headlight replacement

The reason I phrased it the way I did is that it is called different things in different places in the Haynes Manual. The cover is a plastic piece that covers the radiator and fastens to the top of the grille. It has to be removed so the air intake piece can be removed. If you don't you won't have any room to work.

Dan

 

I got stopped for my left headlight being out once, but it was on when I got out and looked a little further down the road. I honestly thought the officer had made a mistake - it was pouring rain. Over a year later, the right headlight was going off occasionally, but generally on. I took it to a dealer, who couldn't find anything wrong with the connections. Wouldn't you know? I got a ticket for the right headlight being out on the way home that same night.

Took it back to the dealer and paid $475 for new headlights - they said you have to change both of them at the same time. (I didn't even remember at the time about the left one.) Of course, they're not covered under my extended warranty. It's not the lamps that are so expensive, apparently, but getting to them?

I was skeptical all along about it being the lamp and now reading this thread, even more so.

Sure would like to have that money back...

 

ann13820,

I don't think any amount of arguing with your dealer (or the warranty people) will get it covered for you because of the way the warranty contract is worded [wear & tear things like wiper blades, tires, & lightbulbs are usually never covered on a regular warranty or an extended warranty (unless they can be proven defective from the get-go---which the original D4R bulbs probably were, but we can't get Toyota to admit that)].

However, lately Toyota has been partially or almost fully re-imbursing people who have had to get their HID only (NOT halogen) headlights replaced on the 2006 & newer Priuses. To get that satisfaction, you will have to call Toyota's "Customer Experience" toll-free phone # (I don't know it off-hand) & tell them of your problem & ask for a case number. Somewhere on this site, I think, there is a multi-page thread about the HID headlights that will give the phone number & tell you how to plead your case to them [some of their people still claim to have never heard of a Prius HID "headlight problem" (which I think, by the way, is the name of the thread I was talking about)].

Do a search because also, in one of the headlight related threads, there is a post that says that the NHTSA is starting a safety investigation into this problem [which may eventually force Toyota to do a recall on their HID headlight bulbs and/or their ballasts (whichever is the root of the problem)]. I hope this helps you.

Just found the post about the NHTSA investigation (here's the link---see post #436) :

http://priuschat.com/forums/care-maintenance-troubleshooting/34584-headlight-problem-44.html

[The phone # & how to plead your case may be on previous pages of this same thread, if you have time to read (or skim) all of the posts].

Ken (in Bolton,Ct)

 

Just had both headlights replaced at Toyota dealer in Escondido for my Prius. Noticed passenger side light was out a week ago then worked. Last night the driver's side was out. They say the new ones are covered for 1 year/12K miles. 08 Prius has 23K on it now. Dealer said it would have cost $400 to replace both but they covered them under standard warranty. Have extended warranty but they won't be covered under that. Sure hope the NTSB gets involved in this issue. I had an 07 Lexus ES350 that was a lemon and it was bought back by Lexus/Toyota after it was 15 months old. Had tranny issue starting at 9K miles. Then I bought the Prius October 2007. Bought the fully loaded model.

 

I too have the HID turning off problem. I have a 2006 Prius that I purchased new and a couple of years ago the Left headlight would occassionally turn off (maybe twice a month during my daily 70 mile commute to work). Gradually it began to turn off more often and now it goes off after a few minutes, but will come back on (for a few minutes) by turning the headlights off & on. The Right HID has never gone off by itself. Both HIDs are original.
I am going to submit a complaint to NHSTA & inquire with the dealer on having it fixed at no expense (car has 121k miles on it).

Gary (Spotsylvania, VA)

 

Have 2007 pgk 6; right headlight became intermittant at 18 months(45000 miles), cycling switch off/on works. Now at 24 months, 65000 miles, left and both are going out. Real Scary when both go out at the same time, and on a winding country road at 45mph!

Just fiiled the NHTSA ODI complaint. FYI, the NHTSA opened a defects investigation on 04/17/09, Action Number PE09019. Currently there are 112 documented complaints of total (both) HID headlight failure. I'm thinking, Recall under warranty is coming soon. This is a huge safety and public relations issue for Toyota and Prius owners.

 

I am so totally with you on this. I just posted the same problem last night. I have a used '06 that I bought last year; the prior owner had to replace the left front headlight and ECU controller at 43,000 miles, and now I'm doing the SAME thing at 82,000 miles. I will definitely lodge a complaint with NHTSA !!!!!!!! Thanks.

 

I just filed my complaint with NHTSA. Found out the number of complaints is up to 338! And, there are over 220,000 affected cars in the model years 2006-2007. Learned from NHTSA that Toyota is behind the deadline for their response to the Government's investigation. It's a MAJOR safety issue; this is the second time I'm looking at the replacement for my 06. I will definitely call the Toyota "satisfaction" people you write about. Thanks.

 

Tires are a wear item too.. if they fall apart at 20K miles.. that doesn't mean they are not covered by warranty.. that statement carries "reasonable wear" with it.

That Grey line is the topic of discussion.
HID lamps are supposed to last 8 - 10 times longer than Halogen and were not a cheap item when the car was bought nor is it when the dealer attempts to fix it.

Reasonable wear for an HID is not 30 or 40K.... people like myself drive that in one year.
Some of these "hard feelings" must be much of the reason Toyota decided HID's could not be trusted and went back to Halogen.

 

Add me to the club, two time member, of -HID Failure-.

My first issue occurred back in Jan 29 2008 at 30,217 miles. It was covered under warranty and they replaced both bulbs. There was no mention of the ballasts being replaced but the total cost came out to just above $600 bucks.

The issue resurfaced again about 2 weeks ago, I'm at 57,800 miles right now. I went to the dealership today and although the service rep was friendly, he said my warranty was up so I'd have to bite the bullet. I did some research before I went and brought up some numbers (namely the almost 500 reported cases) and the investigation on a possible recall. He looked into my record and saw I had previous troubles with the headlights in 08, but unfortunately, they only cover 1 year after a repair and it has been over 1.5 years since that repair...

So I drove away with no work done, but I did schedule an appointment for Tuesday to get an inspection, which I won't be charged for according to him. Then with the details in hand, he said he would call Toyota and see if they can cover it. And although he said he cannot guarantee anything, they may bite the bullet and take care of the issue for me since I have had a history with the headlight issue.

So we'll see what happens on Tuesday. Just a bit peeved that I have to be late for work after a long labor day weekend, don't want the boss to think badly of me for not handling this over the weekend ya know?

Wish me luck.
DK

 

I finally got Toyota Customer Care to pay for a new left front HID headlamp. The headlamp cost $164; I only paid $65 labor to install. Call them at 800-331-4331. Any dealer who says you have to replace both front headlamps at the same time is dead wrong and just trying to rip you off. You might also want to lodge a complaint with NHTSA, under action number PE09019. More than 500 people have had the same problem, and I expect Toyota to break down and do a recall on this item sometime soon -- hopefully before someone dies in a car accident caused by the headlights suddenly going off.

 

if you don't mind the ebay bulbs... looks like the price dropped on two HID D4R or D4S bulbs to 49.00 + 10 shipping!....

These are the ones I used and they seem to do the trick.... out of 4 bulbs, I did have one go bad and simply went back to one of the OEM bulbs that had never gone bad yet and they all are still flaming!

These HID bulbs will be as cheap as Halogen in the not too distant future... its the big companies that keep trying to hold the price up..... thank God for global competition eh?

 

Did you get the D4R (or the D4S) bulbs from the ebay seller? When I followed the ebay link, it says D4R "or" D4S.

I want D4R, not D4S.

 

D4R is what goes in my 2006.

I can't remember, but I think the D4S's are for a different reflector.

 

Just filed complaint #10284835 about both bulbs going out at the same time. Ridiculous price of $175 per bulb. They want $450 for the job. A tad bit ludicrous since your book in the glovebox shows you how to replace them...... BTW its a 2007 Pkg 6 with 40,000 miles and just over 2 years old.

 

I agree that the problem of the headlights going out should be covered by the extended warranty. Otherwise its a 2-3 hr job because they remove the bumper and the entire assembly from the front. I'm not looking forward to the other side going out.
Steve

 

My 2007 Prius with 36,655 miles experienced the intermittent headlamp issue described here in March 2009. Drivers headlight would randomly go off, but work fine other times. Eventually, it failed completely.


I contacted my local Toyota dealership, with whom I did not have a service history as this is my first Toyota (longtime Honda customer!). I went to a scheduled appointment armed with pages of blog printouts, documenting the known issue. While I was ready to tackle the issue as a lawsuit, he deflected the whole thing with his desire to draw me in as a new customer.


Their diagnosis determined “circuit check revealed an internal short in headlamp ECU (electronic control unit) caused bulb to short. Replaced ECU and bulb. Operational test verified repair. Repair and parts covered under goodwill policy.â€


The installed parts note part #90981-20015 bulb, HID and 81107-47150 Computer Sub-Assyâ€.


My regular mechanic said that the ECU is equivalent to an igniter, which regulates voltage and current going to the headlamp, similar to a flourescent ballast.



He said the ECU is covered under the 3 year / 36k warranty. My replacement was covered at no charge under a “goodwill policy†because I was only 655 miles over 36k. (The initial headlamp failure occurred when I was out of town & mileage less than 36k.) However, he also stated “off the record†that service managers can internally approved such replacements up to 70k miles. However, those in the 80-100k mile range will likely not be approved.


I attempted to convince them to also replace the passenger side headlamp as a preventive measure, but they refused. I’m sure it’s a ticking time bomb. With 42,554 current miles, both headlamps now work correctly.


Call Toyota Customer Experience Center at 800.331.4331 to log a complaint. Or, write them at Toyota Customer Assistance Center, Box 2991, Torrance, CA 90509-2991.


Better still, file a complaint as described elsewhere in this blog, with the NHSTA. Take the list of previously filed complaints with you when you go to your dealer.


Best post I've seen anywhere - Atoyotaprius

 

410mvt said: Best post I've seen anywhere - Atoyotaprius


Thank you 410mvt.

 

Day before yesterday, i took my 07 Prius in for its 40K mile maintenance service. I recently moved so this was a new agency for me, Toyota of Santa Monica, and i was nervous because one never knows what they are going to get when it comes to car repairs.

While i was in the car, engine running, as the service guy came up to find out why i was there, he pointed out that my right front headlight was out. He said they would check it out, sometimes he said it's intermittent, he said the bulb was expensive, he said maybe it would not have to be replaced, the mechanic would look at it. I said that i have the extended platinum warranty, he said he didn't think Toyota would cover it but he would check.

I called in the afternoon when they said the car would be ready. He said it was't ready yet and that the results of the inspection were inconclusive, the light came back on. He left it up to me whether i would want to have the bulb replaced. I didn't know anything about the problems with headlights discussed in this thread. I didn't know why he was so ambiguous about it. Usually they will say "You need this," or "We recommend this," but he was kind of leaving it up to me. All i could think about was, if i have a bulb that's going out, i better get it fixed. I don't have time to be going back and forth to the mechanic. I had a rental car. I was missing work.

So i said, "Well, i have to have it done." So he said they would do it, and he said he would check wiht Toyota about whether they would cover it. I wish i read this thread first, but i had no idea that there would be any problem with my headlight. I've had a lot of cars over the years, each one for many thousands of miles and many years, and only once did i have to replace a bulb.

He gave me an estimate of "about $330" to fix the headlight. So together with the cost of the service, which was more than my previous agency charged, my bill came to $478, painful.

Today is the first chance ive had to check PriusChat forums to see what just happened to me.

Is there hope that i can get reimbursed for this? I think that's what some of the posts are saying. Is there any advise as far as contacting the Toyota agency on Monday, as to what should say to them? I received a phone message yesterday from a woman at the agency, wanting to know about my experience and how i would rate the service advisor. Also when i picked up my car, late almost closing time, with the receipt came a card that says 'Thank you for choosing us. We are 100% committed to EXCELLENCE. If we did not meet your expectation, please give us the opportunity to resolve any issues immediately. Please ask to speak to an available manager, or call our Customer Relations Dept. at..[an 800 #]".

How might i phrase my expression of dissatisfaction, given the information on this thread? I would've liked to have been more clearly advised by the service advisor that this is a known problem that Toyota sometimes will cover. I am also concerned because it's not clear to me that the problem is actually the bulb itself, or that replacing the bulb will solve the problem. Now that i'm aware of this safety issue, i will of course report it to the NTASB, and will call Toyota Corporate on Monday to get a case number.

I keep the headlights on all the time. Would that cause the bulbs to burn out early?

 

yesterday morning, i called the number of the local agency customer service person who had left me a message over the weekend saying they wanted to make sure i had an excellent experience with the service writer when i had the car in. I got voice mail. I left a her a long voice mail saying i overall liked the experience and the service writer, but there was this problem with the headlight and i learned more about it over the weekend, that it's a known issue, and that i hope and expect that they will go to bat for me with Toyota to have the repair covered under my extended warranty or under the customer loyalty policy. That was yesterday morning. I haven't heard back from them.

I also called Toyota corporate and talked to a representative who took the information, gave me a case number, asked me what i wanted them to do about it (i said i wanted them to cover the cost of the repair), and said someone would call me within a day to tell me what their response to my request will be. So i'm waiting to hear from them.

If they say they won't cover it, or will cover it partially, is there anything i can do after that or is that the end of it? In other words, can i then write a letter to someone (i would enclose a copy of one of these threads); is there a chain of command to go up, or anything like that?

I also filed the report to the NTSB (sp?).