update on Prius HID headlights

[withoutapaddle]

I found this article last night, I'd post the link, but this website won't let me.

September 24, 2009, 2:13 pm Headlights are failing on some 2006, above, and 2007 Toyota Prius hybrids.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has decided that the failure of high-intensity-discharge headlights on what could be more than 100,000 Toyota Prius hybrids did not require a recall.
The agency also closed its investigation before Toyota provided all the documentation the agency said it needed to study the issue, a decision one safety expert said was unusual.
The agency began its investigation in April after receiving about 340 reports of headlight failures in 2006-7 model, including 112 reports in which owners reported losing illumination from both headlights while driving.
During the investigation, the agency found there had been about 2,200 consumer complaints about the headlights failing and Toyota had received about 27,600 warranty claims on the issue. Agency documents showed more than 100,000 vehicles might have been affected. There were no reports of injuries or crashes.
As part of its inquiry, the agency told Toyota to provide information, including any tests it had done on those headlights, any modifications that had been made and Toyota’s explanation of the failures, agency documents show. But before that information was provided, the agency decided late last month that there was no safety problem.
When asked why the agency closed its investigation before it received all the information it had requested from Toyota, Rae Tyson, a safety administration spokesman, said the agency had no comment because its report on the issue explained the decision.

In the report, the agency said that some consumers who originally complained that both headlights failed admitted in interviews that only one had failed.
“Since there is still one headlight operating when the other one cuts off, there is still lighting available to get the vehicle to a repair facility. Thus, a safety defect trend has not been identified at this time.”
Toyota also told investigators that “generally speaking only one lamp failed at a time.” The agency report did note that both headlamps had failed in some cases.
Toyota told the agency it would be conducting a service campaign to “address customer dissatisfaction.” Brian Lyons, a Toyota spokesman, said he was “not at liberty to provide the projected timing” of when that campaign would begin.
Clarence Ditlow, the executive director for the Center for Auto Safety, said it was unusual for the agency to close an inquiry without having important information it had requested from an automaker.
“It is a rush to judgment before the evidence is in,” he said.
Consumers filing complaints on the agency’s Web site said repair costs had ranged from $300 to $1,000. Failures occurred on vehicles with as little as 25,000 miles.
The automaker is also facing a class-action suit over the headlamp failures. The suit was brought by Carlos Collado, a Prius owner, from Kent, N.Y. Filed in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the suit said that Toyota had long known there was a safety problem with headlights, which “sporadically stop working” and are expensive to repair, yet the company failed to warn consumers.
In court filings Toyota’s lawyers have denied the assertions. They note that before H.I.D. headlights fail they usually begin to flicker, thus providing a warning. They have also said it is unreasonable to expect the headlights to last for the vehicle’s life any more than regular halogen headlights do.

[Tideland Prius]

*Moved to Gen II Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting*

[firepa63]

This is rediculous! Maybe a letter writing campaign to Consumer Reports can put some pressure on Toyota for a recall. A question to be asked is why didn't these HID problems happen with the '04 and '05 models.

[qbee42]

There have been some problems with all of the HID models on the Prius. New capsules (bulbs) were introduced with the later years, so perhaps this accounts for a change in the rate of failure.

Tom

[deecee219]

Originally Posted by firepa63

This is rediculous! Maybe a letter writing campaign to Consumer Reports can put some pressure on Toyota for a recall. A question to be asked is why didn't these HID problems happen with the '04 and '05 models.

I own an '04, and it just happened to us. We called Toyota Customer Service, and it was repaired as a one-time Goodwill repair.

[firepa63]

The '04 and '05 models seem to get much longer life from the HIDs. It seems that when Toyota introduced the 'new' capsules the reliability of the HIDs went south.

[Arthur Dunkel]

Recently, the passenger headlight on my 2005 Prius with 110,000 miles would turn peach colored and then go off. Next time I started up, the light would be back on, but then after a while would do the same. The Service Man said a replacement with labor would be $400.00. Later they called and said they didn't have the correct replacement, but a substitute (a little different color) was only $300.00 installed. I said O. K. Because I had to wait a long time for it to get done, they waived the labor charge and I only had to pay $200.00. Isn't $200.00 exhorbitant?