Headlight problem

Wow! It's been a while since I posted. Love our 2006 Prius, but we started having the headlight problems at 60K miles. We just brought our car in for the headlight problem and they replaced the affected bulb. I'm waiting for the bill, as they have not faxed it to me. I'll keep you updated with the price we paid and the results I get from called Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.

What DOES irritate me is that the service tech I talked to on the phone said the bulbs should only last for 1-3 years - nothing near the 8 others have communicated on the site.

 

We have a 2006 "the works before leather" (can't remember the package #) Silver Prius, well used with 95,000 miles and still LOVING IT like we did the day we got it new from Bernardi Toyota in MA (thanks to manager Mike Benson after waiting out multiple dealerships for over 6 months wait)! What a JOY to use and promote. Our first problem has been the "intermittent" dysfunctional HID that started perhaps in the summer of 2008. It was so intermittent and the HID are so bright that I didn't even notice it until others told me I had a light out.When I started commuting a longer distance and at night this fall I was stopped by several police in several townships for the problem (getting a warning each time). After the second time I "learned" to just turn the lights off and turn them back on again and they seemed to "reset" themselves. I did this after my third "stop" and asked the policeman to check the lights for me again and they were amazed that they were both on stating I could have sworn you had a light out. I got away with about 4-5 warnings and then when I was driving at midnight and both headlamps went out (they did reset after turning off) on an unlit road, I was "inspired" to do something about this annoyance. My husband called Toyota after reading this thread and contacted Georgeanne of Toyota who said she would work with us to get the problem resolved. The first Toyota dealership in Salem, NH Rockingham Toyota acted like they hadn't heard of the problem when I went in for oil change and they implied it would be our responsibility (we did not get extended warranty and I think they indicated that the HIDs would not be covered anyway). Several months later when I needed another oil change I decided to try Hurlbert Toyota in Epping NH (nice inviting new structure and good location off RTE 101 ). When I called up for the oil change I asked about the HID problem and she (Service woman) seemed very familiar with it saying that most likely it is a sensing leveler in the lights. At time of oil change I gave Noreen (service woman) Georgeanne's telephone number and told her there must be a work order number for the call my husband made 3+ months ago. I took my seat at 10:00 for oil change and was out of there by 2:00 with headlamps fixed and oil changed.They charged $548.00 of which I was responsible for $31.30 (oil change). I am thrilled to have everything back to pristine working order and grateful for the "no hassle we'll take care of it" service of Hurlbert and Toyota, although I thought 2+ hours seemed excessive to switch out the bulbs and reconnect wires. With Toyota paying for the lights it was well worth the time to wait. The HID should be on a recall list not just a bulletin but I must admit that I greatly appreciated Toyota and Hurlbert "fixing the problem" with no upfront expense of mine other then the frustration of the problem in a 2 year NEW car.

 

wstben had the headlight problem with both headlamps. First one replaced under warrenty. Second one replaced after warrenty. Toyota customer service paid the second replacment after a discussion with them. There are apparently some defective HID lamps out there. These quoted prices for a headlamp replacement ($520) remove the prius from an economical class to a specialty class.

 

add me to the list.... Its an 08 package 6 with only 5,415 miles!! just dropped it off to the dealer and they say its from moister... i just want it fixed and hope it doesnt come back...

 

I have exactly the sanme problem. They are dim, or flicker, or one goes off. If i turn them off and back on they will go on strong again. I first thought it was a fuse or headlight probelm but the dealer said no and told me it was some exorbitant amount to get it fixed. So i didn't. I did go the the ntsb (?) website like others suggested and reported. I think it is a faulty design and prius should issue a recall.

 

I also have a 2006 Prius and have the same problem. I have a friend with one and he has the same problem. I have seen 4 other Prius's with a headlight out at night???

I also have a problem with the electric window not stopping mid way. It only will go down or up all the way. I also have a problem with the battery going dead for no apparent reason.

Sounds like I have a lot of problems, doesn't it.

I took my Prius in to the dealership about 4 months ago re the headlight and tail light problem. They said they couldn't help me??

Yikes, I'm calling them today.

 

I had the same problem -- 2007 Prius, bought in late 2006. First started getting the problem in Summer of 2007, had the dealer inspect inspect inspect and FINALLY replace one bulb (right) in October 2007. A few months ago we noticed the left bulb going out, same behavior, they would come back on if cycled off then back on, but at a much dimmer intensity.

Called Toyota, after a long bout of phone tag finally got an appointment to have their local dealer look at it. They offered to pay for the relacement bulbs today, but wanted me to pay for labor which I wasn't really happy about, as this seems to be a chronic problem that's well known by Toyota. But safety first -- getting both headlights replaced at a $150 labor cost.

 

I had my 2004 Prius's driver side HID headlamp bulb replaced by Dublin Toyota on Oct. 15. Two months later the flickering-dimming-extinguishing problem occurred again, with the new bulb.

I called Toyota Corporate Customer Experience Center (800-331-4331), explained that I had not yet gotten the reimbursement for half of the $600 first bulb replacement that they promised almost two months ago. Also said I'm not interested in replacing the bulb every two months, nor in going through the expensive trial and error of replacing a bulb, then if that one fails replacing the ballast, then if that fails replacing the computer, each time paying many hundreds of dollars. They sent the case to the rep who handled my original bulb replacement, and she's supposed to contact me within one business day.

Meanwhile I called the Toyota dealer who replaced the first bulb. They said they can do nothing until they see the car. I explained that the failure is intermittent. They still insisted. I think I'll wait to hear from Corporate.

Anybody hear more about recalls or class action lawsuits?

 

There are links about the window problem... without going into furthur detail and hijacking this thread..... if its the drivers windows.... I'm just making sure you know that that button is "designed" to push all the way for the window to respond by going all the way...... but if you only want it part way.. you gently push it so it doesn't bottom out and you should have full control.
If thats not the issue.. I think you can try to reset it.... chances are when your battery went dead, it fouled up the programming.

if so, try pulling up on the button all the way until the window hits the top and continue to hold the button for another 2 seconds or so... now go down and do the same.
this tells the computer where the upper and lower limits are again and it should work.

I'm just going by memory here.. if that doesn't work...go look up that issue on the forum or pm me.

As far as batteries.... I always suspect dome lights being left on and such.... the battery is pretty small and designed to boot the computer up and run light accessories for a limited time. Once the computer is up, it utilizes the main "big" battery thats 200ish volts to fire up the engine and turn back and "recharge" that accessory battery.

turn your car off.... go put your key somewhere far away so it doesn't light up your dome light when you walk up and "trick" you.. and go get back in your car and inspect to see if "anything" is on. Check the light in the back too behind the hatch thats on the lower left.

a little light like that won't bother you much if you drive your car often.. but 3 days or so, and it will drain that small battery.

again, there are many threads about this elsewhere.

 

Well if you've read the previous notes in this thread, you will know I replaced the bulbs in both of my cars.
My car has worked flawlessly since... I bought those cheap ones on ebay... 70.00 buck for two!

My wifes car started acting up again with the drivers side bulb. I had "saved" my original bulbs that had not gone bad and I simply put one of those in place of the bulb that was acting up... this was about a month ago and no problems!

I'm almost absolutely sure this is problems with the bulbs.
When I inspected the old bad bulb and compared with the other "good" old bulb there were differences. The bad one had a glazed line running down the material inside the bulb... almost like it had melted into glass and maybe wouldn't fire properly any more....

At any rate... I haven't seen any case yet on this thread yet where a new bulb "or good old bulb" doesn't fix the problem.

 

I also have a 2006 Prius package 6 with the same headlight problem. First it was the driver side and they replaced the light (warranty) BUT this time it's the passenger side intermittently not working... and on top of that.. my maintenance required light is on....hmmmmm?

 

maint req light is simply your maitenence screen telling you to change the oil or rotate the tires, because the car has passed x amount of miles.. usually being only 3000 as my default mileage. i changed it to 5000...

it's in your menu screen. there are forums on it.. but you hold down the ODO (while on ODO and not trip) while restarting the car.. you'll see something like ****** that counts down... when it does, the light restarts it's odometer check.

 

Yea Fiddledee.. those are simply reminder screens or "alarms" totally customizable by yourself.. you can disarm them or activate which ones you want and you can set the reminder mileages..

Seems we may need to set one for our headlight bulb replacement!

 

I've had the problem, too. The dealer said must replace both lightbulbs, so there won't be a difference in light color, requires dropping the bumper, total cost $900!!! I talked to Toyota Customer Care 800-331-4331 today, after many phone calls, was told that dealers have been "completely re-educated" on this problem since September. Fix requires replacing light bulbs AND complete headlight assembly. Get Toyota Customer Care involved in your problem. It's a common Prius problem with hundreds of complaints filed with National Highway Transportation Safety Board. I expect a significant contribution from Toyota towards this fix.

 

Its true, you may have a tad different color if you mix bulbs... my old "original bulb" is greener and less bright than the bulb I bought off of ebay "69.00 for two".

Its so funny how mechanics work now-a-days..... you don't have to replace the bumper, nor do you have to replace the whole headlight assembly.
But they "would rather".

It frees up their time to put a whole integrated part in "at your expense" instead of dig around and really fix the problem the old fashioned way.

Not only does it free up their time, they get to charge for more parts "with profit margins" as well as justification for "more labor charges" too since more parts are involved.

I have yet to see any proof that removing the bumper is required.
For the layperson with limited tools.. its definitely not easier, to the professional mechanic with all the toys.. it is.

And when the bulb simply pops out of the back... why does the whole assembly need replacing?

This whole idiocy just inflames me.... sorry.

Its misuse like this is exactly why insurance companies have to hire doctors and nurses to see what charges are legit verses trumped up.
And we wonder why the fees are so high?

Is there "anybody" thats honest anymore in this country?

 

i has the same problem. one of my headlights would just go out. if i turned them off and back on it came on. i brought it to the dealer. without formally admitting a problem they knew about it and changed the bulbs in both my headlights under warranty.

 

Good for you!.... maybe the word is finally getting out!
Your dealer should be given a medal for doing exactly what was needed without a big hassel and expense to the customer.
These bulbs are advertised as having 10 times the life of a halogen.

Welcome to the forum!

 

i just started having this problem. i hope the toyo tech in my area are familiar with this issue.

 

I have a 2006 #6 and last August the driver side headlamp went out; took it to the dealer and $400 larer it was fixed, not under warranty, (55k miles at the time). Now the passenger side HID is doing the same thing. Got pulled over by Highway patrol for the headlamp, got off the interstate turnd the car off expecting to get a speeding ticket then the officer told me to turn the headlights on so he could check....funny thing they were just fine....he mentioned that when he passed me he saw in his mirror that the passenger side was dim.....Hmmmm. Returned home the other day and pulled into the garage and noticed that the right headlamp was out, turned the switch off then on and the lamp came back on. So two weeks ago a friend mentioned that the rear tail lamp was out....gads.....took it to the dealer for oil etc and they changed the tail lamp under warrenty.....??? (73K miles). When the right headlight fails again I think I may try to change it myself after checking the connections. I also read on another chat post that some people have had the dealer update the cars software(?) with positive results. I may request this next time I go in. Anyone else had the "bios" updated?

 

Welcome to the forum.....

I too have heard such stories.. but I'm not aware of any "Software".... I have handheld HID lights and they "don't" have or need a computer.

An HID bulb is ran from a ballast that pulls current from a fixed power source and raises it to higher voltages needed to run the bulb.... not software.
The ballast runs at certain high voltages upon initial fireup and then setles to rest at a lower voltage the rest of the time to maintain the bulb in its plasma state of intense brightness.

At no time have I ever heard of software determining the voltages and regulating such.

If its the software... then why don't they just change this illusive "software" and not replace the bulb... shouldn't that fix it?

No, it won't and they know it.... I still say its all about the bulb.... otherwise replacing the bulb alone would not fix the problem.

I keep asking this question and getting the same answer..... nothing.... no answer... only silence!

Two crimes here..... all these guru genius's can't figure out a simple problem, make the problem known and fix it.
Second...... they "fix" far more than some others do at far more expense... why does one dealer need to spend 2K to "fix" the problem, remove the bumper, replace the whole headlight assembly, while another only spends 250.00 for a bulb and puts it in by hand in a few minutes?... and even better... If all that is really needed, then why can a private citizen like ourselves fix the problem with 69.00 bucks for both bulbs from buying ebay HID's?

Deductive reasoning just doesn't seem to work out here.
Whats blazingly apparent, is obviously not obvious.

You would think professionals that have gone through countless hours of school and countless hours of practical experience at their jobs could come to a better conclusion than a mix of confused diagnosis's and a bag of mixed conflicting remedies!

Common.... isn't this getting a bit ridiculous?