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2007 with headlight issue -- seeking clarification

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by KK7PW, Jul 27, 2015.

  1. KK7PW

    KK7PW Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Seattle
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Hello from Seattle. I have read many posts about the HID headlight issues and related 2009 class-action lawsuit for replacement parts. My Prius has 63k miles and warranty has expired. So, I am likely facing a repair of some sort.

    Issue: I replaced a front right dead bulb with non-Toyota bulb about three weeks ago. After replacement, I had not had reason to use headlights and, after initial testing (successful), simply assumed that all was working. Used headlights last night. Both came on, then right could be seem to progressively brighten over a matter of 10 seconds of so, and then go off. Turn off HL switch, do again, same symptoms.

    Question: does this seem like an ECU / ballast issue? I am not inclined to believe it is corrosion at contacts or faulty bulb. Thoughts?

    I have appointment with dealer later this morning, so hoping to hear something here ASAP.

    Thanks for any thoughts.
     
    #1 KK7PW, Jul 27, 2015
  2. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    You have a car with 63K miles and 8-9 years on it, why on earth would you think a lawsuit applies to your dead headlight bulb?
    It had a good life, replace it.

    What "non-Toyota" bulb did you use? Toyota doesn't make any bulbs, so they are all non-Toyota. Replacing it with cheap crap can, and usually does, burn out your reflectors die easily and that sort of thing.

    See here: Not all HID Bulbs are created equal | PriusChat

    Also during installation, even momentarily touching any part of the glass with your skin, will kill it. You cannot get oil on the glass.

    What you describe sounds like a counterfeit bulb. The filament is loose and as it heats up it opens the circuit and shuts off. It won't reignite until the forced re-ignition.

    Bulbs should be replaced in pairs as well. And turning HIDs on and off rapidly (i.e. within a few minutes) also significantly lowers their life.
     
    #2 2k1Toaster, Jul 27, 2015
  3. KK7PW

    KK7PW Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2012
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    Location:
    Seattle
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Thanks. To your point, I was not thinking of being eligible for lawsuit; simply mentioning that this issue received this level of attention in past.

    Thanks for the following. I will keep in mind. Best regards.

    --

    "What you describe sounds like a counterfeit bulb. The filament is loose and as it heats up it opens the circuit and shuts off. It won't reignite until the forced re-ignition.

    Bulbs should be replaced in pairs as well. And turning HIDs on and off rapidly (i.e. within a few minutes) also significantly lowers their life."
     
    #3 KK7PW, Jul 27, 2015
  4. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

    Joined:
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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
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    Three
    It's not "this issue". The issue that was part of the lawsuit was that when the bulbs failed, dealers were replacing the entire headlight assembly (because of Toyota's flawed tech manual at the time) which included the bulb and ballast and in many cases charging customers for that. It is like if the batteries in your TV remote dies so you have to replace the whole TV. The TV itself is fine, just one part in one subsystem that is meant to be disposable needs replacement as designed. But because of a flawed manual and idiot monkeys at the dealerships just blindly doing what they are told, they would trash the whole TV and bill you for it.

    It would help if you posted what type of bulb you bough, i.e. from where, what kind, that sort of thing.
     
    #4 2k1Toaster, Jul 27, 2015
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