Problems with 2006 Toyota Prius EXTERIOR LIGHTING

2006 toyota prius headlights went out without warning about 65,000 miles. turning switch off then on again restored light for a very short while. then it went off again. happened first with the right headlight 3 months ago now recently last two weeks the left headlight same problem. *tr

Headlight stops working all of a sudden. when you turn it on then off it works again. does this continuously, i never know when they are out. *tr

I purchased a new 2006 prius in july 2006. prior to the warranty expiring (about 30,000 miles), i noticed that one or the other head light would turn off. turning the head lights off and on again caused the light to turn on again. i was driving to work at night on a very curvy road and both lights turned off at the same time. turning the lights switch off and on caused the lights to come one again. the toyota dealer admitted that there had been a batch of defective bulbs. i had the lights replaced under warranty. at 59,000 miles the same problem is starting over. only one light at the moment, but i expect the other one to start doing the same thing. driving with one head light is very dangerous as well as subjecting you to an equipment violation ticket. *tr

2006 toyota prius right headlight bulb keeps blowing. i am getting ready to have it professionally replaced for the third time and i only have 70,000 miles. i have been told it might be the controller unit for the bulb. *tr

2006 toyota prius hid head lights turn off on their own while driving at night. light bulb defect is intermittent. when brought to repair facility, both bulbs working fine. *tr

Headlight intermittent failure then full failure. *tr

At 42,000 miles, my 2006 prius headlights will switch off while driving. the driverside hid headlight will turn off between 1:30 - 3:00 minutes of driving. the issue can be corrected by switching the lights off and turning them on again; however, the headlight will turn off again after a few minutes. at one point, the driverside headlight went out and then a few seconds later the passenger headlight went out meaning i had no running headlights on the interstate at night. turning off and turning on the headlights corrected the issue - only to have it happen again. the headlights will turn off at any speed - 10-75 mph. the driverside headlight was replaced by the dealership as part of my used car purchase. this defect was found 4 days after purchase; the car is going back to the dealership for hopeful repair. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 toyota prius. while driving at various unknown speeds, the headlights would fail to illuminate intermittently. the vehicle was taken to the dealer however they were unable to duplicate the failure. the manufacturer was contacted but would take no liability claiming a defect did not exist in the vehicle. the failure and current mileages were 53,945.

Intermittent failure of hid headlight in my 2006 toyota prius. *tr

I have a 2006 prius with hid headlights. i have a recurring problem which seems to be getting worse. when driving with headlights on, a headlight (sometimes driver side, other times passenger side) will just go off. if i know it has happened (very dark area or can see headlight reflections in the rear of the car in front of me), i simply turn the headlight switch off and then back to on. both lights typically come back on. it is getting worse as i find it is happening more often. i am concerned that it will happen to both lights and cause an accident. i understand the gov.'t had a case open on this topic but closed it - found that only one light going out is not a safety problem. hundreds (possibly thousands) of prius owners also have this problem. toyota seems to know there is some sort of issue with the hid electronics control board but is not offering to fix it for most people (read on line that they did fix it for one person free of charge). faulty headlights sure seems to be a safety issue - is the us gov.'t waiting until several people die from this before admitting it is a safety problem? if only one headlight working is ok, then why can't all automakers just have one headlight vice two? *tr

I have a 2006 toyota prius with package #8 which includes high intensity discharge (hid) headlamps. the passenger side front headlamp keeps going out. i have taken it to the toyota dealer twice before and the tech was not able to duplicate the problem. i took photos of when the light is out as proof. i took it in again today and the tech tells me that the bulb needs to be replaced and its going to cost $500 for one lightbulb + install labor!!! i bought the platinum extended warranty which doesn't expire until feb 2012 or 100k miles. of course, the warranty does not cover the electrical/light issue. the light sometimes works. there is no rhyme or reason why it does some of the time and not others. this appears to be a defect which toyota should do something about. it's a major safety issue. i am fearful of driving at night because it is unsafe and i can't rely on the light to work. i took it to another toyota dealer this afternoon and that tech says i need to replace the hid computer for ~ $1,000. are you kidding me?? *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

Intermittent failure of right headlamp on 2006 toyota prius. headlamp goes out and various times and various driving conditions. turning off headlamps and back on resets the headlamp. the headlamp will again go out and have to be reset. *tr

Headlight on passenger side works intermittently, been randomly since 5/07, and frequent for past few months. *tr

Headlamps flicker intermittently until one or the other remains off. this happens every time i drive my vehicle with the lights on. 11/6/2009 i was pulled over by local leo and provided a formal warning to have the issue resolved. if i turn the headlamps off and back on, both lights stay on -- for a while. dealer says this is a known issue with 2006 prius but will not repair because i'm ~2 months out of warranty.*tr

Left headlight suddenly goes out, necessary to turn lights off and then back on to reactivate. quite dangerous on mountain roads, this has been going on for awhile, asked dealer and they were evasive about problem. *tr

Headlamp go on and off randomly on my 2006 prius. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 toyota prius. whenever the contact would drive the vehicle she noticed that the left and right headlights suddenly shut off intermittently. the dealer stated that the headlight assembly needed to be replaced. there were no prior warnings. the current and failure mileages were 53000. updated 12/22/09. *lj the consumer paid $425 to correct the problem, however the consumer was reimbursed. updated 12/29/09. *jb

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

2006 prius with high intensity discharge headlight. headlight has been failing over the past few months. *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

The headlights on my 2006 prius goes off while driving. sometimes one light goes off and the other stays on. sometimes the intensity of the lights vary. to correct the problem i have to turn my lights on and off. also my brake light will go on and off. i have been pulled over numerous times by the police because of this problem. *tr

Prius headlamp(s) intermittently go out while driving much before the lifespan of the bulb. this appears to be a widespread issue. http://www.hybridcars.com/forums/replacing-headlight-bulb-t910.html. *tr

My driver side headlight automatically turns off randomly. and it is getting more frequent. both headlights turned off when i was driving on a freeway the other night. if i turn off the headlight on and off, it will work normally for a while. *tr

Hid headlight in 06 prius behaving badly. *tr

I own a 2006 toyota prius and the hid headlight defect failure happened to us during night time driving almost causing a severe accident. this is a hazard and there are many complaints regarding this. some one will die if this is not recalled and corrected. these headlights are advertised to have twice the lifetime of a regular headlight and go out randomly. it is very scary and is a danger to anyone driving these cars. we had the headlights replaced on 11/4/09 for a total cost of $590.32. *tr

I have a 2006 toyota prius with 61,000 miles on it. at about 48,000 miles, the front headlights started going out unexpectedly. at first, by turning the switch for the lights off and back on would fix the problem and the dark headlight would illuminate again. a few weeks ago, both headlights and the taillight all unexpectedly and suddenly went out while i was driving. the california highway patrol pulled me over on the freeway to find out why i was driving without any lights on. now, the lights come on when i start driving and every time i drive the car at night, all of the lights (both headlights and both taillights) suddenly & unexpectedly go dark all at once. i was driving with my 10 year old niece in the car when this happened last week. this is an extremely dangerous defect. i have been reading that this is a known defect with toyota prius vehicles - i am amazed that the nhtsa has not required toyota to recall the vehicles for this very dangerous safety defect. i have tried to take the vehicle to the toyota dealer for repair, but they told me they didn't have a way to figure out what was wrong and they sent me away without any repairs. today i called the toyota national customer service number and they opened a case. i will be taking the vehicle to the dealer again today and insisting on repairs since it is completely unsafe to drive the vehicle. *tr

Purchased a 2006 toyota prius in 2007 and i have had continuous problems with my headlights going out. i first noticed them going out intermittently. took it to the local dealership. and because they had to isolate the problem, i had to leave my car with the dealership for about 2 days. three headlights later, now needing a 4th. one and the cars warranty is up. the local dealership wants approx. $270.00 plus sales tax to replace it. i am concerned about my safety i am wondering if there is something that can be done about this problem. since i purchased the car used i am wondering if the dealership new about this because one of there shop people had owned it previously. this car has been in the shop on 8/07-12/07- 3/09 and now at this date (11/02 i spoke with the dealer ship about this issue) and they never mentioned that this car has had problems in this area. they just wanted 270 plus tax to fix it. please help! *tr

The headlights and tail lights on my 2006 toyota prius have been unexpectedly shut off while driving over the past 4 months. it started with the drivers side only and then moved to both lights and now i've been told my tail light flickers also. i can correct the problem temporarily by turning the lights switch off and then on again, but if i make any turns they fail again. this past saturday night (10/24/09) at 10 pm while on a winding country road i was veering right at about 35 miles per hour when my lights shut off completely and i heard a smack on the right side of my vehicle. i flipped my lights back on immediately and stopped at the same time. i got out of my vehicle and found a woman standing on the side of the road. she said she was fine, but my passenger side mirror hit her elbow/arm. she said she was not really injured and didn't want to call authorities or contact my insurance company. she asked why i turned my lights off when i rounded the corner. i told her i didn't, i had a short in my lighting system. she said i won't press charges, but you need to get those lights fixed. *tr

We purchased a new 2006 toyota prius. in march of 2008 both headlight bulbs were replaced by maita toyota in sacramento ca, because the head lights would turn off without notice. the dealer paid for the service, as the parts were not covered by warranty, however the nearly $1000 repair bill was what prompted me to request the dealer to pay for the repair. today i paid $280 to maita toyota to replace the driver side headlight bulb again, this is 18 months after the last time it was replaced. toyota claims these hid bulbs will last 3 times longer than standard bulbs, yet i've had 3 replaced in the past 18 months. i have old bulb from todays repair. i consider this a safety issue as it affects the headlights, and results in the headlights going out without notice. at night this could be extremely dangerous. *tr

Right headlight intermittently inoperative. turning headlights off and back on is temporary solution. toyota dealer replaced bulb, but obviously the bulb is not the problem since it's not burned out. *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

I am very disappointed in your decision not to recall the toyota prius headlight problem. to start with both lights on my vehicle go out and also one light goes out just driving for no reason. i have taken it to the dealer and they changed the headlight which did not fix the problem , so i took it to another dealer who said it unfix-able even though my car was under warranty. so basically you have given them permission to have a car that lights do not remain on and cannot be fixed. this has been an ongoing problem since i got the car. has toyota paid off someone? there are other safety issues also in the design of this car and toyota has no motivation to fix them because they are allowed to lie about gas mileage, not tell you about if you have a key break that your car has to be special towed, so if your parked where a flatbed cannot get you your in trouble. also all they had to do was keep the code on file like with regular keys but they refuse to keep the code or even give it to the owner so a key can be made. thus it cost a thousand dollars to get a new key. the date of the headlight problem is ongoing about once a week lately. recent time is noted below. i entered vin it would not take it. *tr

I was driving home from work and it was raining and one of my headlights went out. i almost hit a road rail because it was real dark and raining. that was the first incident. the next day i was driving and one went out and then the second one went out ten minutes later. i called toyota and brought the car in during the daylight. they said the hid bulbs get hot and burn out over time. it cost me 281 dollars. a week later same problem with the right light. however this time i almost killed my wife and i as a car was just beginning to pass me and i lost vision on the right side. guys this is serious stuff. i'm afraid to drive this car at night. i am taking it in tomorrow during the day to have the second light replaced. the service rep was very nonchalant when i asked about the fact that two lights blew out within a week, they are hiding something. you could tell by his non-action. i asked him if this happens often and he said no. well i have found out that is not true and it happens often. does someone have to be killed to get the government to look into this. i intend to write my congressman and senator about this and send them information i have gathered. please help us before we get killed in this car. *tr

Front drivers side headlight in 2006 toyota prius intermittently goes out. turning off both headlights and then back on again brings it back to life for a period of time. at least once both headlights failed at the same time. turning them off/on caused them to relight. there are many prius owners discussing the defect at a 600+ comment forum posting listed here: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-care-maintenance-troubleshooting/34584-headlight-problem.html users have reported that replacing the bulbs does not work and that often the replacement of the wiring or headlight computer is needed. i have replaced the bulbs myself and verified that this action alone does not remedy the problem. *tr

Hid headlamps self-extinguish while driving, requiring power switch to be cycled on and off to restart. the consequences are reduced visibility and the possibility of driving with no headlights at night. hid headlamps are well under their design life expectancy and should not be failing. replacement is expensive and time-consuming and according to other owners, the fix is only temporary. been pulled over several times due to defective headlights. *tr

This is about a 2006 toyota prius with 37,000 miles on it. the driver's side headlight goes on and off. it happens frequently, perhaps every day, and it has been like this for 4 months now. a lot of people are having the same problem and i know from them that replacing the bulb will not fix it.

I have a 2006 toyota prius with only 39000 miles on it. the passenger side headlight keeps going out and i need to keep switching the headlights off and on to get it working. it's a hid headlight and they said it would cost me $375 to change the bulb. a bulb that expensive should last more that just 39,000 miles. it's dangerous. *tr

Problem with headlights in a 2006 prius - first the diver side headlight when out intermittently and after that was replaced the passenger side headlight now goes out intermittently. *tr

I own a 2006 toyota prius and i am having trouble with the headlights going off at random times and you must turn them off and then back on and it happens many times both headlights. i m told by the toyota dealer in silsbee texas that i must replace both headlights at a cost of about $1700 even though i have the extended warranty it is not covered and i have been given a warning for this problem from the japer tx police and it is definitely considered a safety hazard this first occurred at about 44,000 and im finally getting it replaced at about 88,000 miles. *tr

Hid headlights on 2006 prius fail at random. auto purchased in may 2006. first failure in november 2007 at 29,015 miles; right headlight. bulb replaced by dealer at no charge. second failure in august 2008 at 42,930 miles; left headlight. computer sub-assembly replaced under extended warranty, bulb replaced at cost of $375 by consumer. third failure in october 2009 at 67,183 miles; left headlight. not repaired at this time. sub-assembly will still be covered by extended warranty but bulb will not. this is same light that failed a year ago. i believe this is a serious safety issue. headlights failing at night are not a good thing. *tr

1. the events leading up to the failure: many people told me that one of the headlights on my prius 2006 was out - when i checked everything was working. 2. the failure, how often it occurs, its consequences: i was driving on a poorly lighted road last night (10/13/09) and almost got into accident because both of my headlights went out at the same time. this was very dangerous and scary with my whole family and children inside the car. i started to pay attention to the reflections of my headlights on the backs of other cars and noticed that the headlights go out quite frequently - one or both at a time. 3. what was done to correct the failure; i.e, parts repaired or replaced (and if old part is available): i brought the car to a local dealer and they recommended replacement of both hid bulbs. i do not believe that the problem is with the bulbs themselves because they actually work fine but some defect causes them to switch off. i called toyota main customer service number and they agreed to open a case #0910122928 and told me that a case manager will contact me sometime at the end of this week. this is unacceptable because i only have one car and have to drive to work and take my children to and from aftercare after dark. toyota explained that they have such a long waiting time because they get many complaints like this. so, instead of hiring more case managers and investigating the issue they just tell people to wait for the next accident! *tr

Both passenger and driver side headlights flicker and go out intermittently, creating safety situation. toyota dealer asking $400+ to fix for a product defect that has been extensively reported. toyota head office gave short shrift. problem began ca. 45k miles. *tr

I own a 2006 toyota prius. my driver's side headlight goes off unexpectedly. when i turn the lights off and then back on the light comes back on, but i never know how long it will remain lit. this is dangerous. the lights have some type of problem that no one seems to know how to solve. i drive dark country roads and need reliable lights. *tr

Passenger side headlight fails. began at about 55,000 miles. minutes, sometimes seconds, after starting car, headlamp begins to fade, then goes out. if i flick the lights on and off, it comes back on briefly, then out again. warranty has expired, and information from other owners is that this is a common problem, expensive to fix, recurrent (and unreliable) and a serious safety concern for priuses. see other complaints at: http://www.hybridcars.com/forums/replacing-headlight-bulb-t910.html. *tr

Hid headlight shuts off while driving in the dark. flicking the switch off, then on turns it back on but later shuts off again. *tr

Headlight regularly goes out. turning lights off and on it comes back on. *tr

The left headlight on my 2006 prius goes out, but will come back on if i turn the lights off and back on. this occurs randomly while driving, often being undetectable until a reflective situation comes up and the light is noticed. *tr

Headlights cut out. *tr

I own a 2006 toyota prius. the driver's side headlight has been going out intermittently for about a year. it comes on just fine, but after driving a short while, it sometimes (not always) goes dark on its own. turning the light switch on & off completely usually gets it back on. recently, both headlights went dark all on their own after i had been driving a short time. the police noticed & pulled me over - very dangerous situation. i turned the lights off & on and they both came back on, so the police let me go. this happens almost every time i drive the car at night. i don't always notice when they've gone out - this is very dangerous. i've taken it to the dealer, but they cannot figure out what is causing it. they told me they could replace the bulb, but that might not fix the problem. i have read about this happening in many other toyota priuses year 2006-2008. *tr