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Faulty head light triggers a check engine light?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by nieds16, Jan 11, 2015.

  1. nieds16

    nieds16 New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2015
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    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    Hello there. I was wondering if this seems reasonable. I just bought a used 2008 Prius top trim package with 107,00 miles on it this last month. The first day I owned it a check engine light was triggered. The guy I bought it from hooked it up to his computer and cleared it to then try to trigger it again. This happened when I first turned on the car. I started backing and then it turned on. I didn't know what caused it as we couldn't trigger the response again. It's been a few weeks now and 1 trip to the shop for some repairs. There have been no problems what-so-ever since then and my Prius just started getting close to the 50 MPH as advertised after a tune up.

    Today when I'm driving, as the seller did mention before could happen, the right headlight turned off. As he had told me before, just turning the lights off and turning them back on will get it working again. I did this and as soon as I did the check engine light came on. I go back to the night I originally had it happen and I was probably in the process of turning on my lights.

    Has anybody heard of this happening before? Easy solution to fix? Could the forced LED headlights? Any information would be great. I would also like to thank all of the forum members out there as you all have helped me with information the lead me to want to join the Prius family. Hope to hear back from you all.
     
    #1 nieds16, Jan 11, 2015
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    The check engine light should have a stored DTC code that will tell you why that's triggered. It has nothing to do with your headlight. The check engine light could be as simple as a loose gas cap......or any other emissions problems.

    Just for kicks, go and check your oil level and see if it's low. I don't think that would cause the check engine light but it's just something you should check on a used Prius.
     
    #2 JC91006, Jan 11, 2015
  3. slickrick11

    slickrick11 New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2015
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    Location:
    Los Angeles CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Just wanted to mention that I joined this forum to solve essentially the same problem. I have an 08 Prius with 85K miles, and my passenger side headlight started flickering out about the same time that my check engine light started lighting up intermittently.

    I just ordered a replacement HID on Amazon for about $50, as well as a basic code reader for about $15. Planning on using the code reader to get an idea of what the problem is... I'd rather not spend $100+ and have to go to the shop if there's a simple fix!
     
    #3 slickrick11, Oct 19, 2015
  4. goldfinger

    goldfinger Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 12, 2012
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    Location:
    Buffalo
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    HID headlights have a ride angle sensor that can go bad and trigger a check engine. It's basically a $500 potentiometer thats attached to the rear axle. Water gets it and wrecks it. There will be a headlight icon on the mfd as well as check engine.
     
    #4 goldfinger, Oct 19, 2015
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