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The Panic button destroyed my HID headlights

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by jshuler, Sep 24, 2011.

  1. jshuler

    jshuler New Member

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    (well actually the washing machine and dryer did...)

    As everybody with HID headlamps should know, turning them off then right back on is terrible for them, and will likely reduce the usable life of the bulbs.

    Now think for a moment what the Panic button / alarm on the car does - honk the horn and flash the headlights off and on. Genius idea there Toyota...

    In other words, avoid using the Panic button unless absolutely necessary if you have HID headlights on your Prius.


    The backstory:

    The HIDs on my 2006 (bought it used) Prius have been a little quirky since I got the car. The passenger side bulb would go out periodically, but they never both went out, and it always happened after driving for a while, or over rough roads.

    Last week, my key fob took a trip through the washer and dryer, and subsequently decided to constantly send out the panic signal. I'm not sure how many times it went off around 1:00 AM before I unscrewed the battery compartment to get it to stop. I switched to my spare key, and all was good...

    ...until I tried driving at night. Within 30-seconds of turning on the headlights, the road would go dark in front of me. Switching them off and back on would get me another 30-seconds or so of light.

    It took me till the next day to put it all together - the flashing lights in the darkness - the single worst thing you can do to HID bulbs.

    $120 on Amazon.com got me some new Philips D4Rs (with next day delivery); 1 hour with a youtube video, a forum post, some work gloves and really dirty hands got them installed (heck of a lot better than the $400+ the dealership charges...)

    Now I just have to figure out how to disable that darn Panic button without going to the dealership.
     
    #1 jshuler, Sep 24, 2011
  2. sipnfuel

    sipnfuel New Member

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    It's better not to disable the button because the car can still freak out if something hits it or trips the alarm and then you will not be able to shut it off.
     
    #2 sipnfuel, Sep 24, 2011
  3. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    I agree, flashing the lights for panic/alarm is not a good design feature with HIDs. However, it is clear that the passenger side was already bad. The first time one side blinks out, best practice is to replace both bulbs as soon as possible.

    Congratulations on the DIY replacement!
     
    #3 seilerts, Sep 25, 2011
    1 person likes this.
  4. jshuler

    jshuler New Member

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    I ended up cracking open the fob and giving the circuit board a vinegar bath (followed by distilled water, followed by rubbing alcohol and a careful scrubbing), coating the exposed metal with superglue (except the parts that are supposed to be exposed, obviously), supergluing the panic button in place (which is the only non-waterproof button on the FOB, btw), and superglueing the thing back together.

    If I did it right, this FOB should be able to go diving and not get any more water inside :)


    I'll leave the Panic mode alone for now; I'm just keeping an eye on the FOB...
     
    #4 jshuler, Sep 26, 2011
  5. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Read back over the many years of Prius Chat vis a vis the search tool. You'll be amazed at how many of us here have sent their fob through the washing machine ... some of us, numerous times. You'd be surprised at how water proof it is ... evidenced by all the folks that have taken them surfing - swiming etc, including yours truly.
    :p
     
    #5 hill, Sep 30, 2011
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