Problems with 2006 Toyota Prius EXTERIOR LIGHTING

When the lights are first turned on, there is a few seconds of full brightness, then dimming in the right light, and then after a minute or two, it goes out. it comes back on if you turn off the lights and then back on. i first noticed this around 40,000 miles. many people have complained of similar problems here: http://priuschat.com/forums/care-maintenance-troubleshooting/34584-headlight-problem.html *tr

2006 toyota prius headlights intermittently go on and off, usually one at a time, but sometimes both at once. turning them off and then back on temporarily resolves the problem. the problem with intermittent hid headlight operation appears to be common with the prius, but is also occurring with other models. i own a sienna with the same problem. the dealer first replaced the hid computer $1,100, then the bulb $400, and now tells me i need a whole new headlight assembly for another $1,100. this is all in three months. the service technician said "if its not working, give it a little hit with your fist." not easy to do on the highway. the point is that inoperable headlights are a safety issue, police officers can stop you for it, and you cannot pass inspection without operating headlights. reading the posts on this site, it is clear that there is a manufacturing defect that is contributing to the problem. *tr

I own a 2006 toyota prius. i am having problems as well as many other 2006 prius owners with the headlights turning off while driving. the issue is resolved for a short time by turning the lights off and back on again- until the lights turn off again a few minutes later. i have had it in to 2 toyota dealers and they are stating that it is bad lightbulbs. in order to replace these lightbulbs (2) it is $900!! and might i add that the toyota dealers no not carry these lightbulbs in stock. therefore, this leads me to believe that these lightbulbs on a 2006 new prius should not be going out while driving in the dark and are not a regular replacement item if toyota does not even keep the lightbulbs in stock. i currently can not drive my car at night because it is a safety hazard. my lights could turn off at any second and i could easily get hit/and or killed in an accident due to failing headlights. i am currently in the process of dealing with toyota and this issue. i also have the extended warranty on my car which i have spent a lot of money for and they are claiming this is not covered under the warranty. i am sorry but if there are numerous 2006 prius out there that are having this defect, then it should be turned into a recall rather than have everyone pay for their own new $900 lightbulbs! i never would have bought this car if i had known i would have to replace special lightbulbs every 2 years for $900! *tr

Intermittent headlight failure. can be either headlamp. typically one headlamp goes out but sometimes both. they come back on if i shut off and turn back on. *tr

Multiple intermittent outages of passenger side hid headlight while driving. serviced by a dealer twice with dealers not able to repeat outage. pulled over by police officer for outage. *tr

Both headlamps would go out intermittently, turning them off and back on would work for a while, but eventually over a 2 week period would not come back on. toyota first denied the problem telling me it would cost 750 each bulb plus labor to fix. i found on a toyota web site the problem with 2006 prius headlamps showed the dealer and called an 800 #. i was assigned a case # and in a short time my dealer called and said they could fix the problem for labor cost only about $198. if this problem goes to a recall status they will reimburse my labor cost. i now see 16 complaints for the same headlamp problem on 2006 prius on this site. *tr

I have owned a 2006 prius since february, 2006. i noticed (and so did the police who stopped me on three separate occasions!) the headlights working intermittently. this started in oct. 2007. since then i have had to replace 3 of the headlights and 2 of the headlight modules at a cost of $1589.35 total. the headlights stop with no warning. this is a safety issue, as i drive at night with my children and grandchild. the lights have only stopped one at a time, never at the same time, and i pray that they never do. i have contacted toyota headquarters and they are reviewing my case to see if they can refund some of my out of pocket expenses for this. i would like them to replace my lights with reliable lights, but they are unwilling to do that. they have replaced my lights and module with the same kind of part as the original. thank you for your attention. *tr

2006 toyota prius left headlight goes off at random. only way to get it to work is to turn the headlight off & turn back on. it occurs almost everytime the headlights are used. *tr

We have had several head lights on our pruis stop working. usually you have to turn the lights on and off to get them to go back on when they turn off on their own. we have replaced the headlights approx. 4 times over the years and again we are having the same problem. they are extremely expensive headlights. *tr the consumer stated she experienced sudden acceleration on three separate occasions.

I have a 2006 prius. the hid headlights are not reliable. they work sometimes & sometimes they don't. the problem is with the hid bulb. they turn off & on unexpectedly. the dealer price to replace the one bulb was $479. both of my headlight failed within a week of each other. *tr

Three weeks after obtaining my new 2006 prius, the right headlight started going off while driving. when i turned the lights off and on again, it would come back on. after 3 trips to the dealership they replaced the headlight (i noticed that the light was also not as bright as the other light). then the left one started doing the same, many trips in and they replaced that one. the problem would stop for a while after the new headlight then start again. last night i was driving home and was stopped by police. both of my headlights had gone off. same fix, was to turn the lights off and then on again. there is no warning light in the car, so i have no idea if the lights are on or off, unless i am behind a car in which i can see the reflection of my lights in their bumper. this is very disturbing and scary. my car is in the shop now again and toyota is telling me that it is "normal " to replace the headlights after 50,000 miles. they are still looking at it as a headlight bulb problem. they are not listening to me that there is a major issue with the wiring or computer somewhere in the car. the internet is filled with complaints of prius headlight problems, but as far as i can tell toyota is ignoring it. i have even brought them the lists off of the internet, and they say that "everyone complains on the internet". *tr

2006 prius high intensity discharge (hid) headlight goes off without warning. hid goes off after being on for only a few minutes. turning headlights off & then back on turns the hid on, but it goes off again (sometimes after only a couple of minutes & other times after a longer period of time). *tr

Headlights went out on prius 2006 model. first one went bad, coming on at times; then the other one went bad and i would be driving in the complete dark-very scary. i had reported it to the toyota dealer and they said nothing was wrong and there had not been any similar problem reported. i went back again the next week with the same complaint. the supervisor of maintenance said he would look into it. finally, the last time i told them that if i end up in a fatality d/t this problem with the headlights, someone in toyota will be in deep trouble. that is when the supervisor took care of the problem the next day. the car was still under warranty. same thing happened next year 2008. i had to have the two front headlights replaced and this time out of my pocket which is very ridiculously expensive. *tr

I have a 2006 prius. my headlamps go off suddenly while driving i have noticed this for the past year. this is extremely dangerous for nighttime driving. i am told that, yes, it is ridiculous and dangerous that a 2 year old car has headlamps that are not working well. the cost is $1150.00. *tr

I own a 2006 toyota prius w/ 75k miles. for two years i've been dealing with a faulty headlight system. the left headlight keeps turning off during use in inclement weather. i never really know when the left headlight is going to fail me. i cannot afford the ridiculous repair fee. i have received numerous warnings by police officers who have been gracious enough to know that my car headlights absolutely sucks. please help me in getting toyota to do the right thing. they didn't have a problem taking my money, but they do have a problem fixing this obvious factory defect. i will never buy another toyota product. i am going to warn all potential buyer to steer clear of this company that denies factory defect accountability. *tr

I have been experiencing intermittent problems with the hid headlights on my 2006 prius for over a year. each time i took the car in the dealer was not able to duplicate the problem. now that both headlights are inoperable, the dealer is telling that i need a new headlight assembly. i was told that the assembly and the bulb were sold as a unit. when i investigated this further on my own and went back to the dealer i was informed that the bulbs are sold independently and that they are $312 each, and 1.5 hours of labor to install. i have an extended service package (platinum) that does not cover light bulbs. i am appalled that headlights this expensive can have chronic issues after 1 and 1/2 years of use and toyota will not take ownership of the fact that there is a manufacturer problem here. *tr

Hid headlamps fail intermittently while driving. failed headlamp can be reignited by cycling the headlamp switch. l/r side failures are independent of each other. dealer advised that both ecu and bulbs must be replaced at cost of $1,000 per side. obvious safety issue with widespread failures among prius owners with hid lamps indicating catastrophic design and/or parts issues. *tr

I have a 2006 toyota prius on which both hid headlights intermittently fail. i started observing the problem around with around 40,000 miles on the car. the most frequent occurrence is that only 1 light goes out, though on more than one occasion, both headlights have failed simultaneously. when i approached my toyota dealer with the problem, pointing out that it appears to be a defect and a significant safety concern, they told me the bulbs need to be replaced and this is not covered under my extended warranty. though i did not get a written quote, the cost was identified at about $350 + labor and taxes per side. i expressed my significant concern at this cost for an issue which appears to be a design or manufacturing defect and i was only directly to contact the toyota customer care center.*tr

Problem started in august 07 with driver's side headlight intermittently shutting off. no high or low beam, often very dim. headlight bulb replaced due to short circuit. replaced driver side headlight assembly. module has also been replaced. dealer currently suggests that it cannot be fixed if problem cannot be duplicated. dealer said they have spoken with toyota and they are not aware of other people having this problem. dealer does not consider this problem a safety issue. problem has yet to be resolved and the car will again be going into the shop. *tr

Headlight failure on 2006 toyota prius. car was taken to the dealer with approximately 38,000 miles and the dealer beat on the headlight unit and advised me that it now worked. as the months have gone by, both headlight have been shutting down at separate times and by turning the lights on and off the headlights return to normal. the dealer now advises me that he "thinks" the bulbs need to be replaced at a cost of about $400 each. i see on the internet that this is a very common problem on the 2006 prius and toyota has done nothing to protect the owners from this potentially life threatening issue. i believe it is mandatory that toyota make a recall of all 2006 prius models asap to repair this problem before serious injury or loss of life is caused by losing these lights during both night driving and day driving when used as an effective means of letting other drivers see your position. *tr

I have a 2006 prius and in the fall of 2007 the headlights started going out while i was driving. the problem was fixed by turning the headlight switch off and on. however, the problem persists. sometimes the left will go out sometimes the right will go out and sometimes both at the same time which is extremely dangerous. after several trips to the toyota dealership maintenance dept. they could not determine the problem and suggested that i purchase new headlights at $300.00 each not including labor. they couldn't guarantee that the bulbs were the problem but thought it was worth a try. i didn't like the idea. the headlights were less than 2 years old and hid lights are supposed to have a long life. i have seen where other owners of the prius were having the same issue. when headlights go off while driving at night and the driver can't tell it is dangerous to everyone around. it is also a driving violation and will be a problem with annual inspections. toyota should recall the headlight assembly unit and replace the faulty ones before someone gets seriously hurt. *tr

The headlights on my 2006 prius intermittently fail and recover when they are turned off and on again. this has gone on for over one year and i finally began loosing all lights on high beam and they would not recover when they were turned off and on again. i just paid over $500 for a problem that i now realize is shared by many owners. why is there not a recall?? *tr

My headlamp will turn off at random times. at first it was just the driver's side headlamp, now it is both headlamps. it occurs almost daily. i took my car into the dealership and told them about the issue. the replacement of the headlamps will cost over $700. when the car was under warranty they found no issues, as soon as it was out of warranty they wanted to replace them. after i did not replace them, all of a sudden they could run a diagnostics to determine if they were faulty. where was this diagnostics the first two times? *tr

Same intermittent problem as expressed by countless others on this site and beyond: 2006 prius hid headlights blink out randomly. turning switch off and on again restores light until next occurrence. history: driver's side headlight intermittent after 30,000 miles. repeated complaints to dealer, finally replaced bulb at 38,000 miles. handled under warranty. passenger side headlight intermittent around 50,000 miles. after repeated complaints to dealer, "starter bulb" was replaced at 54,000 miles - also handled under warranty. moved to new address - so new dealer. received lame toyota letter that pretends to address the situation by lowering the cost of the part, while not addressing that this part should not be failing in this way or as quickly as it is! present situation: driver's side headlight again intermittent - around 80,000 miles. asked dealer to investigate at last service (87,000). "no problem found" "bring it back when it's totally out" "if headlight is the same one that falls into special category of lights, it'll be $150 plus labor" "but it could be 1 of 2 different lights which will be $300+ or $600+ - we won't know until we pull it apart." even though i purchased extended warranty coverage, the headlights are excluded. even though previously-replaced bulb is only slightly older than original problem. problem is that toyota is not taking real responsibility for the level of problem that this is. they should be covering labor costs, extending warranties and providing a new replacement light that actually works! i believe new prius uses leds. charging less money on an already exorbitantly overpriced part and requiring customers to pay more out-of-pocket for a part that doesn't work properly to begin with is outrageous! the investigation must be continued. toyota is not serving their customers and it is unsafe and at an unreasonable cost. there is absolutely no excuse for this behavior. do not let them get away with this. *tr

My driver side headlight would intermittently turn off. this occurred almost everytime i turned it on and by the time i got to destination (it would be off). turning headlight off and then back on would work only temporarily, until i drove further and notice it off again based on reflection from car in front of me. the igniter assembly was replaced by dealer yesterday, but problem still exist. car is currently at the dealer again for further diagnosis. *tr

Toyota prius 2006 headlight malfunction the headlights on my prius will go out randomly every 5 to 10 minutes. usually it is just one or the other but occasionally it will be both headlights at the same time. to resolve this you have to turn the lights off and then back on again. toyota is aware of this rampant problem. the solution from toyota was to replace the entire headlight assembly at $1216. this problem showed itself soon after the warranty expired. people are not going to pay that kind of money to repair this design flaw. this is not just a burned out bulb. instead people will continue to allow these lights to cycle off and will apply the manual off/on. this creates an extremely dangerous situation - especially when both headlights go out at the same time at night. toyota should be required to recall and repair this design flaw. *tr

While under warranty, driver side headlight flickered and would go out. it would always come back on after turning the headlights off and on again. same thing happened a few months later with passenger side headlight. dealer replaced or repaired both at different times while under warranty. no longer under warranty, and i have paid for a replacement headlight once. at present, both headlights flicker and go out, now with remarkable regularity. fortunately, turning them off and on again corrects the problem for a few minutes, so i have never been forced to stop driving at night (although i have been stopped for driving with only one headlight at times). at this time, i am at the point where i turn my headlights off and on every five minutes day and night. it has become a nervous tic. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 toyota prius. while driving approximately 40 mph at night, the contact noticed that the exterior light on the passenger side lost power. the vehicle was driven to the dealer for a diagnostic, but no failures were found. the vehicle was not repaired at that time. a few months later, the exterior light on the driver's side began to lose power. the light began working again once it was turned off and then on again. the failures have occurred intermittently. the manufacturer has not been notified. the current mileage was 47,000 and failure mileage was 42,000. updated 12/16/08 *cn updated 12/18/08. *jb

Hid headlights went out intermittently and were able to turn them back on to continue to work. i took the prius to the toyota dealer and they replaced the computer board and headlights on both sides of the car.[right side and left sides] this was done in 2007. i bought the car new in 2006. and now the right side is having the same problems as back in 2007. *tr

Head lights on my 06 prius keep going out. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 toyota prius. the contact stated that the headlights would intermittently turn off. the contact would turn the lights off and turn them on again but they would turn back off suddenly. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer but the dealer could not duplicate the failure. the failure continued. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer where the vehicle was repaired (the contact was unsure of the details of the repair). the failure occurred again 30,000 miles after the repair. the contact called the manufacturer who offered no assistance. the vehicle had not been repaired. the current mileage was approximately 67,000. the failure mileage was approximately 35,000.

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 toyota prius. the contact stated that the headlights would not illuminate. she turned the lights off and then on and the lights illuminated. the failure occurred intermittently. she also stated that while driving 50 mph, the high beam lights dimmed. the dealer was unable to diagnose the cause of failure. the powertrain and fuel system were unknown. the failure mileage was 35,000 and current mileage was 37,800.

The hid headlight problem started about a year ago on my 2006 toyota prius. i noticed that the right headlight went out as i was trying to drive around a cloverleaf at 5:20 am. i did not discover until later that i could turn off the lights and turn them back on and it will come back on. at first it was so intermittent that when i took it into the dealer for service they could not get it to go out. in the last two weeks i have to turn it off and on repeatedly as i travel to my job in the early am. i took it into another dealer when the light was out so they could decide how to fix it and they told me to turn the car off. i was sure that within the hour that they had to look at it that it surely would go out for them, but the service man told me that they could not get it to go out. i have now scheduled to take it back to leave it for a day so they can trouble shoot it. my car is no longer covered because i have 57,000 miles on it. *tr

My 2006 prius left driver headlight began going on and off randomly and frequently at about 25,000 mi. i reported the problem to the dealer several times, but they couldn't diagnose the problem unless the headlight was out, which of course it wasn't. on occasion if i turned the headlights on and off the light would come back on temporarily. this was documented prior to the warranty running out. finally, the headlight was completely out...the dealer and i argued over the warranty and they finally agreed to fix the problem. they replaced the bulbs and now again 30,000 mi. later the same problem is re-occurring. this time however, turning lights on and off doesn't resolve the problem even temporarily. and once again they are refusing to take responsibility. i live on a dark country road and have found myself slowing to speeds of 25mph just to get home safely. *tr

In june of 2007 i had my head light replace in my 2006 toyota prius. i would be driving and it would randomly go off and on. warranty covered the cost. it is april of 2008 and both headlights are going on and off again. at first the right one was randomly on and off and now both right and left, again are on an off and on occasion i will be driving down the road and both go off. this is not a light bulb problem. it was diagnosed as an electronic problem with the wiring behind the light. my car is only 2 years old and should not be having electronic problems, head lights flickering on and off. mechanicsville toyota fixed the first electronic problem with warranty. now no one wants to hear my problem and i believe this is happening to others. *tr

I've got a package 6 2006 prius. one of the headlights keeps going out. i can't really tell when or how it goes out since i can't see it. i'll notice it when i see the reflection in the back of another car. if i turn the bright lights on and off it has no effect, but when i turn them all the way off and back on the light comes back. sometimes on long trips it will stay on the whole time, sometimes it won't. sometimes on short trips it will go out, sometimes it won't. it is not an event i can make happen. i've taken it to the dealer and they don't really know what to do and told me i could get a new lamp for about $450 or replace something for $1100. *tr

The left hid headlight of my prius continues to randomly go out. while my car was under warranty i took it to the toyota dealer who said they would change the bulbs. this was less than a year ago and again the left headlight randomly goes out. *tr

1. under normal driving conditions, the right hid headlight bulb on my 2006 prius failed. 2. the right hid headlight bulb goes/flickers off. the lights have to be turned off and on to temporarily correct the problem. over time, the problem has gotten progressively worse. 3. i have gone to 3 different toyota dealerships and have been told that the replacement cost would be over $400 parts & labor. recently, i have found a bulb at a dealership for $157 parts only. *tr

I'm among the many who have defective high intensity headlights in my 2006 prius. around 20k miles i started having problems with flickering and intermittent outage. the dealer wouldn't replace them for free and i couldn't afford the $1000 it would have cost to replace. while driving at night on a treacherous country road i almost went off the road when the lights went out completely while attempting to turn on the brights. *tr

My left headlight will shut off without any known cause. if i shut the lights off and back on again they will work for a period of time until they again shut it self off. recently, i had the experience of having my left light out, (i was unaware it was out) and my right light failed also. it was night time and i was driving on back winding roads. i knew enough to turn my lights off and back on so i was able to return to being able to see the road ahead. the left light issue has been ongoing for the past year and a half. the occurrence is intermittent with no apparent pattern of failure. the first time i brought this to the attention of my dealer they said i would have to replace both bulbs and the wiring harness for a cost to me of about $1,800. i am contacting toyota today directly in regards to having this fixed under warranty, but i feel that this is a safety issue and needs a mandatory factory recall. *tr

2006 toyota prius, headlight failure after 45,000 miles with hid system. light bulbs would intermittently fail (left bulb, right bulb, or both) randomly. power off and on would return them, but period between turning off would vary. first time was at 10pm, could not figure out why the road was so dark on the freeway and then realized the headlights were out. extended warranty did not want to pay full issue, toyota says the hid lights were extinguished--later they said there was an issue with the controllers, but still did not admit fault. car was 1yr 3mos old, with only 45k miles. major safety issue that toyota says is "normal" to occur. extended warranty paid for hid controller replacement, toyota reimbursed as "goodwill" for $600 headlight bulbs. if the system is faulty, they should fix it before someone gets hurt! i have found many prius owners having the same issue, most of them 2006 models. *tr

Driver's side headlight doesn't work every other time they are turned on. also sometimes stop working. *tr

Hid headlights on this model go out intermittently while driving; turning the lights off and then on again restores the headlight. exact number of failures and date of first failure below is an estimate, as it is nearly impossible under most conditions for the driver of the car to know that one or both headlights are out--increasing the danger of this situation. rainy or dusk conditions are a particular problem. toyota is apparently aware of this situation; the dealer to whom i took it for repair acknowledged this and said that it affects a limited range of vin numbers in 2006 models only. local dealer has replaced both headlamps and says this will fix the problem. this is a serious safety hazard about which drivers may be unaware; drivers should be notified by the manufacturer since toyota and the nhtsa are aware of this problem. i see that there have been at least three previous complaints regarding this problem on the odi website. *tr

Malfunction in hid headlights for toyota prius is chronic - always flashing off and on - mostly off. they were replaced once in 2007 for free while under warranty. this has been occurring constantly for the past 6 months and although i have a 5y/100,000 mile warranty, the dealership said this was only covered under the 3 yr/30,000 mile warranty and wants to charge me to fix this issue that is chronic with the prius. *tr

As i see from 43 other complaints involving 2006 toyota prius models, i'm not alone, and that doesn't count the owners who have not filed complaints about the hid (high intensity discharge) headlights that go dark for no apparent reason. in my case, it's usually the left lamp that goes out, which can always be restored by turning the headlight switch off and on again. the only problem is on city streets with ample ambient light, the driver doesn't always know the light has shut down. separate from the nuisance factor here, how long before these lights stop working altogether, perhaps on some dark road at night, miles away from the nearest sign of humanity? on the prius chat blogs, one owner said his headlights were fixed when a dealer installed a new hid controller. my dealership wants me to put this repair in under my extended warranty, which will force me to lose about 1100 dollars in rebate money at the end of the warranty term. (no claims = all but 50 dollars of 1150 returned at end of covered period). needless to say, i'm saving that for something bigger. more importantly, toyota needs to fix these headlights problems for all owners, especially those who've already been tricked into paying for them -- they are safety issues, not regular maintenance issues. *tr

Headlight on 2006 toyota prius intermittently go on and off. the computer and bulb have both been replaced twice, but the problem continues to occur. this has been continuous for two years, despite the constant replacement of parts. *tr

Headlamps going out ,sometimes the left headlamp and sometimes the right, also both can go out. to correct the problem temporarily you have to turn the lights off and on again they will work for a short time. no parts have been replaced yet toyota says they need for them to act up before they can diagnose. *tr

1. brakes on my 2006 prius momentarily failed to respond, after a 1 - 2 sec delay they activated. at same time,the traction light flashes, but the car is not losing traction. this happened 4 x, one almost resulted in a crash. it is more likely to happen when braking while going over a bump in the road. there have been other times when the traction light flashes on unexpectedly, but effect on brakes is unknown: not braking then. 3 different toyota dealers told me they couldn't find anything wrong. at one dealer, i went for a test drive with a mechanic. during the test drive, i was able to make the traction light go on when there was no loss of traction. the invoice stated "test drove and checked operations. at this time could not duplicate customer's concerns." i wrote on the invoice "i was able to make the traction light go on when there was no loss of traction. i am not satisfied that the problem has been found and repaired." & on the signature line "not satisfied, (signature)" i wanted them to change the computer, but they said if they couldn't duplicate the problem, they couldn't change the computer. i insisted that they replace one component, and if the problem didn't reoccur, i'd know they found the solution. they bled the brakes, which was unlikely to be cause of the problem. when i went to pick up my invoice up 2nd time, the copy on which i had written my comments was returned to me, and a freshly printed copy- without my comments - was given to me & kept for their records. 2. same car: headlight go out at unexpected times. 2 toyota dealers told me that the bulb would cost $300, and installation would be well over $100 because they "had to take off the bumper to change the bulb!" i replaced the bulb myself (without taking off the bumper) but now, 9 months later, it is starting to go again. toyota sent a letter saying it was how hid bulbs burned out & not a pblm w/ controller. if true, how is it that new bulb is also burning out? *tr

Hid headlights go out without warning. sometimes just one, sometimes both. shutting the lights off and back on turns them back on. sometimes this happens frequently, other times not at all or infrequently. car is no longer under warranty. to date has not been corrected as those who have had it corrected advise of very high costs (thousands) and some have had similar failures with the replacements. *tr

Toyota prius 2006: headlamps go off intermittently, creating a very unsafe condition while driving. *tr