Problems with 2006 Toyota Prius ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

I bought my 2006 prius in october of 2012 and ever since buying it i've noticed that the headlight on the driver's side goes out by itself. i actually went into the dealer within a week and told them my headlight was out but when i got there and i turned them on it was working. i was baffled. they didn't say a thing to me that this was a commonly reported problem that toyota wasn't going to be addressing. anyway, i left and the headlight problem has been happening ever since. i decided to just live with it because when i turn the lights off and back on, the headlight comes back on - at least for a while. i'm very worried that the same thing might happen to the other headlight at the same time. i've read online about the cost of replacing the bulb ($330) which is ridiculous since this is obviously a mfg flaw that toyota just doesn't want to pay for. please issue a recall on this before someone gets killed!! *tr

The center console simply turned black. i have no access to any of the controls. this includes everything from heating and cooling, to back up camera, to gps mapps, to radio channell selection. the entire center console touch screen turned black and useless. i have been quoted $3,000 to fix the problem. after 4 years of un/deremployment, i simply cannot afford such a costly fix. *tr

Climate control buttons failure when steering wheel is straight; spiral cable/ clock spring failure. *tr

Purchased 2006 toyota prius used on aug 17, 2013 (61,500 miles). within a month i was pulled over by police for passenger side headlight out while driving at night, but when headlamps are turned off and on again the headlight came back on, and the police officer thought he was crazy so he just issued a warning. the headlight continued to go out intermittently and i replaced the bulbs myself in november 2013 (philips hid headlight bulbs $95). the headlight still went out intermittently and i finally replaced both headlight assemblies in july 2016 by an independent mechanic (approximately $1000 at 143,000 miles). passenger side headlight still goes out intermittently. nhtsa launched a probe in april 2009, but then dropped the investigation after toyota said it would initiate a "consumer service campaign" to address the issue. then there was a class action settlement in 2011, all of which the previous car owner missed. toyota uses "campaigns" to avoid recalls. toyota's website (https://www.toyota.com/recall) does not list previous "campaigns" related to the vin so buying the car used i had no way of knowing of previous "campaigns" that still needed to be addressed. upon purchasing in august 2013 i took the car to a toyota dealership in san marcos, tx for a steering wheel recall but was not alerted to any other recalls or "campaigns" at that time.

Our 2006 toyota prius has a head light that goes off and on at random intervals which we consider to be a safety hazard. *tr

The vehicle unexpectedly shutdown while driving. there was no power and the brakes were boggy. the red triangle warning light came as well as the abs and engine warning lights. after pulling over the car restarted and drove fine but the red triangle remained on. the next day it was working fine. toyota was unable to find anything except a low voltage warning. *tr

Car's engine would not shut off. additionally, the digital dashboard (which shows the speedometer, odometer, gas gauge, etc.) would not light up. toyota dealer says it is due to a failed combination meter. the part is on national backorder. it has been more than two weeks and my car is still awaiting the part. *tr

Hid headlights on this vehicle and taillights go out on there own sometimes just one or sometimes all lights go out. problem is fixed when you turn the lights all the way off and all the way back on and they stay on for the duration of my drive or go out a few minutes later. have been pulled over by police multiple times for having lights out. have seen many toyota prius complaints about this same exact problem. *tr

The electronic display inside my husband's car has blacked out twice now. both times it was taken to the dealer. the first time, they were not able to locate the problem; the second time they were able to discover what was wrong, told him that it was a common problem in that model car (approx. 2004-2010), that there was no recall for it, and it would cost $700 to repair. if this is happening to other owners, why isn't there are recall? when it happens, the speedometer is gone. warning lights, fuel gauge, back-up camera, etc. are all out. this makes the car unsafe to drive. *tr

I found that there is malfunction on the buttons on steering wheel, especially info button and buttons for climate. i researched the problem on internet and i found the problem is caused by a bad clock spring. also, i found the clock spring is related with air bag module. there are a lot of owners have the same problem (such as priuschat.com). i think that it could be a recall issue. and i experienced another problem. the accelerator pedal of my car was repaired by the recall service before. but when i release the accelerator pedal and try to push brake pedal, there is difference of height between both pedals. the height of brake pedal is higher than the accelerator pedal, even if i released the accelerator pedal. so it is dangerous to operate both pedals. when i tried to push the brake pedal after i released the accelerator pedal, my right feet was stuck with the brake pedal. i think the recall service for the accelerator pedal of my car was not successful. or there is another problem on the brake pedal of prius. *tr

The first time i noticed the problem, my car was parked in the driveway after returning from shopping, still running, when my son noticed the right headlight was out. for some reason, i reached in and turned the light switch off, and then back on, and the light was fine. i figured it was an anomaly. from then, one or the other headlight would disappear every couple of months or so, but always reappear with a toggle of the light switched. i was severely underemployed, and simply could/can not afford the $500 parts & labor the toyota dealer wanted to replace both headlights. i just kept toggling and hoping for the best. i recently returned to full-time work, but with a commute of 1.25 hours each way. it was fine during daylight savings time, but now, i am toggling constantly, and both headlights are going out at the same time. i am traveling dark, country, roads, from fresno, ca to coalinga, ca to work at the pleasant valley state prison. i don't want to become a highway fatality statistic simply because nhtsa doesn't have the "[xxx]" to force toyota to recall these dangerous headlights. i was unemployed or underemployed for 4 years following a lay off in the summer of 2009. i simply cannot afford to pay the $500 out of pocket, and i really don't have any credit left. your inaction, nhtsa and toyota, puts my life on the line twice a day. you both will probably have my blood on your hands. [xxx] you! information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

My wife and i purchased a used 2006 toyota prius. after about 6 months one headlight would go out. we could cycle the switch and the headlight would work again. after replacing the bulb with a original bulb. both headlight have gone out. i took the vehicle to our local toyota dealership. they quoted a repair of $3800. i began looking for a lees expensive shop to do the repairs, when the owner of a shop[ informed me that toyota had settled a class action lawsuit concerning the hid ( high intensity display) units. that settlement has now passed the date to submit a claim. all claims had to be submitted by may 30th 2011. we had not purchased our vehicle at that time. why has there not been a recall done on these vehicles? obviously toyota is aware that there is a problem with in the system or they would not of settled the class action suit. we now have a vehicle that we paid $15000 for that can not be driven at night or when it is raining out, because the faulty headlight installed by the manufacture. how can the government allow a major vehicle manufacture to allow these cars to stay on the road, and risk serious injury? *tr

The driver side hid headlamp went out while driving. this was out for about a day then turned back on while driving again. i have now noticed this happens every few days and only while in motion. *tr

The right headlight went out and then went on. the problem has recurred. now the left headlight went out and then went on. we read that this is a common problem with the 2006 toyota. will there be a recall? *tr

I am the original owner of a 2006 toyota prius. last week, at 86,000 miles, while driving on the highway in traffic, a large red triangle warning light showed up on my dash with the low tire pressure light. i pulled off the road to check the manual and turned the car off. when i turned it back on many warning lights came on and i was unable to get the car out of park. called the dealer. they told me to get towed to the dealer, which i did. after 2 days they determined that it needed a new hybrid transaxle for $5,000+ plus miscellaneous other repairs totaling $7,723. toyota says the transaxle is covered under the powertrain warranty (60,000 miles) not the hybrid warranty (100,000 miles). there is a tsb for this repair, t-sb-0306-08 that states that it is covered under the california emission warranty in certain states, depending on model year, up to 150,000 miles. there seems to be new information that transmission fluid should be flushed at 30,000 miles. my dealer had only suggested this 2 weeks prior to the problem, when i was in for an oil change before a trip. i planned on doing it at my next service. i have a few questions? is this a common enough problem that it could be a ?defect?? i read somewhere that if 4% of cars have the problem then it is a defect. is that right? over what time period if so? if not, how does that get determined? how can i find out how many transaxles have needed to be replaced before 100,000 miles on 2004-2008 model prius?s? is this repair covered in carb states or not? i believe that maryland is a carb state now. would this warranty be retroactive to my car? is toyota responsible for not suggesting i get the transmission fluid flushed prior to this? *tr

2006 toyota prius with hid headlights with 55,000 miles is used as a taxi cab. on july 11th, 2012 and progressing, the passenger side hid headlight would flicker and then turn off completely after 5-15 minutes of operation. headlights must be turned off and then on to resume normal service. hid bulb replacement did not resolve the issue. toyota dealership only offered to replace the headlight without any explanation to what might be causing the issue. *tr

Combination meter failed, there was no dash display, no speed display, and vehicle would not shut down. fortunately we were not out of town so we drove the vehicle to our regular toyota dealer,ourisman fairfax toyota, fairfax, va, and left it there. *tr

Hid headlights go out randomly while driving. each one goes out separately, but sometimes they will both happen to be out at the same time. while driving, this is corrected by turning headlights off and then back on. same thing happens with the yellow running lights, one may turn off randomly. this began happening in fall of 2011, however new bulbs (hid and running lights) were purchased and the problem stopped temporarily, but within 1 year the same problems are occurring again. similar problem with the rear license plate lights; one will be off randomly, but shutting the trunk hard seems to appease the problem. this may be a wiring problem, but the front lights should not be turning off randomly. *tr

2006 toyota prius. letter from re onstar fmv defect *tgw the consumer stated the system light failed to light, except when one was talking to the onstar advisor. then it flashed green on and off as advertised. however, when the system was on and presumably ready for use, the green light did not illuminate. so far, the consumer was to connect to the onstar advisor when the light was off. the consumer received several answer as to why the system was not working as advertised. the consumer stated the unit is malfunctioning and may not work in an emergency situation. *jb the consumer received a call from onstar stating the problem he was having, was due to improper installation, because of an internal battery that required a connection before use. the problem has since been resolved. updated 10/19/11. *jb the consumer stated the onstar device malfunctioned again. updated 08/15/12.*jb updated 09/06/12. *jb updated 09/18/12 *jb updated 02/11/13. *jb the consumer stated a defect manifested itself by a partial loss of information on the center console display and there was a complete loss of the digital information displayed above the dashboard. the information included the speed, etc. the consumer stated when defect occurred, the power button became inoperative, which resulted in the inability to turn the vehicle power off or remove the electronic key. updated 06/22/15.*jb updated 07/08/15. *jb

I have two smart keys for 2006 toyota prius. one of them lose smart function and remote function. when a button is pressed, red light is not on at all. i have tested fob battery and it is ok. i believe that the smart key is defective. *tr

Combination meter of 2006 toyota prius suddenly stopped working. thankfully, priuschat members have posted similar issues. my mechanic removed the combination meter. i sent board to company in ca to re-do the solders and update the transistor on the chip. *tr

I own a 2006 toyota prius with hid headlights. the right headlight is intermittent. this is a safety hazard especially driving down a dark road at night. *tr

2006 toyota prius. faulty headlights. replaced both headlights in aug 2010 only to have one fail jan. 3 and the other failed jan 8 2011. added daytime running lights by dealer in 2007 so do not have the ability to turn them off and on. do not understand how one can have both lights fail as stated in so many other complaints. *tr

2006 toyota prius. consumer states unintended acceleration *tgw the consumer stated the vehicle was on cruise control, when the engine suddenly revved. he noticed the speed had increased from 72 mph to 74 mph. he released the cruise control and the engine stopped revving. he then set the cruise control again, and it happened again. the consumer also stated he noticed the lcd screen had froze and it was giving false information. the consumer has since sold the vehicle. *jb

The headlamp of prius 2006 intermittently goes off while driving. the problem goes away if the car is completely shut off and then restarted. many others are reporting the same problem with prius and replacement of headlight does not rectify the problem. the problem is creating dangerous situation for driving, particularly during rain or snow because others cant see the car and the drivers visibility becomes greatly affected. *tr

Toyota prius complete electrical failure causing the car to lose the steering, brakes all instrument displays including no hazard lights. dead stick driving. incident occurred unexpectedly while driving on crowded highway 5 north 1 hour from downtown la. i'm lucky to live through this. *tr

Headlights on 2006 toyota prius keep going on and off for no apparent reason. complaint has been made to toyota and all they have done is to reduce the price of the hid bulbs. *tr

While driving at night a headlight went out making it difficult to see. after restarting the car it came back on. this has happened several times. once when a headlight was out the second headlight went out making it extremely unsafe and difficult to pull off the road safely, just missed another vehicle. upon restarting one of the lights came back on. this is an extremely unsafe situation, it is life threatening. i has happened several times and continues to happen. i filed a complaint with toyota and they said i had to come in when it was malfunctioning. they later said that it was out of warranty. they are well aware of the problem and how many lives have to be lost until they do something about it besides sweep it under the rug. *tr

My hid light on my 2006 prius burnt out on driver's left side. took it in for a replacement and they told me that i have to replace both for a price of $500 and will only warranty for 1 year. i was told the average span for a bulb is 2.5-4 years. this is a ridiculous price for a light bulb. you should put pressure on the company to bring the cost for this safety repair down to a reasonable level. *tr

Headlights of 2006 prius go on and off at will. i reported this to toyota dealer and was told that they had to change both bulbs. the intensity of the bulbs are normal when they come back on and i have never owned a car where the bulbs recover on their own. it appears to be a wiring problem of some kind and toyota's solution of changing the bulbs does not seem to be a reasonable solution. also the one year guarantee of an expensive repair does not seem reasonable. the toyota website shows hundreds of complaints for the same condition. *tr

I am writing to you about an unresolved problem with my 2006 toyota prius. in may 2008, the driver's side electronic door lock actuator failed and was replaced by my local toyota dealer. now, the driver's side door lock actuator has once again failed, along with the passenger's side actuator. my local toyota dealer informed me that the estimated repair cost would total $1,300. i indicated that in view of the extremely high repair cost and the prior replacement of the driver's side actuator, toyota should assume a share of the repair cost, and the dealership submitted the matter to their regional representative. the dealership subsequently informed me that the regional representative was offering to assume $300 of the repair cost as a customer goodwill gesture. i indicated that toyota should assume a greater portion of the overall expense for the current repair, and the dealership once again agreed to convey that point to the regional representative. however, the dealership subsequently informed me that, rather than offering any further adjustment, the regional representative's response was to withdraw its previous offer altogether, leaving me with the entire financial liability for the repair! i then contacted the national toyota customer experience center in torrance, california, to complain about the regional representative's summary retraction of the adjustment that it had already offered. a representative at the center subsequently informed me that he concurred with the regional representative's actions and was unwilling to reverse them. against the recent backdrop of widespread and serious mechanical problems with its products, the toyota corporation has publicly pledged a renewed emphasis on quality and customer service. however, the way in which it has chosen to handle my complaint has left me feeling bewildered, disrespected, and abandoned. accordingly, i'm writing to your agency to ascertain what other remedies may be available to me. thank you. *tr

Toyota prius exterior lights shut down. this happens all of the time the car is driven. hid headlights turn off without the driver knowing and then keeps on driving until they are struck or hit something. other cars may not see this. this has occurred over 5000 times... *tr

Failure of the passenger side headlight. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 toyota prius. while driving approximately 35 mph the vehicle lost complete power, shut off and she had no control over the vehicle; however, she was able to restart it within five minutes. she took the vehicle to the dealer and was told that the vehicle needed a new battery which she purchased and installed. two weeks later, the failure occurred again. she took the vehicle to a second dealer who performed a diagnostics test which a code produced cited that a brake problem occurred. she called the manufacturer and a representative stated that they would notify her. on 3 occasions, when the vehicle was parked, the lights would flash on and off then the horn would honk for about a minute. the vehicle had not been repaired to-date. the current mileage was approximately 57,000. the failure mileage was approximately 55,000.

Approaching state hwy. in cruise, assumed stop area would be slippery as it sometimes is in the winter..tapped brakes to disable cruise, applied brakes, kept right on going & ended in the ditch across the hwy. was lucky that there was no collision.. can't remember if the motor was racing at the time. *tr

2006 toyota prius headlights go out randomly creating an unsafe condition when driving at night. the headlight(s) will come on after turning off the switch. this has been a recurring problem since the vehicle was one year old. in one instance, both headlights went out which required and emergency stop. both headlight have been previously replaced under warranty. the problem in now occurring most times the vehicle is operated at night. *tr

I own a 2006 prius with the high-intensity-discharge (hid) lamp option and have made an online report to you previously with no reply. when i asked the local toyota dealer they said they had no recall or safety issue bulletins regarding the issue. i had a friend ask another friend who is a northeast toyota dealer if he had heard anything about the issue. he sent toyota document titled "2006 to 2009 model year toyota hid headlight customer support program." last week toyota sent me the same document. the document places the blame on the hid head lamps, recommends turning the lights off during day time operation, etc. i am highly suspicious of their document and believe there is a more serious and potentially dangerous electrical problem involving the head lamps, etc. on a number of occasions the lighting system shut down completely (both head lamps mind you- not one) if the car was shut-off and again powered up the system restarted and the lights would come back on. toyota claims it is a lamp issue. i don't believe it and think there is more serious electrical problem. it has happened to both my wife and i and in both cases we were placed in dangerous situations on the road. when it happened to me i heard a distinct click and all the lights went out. i happened to be on the interstate and took the first exit which to my dismay was not lit and i was totally in the dark. i had to open the door to see the white line marking the edge of the road and drive off the shoulder. fortunately there was no traffic taking the same exit or there could have been an accident. a car did take the same exit at about 65 mph minutes after i got off the shoulder. i can only imagine the outcome had i not been able to quickly find the white line marking the shoulder. this has happened twice, and toyota claims it is how the bulb act when they are at the end of their life. if it has just been one of the lamps and the rest of the system didn't shut down their version might be believable *tw

In addition to my complaint, odi id #10400072, when i turn my headlights on, the lighting in my console loses it brightness--alot. during the daytime, it is very difficult to see the odometer/speedometer and all other information provided on my console... this includes the built-in gps/info screen. this is definitely a design flaw that toyota created and approved for sale here in the u.s. i cannot understand why toyota is not held fully accountable for these very serious flaws and are required to correct these very serious flaws at no cost the the innocent consumer that are victims for purchasing these vehicles fully trusting that toyota fully backed up their vehicles and reputation. what will it take to require toyota to make the necessary repairs to rectify these very obvious flaws in their vehicles? a death as a result of an innocent driver and his family trusting the toyota brand name? i sure hope not.

Passenger side head light goes out randomly. when the lights are turned off and then back on it will work for "some" period of time, could be seconds or days. car has been taken to the dealership multiple times for diagnostics and alleged repairs yet the problem continues. dealer has replaced bulbs & replaced some module within the circuitry. continues to fail. *tr

I drive a 2006 toyota prius. on november 13, 2009, for about 10 days, the dashboard would not light up on a cold start in the morning. it would light up after i hit a pothole or bump. the problem inexplicably stopped. my toyota dealership said they had received no complaints about this and could not diagnose/fix the problem since it no longer occurred. *tr

I own a 2006 prius with hid headlamps. one of the lamps has been intermittent for over well over 2 years. i have been to the dealer and have not been able to recreate the problem. when i do find out that the light is not operating, i simply turn off the lights and turn them back on and the lamp works. not sure for how long, because i cannot see whether or not the light is working until i am behind a car where i can see the reflection. *tr

I have 2006 toyota prius. i bought the car new. when it was about 2 years old, one taillight went out. when you tapped on the light, it would come back on. when it came back on it stayed on until i was traveling to chicago at night and i noticed that people were passing me and pointing to the back of my car. i pulled off the next exit, and both of my taillights were out. my son replaced both of them when i got to chicago and they have not gone out to date. then, when the car was about 3 years old, someone told me that i had a headlight out. i replaced the headlight. three months later. i got in my car one evening in town and did not notice (because the street lights were bright) that i had no headlights. i have since found out that this is a problem with many prius and avalon models. this is a serious safety hazard. i am thankful that i was not 2 hours out of chicago at night this time! *tr

Issue: 2006 prius with hid headlights work intermittently 1. events: no specific events leading up to the event other than regular driving and usage of the headlights 2. failure: the passenger-side headlight goes out every time i drive the car now and reduces night time visibility. 3. corrective action: i replaced the light bulb, but the issue still remains the same. from research online, it appears that this is a common issue with prius models between the years 2004-2007 and is linked to defects in the control units. *tr

My headlights continue to fail, increasing number of times, i reported it when the car was under warranty they could not fix it. 20 times while driving home from the er with my grandchild at night last night both lights went out. how is this not a recallable safety issue? the dealers just charge you to replace light bulbs which does not solve the problem, so then it is not listed as a complaint to them. this problem is getting worst. are you telling police in my area not to stop priuses because it is not a safety issue when they see us driving without a light or no headlights. can i send this complaint to anyone else above your agency? your form does not accept my vin number . *tr

The hid headlights on my 2006 prius intermittently go out. this happens without any pattern. the car canbe sitting in the driveway with the lights on and after a few minutes the one headlight will go out completely (both low and high beams) the only way to get it to come back on is by turning the lights completely off and back on. most recently i was driving with low beams on, when i tried to turn on the high beams all lights went out - very dangerous. upon returning to low beams only one light came back on. turning the lights completely off and back on did reset the lights to work but not enjoyable while driving! there has not been any pattern to these events. there has been numerous reports on-line reporting similar issues with prius hid headlights. this has been occurring on-and-ff since i purchased the car in january of 2008. *tr

I own a 2006 toyota prius. i am experiencing failure of the headlamps for the second time in 15 months. last year when the headlights would go out while driving, turning off the headlights and then turn them back on the lights would have the light working again for a short time. i had the lights replace last summer and they then worked. now the issue is starting again. i have own many different cars and have never had to replace headlights multiple times in 15 months. *tr

2006 toyota prius. my headlights failed on mountain road without any warning. i was doing about 50mph and swerved into the shoulder to avoid going off cliff. this vehicle is a death trap after dark and somebody is going to lose their life because toyota doesn't seem to take this seriously. i called their consumer hotline an was told i would have to foot the bill of nearly $900.00. i was then told by toyota to have the car repaired and they would reimburse me. i found a toyota dealer to do repair for $502.00 and now toyota tells me this was not a participating dealer even though it was an authorized factory toyota dealer. it truly seems like toyota is trying to avoid this problem. i now want to sell this car asap but am concerned for the safety of the person who will ultimately buy it from me. i'm wondering if i could face a lawsuit for knowingly selling a car with this serious safety defect ? please help us !!! *tr

Driving at night and headlight completely failed. took it in to dealer but was working then and dealer refused to document. this same thing occurred several times since then, both headlights failing at one time or another resulting in dangerously poor visibility. problem is intermittent and continuing with a failure just days ago. toyota acknowledges the problem but refuses to take responsibility saying the current mileage is too high. problem first occurred when mileage was considerably under 45000. feel it is unsafe to drive the car at night. *tr

On 05/22/2009, my husband and his [xxx] had a car accident. my husband's car was hit from behind when he was driving a toyota prius with his friend sitting in the front passage seat. the backs of the chairs of the driver seat and front passage seat were move and broken.the seat back shaft damage failure. my husband and his friend both got hurt, and my husband was hospitalized for 6 days. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

Several battery cells malfunctioned in the battery. battery was under warranty, got a free new battery. not sure what caused the battery failure. *tr