Headlight problem

Simple - Go to Wondries Toyota service, ask for Alex and tell him your problem - better still have with you a picture of the front of the car showing the HID that is off. The claim is that the erratic behavior creates a hazardous condition.

 

Same problem on my 2008 Touring HID's. It used to be just my left, but now the right is intermittent as well. They both went out on me during night driving once - I'm glad my daughter wasn't in the drivers seat! But I knew what to do. I'll insist on the dealership doing something at my 30K checkup. Any suggestions as to how to direct the techs if they don't have a clue? Thanks P.S. I have made a report to the NHTSA.

 

Just use your cell phone camera and take a picture of the car when
the HID turn off - ask them to check with Toyota - I assume that by now there is enough documented cases about this. Point out that this issues constitutes a "road safety hazard"
By the way do they come back on if you flick the light switch off and back on?

 

I know this is too much to ask, but it would be very cool to have a summary of how to handle this issue if it arose, say, today.

I'll be trying to resolve it in the near future. Mine is intermittent and I need to check to see if I can make it stay on by cycling the on-off switch. I say "no" but my daughter (who drives it daily) says "yes"

I'll know later today if that works. I know that flicking the high beams off and on does not make the right/passenger-side headlight go on (when it's "off" when it's supposed to be "on")

I had this problem about 6 months ago, realized after getting a warning from a cop. Of course, I took it in to the dealer and both lights were on (and I could not recall if the problem was on the left or right light). At least now I know which light it is.

 

This thread is very current, but it is long. I won't go in to a summary, but will say that even though you think it is just your one light, the passenger side, it could and probably will be both.

The simple solution is to replace both lamps. Now whether you do it yourself or are under warranty and get your dealer to do it that will all depend, but that seems to be the solution.

I have had mine for over 6 months now, or around that time frame, and have not had a problem since both my lamps were replaced.

Mine started with just one lamp going out, but not long after it would alternate and some times both lamps would go out at the same time.

Phil

 

Always replace HID capsules in a pair. The color and intensity changes with time, so it only makes sense to change them as a pair.

Tom

 

good points

thanks

 

Have an '05 and have been having headlight issues for 3 years. Get a warning that the headlights are out of line. We continuosly drive with our brights on so we don't "outdrive" the range of lights! Dealer scans computer and says there's no record of a problem and offers no fix.

Currently car is in shop for same problem and finally found a technician who agreed, contrary to the Service Manager, that there was a problem with the "rear riser", which somehow affects the alignment of the headlights. Service Manager "hopes" Toyota will cover cost since we are at 60,000 miles.

My position this has been an ongoing battle for three years and it was under 40,000 when the problem first arose.

Anyone else have similar issue?

 

so I went home and troubleshooted (shot?) the headlight issue

and, of course, both headlights worked

grrrrrrr

Do we have suggestions for how to make it happen?

I don't drive the Prius on a daily basis, so forgive my ignorance:

Is it more likely to happen if you leave the lights in the "on" position when you shut off the car?

She is a new driver, so it's hard for her to perfectly replicate the sequence of events that makes this happen. And since she mostly drives in daylight, it's not obvious to her/the driver when a light is out.

Recently, when I did happen to catch the light out, I could not make the light come on by flashing the high beams. I did not think to check, however, if I could make it come on by turning the lights off and then on.

 

I know this is a long thread now, but reading it will really help you understand the issue better.
There have been allot of theories and suggestions, but Toyota is confirming very little openly.. its all on a one on one basis.

To make a very long story short.. replacing the bulbs tend to fix the problem. Who knows if it will crop up again in another 40K miles.
Its inconclusive as to whether its merely the bulbs, or user error, or the ballast supplying the power to the bulbs.
At any rate, enough people are having problems that its unacceptable.


The bulb tends to go out after its been on a while, then has to get a refire to get it going again. A "refire" is simply turning it off then back on again forcing another high voltage blast from the ballast into the bulb, and that "always" happens when you first turn it on anyway.

It does not seem to be tied to a switch, or how you leave anything on per se.
If you flicked the highbeams by pulling the lever, you really turned on the lights initiating that high voltage blast.

Normal turning on of the high beams is merely moves a metal reflector inside the housing. Its all the same bulb.. high beam verses low.

Let someone turn the high beams on while your standing outside of your car watching the headlights up close and you'll see what I mean.

BTW... if your lights are already on.. flicking your highbeams doesn't hurt as its merely moving that reflective metal part that changes the angle of the light.
But if your lights are off and you hit the highbeam so as to flash someone.. thats not really good for HID bulbs as it fires them up, but before they can fully come to a hot plasma state, you kill them again and they go cool.
This shortens the life of the bulb.

 

good explanation though it doesn't explain what I am observing with my car:

when the right headlight is out (and left is on), flashing the high beams does NOT result in the right lightbulb being on when the high beam is flashed back to the "off" position

interesting observation that the lights need to be ON for a while before the light goes off. If only it ALWAYS went off after X minutes. But it doesn't.....

 

I think it never completely fires all the material inside the bulb so it can't maintain the hot plasma state and finally fails without another restart.. "just my theory"

Flashing the highbeams does absolutely nothing unless in the act of doing so you are really pulling the lever far enough to activate the lights on.

 

at least I got a photo of the passenger side light out last night. That's step #1.....

 

Yes it does. I think you are still missing a few details on how HIDs work.

With HIDs, there is only one capsule per lamp. The single capsule runs at the same brightness for both high and low beam. A small shade moves back and forth mechanically to switch from high to low beam. Therefor, flashing to high beam does nothing electrically if the lights are already on.

To restart the lights, you need to turn them off and back on. The starting sequence uses a higher voltage to strike the lamps, then settles down to a lower voltage for normal operation.

The amount of time it takes for a marginal capsule to go off varies with a number of factors. Don't expect it to be consistent.

Next time one of your lights goes out, turn off your headlights and turn them back on. If both lights then work, most likely you have a bad capsule, in which case replace both capsules.

If you have time, allow the headlamps to cool before starting. This will increase the life of your lamps.

Tom

 

Good suggestion. I'll try that. Thanks.

 

I have a 2004 Prius and have been having headlight issue, mostly with driver side headlight. If I turn the lights off and then back on quickly, it comes back on. Recently when I was taking my daughter back to college, both headlights clicked off without warning, leaving me in darkness on a stretch of highway that didn't have any lights. They did this one other time on my way back home. Very unnerving. When I took my car to the dealership the next morning, I got a quote for close to $1000 to replace the bulbs/capsules (whatever they are). I emailed Toyota directly as I considered this a safety issue. They offered to help me with 1/2 the cost. Still $400-500 is huge cost for headlights. My husband purchased lights that are supposed to work from NAPA (for about $200/pair). But, he was unable to get the spring off the back to put them in. Is there a trick to this?

 

Yes. Take a look at this post:
http://priuschat.com/forums/care-ma...7938-my-hid-bulb-replacement-my-06-prius.html

Tom

 

My 2006 Prius HID headlights also started to fail at just under 36,000 miles. Though I reported it to the dealer at 36,200 and could only demonstrate the problem at 38,000 miles, Toyota (and the dealer) good willed the full repair (THANK YOU TOYOTA!).

Before they were fixed, I too was driving at highway speeds on a dark section of road when both headlights failed - and then seconds later came back on (without any intervention from me). And, in another incident they both failed at highway speeds (at night) but came right back on when I flipped the switch off and then on. Both these experiences were worrisome since I had my family in the car at the time.

We also noticed a single headlight went off (corrected with flipping the switch off and then on), and also the other one did the same. So, at times they failed independently of one another. And, the problem was extremely intermittant where everything worked fine for weeks or a month, then a couple incidents occured, and then seemed fine again. Of course, when I brought it in to the dealer they did not fail. So, I took a photo of the case where a single headlight was affected and provided that to the repair department to illustrate the issue.

I was concerned that the computer might have been faulty considering two headlights failed simultaneously (what do those two parts have in common that might fail?). However, the dealer assured me the computer was not involved (no error codes recorded) and that only the headlights needed replacement. The repair person indicated that only in the 2005 models did the computer seem to, at times, be an issue (and my car is a 2006). Since the repair a few weeks ago there have been no more incidents, so I am hopeful this assessment was correct.

Eric

 

Toyota paid for most of my repair and I'm out of warranty. Read on.

As we now know, this is a bulb defect issue, but not just in the Prius, but other Toyota vehicles as well. My headlights were turning off unbidden, so I read Priuschat and then called Toyota. After a few conversations and a trip to the dealer, they said they'd re-imburse me about 2/3rds of the cost of $550. (The price went down from $1,200 over the last year, according to Toyota since so many cars are having this problem.). They paid for about $380 of it (labor plus tax).

This is a major safety concern. So do everyone a favor and submit your complaint to the NHTSA. It takes about 3 minutes. Once NHTSA gets enough complaints, they'll force Toyota to do a bulb recall. Toyota is doing all it can to avoid a recall, which is why they're paying, in part, for the repairs for folks like me. Once a recall happens, they'll have to fix EVERY affected vehicle FOR FREE--a costly expense for them, for sure.

Then do yourself a favor and call Toyota. By the way, Toyota used the frequency of my use of the dealer service center (never) and history of previously owned Toyota vehicles (never) to determine what percent of the service they paid for. Your discount may be higher than mine. Good luck and be sure to file a complaint to NHTSA.

 

I posted this on the "headlight replacement" thread but I also want to post it here.

If you are experiencing the Toyota Prius HID headlight defect failure you may be looking at a repair cost of up to $1,800. Here's a recommended approach for getting Toyota to take responsibility for the defect and to minimize your out-of-pocket expense:

1) Take your car to your dealer's service department and tell them that the HID headlight(s) are unexpectedly shutting off. Let the service writer know that you are aware that this is a common problem with HID equipped Prius (seems to be mostly 2005-2008). You should mention that the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has registered over 480 Prius HID headlight safety complaints. You can review the complaints by downloading the attached NHTSA database file or visiting the NHTSA database at: www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints/index.cfm. You can also mention Toyota's Technical Service Bulletin: T-SB-0030-08 "HID Headlight System - Diagnostic Tips". If your car is still within the 3 year / 36K mile warranty period then Toyota should cover the repair cost 100%. If your service writer tells you that the repair is not covered (he may say that the bulbs are not covered under the warranty or point out that your car is beyond the 3 year / 36K mile warranty period) then ask if the service manager would contact Toyota corporate and seek Toyota's approval to cover the cost under Toyota's customer goodwill or loyalty program. If your dealer refuses to fix the HID defect free of charge then get a repair quote and move on to step 2.

2) Call the Toyota "Customer Experience Center" (This is Toyota's corporate customer service. Website: Toyota Help) at 1-800-331-4331. State that you have a safety defect with the headlights on your Prius. Say that you would like to report the problem to Toyota and open a case asking that Toyota repair the defect at no cost to you. The customer experience center representatives are extremely polite and will offer to open a case. They will supply you with a case number. They may take your information immediately or they may have someone call you back. You may want to call the 800 number and ask for Teresa at extension 73837. Teresa is very knowledgeable and helpful. She will know exactly what you are talking about when you mention the Prius headlight issue. You should be polite but firm. This is a serious safety problem and you know that it is a common problem on HID equipped Prius. They may start out by offering to cover 20% to 50% of the repair cost. Be firm and insist on 100% coverage.

3) File a formal safety complaint with the NHTSA.
Headlights that unexpectedly shut off while driving is clearly a safety issue. And it does appear that HID headlight equipped Prius indeed contain a design defect. Reporting a safety defect to the NHTSA is the first step in forcing Toyota to conduct a recall.

There are three ways to file a complaint...
Call the Vehicle Safety Hotline:
Call 1-888-327-4236 or 1-800-424-9393 toll free (1-800-424-9153, for use by persons with hearing impairments)

File the complaint on-line:
File the complaint on-line at the NHTSA vehicle safety Web site: safercar.gov. Select “File a Complaint†within the Defects and Recalls section of the home page. Or just click here: File a Complaint

U.S. Mail:
Send a letter to:
U.S. Department of Transportation
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Office of Defects Investigation (NVS-210)
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE
Washington, DC 20590