2006 TOYOTA PRIUS Complaints

ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS NOW, WHILE DRIVING MY PRIUS BOTH HEADLIGHTS SPONTANEOUSLY GO OUT. I NOTICE IT WHEN I'M DRIVING AT NIGHT. IT IS NOT SAFE. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH EITHER BULB - THEY JUST DON'T WORK. I HAVE TO TURN THE LIGHTS OFF AND THEN ON AGAIN FOR BOTH LIGHTS TO WORK AGAIN. SOMETIMES IT HAPPENS AGAIN WITHIN MINUTES OF IT HAPPENING A FIRST TIME. *TR

THE PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT WENT OUT. NEXT TIME I DROVE IT THE LIGHT WAS BACK ON. MAYBE A WEEK LATER THE DRIVER'S SIDE HEADLIGHT WENT OUT. AGAIN, NEXT TIME I USED THE LIGHTS THEY WERE BOTH ON. THIS WENT ON FOR AWHILE. THE ESCALATION WAS WHEN BOTH LOW BEAMS SHUT OFF LEAVING JUST THE RUNNING LIGHTS ON. HIGH BEAMS SEEMED TO BE UNAFFECTED SO I DROVE HOME WITH HIGH BEAMS ON. CURRENTLY, ANY OF THE LIGHTS CAN GO OUT AT ANY TIME. TURNING THEM OFF AND ON AGAIN BRINGS THEM BACK. ON A HALF HOUR RIDE HOME TONIGHT, TO KEEP BOTH LIGHTS ON I HAD TO SHUT THEM OFF AND TURN THEM ON 7 TIMES. I GOOGLED THIS AND WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED TO FIND THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN REPORTED, REVIEWED AND DISMISSED AS NOT A SAFETY ISSUE. IT DOES NOT FEEL VERY SAFE TO BE DRIVING AT NIGHT AND DISCOVER ONESELF SUDDENLY IN THE DARK. IT SEEMS THIS WILL BE A RECURRING PROBLEM FOR ME AS REPLACING THE HEADLIGHTS IS LIKELY TO FIX THE PROBLEM FOR A SHORT TIME (3 M SEEMS TO BE COMMON) BEFORE I WILL HAVE TO REPLACE THEM AGAIN. SOUNDS LIKE A RECALL SHOULD BE IN PLACE. *TR

R HEADLIGHT CUT OUT INTERMITTENTLY. BOUGHT REPLACEMENT BULBS AND HAD THEM REPLACED BY AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. NOW AT 65,000 MILES, BOTH HEADLIGHTS CUT OUT INTERMITTENTLY AND ARE DIM WHEN THEY ARE ON. HIGH BEAMS ARE ANEMIC. IF BOTH LIGHTS EVER GO OUT SIMULTANEOUSLY AT NIGHT, AN ACCIDENT COULD HAPPEN. *TR

ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2013 AT ABOUT 8:10 A.M., I WAS DRIVING ON HOLCOMBE IN HOUSTON. THERE WAS TRAFFIC. AT ONE POINT, I NEEDED TO STOP FROM A FAIRLY LOW SPEED (PERHAPS 10 MPH), AS THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME HAD STOPPED FOR A LIGHT. I BRAKE USING THE FLOOR PEDAL. BUT THE BRAKES DID NOT ENGAGE AT ALL; IT WAS AS THOUGH I HAD NOT EVEN TOUCHED THE BRAKE. THE CAR DIDN'T HESITATE OR DIE; IT JUST CONTINUED MOVING UNTIL IT HIT THE CAR AHEAD OF ME. FORTUNATELY I WAS NOT TRAVELING AT A HIGH SPEED AND NEITHER THE DRIVER OF THE CAR I HIT NOR I HAVE APPARENTLY BEEN INJURED. BUT HAD THIS HAPPENED AT A HIGHER SPEED THE OUTCOME COULD HAVE BEEN QUITE DIFFERENT. MY PRIUS HAS BEEN THE SUBJECT OF SEVERAL SAFETY RECALLS, ALL OF WHICH I'VE HAD PERFORMED. AND ONLY A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE ACCIDENT, THE CAR HAD PASSED ITS ANNUAL STATE SAFETY INSPECTION. FROM THIS AND BECAUSE IT WAS CLEAR THAT THE BRAKES DID NOT ENGAGE AT ALL WHEN I BRAKED BEFORE THE ACCIDENT, IT APPEARS TO ME THAT THIS ACCIDENT WAS A FUNCTION OF A BRAKE DEFECT IN THE PRIUS, PERHAPS A SHORT SOMEWHERE IN THE SYSTEM. *TR

CLIMATE CONTROL BUTTONS FAILURE WHEN STEERING WHEEL IS STRAIGHT; SPIRAL CABLE/ CLOCK SPRING FAILURE. *TR

GEAR POPS BACK TO NEUTRAL FROM DRIVING OR REVERSING AS I STARTED MY TOYOTA PRIUS 2006 CAR FROM MY DRIVEWAY, I PUT IT IN REVERSE AND IT CAME HALFWAY TO THE ROAD AND THEN STOPPED. I NOTICED THAT THE GEAR SHIFT LEVER HAD, ON ITS OWN, SHIFTED BACK TO NEUTRAL. I THEN PUT THE CAR IN DRIVE AND TRIED TO ACCELERATE BACK INTO THE DRIVEWAY OF MY HOME. THE CAR'S GEAR SHIFT LEVER AGAIN MOVED TO NEUTRAL. THE ONLY WAY I COULD MOVE THE CAR BACK TO THE DRIVEWAY WAS BY HOLDING THE LEVER IN THE DRIVE POSITION MANUALLY. I TRIED THE CAR ON MY STREET'S SMALL BLOCK, BUT FOUND THAT THE GEAR KEPT SHIFTING BACK TO NEUTRAL, EVERYTIME I LET GO OF THE DRIVE OR REVERSE POSITION. IN OTHER WORDS, I HAD TO KEEP THE GEAR IN D POSITION MANUALLY WITH ONE HAND TO DRIVE AROUND. I FEEL THIS IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION WHERE THE ATTENTION IS DIVERTED FROM THE ROAD TO THE GEAR SHIFT LEVER EVERY FEW SECONDS TO SEE IF THE GEAR IS IN THE DRIVE POSITION. I CALLED TOYOTA TODAY AND INFORMED THEM OF THIS SITUATION. *TR

HEADLIGHT GOES OFF SPONTANEOUSLY WHILE DRIVING. I TURN OFF LIGHTS AND TURN THEM BACK ON AGAIN AND HEADLIGHT GOES BACK ON. I HAVE BEEN RESEARCHING THIS AND CANNOT BELIEVE THIS IS NOT CONSIDERED A DEFECT. THERE SHOULD BE A CLASS ACTION AGAINST THE US GOVERNMENT FOR NOT DOING ITS JOB. *TR

I CAN NO LONGER DRIVE MY PRIUS AT NIGHT. SOMETIMES ONE HEADLIGHT WILL GO OUT, SOMETIMES THE OTHER, SOMETIMES BOTH. THE BULBS THEMSELVES ARE NOT BAD. I HAVE TO TURN THE LIGHTS OFF THEN BACK ON TO RESET THEM APPROXIMATELY EVERY 25 SECONDS. WHEN I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER THEY SAID "WE CAN NOT RE-CREATE THE PROBLEM". I LEFT, IN THE RAIN AND HAD TO RESET THEM 6 TIMES BEFORE I WAS A MILE DOWN THE ROAD. TOYOTA KNOWS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM, THEY NEED TO FIX THIS PROBLEM. OUR EXTENDED FAMILY OWNS 4 PRIUS VEHICLES, WE WILL NEVER OWN ANOTHER SINCE TOYOTA IS NOT STANDING UP TO FIX THIS PROBLEM. *TR

I WAS DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY AND THE CAR ON THE RIGHT STARTED TO MOVE TO MY LANE WITHOUT TURNING ON TURN SIGNAL, HE PROBABLY DIDN'T NOTICE ME AS HE WAS MOVING ON ME, I STARTED TO BRAKE BUT BRAKE PEDAL STARTED TO WORK AT ONCE, IT STARTED TO WORK ONLY AFTER DELAY AND AFTER IT STARTED WORKING I LOST CONTROL OVER THE CAR, ABS SIGNAL TURNED ON AND I STARTED TO MOVE TO THE LEFT. I TRIED TO PREVENT IT BUT CAR WAS TOTALLY OUT OF CONTROL AND THIS CAUSED THE ACCIDENT. THE SAME HAPPENED TO MY WIFE IN FEBRUARY WHEN SHE WAS DRIVING MY CAR ON HIGHWAY. SHE JUST COULDN'T STOP EVEN THOUGH THE DISTANCE TO THE NEXT CAR WAS LONG ENOUGH. BRAKE PEDAL STARTED TO WORK WITH THE DELAY AND SHE BUMPED INTO THE NEXT CAR. *TR

THERE IS AN INTERMITTENT POWER LOSS TO THE HEADLIGHTS. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE. THE PROBLEM IS RANDOM AND THE DEALER HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO SEE THE ISSUE. WHILE THE CAR IS RUNNING, THE HEADLIGHTS TURN OFF. IF I TURN THE HEADLIGHTS OFF AND THEN BACK ON, THEY COME ON FOR A PERIOD OF TIME. THIS HAPPENS WITH BOTH HEADLIGHTS. SOMETIMES AT THE SAME TIME AND SOMETIMES ONLY ONE WILL TURN OFF. I HAVE RESEARCHED SEVERAL WEBSITES FOR PRIUS OWNERS AND THIS PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE FAIRLY COMMON. AS YOU CANNOT PASS VEHICLE INSPECTION WITH DEFECTIVE HEADLIGHTS AND YOU CAN BE PULLED OVER BY THE POLICE FOR HAVING LIGHTS OUT, THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE AND TOYOTA SHOULD BE FORCED TO RECALL THIS ISSUE. I AM THE SECOND OWNER OF THIS VEHICLE AND THE PREVIOUS OWNER REPORTED TO THE DEALER THE SAME ISSUES. *TR