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Headlight Replacement

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by wafflesdr, May 10, 2012.

  1. wafflesdr

    wafflesdr New Member

    Joined:
    May 10, 2012
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    Location:
    US
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Hey, a couple weeks ago I noticed a my headlights acting goofy. I have a 2008 Prius with HID lights. I don't know which bulb was having problems. The last couple nights I noticed that the passenger light turned off, while the driver side stayed on. I made an appointment with the dealership, and said the passenger light was having problems. When I took it in, I asked about the driver side light, and they said they would replace both headlights at the same time because they usually go out together. When they called me to give me the price, I brought up the extended headlight warranty, which they didn't know about. They looked into it and then only replaced the passenger light. I asked about replacing the driver side light, and their response was that I had no problems with it, so they won't touch it. I asked if they could inspect it, and they said they won't even look at it.

    Is this standard? I'm at 49,000 miles, I think the driver side has had problems, but don't have proof like I do with the passenger side.
     
    #1 wafflesdr, May 10, 2012
  2. dhancock

    dhancock 2 Prius Family

    Joined:
    May 21, 2007
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    Location:
    Hamburg, NY (Buffalo area)
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    I'm a bit surprised that no one else has responded to this.

    When they proposed that they replace both lamps, I suspect that they thought that YOU would be paying. As the "standard" method of replacing these lamps involves removing the front bumper cover it would make sense to replace both lamps at once. (NOTE: There are other methods for replacing the lamps that don't involve removing the bumper cover - but the dealer's book rate is based on removing the cover).

    The extended warranty specifically excludes lamps - so that wouldn't cover it.

    There was a class action suit settlement on the HID lamps that may have forced Toyota to cover the lamps up to 50 or 60K - so that might be why Toyota did cover the one lamp (the tone of your post implied that they did).

    There are lots of posts about replacing these lamps. Generally it is a Do It Yourself job (do a search here on HID lamps). While the Toyota price on HID bulbs is $150, you can get quality OEM Phillips for $40-$50 on e-bay.
     
    #2 dhancock, May 12, 2012
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