Low beam headlights burning out

did you search? I remember a long discussion in the past.

 

Ricks - I've always said that when you have bulbs in pairs, it's inevitable that when one goes out the other is usually soon to follow. Did your Gen 2 have the HID bulbs or halogen? Have you been driving with your lights on more with the 2010?

 

I had my driver side driving light go out at 84,000 miles (3 years old). The passenger light has not gone out yet.

 

Sorry, I ready 2003, and thought Gen 2 lol. I've had issues periodically where my parking lights on top wouldn't be on, and a small tap on the glass helped. Not sure what the deal is with that, but interesting that I've experienced it before too.

If you drove with your lights on all the time, it's not overly surprising you had them burn out at 60k miles on the car. DRLs usually used high beams at like 40% power, so they'd last a lot longer than just running low beams, too.

 

Those marker lights have a wedge base that only has a small contact point. I have found that dust can work its way into the socket, at some point the you may get a arc the fuses the dust into a very efficient insulator. Taping the light housing can restore the connection. I have replaced the #168 bulbs on my Gen II with clear LEDs on the front and RED LEDs for the tail lights. My wife's 2008 Gen II running full time with headlights on had burned out the ALL the bulbs after 25K miles.

My 2010 Gen III's uses a similar 2825 wedge base bulb for the front sidemarker and taillight. I replaced the sidemarker bulbs with 5000k LEDs to match the HID conversion and red LEDs for the tail lights.

I suggest you check the tail lights to make sure they still work. It's important to use RED LEDs when replacing the tail lights - clear LEDs have much less red wave length than incandescent bulbs and will be much too dim when used in a red housing.

 

Headlights Burn Out | PriusChat

 

I have the same problem with my 2010. The headlights have gone out in the past 6 months and I can't keep the little bulbs working. Just keep replacing, yes I drive with my lights on for safety

 

Is there a notice on the dash telling you they aren't working or do you have to notice it yourself from outside the car?
My previous car checked all the lights at startup and told you if there was a failure somewhere

 

DRL normally use the high beam lamp at reduced voltage --- The high beam does not have restricting optics -- so it is visible to oncoming traffic. This has nothing to do with your low beam. Some bulbs just don't last as long - and some don't last as long in particular cars. When we used to have a small fleet of Mercury Sables w/o DRL .....company policy was to always drive with headlights on -- some of the cars went through a couple of sets in the five years we had them and others none ... and the replacements all came from the same case box! Also ....as the bulbs age the light output drops ... so it is not a bad idea to replace them every 4-5 years if you do a lot of night driving.

 

I just had the car inspected and now the driver's side low beam is out at 38,000 miles. not happy, I'm having deja vu from the HID problem.... wish I had the energy to replace it myself but I have one too many things going on right now!

 

Went to Pep Boys, 14.99 for the bulb and they installed it in a minute.
I did not notice anything light on the dash either.
Johnbonnie, I'm wondering if you can try a different brand of bulb, maybe you're getting cheap ones...

 

Actually this came up when we were having problems with the HID headlights. The Federal transportation safety bureau has a form to fill out to report possible safety defects. If you have a problem with the bulbs burning out frequently you might report it there. If many people report the same problem they investigate it.

 

This is not the same as the HID problem. Some of the Halogen bulbs have a life that is twice that of others -- but the light output is lower on the long life bulbs. So if you purchase the more expensive high output bulbs - do not expect the same output. The german osram bulbs are very good -- also sold under sylvania .. if you read the fine print.

 

Actually, I have had the same issue with my '07.
I have replaced my driver's side three times in the past year and a half and my passenger's side twice in the same time span. The rear tail lights have gone out twice each as well.
I have tried bulbs from Toyota, GE & JC Whitney; doesn't matter.
Changed my battery under the mfg warranty, JIC.
Each time Highway Patrol pulls me over, they ask if I change bulbs frequently?
All officers say they constantly pull over Priusi (sp) for lighting fix-its.
Doubt very much Toyota will recall for this issue...
They can give us the QR Code and a car that gets awesome mileage but they can't give me functioning headlights or an on-board computer that tells me how many miles I can go until empty, WTH?

 

If your car has 61,000 miles and your lights are on all the time this equates at normal average speeds and allowing time for stop signs traffic lights ect well over 2000hrs of use. The old style house incandescent bulb would not last this long even though it did not have to put up with the mechanical vibration and shock that a car bulb does. The technology is exactly the same. If there is any difference it is that the car bulb is usually driven harder "filament runs hotter" to give out a whiter brighter light and it's supply voltage in percentage terms is much less stable, usually varying by 20%. Car bulbs also have to put up with higher thermal shock being used outdoors. So to sum up I think 2000+ hrs is very good.