Headlight problem

Has anyone had any experience buying D4R bulbs from velocitygetter.com:

2 x VG D2S D2R D4S D4R HID Xenon Bulbs for OEM Stock Xenon 4300K 6K 8K

or

HID Safty Features Wires Self installation Business Opportunity HID Xenon Conversion Light Kit ??

They appear to have 4300K, 6000K, and 8000K bulbs. I'm looking but have no data to work with.

 

Hummm Hi All I just came home from Toyota and googled to find out from other Prius owners if they are too experiencing this headlight problem. I guess so! Same deal, right light out, left light out and sometimes they both just go out. I drive around turning my lights on and off as that puts them back on. Next I'll be buying a light switch. I have been told by the dealership today, that the computer boards are faulty and that my extended warantee will cover the upgraded boards however the same headlights can not be used, they are not compatible to the new computer boards, so beings warrantees do not cover headlights I will have to buy 2 lights at 400.00 each. I am not happy about this and do have a call out to Toyota CS..........I think enough of us have to call Toyota and this should be a recalled item and include the headlights!!

 

Huh Huh..... then why won't your regular bulbs work once they replace the faulty board?... Why must they do both?

And why do those who only replace the bulbs with the same type "D4R", it fixes the problem?.... even with the cheap bulbs that cost 35.00 bucks a piece?... We're talking HID bulbs here... you know, the ones they want hundreds of dollars for "a piece"?

These types of dealers are the very reason Toyota finds it too expensive to step up to the plate and just recall or fix everyones IMO.

They want to replace the boards ballast, remove the bumper, new bulbs, tons of labor when all along the problem is fixed with a simple bulb replacement.

But dealers milk the manufacturer as long as they can and its all survival of the fittest and they ruin it for the honest folks that just want thier lights to work and aren't interested in trying to cheap Toyota out of everything the can in parts "and" labor.

I hope I didn't beat around the bush too much! :cheer2:

There.. I feel better now....

 

I have had the left one go out in my 2007 prius and if I turned the lights off and on it would work for a while and then be out again. I let the dealer replace the bulb and it is OK but the cost! $ 345 for the bulb!! + 1/2 hr labor. I have bought a bulb from a 3rd party supplier and will see how that goes for $ 100+

 

I stumbled upon this website when I was having trouble with my headlights and lurked for a month or so. Left HID went out under warranty... no problem. Covered and replaced. 2 months later right one went out, out of warranty. Argued with tech for a few minutes, paid dealership $494 to replace, left and called Toyota as soon as I got home and opened a case immediately. They called back within 2 days and received my reimbursement check 3 weeks later. No questions asked other than, "You had to replace your HID?". They are aware of the problem but apparently it is not serious enough for a recall. Call them and ask for Nicole (1-800-331-4331 x 73113). She knows what is up.

 

Both lights were failing and I had to do the on-off trick to get them on again. Bought bulbs from plasmagarage.com for $129 (a pair). Installation was hell but I got them in right and both have been working great for a week now, fingers crossed!
I bought the HID-D2R Xenon bulbs which are supposed to be same as factory install.
2005 prius, 80,000 miles. Best miles/tank 54.5 miles per gallon.

 

I've got a 2007 prius with 41,000 miles. Same problem, head lights. 6a.m. one dark morning lost headlights totally on a dark curvy road, wife freaked out. Took to dealer replaced auxillary battery, labor and battery around $250.00. Not covered by extended warranty. Dealer wanted to charge around $900.00 for bulbs and labor (have extended warranty) this not covered. Said no to bulbs, (still not working right after battery installed). Went on line saw this forum, called Toyota, they opened a case, Paul assisted, ended up paying $200.00 for the labor everything else Toyota took care of directly with the dealer. Have to say I am pleased with the Toyota Experience. Wife still doesn't trust car (she drives it most the time). She wanted to get rid of it after the no light, dark road episode. Scared she's going to buy it one dark morning or night. If this doesn't fix problem whatever is to be replaced next is covered by extended warranty. Wife has informed relatives to contact our attorney if anything happens to either one of us because of no lights. Truly hope problem is fixed because we both loved the vehicle until the no light episode on a dark road.

 

The HID headlight problem seems to be the single largest source of complaints about the 2006 Prius. Toyota needs to acknowledge the problem and issue a TSB.

I've been getting notices for Car Stats. Here is the latest set of reports off of their web site:

2006 DEMO CAR COMPLAINTS: 0 on file plus other Safety Car Reports.

 

If your wife seriously thinks a headlight failure will kill her, she is driving too fast. Headlight failure is always a possibility with any car, HID lights or not. A smart driver will keep options open, just as a smart pilot is always looking for the next place to land. Tell your wife that this was a problem, it's now fixed, but it could happen at any time with any car. Treat it as a training exercise.

Tom

 

I bought a certified preowned 2006 tonight, drove it off the lot after checking it over / test driving it during the daylight (and doing all paperwork while it was getting dark). Getting on the highway out of the dealer I hit the hi-beam headlights at about 60 MPH and had NO LIGHTS. This seems like they COULDN"T have done a Virginia safety inspection NOR the Toyota certified inspection on this car. I had to stop in the middle of the highway and turn on the flashers to try to see to pull off the road.

As to the last reply about headlights can go out in ANY car - yes, that's possible, however most cars the headlights are fully self contained with a simple 12 volt hot and a ground and the chances of BOTH going out are almost nill. Of course the chances should have been also very low on this car and I can only get it to have one go out right now sitting in my driveway.

This is a REDICULOUSLY important safety issue and should be recalled immediately. The Loudoun County Sheriff's department didn't want to write a complaint on this, I feel STRONGLY that they should - however I've filled out the NTSB safety concern forms.

As to safety - Considering I was on a highway I've been on ONCE in my life, which was on the earlier test drive in the daylight (not the same way I came TO the dealer) and had no lights at highway speed at night, AND PRIOR TO THAT had almost no low beam lights (I was actually looking and couldn't see the next stripe / line ahead of me), NO street lights, and no cars behind me to light the road this is EXTREMELY dangerous and easily could be a deadly accident, especially in a car you aren't yet familiar with. I had *NO* idea where the flasher was to turn on to try to see with them and was completely stopped in the middle of the road looking for a flasher button.

I won't go so far as to say this is a death trap type problem, but it's not that far from it - What if a tractor trailer was coming when I hit the brakes since I couldn't see? Granted you could argue if one was behind me i would have seen SOMETHING making it perhaps less dangerous, but I think you can clearly argue this MUST be corrected immediately - and SHOULD have been caught in the VA safety inspection of the car, OR the Toyota Certified inspection.

I bought the car at Miller Toyota in Manassas, VA and will say the sales process went VERY smoothly - I will assume at this point that they're going to fix this since it happen about 2 miles from the dealer, however it means I have to waste a few hours driving there and going back to get the car (unless they can fix it while I wait). I didn't expect to buy a car that couldn't be driven at night when it was certified and a premium over a "non-certified" car - nor did I expect to have to take part of my day to return a car for a MAJOR SAFETY problem like this. I tried to call them but couldn't get an answer and once i got the lights to work again continued driving home with little light (mainly driving lights).

I'll post again how tomorrow goes, but wasting 2-3 hours reading up on this problem and the frustration of thinking I got a car with electrical problems is rediculous after paying for a "certified" pre-owned.

 

I must say Miller Toyota made things right and was very reasonable about it. My morning started with calling right when they opened to the service department (they said when I bought it to come back to the used car shop, not service, but the web site said they weren't open yet). They listened but then said I had to "take the car back to where I bought it" which struck me as VERY odd being I bought it from them and said that - I repeated that it was THEIR car and he just kindly explained he meant the other side of the dealer, that they have their own service bays and transferred me.

They told me to come in and they'd look at it while I waited, I mentioned the problems online like this thread and they talked to the main service department and put in 2 new headlights - On the drive home I left the lights on and they appeared ok (it was daylight). I'll be driving the car tonight to see how it goes.

They did everything while I waited and gave me a few freebies to make up for the hassle. Given the value of my time it isn't worth while, but it was a very good attempt and I woudln't have expected more than they offered..

I'd recommend them, they had several Prius' in stock (all used / certified).

 

Well, I have to admit that I was wrong. I just replaced those lights by taking out the front little black piece over the radiator and the air scoop on the right side.....the left side was done by removing the relay cover and the front two relays. I had a mirrror to assist me in seeing what I had to deal with. After I scoped out how it was held in there and the position of the lamp, it was relatively easy to do it. Took about 20 minutes.

Can't believe Toyota charges so much for the relacement of these lamps. Like most here, I got mine from a company listed on E-Bay (HID Concepts in NJ). Got the pair shipped to me for $129.

Truth be told, they didn't come in the original Phillps boxes. I am hoping that the "Guarrunteed NEW" statement is truthful and these aren't someones used lamps from another auto! I just installed them today and I will let the board know if I experience any more "wink outs".

 

At 99k my 06 had the driver side HID start going out after 1 to 15 minutes of driving. Turning it off and on again bandaids the problem usually.

Dealer said it's the bulb. Dealer said it shuts off when too hot (i.e. during the initial turning on). Dealer said bulbs are not covered under the extended warranty so give us $350 for the bulb and $250 for labor (Tracy Toyota, CA). And if the right one goes out that will be another $600.
I'll be calling Toyota CS at lunch to open a complaint.

 

Add me to the list..

Of course it happened BEFORE 36,000 miles but I neglected to mention to dealer.

Now at 38,000 miles (I do have Troy Platinum Extracare warranty). I called the dealer AFTER reading all this.. and I asked HOW MUCH TO REPLACE THE BULB if that is in fact the problem.

He right away stated $25 if no HID and $364 installed for an HID Bulb. He said bring it in and he will check the ballast first. (He sounded like he knew what he was doing).

He said that if it happens to be bulb, he has no problem with me either supplying my own bulb, or installing it myself. But he would check it for free.

This is Ardmore Toyota (Philadelphia Suburb).

If he changes the ballast or not.. I don't care.. I'll buy the ebay bulb and hope that works.

 

I have now driven several hours at night with no headlight problems. Looks like at least in my case, it was the lamps. Please, do yourselves a favor. Don't pay toyota to do this job. If your at all mechanically inclined, you can do this.

Good luck!

 

We have had our right front HID bulb blow twice. Seems to be the same scenario. It will go off and on (first time noted by locak constable who gave me a warning). Got it fixed under warranty. They said would have cost $500.00 to fix. Samd thing second time. 06 Prius with 34,000 miles so the next time it's my walet that gets lightened as we are told the extended warranty just happens not to cover bulbs. Got a number fromm the dealer to call and report this. 800-331-4331. Called and they said 'this is the first time we've heard of this. I have read of others with this problem so it is out there but they say they aren't being told about it so it doesn't exist. Brothers and sisters, if this has happened to you too, CALL THEM and register a complaint. If they get enough calls they may wake up. Some say it is a connection, others the bulb, others the ballast, and a few have implicated a circuit board...all bad. So call 'em and let's bring down the problem. BTW I've seen the bulb alone for $135-$150. The rest is for labor since they say they have to dis assemble the whole car to change the bulb. Sounds like planned job security and bad engineering to me...not what I'd like to expect from Toyota.

 

A couple of questions as I do not have my Prius yet. In the troubleshooting area someone suggested a bad connection.

Does the HID bulbs have a filament and if so, can they not be tested to determine if they are defective/broken. A good continuity test would point to a bad connection.

Also, if the bulbs have filaments, could the additional vibration from a higher than recommended tire pressure cause a lower MTF rate.

And also if a filament, a bad connection may also affect the MTF rate due to increased on/off, heating/cooling, expension/contraction of the filament.

Just some thoughts.

 

As I have posted earlier, I have just over 60k miles in a 2006, with the driver side headlight going out intermittently, for the last few thousand miles. As with others, it comes back when turned off and on. I went to the dealer yesterday for oil change, and mentioned it. The service advisor said, "If it goes off and comes back on, it's the headlamp that needs to be replaced. We'll check it out for $45." I passed on that.:wof: When I paid my bill, the clerk gave me a paper, from the advisor I guess. It is a TSB #T-SB-0030-08 Rev1 April 11, 2008. Titled "HID Headlight System - Diagnostic Tips". In part it says:

Introduction

The following bulletin is a supplement to the Repair Manual and provides diagnostics tips for troubleshooting "Low Beam Does Not Turn On (One Side)". (It DOES NOT mention goes out and comes back on!)

Parts Information

(lists bulb numbers for 2004-2005 and for 2006-2008)

Warranty Information

(says "Not Applicable to Warranty")

Repair Procedure

(says to 1. perform SST or DVOM check across connector, 2. check connector fit, 3. Switch HID bulb between left and right side.
If the condition follows the HID bulb, replace the HID bulb.
If the condition does not follow the bulb, replace the HID ECU.

(Then a note says "In most cases, when replacing the HID bulb, the HID ECU does NOT need to be replaced."

To me, this document does not explain what's going on, or the precise fix. Or does this really only apply to headlamps that don't work at all, which is technically what it says. But the timing of this TSB would seem to be to address the complaints in the last year.

Does anyone know more or have ideas?

Oh, last night, after driving for about 30 minutes without the light going out, I parked at a store for 30 minutes. When I started the car, turned on headlights and drove away, I had driven for less than a minute in a well lighted area when a pedestrian flagged me down and said my headlight was out. Of course cycling power turned it on. (So much for the overheating theory?) Makes me wonder, has anyone been stopped by police for a headlight out, only to flick the power and say, "Which headlight is out? I don't see it!":angel:

 

This is the "Customer Experience" phone number in your warranty booklet.

 

Those lights are so bright if you have HID that its hard to tell that one has gone out.

It sounds like one was already out and she finally lost the last one, or else the problem is somthing totally different that would affect both lights at once... since you have one ballast and one bulb per side, I'm not sure what happened in her situation. But the odds of both going out at the same time due to bulb failure is astronomical, unless like I said its a main fuse or wiring etc.