Headlight problem

[windstrings]

Originally Posted by BKgrey08

Again I must thank this forum for being so helpful.

I had my failed passenger side HID replaced under warranty, but now that I'm past warranty the driver's side HID has failed (right on cue!). Talking to dealerships directly yielded little results; they claimed that maybe they would consider not charging this or that... So I went right to the top and called the Customer Service folks in CA, told them I filed with ODI, that I know this a recurring problem for other Prius owners, etc., etc.. . Fantastic results! Spoke to a rep named Kristie who opened a case file for me, spoke to my local dealership on my behalf, and has confirmed that Toyota will pay for not 1 but TWO HID headlight bulb replacements! I just need to fax in my invoice and proof of payment and await my check reimbursement.

Now that's entertainment.

Awesome!.. seems you could have gotten them on "Neglecting" to fix the problem the first time as if they knew the bulbs were failing prematurely, they should have assumed both bulbs were in the same lot or problems... anyway... good you got some results.

I have a feeling it doesn't cost Toyota too much to front the bill and have this issue fixed when they do it as compared to what the dealer charges us to get it fixed!

Financially, the dealer has little incentive to go to bat for us as they would rather have us pay out of pocket than have Toyota handle it!

[jginsburg]

This is very encouraging, as I'm just now confronting the same problem on my 2006 Prius. JUST a week after the 3 year anniversary of the in-service date, and with 38,000 miles, having already replaced the dealer-installed LRR tires, my R HID is intermittent.

It started flickering, then cutting out, and now, on occasion, BOTH HID lamps cut out, which is really scary. Even the R one will come back on if I rotate the smart stick off then on again, but it won't stay on.

My local dealer says there's a defect, and showed me other repair tickets for the same problem on Gen II cars. Indeed, it was OUT of the replacement bulbs. The Service Manager says he called Toyota to request a courtesy replacement but Toyota refused. I subsequently called Toyota "Customer Experience" but did not get a call back w/in the promised 24 hours. I'm still waiting.

Meanwhile, the dealer says it installed a new bulb to see what would happen, but that, too, didn't work, meaning the problem is with the Electronic Control Unit (ECU). The total cost to replace one ECU and one headlamp...Are you sitting down? $643.15.

In other words, while there MAY be environmental advantages to a Prius--at least in terms of fossile fuel consumption--and assuming those advantages aren't outweighed by the environmental cost of obtaining some of the other precious metals incorporated into the car's design, NOW, only now, do we learn that a) you'll have to replace the dealer installed tires somewhere before 40,000 miles, and b) you're going to have to make some VERY expensive repairs JUST beyond the warranty period, unless you spend the money on an extended warranty that happens to cover them.

I bought a 1999 Lexus RX300 that now has $150K miles. The extended warranty was a complete waste of money, and I've made only ONE expensive repair thus far to the car, to the driver door electronics package. In reliance on this, and on Toyota's reputation in general, I bought the Prius.

Now my fingers are crossed that I don't come to regret my decision. I love the car, but I will be VERY disappointed if Toyota does not help out in what is obviously a defect situation. Evidence that it is a defect can be found all over the web. Just google "toyota prius headlamp or headlight" and you'll be amazed how many share this problem.

[ttabbal]

Originally Posted by windstrings

Nevertheless... 30 - 40K worth of driving for the amount that HID's cost has commonly been regarded as rediculous and should be under warranty as this is not "normal wear".

I got ~60K out of mine, but I do agree with the basic idea. I also bought the $69 EBay bulbs and they have been working great. Honestly, even the 30-40K use would probably be OK if Toyota charged $69/pair for the bulbs. They are mildly irritating to replace (who came up with that silly wire retainer anyway?!?!) but worth the time and effort to learn how as I can now replace them whenever I want to. You also get to choose your color if you want to try something new, I went with 6000K and I like them. A little more blue, about the same brightness on the road.

The fact that the $69/pair bulbs seem to work at least as well and as long as the Toyota $300/bulb units is nuts.

[loonyhiker]

Last month, I had my other headlight replaced after it blinked on and off. I called Toyota and got a case number. Then the dealership replaced it and I paid for it. Faxed Toyota the invoice and proof of payment. I was amazed that they paid it in full since they only paid half of it for the first one. I won't look a gift horse in the mouth! Thanks to everyone here in this chat that was so helpful!

[bigus_d]

I have this problem with my 2007 prius. The right headlight appears dim, flickers, and goes out. I have taken it for service twice already. First they replaced the bulb. Next they replaced the ECU. I had been taking it to a dealership that is about an hour from my house, but after four hours total drive time trying to get this fixed I decided to call the dealship that is closer to my house (I don't typically use them because they tried to screw me when I was buying the car in the first place)... Anyhow, they don't want to see it because this other dealership had looked at it.

Any suggestions?

[windstrings]

Call Toyota customer service and explain that one dealer cannot seem to fix it and the other wont and maybe they can make some phone calls to help you.

[jaw444]

On the subject of a possible recall, which some say should be happening "any day," but people have now been saying that for a long time, does anyone know if anyone has tried to get the media interested in the problem?

I just had the bulb replaced on my 2007 when it was in for the 40K service last week. I didn't know anything was wrong; service advisor pointed it out. I paid $335 for the repair. Over the weekend, i had a chance to read some of the threads about this; today i called Toyota and got a case number. I want to be reiimbursed, considering all the info in these threads. I've been driving for decades and have put 150K miles on some cars and have never had a headlight go out on any car. When i was at the mechanic last week and was told about the light being out, i thought maybe i just had rare bad luck but apparently not so. I have the extended warranty; the service advisor said they probably wouldn't cover it but he would try. I knew that wasn't going to happen, sounded like wear and tear at that point. But this seems to be a defect in the car.

Just wondering if anyone knows if the media has been interested in this safety problem that nothing is being done about.

[lolop]

I was having the same problem. The passenger-side headlight would go out after a few minutes and then eventually the driver-side headlight would go out too. Sometimes, they would go out at the same time (not good when you're doing 65+ mph on the freeway).
Before going to my local dealership, I called Toyota Corporate (1-800-331-4331) and got a case number. They asked me to take the car to my local dealer to have it inspected. When I got there, both headlights were out so it was easy to show them the problem. Even though my car is no longer under warranty, they offered to replace both light bulbs for free, so I said OK .
FYI, I went to Stevens Creek Toyota (1-800-984-8833) in San Jose, CA. My service advisor was David Hardin.

[jaw444]

I called Toyota Corporate on Monday and got the case number for the headlight that was replaced last week. Today i reached my Toyota case manager. She asked if i already had the repair done. I said yes. She asked if i had it repaired at a Toyota dealer. I said yes, and she said good. Then she said "We want to make this right for you," and "We will reimburse you for the repair. I just need you to fax me the invoice from the repair." YES! She said "That's the good news. Now, the bad news...." and she said that "They told us to warn people that it might be 6 to 8 weeks to get the check in the mail. It might not be that long, but they said to tell people this."

So...i was relieved and happy that i didn't have to haggle with them and didn't have to stress and strain to make a case for reimbursement. It seemed that they accept that this is a real issue.
They earned my appreciation by how easy they made it on me. Now i feel better.

without PriusChat i would've just had to suck it up and eat the cost of this repair--thanks to all.

[deecee219]

I just joined this forum this morning after finding this via a Google search of the headlight drama.

THANK YOU for the steps on getting this fixed! After getting a $1000 quote to repair the problem, we called Toyota customer service, called the dealership back and told them to hold off on the repair until we heard back from them.

Surprise, surprise this afternoon, when they called to tell us they were going to do a one-time "goodwill" replacement of the lights!

We've also logged a complaint with NTSA as well.

Have I said THANK YOU for this forum? THANK YOU THANKYOU!