Prius Headlight Class Action Update: Settlement Reached

Umm no. That is like saying just because your cell phone has a manufacturing defect you should give up on cell phones and go back to only a land line.

HIDs are much better than halogens. You just got a bum deal. It would be less costly to just swap out your ballast and bulbs for an aftermarket kit than it would be to purchase new halogen headlights. Even cheap aftermaket kits doin't burn out like the OEM D4S stuff you 2006+ people have.

 

No actually I don't have them but was considering them when the dealer called with news he had one but minus the HIDs, so we got that one instead.
And being the Luddite, I don't have a cell phone and still call on my land line phone that has workked 99 44/100% for 30+ years.

But thanks for you reply.

 

Why are hids better?... surely they can make either type as bright as required. I suppose maybe there might be an efficiency issue, but I doubt it's that big. We use daytime running lights here, so the only way to do hid is to have them on full strength in the day (there goes the efficiency case) or have a completely different light for the drl.. that doesn't sound efficient either. And we also don't have to worry about a corroding sensor in our rear suspension that may eventually affect our lighting. Now maybe the halogen lights you've had in the past aren't bright enough for you, but I don't know why that automatically means going to something new, unless you just like something that looks new. For most of the cars out there that I see on the road...especially in the winter... if they want brighter lights they might consider actually wiping the dirt off them more than once a winter.

 

I just got claim rejection letter stating that I did not show that my lights were going out prior to 5 years/50,000 miles. The things I mailed in were a Ticket I received for headlights out at around 32k miles and a dealer service history stating I complained that my headlights were going out at around 37k miles. I was wondering if other people have received claim denials. I recently got my headlights replaced so I could qualify for the settlement. Have people's claims been approved, if so what sort of documentation did you send in?

 

I wanted to let people know, I was contacted by John Hollis and David Stein from Girard and Gibbs. David spoke to the settlement administrator and cleared issues on my claim. Thanks for your help on this. If anybody else is having issues, I would recommend contacting them, they were both very helpful.

 

Because they are brighter and use less energy than halogens. Have your ever had HIDs in a proper projector housing? Personally I like being able to see more clearly further down the road or off to the sides.

 

1) Halogen bulbs can be made just as bright - This is true, but to make halogen bulbs brighter they consume more power and have shorter life spans. The advantages of HID bulbs are why they are used for almost all A/V projectors, street lighting, and security lamps. LED technology will eventually displace HID as LEDs become less expensive.

2) HID bulbs only work at full power - This is true. They also suffer loss of bulb life when turned on and off frequently. The DRL issue is moot here, since we don't have DRLs. However, given the reduced power consumption and longer bulb life of HIDs, running them at full power is a reasonable option if you want DRLs. In either case, I prefer a separate lamp and reflector/lens for DRLs, as it can be optimized for the task.

3) Need for headlight levelers - This is a function of headlight brightness, not bulb technology. Given equally bright halogens, they should also have some sort of leveler system to avoid dazzling oncoming traffic. The fact that it is not required is an oversight in the law, not a function of technology.

Tom

 

Projector halogens seem to be today's industry standard, which I think is gross, lol. Sure they're better than regular halogens, but they're a downgrade from HIDs, IMO. It's sad to see manufacturers like Toyota/Lexus regress from HIDs as standard (such as the Lexus IS300 or most Gen2 Prius') to standard projector halogens. I even saw a new Mercedes with halogen projectors the other month. O come on!

I love me some HIDs.

 

Yeah. It is annoying. I had an 02 Nissan Maxima. HIDs were standard across all trims and option levels for the 02-03 Maximas. My 04 350Z came w/HIDs. They were standard on every trim level except the cheapest trim (base model/tirm).

I won a one week test drive of a Lexus HS 250h. It was a bit odd that it only had halogens even though it had leather interior, power seats w/memory, sunroof, nav, Lexus Enform, heated and cooled seats, etc. IIRC, you had to go w/some other package in order to get the upgraded headlights (LEDs).

My 02 Maxima GXE had no nav, no memory power seats, no heated or cooled seats, no sunroof, and a cloth interior.

 

Any more updates on the HID headlight settlement? Anyone received a check yet? Just wondering how long this is going to take.

 

I can't imagine suing because a headlight bulb burns out, unless it is really wide spread and it doesn't appear to be. Just can't imagine. I wonder how much $$ of every car purchase goes to pay off lawsuits?

 

It is actually widespread and for those who don't know how to replace them themselves the cost for replacement at the dealership can be very expensive. I've seen quotes for a few hundred to $1000+ if the ballasts are replaced. Not everyone knows you can buy bulbs on eBay and replace them yourself for $50 or less so a great many people are probably being ripped off by the dealer for this issue.

 

but does that require a law suit? Not liking the cost of a replacement part?

Like the people who have sued because they have run flat tires on their Sienna or BMW and Run flats wear out faster and cost more to replace.

 

That's the American way, sue. It's no thanks to the ambulance chasing class action suit lawyers who usually make out like bandits.

But, seriously, I knew before I got my Prius that HID bulbs and systems tended to be expensive (I made many posts about this before, such as http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...8-stolen-prius-06-headlamps-2.html#post320389 and http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...-hid-lamp-failure-2006-prius.html#post1208338). The $1356 was for the a set of two entire assemblies (bulb, ballast, reflector, lens, etc. because that was the the thieves stole from 02-03 Maximas) but didn't include labor nor repairing any body damage as the result of the theft, usually w/a crowbar.

Initially, Toyota was charging $300 for bulbs and also usually unncessarily replacing ballasts (don't know the cost). They were also replacing them by removing the entire front bumper cover. So, that added to labor and thus some horror stories about high replacement costs. Toyota later reimbursed people for the unncessary ballast replacement and dropped the bulb price to $150. Don't know if it was high then but when I needed bulbs, my dealer still wanted that much + labor vs. me buying the same Philips D4R bulbs for $50 + tax on Amazon.

If your 04 has HIDs, it had D2R bulbs and a different ballast. It's unclear to me if those were any better. I just know that the D4R are mercury-free versions that use on 06-09 Priuses vs. the D2Rs used on 04-05 models.

Add that, you probably had a whole bunch of new owners unfamiliar w/HIDs, their costs, using them as daytime running lights, and cycling their lights...

 

Driving home at 11:00 last night in our 2007 and poof, no headlights. It was a long, nerve wracking trip. Oddly, the high beams worked, but not the low beams or front parking lights. Anyone else had that experience?

We'll be off to the dealer tomorrow armed with lots of good information, hoping for a quick inexpensive fix as we're under 5yr/50k.

Thanks to Danny for the article and everyone who posted.:cheer2:

Red.

 

Considering your parking lights went out as well, I think you may have a different problem.

 

I agree with Rest. Your high beams and low beams are the same bulb. When you activate the high beams nothing about the bulb changes. There is a small piece of metal shielding which moves out of the way. The high beam activation will affect you fog lights by turning them off. So something else is going on here.

 

I wasn't paying attention to this at all. I figured it was more gratuitous Prius bashing.

Then the headlight of my '06 died this past weekend. Grrrr.

 

F8L, I agree with you, but then.....dealer replaced lamps which he claimed are halogens and not HID's (after saying they were HID's -- still trying to sort that one) and by golly the lights work. ??
Dealer repair invoice indicates he did not replace anything but the lamps. More confused than ever and $207 lighter.

BTW F8L dear fellow, how's your self?

 

I am well, my friend. As well as one can be given the circumstances.

So you're not sure if you have HIDs or the halogen bulbs? Do you have foglights? If so then you have HIDs. It sounds to me like you do have halogens and in that case the highbeam function does work without regard to the low beams as the bulb is the same but contains two different filaments (dual filament). Your low beam filament could have been "burned out" while the high beam was fine.