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Intermittent Headlight / Headlamp

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by L82thePRTY, Mar 23, 2023.

  1. L82thePRTY

    L82thePRTY New Member

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    2006 Prius
    One headlight is intermittent, but most of the time off. It responds to the documented fix of just switching it off then back on again, but you never know how long it will stay on.

    Late to the party here, .. just got my first Toyota ever, this used Prius. It has low miles, about 70,000 and well cared-for.

    But I wish I'd known about this site beforehand and checked out the "known issues" for this model.

    - Headlamp issue
    - Fuel gauge issue
    - Rear View Mirror issue
    - Windshield reflection issue

    Those are the main ones.
    Was able to fix the fuel gauge reading wrong by watching the YouTube fix videos. But how does it get out of calibration anyway? I'd like to be able to avoid it.

    The rear view mirror... yes it's way too bright and the auto-dimming is lame. I attached standard window tint film to fix it, works sufficiently that way.

    And the speedometer has a horrible bright reflection in the windshield at night! I put some non-reflective obstruction over the source of the errant reflection and it's ok now.

    How did those issues even get past R & D ??

    Other than that, I've been fairly pleased with it, ... comfy, responsive, and 53 to 58 mpg is pretty impressive for sure.

    Minor annoyances:
    Would be nice to see compass direction (like in many other cars) without having to pull up the Map mode.
    Would be nice to know the exact pressure in each tire since they are monitored anyway.
    Would be nice to know coolant temperature.
    Once in a while the Consumption and Energy screens flick back and forth when going very slow or at a stop. Very distracting and unnecessary.
    Sometimes the door doesn't lock the first time I press the lock button even when the key is right next to it.
    I also don't think most of the steering wheel features work, like audio and mic and info, etc.
    And What kind of company charges almost $500 to get a spare key? How do they sleep at night?

    Anyways, I mostly like the car, but it would be nicer if I felt Toyota had gone 100% with a satisfaction goal instead of part way there.

    Any suggestions or advice always welcome
     
  2. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    It shouldn't do that so there is some fault there.
    Most likely the battery in the fob needs changing. A new battery should be ~ 3.2 to 3.3 volts. At around 2.9 volts the fob starts doing things as you mentioned.
    You might need to shop around that sounds like a very over-inflated price for a new fob. A new fob on its own is around $140 to $185 (depending on SKS or not) and I can't imagine more than about $200 to program it. If you have a working fob there is no need to pay for a new one to be added.

    I'm glad that overall you're liking your new (to you) Prius.
     
    #2 dolj, Mar 23, 2023
    Last edited: Mar 23, 2023
  3. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    And you're how old getting your first Toyota do you where eyeglasses exceptionally short? Just curious The light reflecting issue generally shows up to somewhat short or folks as I have become as I got older but I remember this car 13 years ago when I hadn't start shrinking yet. And the reflection from the what I call heads up display made no difference when my spine started to get funny and I lost two inches of height now that bar graph display and whatnot on the heads up Shinrs right and reflects in my field of vision. The answer for me is simply been to set my dimmer properly I'm very light sensitive to begin with so not having bright lights on inside of the car is very key for me to drive at night and it always has been many times I drive my regular Corolla with the dash turned down solo most people can't see it I can see it fine and it's not reflecting in my windshield at all. The keys and fobs have pretty much been addressed they can be dealt with unless you're the type that loses remotes and sends them through the wash You should be pretty good I live out in the country not in the city limits there's zero crime where I live in my yard all my Prius which there are four sit in the yard with the fobs or remotes in a drink holder or in the door panel cubby I rarely take them out of the car except when I am going to town and going to have to park the car somewhere where I can't physically see it as in go around the corner to get something from the store on spring Street when I'm parked on main Street. You're driving one of the lowest maintenance cars ever made on the planet with a nice engine. Point blank enjoy
     
  4. pasadena_commut

    pasadena_commut Senior Member

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    Regarding the window reflection...

    There is a dimmer wheel on the dashboard to the left of the steering wheel. Yours may be turned all the way up, past the "click" which makes it full bright all the time. If that is the case the dash will not dim when you turn the headlights on. In CA there is a rule that the car's headlights must be on whenever the wipers are going, so when it rains during the day the opposite problem appears - the display is too dim to read on rainy days. Scroll up to fix that, forget about it, and the next time one drives at night the reflection you describe is observed.
     
  5. L82thePRTY

    L82thePRTY New Member

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    Thank you very much... I'll look into changing the battery for sure!
     
  6. L82thePRTY

    L82thePRTY New Member

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    Thank you much! Yes I did have that same spine shrinking, I guess we all go through it eventually, yep first Toyota... had many Hondas before this my first Toyota.. the Hondas were good too, but the Toyota "hybrids" just seem better from what I've researched. So far so good!
     
  7. L82thePRTY

    L82thePRTY New Member

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    Thank you, that's good to know... I'll experiment with the dimmer settings :)
     
  8. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

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    Turn down the brightness on the cluster illumination. I find that reduces the reflected glow on the windshield (like pasadena said).

    Remember, much of the technology was brand new in 2004, so there's some teething problems with implementation. Many things were improved for newer cars and made better and cheaper because of it.

    If anything on the steering wheel controls is inoperative, then I might suspect that the clockspring cable is bad.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #8 mr_guy_mann, Mar 25, 2023
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2023
  9. pasadena_commut

    pasadena_commut Senior Member

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    If the dimmer doesn't fix the problem, and all driver's are roughly the same height, the "shade" over that display could be extended with something like a piece of flat black cardboard to block the reflection.
     
  10. L82thePRTY

    L82thePRTY New Member

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    Thanks for the reminder about the technology back then... one can forget it really was a while ago.. Also the suggestion about looking into the clockspring, .. thanks!
     
  11. L82thePRTY

    L82thePRTY New Member

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    Ah yep, I've got some dark black non-reflective cloth blocking the reflection, thanks!