2004 TOYOTA PRIUS Complaints

HID RIGHT HEADLIGHT GOES OUT RANDOMLY. IF I TURN HEADLIGHTS OFF AND ON AGAIN, IT RELIGHTS, BUT THEN GOES OUT AGAIN BETWEEN 15 MINUTES AND 3 HOURS. HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR OVER A YEAR ON MY 2004 TOYOTA PRIUS.*TR

2004 TOYOTA PRUIS HID HEADLIGHT INTERMITTENTLY GOES OUT WHILE DRIVING. TURNING LIGHTS OFF AND THEN BACK ON BRINGS THE LIGHT BACK ON FOR A WHILE. THERE HAVE BEEN THREE INSTANCES DURING THE PAST 3 MONTHS WHERE BOTH HEADLIGHTS HAVE GONE OUT, RESULTING IN TOTAL LOSS OF LIGHT DURING THE NIGHT. EXCEEDINGLY DANGEROUS! THIS HAS BEEN AN ONGOING PROBLEM FOR THE PAST 6 MONTHS BUT I ONLY RECENTLY FOUND OUT ABOUT BEING ABLE TO REPORT IT TO THIS SITE. *TR

I OWN 2004 TOYOTA PRIUS I HAD PROBLEM WITH HEADLIGHTS IN 2006 I REPLACED $400 AND THE DIED AGAIN RECENTLY I HAD VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION DRIVING ON FAST ROAD THEY GONE I TURNED THEM OFF AND THEY CAME ON AGAIN FOR 10 MIN AND GONE AGAIN. *TR

BOTH HEAD LAMPS GO FOR NO APPARENT REASON. BY TURNING OFF LIGHTS AND RELIGHTING THEY COME BACK ON, BUT THEN AFTER A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME THEY GO OUT AGAIN. THE BULBS ARE NOT BURNED OUT THE HID ELECTRICAL SYSTEM IS DEFECTIVE. *TR

I OWN A TOYOTA PRIUS 2004 AND THE HEADLIGHTS GO ON/OFF WHENEVER THEY FEEL LIKE IT. WHEN THEY GO OFF IF YOU TURN THE SWITCH THEY GO BACK ON. ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMPLAINTS ON THIS ISSUE? *TR

HEADLIGHTS WILL GO OUT INTERMITTENTLY. EITHER SIDE WILL FAIL. IF YOU TURN THE LIGHT SWITCH TO "OFF" AND THEN BACK "ON" THE LIGHTS WILL COME BACK ON. NO PARTICULAR AMOUNT OF ON TIME OR BUMPS IN ROAD CAUSE THE FAILURE. BULBS ARE HID TYPE. DEALER WANTS OVER $630 TO REPLACE BULBS. NON DEALER MECHANIC ADVISED THAT IT MAY BE SOMETHING OTHER THAN THE BULB, POSSIBLY THE HID CONTROLLER. DEALER IS THE ONLY SOURCE AND VERY EXPENSIVE. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE, THESE ARE THE HEADLIGHTS. THIS FAILURE NOW HAPPENS EVERY TIME THE CAR IS DRIVEN WITH THE HEADLIGHTS ON, VARIES FROM 5 MINUTES TO AN HOUR AFTER THE CAR IS STARTED. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR ABOUT 3 MONTHS. I HAVE SEEN ON LINE THAT OTHER PRIUS OWNERS ARE EXPERIENCING THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM. NO SOLUTIONS HAVE BEEN PRESENTED. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHILE DRIVING BETWEEN 65-70 MPH, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY STALLED AND SHUT OFF COMPLETELY. THE ELECTRONICS OF THE VEHICLE WERE STILL OPERATING, BUT THE VEHICLE ITSELF COULD NOT BE RESTARTED. THE VEHICLE THEN SHIFTED ITSELF INTO PARK. THE HAZARD LIGHTS IN THE VEHICLE BEGAN RUNNING OFF THE AUXILIARY BATTERY, WHICH IS A LOW POWER BATTERY. IN ADDITION, THE HAZARD LIGHTS TURNED OFF. THE CONTACT CALLED TOYOTA, BUT THEY WERE UNABLE TO ASSIST. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALER. THE BATTERY WAS JUMPED AND THE VEHICLE WAS RESTARTED. A DIAGNOSTIC WAS PERFORMED AND THE VEHICLE RAN NORMALLY FOR SIX WEEKS BEFORE THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A LOCAL DEALER AGAIN AND THEY STATED THAT THERE WAS SMOKE COMING FROM THE FUSE BOX, WHICH MEANT A FUSE WAS BLOWN. AFTER REPLACING THE FUSE BOX, THE VEHICLE PERFORMED NORMALLY. THE TECHNICIANS WERE UNABLE TO FIND ANY OTHER FAILURES WITH THE VEHICLE; HOWEVER, THE CONTACT DOES NOT WANT TO DRIVE IT DUE TO FEAR OF THE FAILURE RECURRING. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN REPAIRED, BUT IS STILL AT THE DEALER. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 46,000 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 47,500.

I HAVE A 2004 TOYOTA PRIUS THAT HAS THE DRIVER'S SIDE HEADLIGHT GOING OFF AND ON WHILE DRIVING. I UNDERSTAND IT IS A HID LIGHT AND I ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT MANY MANY PRIUS OWNERS OF DIFFERENT YEARS ARE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THESE BULBS. THE BULBS AND INSTALLATION SEEM TO RUN FROM $300 UP. THIS IS SOMETHING TOYOTA SHOULD BE FIXING, RECALLING IF NECESSARY. NOT ONLY IS THIS A DANGER TO THE PRIUS OWNERS BUT TO OTHERS ON THE ROAD AND MANY TIMES THE OWNER DOES NOT KNOW THAT IS IT OUT. AND REPLACING IS AT A VERY HIGH EXPENSE TO THE OWNERS AND THE PROBLEMS SEEM TO REOCCUR WITH THE SAME OWNERS. I NEED TO REPLACE MINE BUT WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS BEING DONE ABOUT THIS BEFORE I SPEND THE HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS TO REPLACE IT. *TR

CONTACTED TOYOTA IN FEBRUARY 2009 WITH THE FOLLOWING COMPLAINT/DESCRIPTION: RECENTLY MY DRIVER SIDE HEADLIGHT HAD BEEN BLINKING OFF INTERMITTENTLY WHILE DRIVING. I THEN WOULD HAVE TO TURN THE LIGHTS OFF AND BACK ON TO GET THE LIGHT TO COME BACK ON. LAST NIGHT (FEB. 15TH, 2009), I WAS TAKING MY DAUGHTER BACK TO COLLEGE AND BOTH HEADLIGHTS UNEXPECTEDLY TURNED OFF WHILE DRIVING ON A VERY DARK STRETCH OF HIGHWAY. NEEDLESS TO SAY, THIS WAS VERY UNNERVING. I TRIED TO QUICKLY TURN OFF LIGHTS AND THEN BACK ON. THEY CAME BACK ON ON AFTER A FEW TRIES, BUT THEN THEY DID THE SAME THING TO ME ON MY RETURN BACK TO HOME. THIS WAS A 6 HOUR ROUND TRIP ON A SUNDAY. I DID NOT HAVE ANY RECOURSE BUT TO TRY TO MAKE IT HOME. I FEEL THIS IS AN EXTREME SAFETY ISSUE AND TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP MONDAY. THE DEALERSHIP RAN SOME TESTS AND SAID IT WAS THE HID BULBS AND NOT THE COMPUTER ($375/BULB!!!!!). I THEN VISITED A PRIUS CHAT SITE THAT ANOTHER CUSTOMER TOLD ME ABOUT AS WE WERE WAITING FOR OUR VEHICLES. APPARENTLY THIS PROBLEM IS VERY WIDESPREAD. I AM NOW FORCED TO ONLY BE ABLE TO DRIVE MY PRIUS DURING THE DAY BECAUSE I NEVER EXPECTED A $900 PRICE TAG TO CHANGE OUT THE BULBS ON THE HEADLIGHTS, AND I AM UNABLE TO PAY THAT COST RIGHT NOW. ALSO, I LIVE OFF OF HWY 78 IN SAINT CLAIR COUNTY WHICH IS A VERY CURVY, HILLY RURAL ROAD WITH VERY LITTLE LIGHT. IF THE LIGHTS HAD SPONTANEOUSLY BLINKED OFF ON ME ON THIS ROAD WHEN EITHER I OR ONE OF MY TEENAGERS WERE DRIVING THE VEHICLE, IT COULD HAVE HAD A FAR DIFFERENT RESULT. WILL IT TAKE A DEATH OR INJURY TO INITIATE A RECALL ON THE HEADLIGHTS? TO REPLACE BULBS ON 2004 PRIUS, YOU MUST REMOVE THE FRONT BUMPER AND HAVE A SPECIAL TOOL TO REMOVE BACK OF HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY. *TR

HID HEADLIGHTS INTERMITTENTLY GO OUT. TURNING THE HEADLIGHTS ON AND OFF RECYCLES THE LIGHTS FOR A FEW MINUTES. *TR