Just noticed class action filed for bulb burnout problem

So I am researching options, as I have been experiencing the dreaded bulb burnout problem. One thing I am trying now is the Philips H11 bulb. I have been replacing with Sylvania because that is the ONLY brand I seem to be able to find here. I noticed that the Philips bulb is rated for about 100 more hours than Sylvania. We'll see on that experiment.

Anyway, I know about the harness retrofit thingy with the TSB, and while searching about the TSB (I have a copy, but wanted to see if there is any interesting information about it), I found that someone in CA filed a class action about it.

Google: "3:16-cv-07212-LB"

The pdf of it is on courthouse news. It was filed on 12/16/16.

As an aside, if the Philips burns out (it probably will), instead of getting the "kit" from Toyota, which appears to be just a length of wire to add some resistance and drop the voltage (approx. 0.12 ohms from what I gather), I would just build a dongle/extension using H11 connectors, and plug it between the original harness and the bulb to drop the voltage. This would avoid the cutting/splicing of the factory harness, and allow for easy conversion back to original form should the class action come to fruition.

For me, HID conversion is not worth it. I have no issue (personally) with the current bulb set up, plus with the car (2010) being 7 years old now, I PERSONALLY don't feel like putting that effort/money in. In the past, whenever I've done stuff like that to my cars at such an age, I end up getting rid of it soon after. As I get older, I get stingier, I guess...

 

No - it's the issue where the low beam bulbs (usually left side) have an extraordinarily short life span. The 'fix,' found in the TSB is to splice a long piece of wire into the harness at the bulb connector. It adds a small amount of resistance to drop the voltage, presumably because the circuit sends too high a voltage to the bulb, which causes the premature failure. I'm not sure if there are spikes, or if it is a constant over voltage - I'm too lazy to set up a monitoring circuit.

The fire issue, from my limited knowledge, usually initiates specifically in the front passenger side of the engine compartment. I don't think it is known exactly why it happens, but my understanding is that it is very rare when you look at the overall number of Prius on the road. I think there is suspicion (by lay people - not Toyota) that it MAY have something to do with the lights.

There is a long thread here that gets into it as well.

 

I was figuring constant over voltage was the more likely (vs spikes), but didn't want to make a "blanket" statement, as I never tested it because I'm too lazy, and regardless of the reason between the two, it's an over voltage.

What is interesting (to me), is that there is a prevalence for the burnouts to happen on the driver's (left) side - not to say people haven't had problems on the passenger (right) side. One would think the over voltage would occur on both sides, which is why I was speculating it may be spikes of some kind which only or usually occur in the driver's side circuit for some reason.

Maybe one of these days I'll hook my oscilloscope up to see exactly what is going on...

 

No, I only turn it on when needed - and only after the car has started. If my curiosity exceeds my laziness one of these days, I'll probably hook up my oscilloscope to see exactly what is going on. A standard meter can't really react fast enough to see spikes with any reliability.

 

I will post here if/when the Philips bulbs burn out. One reason that I wanted to try just the bulb first is that I noticed a lot of the complaints mentioned they used Sylvania bulbs - which makes sense, since they are MUCH more readily available, and for many like me, the ONLY brand locally available. It's the brand Walmart carries, as well as all parts stores around here.

When I looked at the Philips, I noticed it was 'rated' for400 hours, whereas the Sylvania is rated for 270.

The interesting thing about the burnout problem is for many (that I've read) the problem didn't start happening UNTIL they had to replace the bulb. Prior to the burnout problem, a lot of people were on the original bulb, and the original bulb lasted many years. My original factory bulb burnt out circa 70K or 80K too, and it's been burnout after burnout since (on Sylvanias).

I also noticed the Philips packaging CLAIMS to be "the choice of all major car manufacturers." So it makes me wonder if they are the OEM supplier. Of course, that phrase could be construed in many ways, and may just be marketing hype - it's not like it says "OEM supplier for all major car manufacturers," or something like that.

We'll see...