examiner.com/x-10697-SF-Autos-Examiner~y2009m6d30-Faulty-Prius-headlights-Hell-hath-no-fury-like-a-Prius-owner-scorned

http://www.autonews.com/article/2009...1186/FRONTPAGE

Toyota stung by possible Prius HID headlight defect

Toyota facing lawsuit, potential recall over Prius HID headlights

and a class action suit:
TOYOTA PRIUS HEADLIGHT FAILURE

[ATX]

a few more articles, but no apparent solution...

Report: Toyota Faces Possible Prius Headlamp Recall; Will it Hurt Sales? | Motortrend News & Auto Blog - Wide Open Throttle

Toyota Facing Lawsuit, Potential Recall Over Prius HID Headlights - AutoSpies Auto News

[picadog]

Follow up to my post #455.
(Correction: my mileage was 45K.)

After paying almost $550 for HID bulb replacement in April. I recently called Toyota Customer Experience Center (Phone: 800-331-433) to get a reimbursement. It took a few faxes and phone conversations, but the rep spoke to the dealership and got me a reimbursement for the cost of the bulbs. The dealership claimed that the I only paid for labor and that the bulbs were covered with my extended warranty. (I wonder if they billed me and Toyota for the costs of the bulbs.)

So here's the damage (pun intended):
745.21 -- 2 Computer Sub-Assy (#81107-47150) + labor. Covered by ext warranty
300.00 -- 2 Bulb, HID (#90981-20015). Will be reimbursed
198.00 -- labor for 2 bulbs. My cost.

I mentioned that others have paid only $40 for the labor but the rep said she couldn't help me there. I'm hoping that eventually Toyota will fess up and reimburse the cost of labor also.

[windstrings]

Originally Posted by picadog

The dealership claimed that the I only paid for labor and that the bulbs were covered with my extended warranty. (I wonder if they billed me and Toyota for the costs of the bulbs.)

I mentioned that others have paid only $40 for the labor but the rep said she couldn't help me there. I'm hoping that eventually Toyota will fess up and reimburse the cost of labor also.

I want to know how to get involved in this lawsuit:
Toyota facing lawsuit, potential recall over Prius HID headlights

I"m almost positive the dealer charged you and toyota.... why don't you fax your invoice to toyota and ask them if they paid for the same item the dealer required you to pay?

I think this goes on all the time and because there is a communication gap between us and what Toyota is doing, so the dealer takes advantage.

If this is in fact true, its toyotas own fault that they won't employ one person to follow through and checkup on the dealers activity that would save them thousands every day.

I don't want to be presumptuous but there has to be some explanation why one dealer can do it for free or 40.00 bucks, while another cannot do it unless they have hundreds and hundreds.

This inconsistency is totally unprofessional and has gone on far too long. I can give grace in the beginning when the problem was not common knowledge, but it has become obvious that Toyota is in survival mode at the expense of the golden geese... "that would be the customers"

[sctrojan96]

Hey all! I too have had this problem!!! Of course I first noticed it after 36,000 miles, and therefore out of warranty. The passenger's side headlight would turn off, even if you let the car sit there idled without driving. Took it into the dealership last Thursday for the 40,000 mile service and explained to the them about the flickering of the lights and eventually the passenger side light would go out and would only come back on if turned off completely and turned back on. The service representative herself saw that the light was out when I drove into the service bay. So as they did the 40K service, they said they would check the lights out. To no surprise, the mechanic says he "could not replicate" the problem, even after explaining in detail how to do it. He then said that it if I had non-HID headlights, the cost to replace them would be ALOT cheaper and that the "TOYOTA HAS BEEN HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THESE HID HEADLIGHTS, ESPECIALLY THE ONES ON THE PASSENGER SIDE", and that they were very expensive to fix, but not as much now than a few years ago. I then asked them, if this was a problem, then why hasn't Toyota recalled the HID headlight system on all these cars. Their response was "Not enough people reporting it and therefore no need to do so." They then explained that they could replace one side or both at the same labor cost (which was around $318), but the parts were about $570 each (bulb and computer module), and they would have to remove the entire bumper to access the system. Visibly upset...the service rep said she would talk to the manager to see what they could do for me. When she came back, she told me that Toyota would pay for the affected side, but not the other and I would still have to pay the labor costs. So I decided to get both lights replaced at the same time and my total ended up being around $880, instead of $318 for the one light or close to $1500 had they not paid for the one. Now I noticed that the lights are out of alignment!!! Is there any way to fix that myself? I've also heard of a class action lawsuit against Toyota about these headlights. Is that true? Where do I sign up?!!! This is obviously a problem affecting alot of Prius owners with the HID lights...is there anywhere else we could report the problem?