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Headlights flickering and going out

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by drummerJ99, Feb 5, 2014.

  1. drummerJ99

    drummerJ99 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2013
    19
    0
    0
    Location:
    Southern Indiana
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Hello, I just recently had the hybrid battery replaced in the my 06 Prius. Probably about 2 years ago I had my right headlight replaced because it kept going out. Well now my headlight is back to going out again. However no it's no longer just the right headlight. It can be either. It doesn't seem to matter if it's smooth road or bumpy. Seems to do it alittle worse on really cold days but it's also done it on a couple 40 degree days we had recently.

    The left headlight has a habit of flickering alot. Some times it'll stop and stay on, other time's it'll flicker and then go out. When the right headlight goes out, it doesn't flicker, it just goes out. If I turn the lights off and right back on, both headlights come on. They may stay on rest of way to work after that or they may stay on 5 minutes.

    Anybody have any ideas? It is something I can check via navigation console? Is my only option to take it to a Toyota dealer?

    Thanks,
    Jeffrey
     
    #1 drummerJ99, Feb 5, 2014
  2. dbagooner

    dbagooner New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2014
    10
    1
    0
    Location:
    Milwaukee
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    III
    The right HID headlight on my 07 has just started a flickering recently as well, I also attributed this to the cold. I'd be interested to hear others ideas on this as well. I remember back when we first got it I was having a lot of flickering issues, even them turning off after being on for a while and it turned out to be a relay or something, but this doesn't seem to be the same as that.
     
    #2 dbagooner, Feb 5, 2014
  3. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
    18,200
    6,482
    0
    Location:
    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Headlight flickering on cars with HID headlights is most likely due to the bulb. There are many posts about this, and it appears that the quality of replacement bulbs varies greatly, so you need to get the original equipment bulbs or else the brand name equivalents.

    My 2004 has 166K miles and still are on the original HID bulbs so I haven't needed to buy and install replacements.
     
    #3 Patrick Wong, Feb 5, 2014
  4. L Gunter

    L Gunter New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 3, 2024
    2
    0
    0
    Location:
    Washington
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I'm also having this same symptom and it seems to be worse when driving at high speeds.

    Just finished a 2 hr drive and near the end the lights were flickering and going out every few minutes.

    A quick "off and on again" gets them up and running, but it's annoying as heck and dangerous.

    Anyone find a solution to their headlight flicker?
    Did you replace with better quality bulbs?
    Discover it was a bad ballast?
    Upgrade to LED?
    Find a bad relay?
    Check wiring?
    Something to do with auto leveling and anti-glare measure?
     
    #4 L Gunter, Aug 3, 2024
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