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Severe Danger HID Lamp Failure 2006 Prius

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by pks4000, Nov 5, 2010.

?

dO YOU THINK THIS SHOULD BE A WARRANTY ISSUE

Poll closed Nov 25, 2010.

  1. YES

    1 vote(s)
    16.7%

  2. NO

    5 vote(s)
    83.3%
  1. pks4000

    pks4000 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2006
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    Car: 2006 Prius Package 6.
    Mileage: 99k

    Problem: Left or right headlamp stops working while driving.
    Both headlamps stop working at the same time.
    Extremely dangerous at 65 MPH .

    Temporary cure: Turn control knob off and on and both lights come back on....for a while

    Symptoms: Got progressively worse over 3 months.

    Research:TSB issued to Dealers. They both seem to go at the same time. Hmmm.. Planned obsolescence?
    Ooops I forgot this isnt 1960's Detroit where after 3 years (your finance term) your car was planned to be junk.

    Cost: 150.00 per headlamp. Repair takes 1 hour since front bumper must be removed to access headlamp.

    Total cost: 412.00

    The bulb : about 2 inches long.
    Ask to save them for you in case it's
    the bulb "socket" or computer which makes the cost of repair go to hundreds $$ more.

    Conclusion: The cost of this bulb is really absurd. Head lamps do fail
    but 150 each?

    The first flaw in our much loved Prius's (we have 2)
     
    #1 pks4000, Nov 5, 2010
  2. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2005
    12,544
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    Location:
    SF Bay Area, CA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Your HIDs were covered under your 3 year/36K mile warranty. HIDs are expensive and not a Toyota specific issue.

    Be lucky you don't live in NY or NJ. A pair of 02-03 Nissan Maxima HIDs were >$1300 pair and they'd get frequently stolen off those cars in those states, also causing body damage in the process (more $). See some posts at http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-care-maintenance-troubleshooting/34987-400-headlight.html and http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...stolen-hid-headlight-headache.html#post223951. When I had a Maxima (I didn't live in those states), I'd usually see at least a couple posters a week in those states saying they got their lights stolen, sometimes multiple times. It got plenty of press attention too and the insurance claims for this were high (http://www.motortrend.com/auto_news/112_news041203_theft/index1.html). The 02-03 Max were the only 2 model years to come with HIDs standard, across all trim levels.

    The bumper doesn't need to be removed. See Luscious Garage | Blog | Prius headlight problem, D4R HID bulbs *still overpriced, not covered under warranty*.

    Come to think of it... if it's so "hard" to remove the lights, it's an anti-theft measure. ;) On the above Maximas, the brackets were secured by a 10 mm bolt (IIRC) or the lights could simply be snapped out w/o opening the hood by prying and breaking flimsy plastic brackets.

    Since you use the word "dangerous", if you think it's a safety defect, then file a complaint at Home | Safercar -- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
     
    #2 cwerdna, Nov 5, 2010
  3. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2009
    12,470
    6,862
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    Location:
    Greenwood MS USA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    There is not a chance in the world that a light bulb 'should' have a 99,000 mile warranty.

    Has Toyota mis-handled the whole HID bulb fail differently than incandescent bulb issue? Yes, they failed to inform dealers and owners how HIDs act when failing.
     
    #3 JimboPalmer, Nov 5, 2010
    2 people like this.
  4. pks4000

    pks4000 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2006
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    All good answers Thank you.

    It should not be a warranty issue. It's simply bulb failure after 99k.

    Its 2 things that resonate:

    1. The cost of the repair (everyone is going to go thru it if you keep you Prius )

    2. The danger of double headlamp failure at highway speeds that can and did occur regularly with HID and NOT the older bulbs (unless someone shot them both out)
     
    #4 pks4000, Nov 8, 2010
  5. pks4000

    pks4000 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2006
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    Thank you for your info:

    The service guru said bumber must be removed.

    I dont live in New Jersey (;-)

    And I did file acomplaint with the NHTSA because of the way the lamps failed (Both at once at times)

    People like you make this a great forum so thank you for you detailed answer.
    Be well


     
    #5 pks4000, Nov 8, 2010
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