Headlights...WHY so expensive...any alternatives?!?!?!

They're not overheating. They're failing.

Originals should be Philips D4R.

Amazon.com: Philips D4R Xenon HID Headlight Bulb, Pack of 1: Automotive directly from Amazon (not a 3rd party seller) I think should be a safe bet. Amazon's listed at Philips Car lights, Lighting under Where to buy.

If it still keeps happening w/the above replacments, you need to start suspecting the ballasts or wiring.

You could try filing safety complaints at Home | Safercar -- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), but I doubt that'd lead anywhere. Nobody warrants headlights for even 10 years, let alone longer. It's doubt it's FMVSS non-compliance either. Headlights burn out. It's a fact of life.

I changed my failing passenger side D4R in April 2011. Still works fine today. I'm still on my original driver's side bulb but have an extra D4R as a spare. And fortunately, 06-09 Prius HID class action settlement award letters | PriusChat paid for the price of both.

 

....you are correct, the headlights were a weak point for the Gen2, even if you do not have the HID the conventional lamps are difficult to DIY change. The HID was a whole nother issue for 2006.

 

Usually the tip is that if one bulb is not flaky and one is good, swap the bulbs between the sides (leaving the ballasts alone). However, this is a lot of work and a pain in the butt if you're not removing the front bumper cover. I wouldn't bother. I'd just replace the flaky bulb(s).

If both bulbs are flaky, then you must as well just replace both (keep the originals, just in case) and see what happens. If you've still got problems, then you need to investigate the ballast and wiring.

 

I paid $115 for each bulb when I replaced mine at ~60k miles. I did some back of the envelope math in another thread (you'll have to search for it). The point I made was basically that at ~60k miles, the HID lamps have reached their typical lifetimes of 4000-6000 power-on hours and are starting to fail. Note that when you turn off the lights and reactivate them, you are actually damaging the good bulb and reducing its lifetime (this is true of all HID lamps).

Given that you have to remove the front bumper (not that hard with a $12 socket set - I've done it several times now), you might was well just replace both bulbs with good ones. I'm saying this assuming your time is worth more than like $10/hour.

 

I've never done any business w/them but I see posts from Avi's Advanced Automotive | PriusChat every now and then. I don't know what they'd charge to change the bulbs if the OP doesn't want to DIY/finds it hard. (My experience turned into a few hours of frustration and swearing. Ended up having to remove the front bumper anyway after the metal clip popped off when. I was in WA state at the time.

I wish Luscious Garage | Hybrid Specialists were closer to me, 60 miles one way isn't close....)

 

I didnt see anybody mention it but on Amazon the Phillips HID D4R bulbs are ~$40/each.

 

Just commiserating:

The common headlight in the '70's~'80's was a "sealed beam". The whole headlight, bulb lens and housing glass, was around $20. They were readily accessible when they burnt out. Then came separate bulbs and insanely expensive fragile housings, but the bulbs were still not bad: $10~$20.

And now the bulb prices are going through-the-roof.

Plus, good luck getting at the bulb, for replacement: some are very hard to get at, and/or require a lot of periferal disassemble.

We've got the LED headlights. Hopefully they'll last for the long haul. The Owners Manual doesn't even hint at DIY replacement for them; just says "bring it in" (paraphrasing).

Makes me think of faucets: used to be most taps used simple, readily available washers, in a fairly bullet-proof brass housing. Now we have various proprietory "washerless cartridges". Sounds great, but when the kitchen sink tap starts going south, odds are 50/50 the replacement cartridge isn't available anymore; just chuck it and buy a new one.

 

Yeah when the bulbs go out, you can usually 'reset' them by cycling the switch. Its not a good sign though that they are going out. Exactly what brand bulbs did you buy?

 

Yep, we need to know the bolded part and from where they were bought.

If they were genuine Philips D4R from a reputable reseller (Amazon should be, provided it wasn't from a 3rd party reseller there), probably the next steps are to look at the wiring and ballasts.

 

There's your problem, buying them from random sellers on Ebay. I wouldn't do that. The D4S bulbs are wrong and the D2R bulbs are wrong too (they're designed for the ballasts in 04-05 Priuses that used D2R).

I wouldn't be surprised if they're fakes.

I thought we pointed you to Not all HID Bulbs are created equal | PriusChat before.

Unfortunately, 06-09 Priuses shifted to a D4R-based system and ballasts. The D2R system in the 04-05 seemed more reliable (04-05 (NOT 06-09) Prius owners w/HIDs - how long did they last? | PriusChat). I'm guessing the shift to D4R is for RoHS since D4R are apparently mercury-free.

Go for what I posted in post #2 before screwing w/wiring or ballasts. Your D2R will not work right.

edit: I even pointed you to the Not all HID Bulbs are created equal at HELP!!! Prius sometimes won't start, will after I fidget with it. | PriusChat in September. You got what you paid for buy buying random bulbs on Ebay.

 

I purchased two D4R bulbs from Amazon and had them both installed - one is brighter than the other one.

Also, you do not have to remove the bumper to replace the bulbs. Mine is a 2007.

 

Bad Nick, bad bad Nick!!

 

From Amazon, or from the Amazon Marketplace? Very very different and a good reason to not shop on Amazon if you can help it for bulbs.

 

I think on Amazon and sold directly by Amazon, and not some random 3rd party should be pretty safe since they're listed at Philips Zip Code Locator (from Where to buy link of Philips Car lights, Lighting).

 

From Amazon directly, yes. But not many people understand that the Marketplace is not actually Amazon. So I try not to recommend people shopping there for genuine bulbs.