Headlight (HID) out,or not, and what should I do?

Go to your local dealership and ask them to replace the HID controller and bulb, both under warranty. Ask them to contact their Tech Assist for confirmation but insist that they replace both components for whichever side is going out. In the meanwhile, if you notice one of your lights is out, turn the lights off then back on. They should come back for a time.

 

"...then switched to just dims..."

Are you saying that the high beam didn't work, but the low beam did? On HIDS, there is no difference in what is illuminated in the bulb; it just moves a shutter to change the pattern.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(goldprius @ Sep 6 2007, 08:55 AM) [snapback]507872[/snapback]</div>

So you did turn off the headlights and then turn them back on later. That may have reset them. Your HID bulbs should run for a long time. When you do have to replace them, they are expensive.

The little round lights below the headlights are fog lights, at least that's what Toyota calls them. They only work when the headlights are on (in the U.S.). In many locations in the U.S. it is illegal to drive with only fog lights. I know that doesn't make any sense, but it's the law. Some people modify theirs to work independently.

Tom

 

Schedule an appointment, tell them exactly what happened, and take it in. By doing this you establish for the court that you are aware of a problem and have taken all reasonable measures to try to have it fixed, and you establish with Toyota that you've had a problem and requested service.

If you are later pulled over, you can tell the cop that you've had it in the shop and were told there was nothing wrong (because it's intermittent) and this will give you a good argument in court to dispute any fine. You also promise the cop to take it back in.

At this point, you have the cop's report that the light was out, and Toyota cannot claim there's nothing wrong. They'll have no alternative but to replace everything that might have caused the problem.

If the dealership is really good, they might take your word for it, and replace everything before you get pulled over. Headlights are a safety issue. A bad dealership will refuse to fix an intermittent problem until they can see it for themselves. A good one will fix it on your word without waiting. A bad dealership will want to see the problem so they can just fix the bad component. A good one will simply replace the entire headlight and/or controller and/or switch. A good dealership, also, will try to check each component, such as the switch and the controller. At least they'll look at the components to see if there's visible damage.

Note, also, that you can go to ANY Toyota dealership. Ask for recommendations from local Prius owners. Check the Local subforums here on PC for members in your area.

 

If you are worried about the dealer not believing you, etc.:

Carry a camera with you and when the headlight is out, take a photo showing that one headlight is out while the other one is on. The dealer will have a difficult time arguing that it is not a problem.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(goldprius @ Sep 6 2007, 08:55 AM) [snapback]507872[/snapback]</div>

The term you want is 'Running Lights". I had to replace both the front ones 2 weeks ago. I always have my lights on on city streets and leave just my running lights on when I'm on the interstate. Just wore them out I guess. They were easy to change, just untwist the holder and pull the little bulb out. You can get the bulbs from any auto parts store for less than $3 for 2. I'm certainly never going to wear out the headlight switch since the car nicely turns them off as soon as you open the door after powering down and turns them on when you start back up. I never turn the lights off when I park.

I had both my tail lights (running ligh bulbs) go out, but they weren't burned out. Apparently the holders weren't twisted in tight enough. So if someone tells you you have a tail light out, make sure the bulb is in firmly before you buy an unneeded replacement.

It is too bad the 'fog lights' are white and only go on with the headlights. As fog lights they are pretty worthless. I'm 6'2" so I imagine I see the ground as close to the front of the car as anyone can. I can BARELY see the difference on the pavement when I turn them on so I never do. If I slouch down so I'm more the 'height of eye' of a 5'6" person, I can't see ANY difference on the road. I guess they would help a LITTLE if you lost a headlight

 

My wife's Prius is having the very same problem, hers has just over 44K on it & she's thinking that the waranty will not cover it "I know better being we purchased the Extended waranty" but since I work for GM I thought to just take a peek.

At this moment I can not see any thing obvious but being that it is exactly as was described in here I'm going to reinstall everything & let Toyota look at it Monday.

Thanx for the info..

 

Hi all,

I found this forum while searching for info on my intermittent HID. I'll be taking the car in next Monday 10/1, along with some choice posts from these pages and my customer care case number. Let's keep this thread going in case we need to file a class action suit!

Additional info can be found here:

http://www.priusonline.com/viewtopic.php?t=11141

http://priuschat.com/Headlight-Out-t27758.html


I'll update my progress...

Cheers, Charlie

 

In VA I have been pulled over twice. Flick the lights on/off and the left light stays on. I have 44k on a 2006 with HID. I'll make an appointment and see if I can get a copy of the sheriff's pull over to document the outage.

 

I called Corp Toyota and got Case # 200712170047

 

Where in VA are you located?

 

Use their own words against them. Forget about an appointment. Next time you see the light out when you are leaving work, drive the car straight to the dealership and show them. If the service department is closed, ask for the sales manager, show it to him/her, and ask them to make a note of it. If you have a digital camera, take a picture of the car at night with the one headlight out and email it to their service department.

Either way or both, you then have documented proof to back up your claim.

 

My update;
46000 miles

Toyota did a fantastic job and took care of me. Dx was both lights had open shorts and got replaced. Thank you!

After a week the lights are staying on.

Problem:
I would pull my car out and like clock work the left driver light would go out in 5 minutes. It may go off one or more times exactly at 5 minute intervals. I timed it with the MFD milage updates. I thought it was only the left light, but just when I thought I had a handle on it the right side also did it. I only saw this happen once.

I too had to "prove" it. So I drove around before my appointment waiting for it to happen. Luckily it did.

However, once I was at the dealership a mechanic walked past the car and stated Oh you have the 06 light problem. Good news - I was not the first so the dealer was experienced with the issue. Bad news - I was not the first to experience this.

Thoughts:
I have no idea what part went back into the car. If the light bulbs could be more easily accessed I would bother to look so I am not sure if a newer bulb is being used or if the same bulb is being used. Bad part vs. Bad batch?

 

2006 w/ HID headlamps, I noticed each of the headlamps would sometimes go out, never both at once. Went to local Toyota dealer, described problem, was told to come back for an appointment with particular service manager in 2 days. At the appointed time I asked for said service manager, he was very disappointed that the other service manager had not just ordered the parts (two ECU and two bulbs), apologized and ordered the parts and told me that this is covered by Toyota of America. Called me back in 3 days to set appointment for car. (Nobody from the dealership has looked at my car, or has verified if I have HID headlamps, they just trust me.) I arrived at appointment for car @ 9:00 am, got a call at 3:00pm saying the car was done. I went to cashier to pick up the keys and was told the bill was $1493.16. I politely said no, that this was covered under waranty. She called the service manager who entered the waranty code and the bill was now $0.00. I did see the sheet that billed Toyota at just under $1200. All around a decent experience, the new lights have not failed, but it has been one day.

 

I had this same problem but the service manager told me that it was not covered by my warranty. I would have to pay for a $350 bulb and $150 install fee. Now I had 45k miles on my 2007 but I thought something like this would be covered. The service manager called Toyota with me there and asked if it was covered and Toyota said no. They said they would cover the Amp that drives the HID lights but not the Bulb. Any Ideas on how I can not have to pay $500 for a light bulb swap. How many Toyota service techs does it really take to change a light bulb? Sorry had to go there.

 

SAVE YOUR SELF HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS! I'm not joking! Our 2005 Prius (with over 180,000 miles), passenger side headlight went out over 2 years ago and we refused to pay the high price ($380 just for the bulb) of having it fixed. Toyota refused to work with us on the price saying 2006 and newer's bulbs were in the ballpark of $170, but 2005 and older were $380. Long story short, we had to buckle down and get it fixed (thankfully we never got a ticket!). I found this AMAZING website partsgeek this weekend and got the bulb for $53.00 (and delivered to our door in less than 24 hours after ordering)! No kidding! Thankfully my husband is handy and was able to install it (with some difficulty, but with the help of the owners manual and a small mirror). If you aren't handy, then buy the bulb anyway and take it to your mechanic to have it installed. It'll be WAY cheaper than going to the dealer where they're going to suck you dry for a gosh darn light bulb.