2004 TOYOTA PRIUS Complaints

THE HID HEADLIGHT ON MY 2004 TOYOTA PRIUS HAS NOT BEEN WORKING RIGHT ON THE PASSENGER SIDE FOR A WHILE. IT WAS GOING OFF FROM TIME TO TIME. BUT, NOW IT APPEARS NOT TO BE WORKING AT ALL. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE AUTO SHOP AND WAS TOLD THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH MANY PRIUS CARS AND THAT IT WILL COST $457.99 TO REPLACE THE UNIT. THIS APPEARS TO BE AN ONGOING ISSUE/DEFECT WITH MANY PRIUS CARS, WHICH NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED ASAP SINCE THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE. THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL ON TOYOTA PRIUS HEADLIGHTS SINCE THERE SEEMS TO BE A GREAT DEAL OF COMPLAINTS ON THIS ISSUE WHICH INVOLVES THE SAFETY OF THE CONSUMERS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. *TR

FOR THE LAST 30,000 MILES ON MY 2004 TOYOTA PRIUS, LEFT HID HEADLIGHT KEEPS GOING OFF. HOWEVER, WHEN I SWITCH HEADLIGHTS OFF AND BACK ON, IT WOULD GO ON, AND STAY ON, FOR COUPLE MINUTES, SOMETIMES HOURS. AFTER THAT IT GOES OFF AGAIN. AT TOYOTA DEALERSHIP THEY TOLD ME THAT COMPUTER WITH THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY MUST BE REPLACED. IT WOULD COST ME AROUND $400. MY CAR IS STILL UNDER WARRANTY, BUT THEY SAID IT DOES NOT COVER IT, EVEN THOUGH AT THE DAY OF THE PURCHASE OF MY CAR, I BOUGHT "BUMPER-TO-BUMPER" ADDITIONAL WARRANTY. WHY THE HEADLIGHTS ARE NOT COVERED REMAINS A MYSTERY. RESEARCH THAT I DID ON THE ISSUE, SHOWED THAT MANY PEOPLE ARE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THEIR TOYOTAS AND HAVE NO CHOICE BUT SPEND HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS ON SOMETHING THAT LOOKS LIKE A DEFECT IN THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY. I THINK TOYOTA SHOULD MAKE A RECALL FOR THIS PARTICULAR PART. *TR

WHILE NORMAL CONDITIONS I HAVE EXPERIENCED A MAJOR BRAKE MALFUNCTION, BOTH THE ABS AND THE BRAKE LIGHTS COME ON. THE VEHICLE BARELY HAS BRAKES, THIS HAS HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES SINCE I HAVE BOUGHT THE VEHICLE 2 YEARS AGO. I HAVE TAKEN MY VEHICLE 6 TIMES TO HAVE TO IT FIXED, AND THEY HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO FIX IT. BRAKES REPEATEDLY FAIL ON A REGULAR BASES. THEY HAVE REPLACED THE BRAKE ACCUMULATOR, BRAKE COMPUTER, RESET THE BRAKE PISTON CALPALTORS, AND THE RELAY THAT CONTROL THE BRAKES, AND THE 12 VOLT BATTERY. NONE OF THESE REPAIRS HAVE WORKED. BRAKES STILL FAIL REGULARLY. COMPLAINT LODGE WITH TOYOTA CUSTOMER SATISFACTION CENTER. *TR

DRIVERS HEADLIGHT CONTINUOUSLY GOES OUT. I CAN REPLACE BULBS AND IT MAY LAST 1 WEEK. I CAN TURN MY HEADLIGHTS OFF AND BACK ON THEN IT WILL START WORKING BUT NO MORE THAN 1/2 A MILE. THIS IS DEFINITELY A SAFETY HAZARD WITH GOING DOWN THE ROAD AND FLIPPING YOUR HEADLIGHTS ON AND OFF TO GET THEM TO WORK. TOOK TO DEALER HE TOLD ME THAT MOST PRIUS WAS HAVING THIS PROBLEM BUT IT WOULD COST AROUND 500 TO GET IT FIXED. AFTER RESEARCHING I FOUND A MESSAGE BOARD WITH 35 PAGES ADDRESS THE SAME COMPLAINT WITH THE HEADLIGHTS. NOT HAVING BOTH HEADLIGHTS OPERATIONAL IS A SAFETY PROBLEM THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED WITH THE ROOT CAUSE ASCERTAINED AND REPAIRED BY THE MANUFACTURER. *TR

DRIVER-SIDE HID HEADLAMP IN 2004 TOYOTA PRIUS WAS NOTICED TO BE VERY, VERY, DIM (EFFECTIVELY OFF) AROUND 2008/10/14. TURNING HEADLAMPS OFF AND ON RESTORED BRIGHTNESS. BUT THE PROBLEM RECURRED AT UNPREDICTABLE TIMES--FREQUENTLY ENOUGH TO BE A SERIOUS SAFETY PROBLEM. FREQUENTLY THE DRIVER CAN'T TELL WHILE DRIVING, WHETHER ONE HEADLAMP IS OFF, AND OBVIOUSLY IT'S UNSAFE TO FIX IT BY TURNING IT OFF AND ON WHILE DRIVING. TOYOTA DEALER REPLACED DRIVER-SIDE HEADLAMP ON 2008/10/15, FOR $600! ON 12/15 THE DRIVER NOTICED THE SAME HEADLAMP AGAIN WAS MISBEHAVING IN EXACTLY THE SAME WAY, AND THE PROBLEM HAS RECURRED SINCE THEN AT APPARENTLY RANDOM TIMES. PRIUSCHAT.COM'S MANY POSTERS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM MAKE IT UNLIKELY THAT JUST THE BULB IS THE PROBLEM. PROBABLY THE BALLAST. BUT TOYOTA WON'T COMMENT. I DO STILL HAVE THE ORIGINAL BULB, AND THE BOX FROM THE NEW BULB. LISA AT TOYOTA CORPORATE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE CENTER REPLIED AROUND 2008/10/18 THAT TOYOTA WOULD REIMBURSE HALF OF THE $600. BUT AS OF 2009/1/3 NO REIMBURSEMENT HAS BEEN GOTTEN. I CALLED TOYOTA CORPORATE AGAIN ON 2008/12/16 AND DAMIAN SAID HE MUST FORWARD MY NEW COMPLAINT ABOUT THE REPEATED FAILURE TO LISA, AND THAT SHE WAS "REQUIRED" TO RESPOND IN ONE BUSINESS DAY. SHE HAS NOT RESPONDED AS OF 2009/1/3. THERE ARE MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT EXACTLY THIS PROBLEM ON PRIUSCHAT.COM AT HTTP://PRIUSCHAT.COM/FORUMS/CARE-MAINTENANCE-TROUBLESHOOTING/34584-HEADLIGHT-PROBLEM-26.HTML. *TR

RANDOM HEADLIGHT FAILURE. WHEN FOG LIGHTS ARE NOT ON TOTAL FAILURE OF HEADLIGHTS HAS OCCURRED. RIGHT, LEFT OR BOTH HEADLIGHTS WILL GO OUT WITH NO CORRELATION TO WEATHER, SPEED, TEMPERATURE, LOCATION OF LAMP OR TIME OF DAY. QUICKLY TURNING THE LIGHT SWITCH OFF THEN ON WILL REILLUMINATE BOTH LAMPS. THE LAMPS MAY GO OUT AGAIN, STAY LIT, THE SAME LAMP WILL GO OUT OR THE PREVIOUSLY LIT LAMP MAY FAIL AND THE PREVIOUSLY FAILED LAMP MAY LIGHT. THERE IS A REDUCED INTERVAL BETWEEN FAILURES . LIGHTBULB REPLACEMENT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED BUT THIS HAS NOT SOLVED THE PROBLEM FOR SIMILAR COMPLAINTS. *TR

PRIUS 2004 HEADLIGHT GOES OUT PERIODICALLY. TURNS BACK ON ONLY WHEN ALL LIGHTS ARE SHUT DOWN AND TURNED ON AGAIN. *TR

I OWN A 2004 TOYOTA PRIUS. I JUST PAID $332.50 TO HAVE MY 2 HEADLIGHTS' HIB BULBS REPLACED - AND THAT DIDN'T INCLUDE THE PARTS COST BECAUSE I PROVIDED THE HID BULBS FROM AN ONLINE AUTO PARTS SUPPLIER. THE SYMPTOMS WERE THE SAME AS NOTED BY SO MANY OTHER PRIUS OWNERS: FREQUENT LOSS OF LIGHT FROM THE HEADLIGHT, AND RECOVERY BY ROTATING THE LIGHT SWITCH OFF THEN ON AGAIN...ONLY TO HAVE IT RE-OCCUR A FEW MINUTES LATER. EACH HEADLIGHT HAD ITS OWN PATTERN OF INCONSISTENCY, BUT BOTH HAD THE DYSFUNCTION. I HAVE RECEIVED TWO TRAFFIC CITATIONS FOR DRIVING WITH A HEADLIGHT OUT. THE DEALERSHIPS IN GLEN BURNIE, MARYLAND AND IN LAUREL, MARYLAND BOTH QUOTED ME A PRICE FOR ONE HID BULB OF $351.02 I WAS ABLE TO FIND THE EXACT BULB ONLINE AT PARTSQUICK.COM FOR A PRICE OF $57.27 THAT'S RIGHT, THE DEALERSHIP WANTED TO CHARGE ME $293.75 MORE PER BULB. I PURCHASED TWO ONLINE, WHICH - WITH FREE SHIPPING - COST ME $114.54 FOR BOTH. DO THE MATH...FOR TWO LIGHT BULBS ONLY (NOT COUNTING LABOR) ONLINE I SAVED $587.50 HAD I NOT PURCHASED THE BULBS ONLINE, THE TOTAL OUT-OF-POCKET TO REPLACE BOTH HEADLAMP BULBS WOULD HAVE BEEN: $ 702.04 PARTS ($351.02 X 2) $ 332.50 LABOR $1,034.54 TOTAL THE DEALERSHIP TOLD ME THEY COULDN'T GUARANTEE THAT THE BULBS WERE THE PROBLEM, NOR THAT REPLACING THE BULBS WOULD SOLVE THE PROBLEM, BUT THAT TOYOTA INSTRUCTS THEM TO REPLACE THE BULBS FIRST. THIS IS INSANE, AND CERTAINLY UNSAFE. *TR

RIGHT HEADLIGHT QUIT WORKING I GOT A TICKET OUT OF THE DEAL AND THE TOYOTA DEALER WANTS ALMOST $1000 TO FIX THE PROBLEM. RIDICULOUS THE FRONT BUMPER HAS TO BE REMOVED. MANY OTHERS HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM SOUNDS LIKE A DEALER RECALL TO ME. *TR

RIGHT HEADLIGHT INTERMITTENT TOOK IT TO THE DEALER SAID I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM FUNCTIONS PERFECTLY. WELL I NOW HAVE A TICKET TO PROVE OTHER WISE. TURN THE HEADLIGHTS OFF IT WILL COME ON THEN DIE. NOW THE LIGHT JUST PLAIN DOESN'T WORK. DEALER WANTS $886 TO REPLACE. SOUNDS LIKE A DEALER RECALL PROBLEM WITH A MAJORITY OF PRIUS HID SYSTEMS. IT IS ALSO A SAFETY ISSUE. *TR