Headlights shut off

[dslsurferboy]

this has been happening since I own my car, I have a 2007 prius package #5.
while I am driving down the road at night my driver head light goes out or my passenger head light goes out, or both go out at the same time. to fix this problem temporarily i quickly turn my headlights off and on and both lights work again. This started happening at 45,000 miles, the first time was when i had 3,000 miles on the car the drivers headlight only went out once till the 45,000 miles came, i had the dealership fix it the first time, and the warranty stoped at 36,000 miles. Any one else know of this problem or how to fix it. I have checked the wires and they are fine, and the connections are not loose please email some advice to dslsurferboy@hotmail.com

[Sufferin' Prius Envy]

Why email the advice to you, that's what this thing called Prius"chat" is all about.

Make it easy on us . . . what type of headlights does a 2007 #5 have.

[Bill Merchant]

Welcome to PriusChat, dslsurferboy! Let's chat.
The 2007#5 has HIDs, which are expensive to replace, but not nearly as bad as running into something in the dark. Since you had the lights fixed by the dealer under warranty, you may have a claim under warranty still; you can hope. Go back to the dealer who fixed them the first time and see what they say. Do you still have your receipt for that work?

[dslsurferboy]

hi, they are the hid's

[Doxtream]

I'm having the same problem but I have 71,000 on mine and no warrenty? What should I do??

[Sheepdog]

get it looked at!

[sonic_prius]

I have a 2006 with 60,000 miles and driver side headlight goes out intermittently also. At first I thought it only happened after lights had been on for a while, but I just disproved that. Also, twice I have seen the light go out as I braked. But then trying to make it go out by braking didn't do it. It amazes me how hard it is to tell sometimes if the headlight is working. Of course I mainly drive in urban areas with lots of street and other lights.

Have previous posters had any resolution???

I plan on taking the car to my dealer next week.

Thanks for any info!

[qbee42]

I assume you have HID headlamps? If so, you need to replace the lamp capsules. Many PriusChat members have had good luck ordering replacement capsules from the Internet and doing their own replacement.

If you have the dealer do it, be ready for a shock - not the electrical kind, but the monetary kind. You can easily be looking at $600, once they replace the control unit and capsule, which is what they will want to do.

Some posters have been able to get Toyota corporate to foot the bill for this replacement, since there is obviously a flaw with the OEM parts.

Search this site for HID headlamps or just headlamps to find more information.

Tom

[sonic_prius]

Thanks qbee42! Sorry I hadn't fully searched this problem before I replyed to this post. I have now read the multiple posts here and on priusonline.com. Here is a summary of posts and case numbers I have found so far:

PriusOnline.com • View topic - Head Light 2006 (10 pages of posts on this problem)

sample case #'s 200707121022
TA072740040
200711270837

Headlight problem (22 pages of posts on this problem)

Another 2006 HID headlight problem (another thread on the problem)