2006 TOYOTA PRIUS Complaints

DRIVING AT NIGHT AND HEADLIGHT COMPLETELY FAILED. TOOK IT IN TO DEALER BUT WAS WORKING THEN AND DEALER REFUSED TO DOCUMENT. THIS SAME THING OCCURRED SEVERAL TIMES SINCE THEN, BOTH HEADLIGHTS FAILING AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER RESULTING IN DANGEROUSLY POOR VISIBILITY. PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT AND CONTINUING WITH A FAILURE JUST DAYS AGO. TOYOTA ACKNOWLEDGES THE PROBLEM BUT REFUSES TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY SAYING THE CURRENT MILEAGE IS TOO HIGH. PROBLEM FIRST OCCURRED WHEN MILEAGE WAS CONSIDERABLY UNDER 45000. FEEL IT IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE THE CAR AT NIGHT. *TR

I WAS DRIVING HOME LAST NIGHT WHEN ALL OF THE SUDDEN MY HEADLIGHT WENT OUT! AT FIRST I THOUGHT I JUST BLEW A LAMP. BUT MUCH TO MY SURPRISE WHEN I WENT OUT THE NEXT MORNING BOTH HEADLIGHTS WERE WORKING. I CHECKED THE CONNECTION BEHIND THE HEADLAMP TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING WAS TIGHT AND THERE WAS NO LOOSE OR DAMAGED WIRES- EVERYTHING WAS IN PERFECT CONDITION. UPON FURTHER RESEARCH TO SEE IF ANYONE ELSE HAS HAD THIS PROBLEM, I FIND NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY STATING THAT PEOPLE ARE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM- HEADLIGHTS RANDOMLY GO OUT WITHOUT ANY KIND OF RHYME OR REASON. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARD! WHAT IF I WAS DRIVING IN THE RAIN AT NIGHT- I NEED ALL THE LIGHT I CAN GET! WHAT IF I WAS PULLED OVER AND GIVEN A CITATION BECAUSE MY HEADLIGHT WAS OUT, AND IT'S NOT EVEN MY FAULT! I SEE THAT TOYOTA RECALLED PRIUS MODELS FROM 06-09 FOR THIS EXACT ISSUE, BUT WHY NOT THE 05'S!? WE'RE HAVING THIS PROBLEM TOO! WHETHER THIS IS A BALAST ISSUE OR A HID CONTROLLER ISSUE HEADLAMPS SHOULD NOT RANDOMLY SHUT OFF AND THEN BACK ON FOR NO REASON. SAFETY! *TR

HID HEADLIGHTS FAIL INTERMITTENTLY. LIGHTS WILL WORK AGAIN IF TURNED OFF AND BACK ON. LIGHTS WILL GO OUT AGAIN WITH NO APPARENT CAUSE. *TR

COMBINATION METER FAILED, THERE WAS NO DASH DISPLAY, NO SPEED DISPLAY, AND VEHICLE WOULD NOT SHUT DOWN. FORTUNATELY WE WERE NOT OUT OF TOWN SO WE DROVE THE VEHICLE TO OUR REGULAR TOYOTA DEALER,OURISMAN FAIRFAX TOYOTA, FAIRFAX, VA, AND LEFT IT THERE. *TR

WE HAVE HAD INTERMITTENT PROBLEMS WITH THE HID HEADLIGHTS ON OUR 2006 TOYOTA PRIUS FOR YEARS. ONE LIGHT WILL JUST GO OUT INTERMITTENTLY. USUALLY, JUST TURNING THE LIGHTS OFF AND THEN BACK ON WILL CAUSE THE HEADLIGHT THAT IS OUT TO COME BACK ON. THIS IS A WELL KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THIS MODEL AND HAS BEEN WELL DOCUMENTED ALL OVER THE INTERNET. IN JULY OF 2008, WE FINALLY DECIDED TO FIX THE DRIVER'S SIDE HEADLIGHT AFTER BEING STOPPED BY POLICE MULTIPLE TIMES BECAUSE IT WAS OUT INTERMITTENTLY. THE DEALER CHARGED US $427.99 TO CHANGE ONE HID BULB!!! I WROTE TO TOYOTA MOTOR SALES, USA TO COMPLAIN. A FEW WEEKS LATER, I RECEIVED A "GOODWILL REIMBURSEMENT" FROM THEM FOR THE FULL AMOUNT OF $427.99! NOW WE HAVE BEEN STOPPED BY POLICE SEVERAL TIMES BECAUSE OUR PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT HAS BEEN GOING OFF INTERMITTENTLY FOR A WHILE NOW. AFTER BEING STOPPED BY POLICE WHILE OUT OF STATE LAST WEEK, WE DECIDED TO CALL TO SEE IF TOYOTA WAS FIXING THIS PROBLEM SINCE THERE WAS A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT ABOUT THIS VERY ISSUE THAT TOYOTA SETTLED. WE WERE TOLD THAT THE PRICE TO CHANGE THE LIGHT BULB WOULD NOW BE $254.85! SINCE THIS IS DEFINITELY A DEFECT THAT TOYOTA KNOWS ABOUT, WHY HAVEN'T THEY BEEN MADE TO RECALL THE CAR AND FIX THE PROBLEM? *TT

I HAVE DRIVE A 2006 TOYOTA PRIUS, PACKAGE 7 WITH HID HEADLAMPS. I HAVE NOTICED OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS THAT MY HEADLAMPS INCONSISTENTLY FAIL. SOMETIMES WHEN I TURN MY CAR ON AND SWITCH ON MY HEADLAMPS, ONLY ONE OR THE OTHER SIDE WILL ILLUMINATE. OTHER TIMES, BOTH HEADLAMP SIDES WILL TURN ON, BUT AFTER SOME TIME, ONE OR BOTH WILL TURN OFF. ALL OF THIS WITH THE DASH INDICATOR SHOWING THAT THE HEADLIGHTS ARE ON. WHILE DRIVING, I HAVE REMEDIED THIS PROBLEM BY FLIPPING THE ON-OFF SWITCH TO RE-ILLUMINATE THE LIGHTS. HOWEVER, IN THE COURSE OF A DRIVE THEY WILL FAIL AGAIN AND I PERIODICALLY HAVE TO FLIP THE ON-OFF HEADLIGHT SWITCH TO HAVE MY LIGHTS WORK. I DO FEEL THIS IS UNSAFE AND AM UNCOMFORTABLE DRIVING AT NIGHT OR IN DARK PLACES. *KB

THE STANDARD ENGINE WATER PUMP WAS FOUND TO BE LEAKING AND HAD TO BE REPLACED ON 10/1/11 AT 32553 MI. THE ELECTRIC HYBRID WATER PUMP WAS REPLACED UNDER RECALL ON 04/02/11 AT 30222 MI. *TR

WHILE DRIVING TO WORK AT 4 A.M. ON A BACK ROAD, BOTH HID HEADLAMPS FAILED. TRYING TO USE HIGH BEAMS DIDN'T WORK. ONLY TURNING LIGHTS OFF AND BACK ON WOULD GET THEM TO WORK AGAIN. THIS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES. THERE NEEDS TO BE A SAFETY RECALL ON THESE HEADLAMPS, NO EXCEPTIONS OR LIMITS ON TIME/MILEAGE. THIS IS DANGEROUS AND IF YOU CHECK THE WEB, TOYOTA KNOWS ALL ABOUT IT. TALKING TO TOYOTA THEY TOLD ME IT WAS MY PROBLEM. REALLY? BASIC SAFETY ON A VEHICLE SHOULD BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE MANUFACTURER. THIS WASN'T A ONE LIGHT FAILED AND THEN MONTHS LATER ANOTHER FAILED. THEY BOTH QUIT AT THE EXACT SAME TIME. I GUESS SOMEONE NEEDS TO BE KILLED BEFORE TOYOTA TAKES RESPONSIBILITY. THEIR WEBSITE SPEWS HOW COMMITTED THEY ARE TO SAFETY. SURE, AS LONG AS THE CONSUMER HAS TO PAY THOUSANDS FOR IT (THE COST OF THIS REPAIR CAN BE OVER A THOUSAND DOLLARS), THEY ARE COMMITTED. IF THEY HAVE TO PAY FOR THEIR DESIGN FLAW...WELL...THEN THEY AREN'T SO HELPFUL. APPARENTLY THIS IS A RECURRING THEME WITH TOYOTA AND THEY NEED TO BE FINED HEAVILY AND FORCED TO FIX THIS. TAKE ACTION NOW BEFORE SOMEONE DIES, PLEASE! *TR

BOUGHT THE THE 2006 TOYOTA PRIUS NEW. THE HID HEADLIGHT BULBS HAVE ALREADY BEEN REPLACED TWICE AND THEY NEED REPLACED AGAIN. TOYOTA HELPED WITH THE FIRST REPLACEMENT. EACH BULB STARTED OUT AT $300.00 A PIECE, TOYOTA HAS SINCE LOWERED THE COST TO $150.00 EACH PLUS LABOR. THE DESIGN REQUIRES THE FRONT BUMPER TO BE REMOVED TO INSTALL THE LAMPS. TO DO THIS IS AT LEAST ANOTHER $100.00 LABOR. LOOKING AT THE INTERNET, I AM ONE OF THE THOUSANDS WHO HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM. A RECALL ON THIS PROBLEM NEEDS TO HAPPEN. *TR

2006 TOYOTA PRIUS. LETTER FROM RE ONSTAR FMV DEFECT *TGW THE CONSUMER STATED THE SYSTEM LIGHT FAILED TO LIGHT, EXCEPT WHEN ONE WAS TALKING TO THE ONSTAR ADVISOR. THEN IT FLASHED GREEN ON AND OFF AS ADVERTISED. HOWEVER, WHEN THE SYSTEM WAS ON AND PRESUMABLY READY FOR USE, THE GREEN LIGHT DID NOT ILLUMINATE. SO FAR, THE CONSUMER WAS TO CONNECT TO THE ONSTAR ADVISOR WHEN THE LIGHT WAS OFF. THE CONSUMER RECEIVED SEVERAL ANSWER AS TO WHY THE SYSTEM WAS NOT WORKING AS ADVERTISED. THE CONSUMER STATED THE UNIT IS MALFUNCTIONING AND MAY NOT WORK IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION. *JB THE CONSUMER RECEIVED A CALL FROM ONSTAR STATING THE PROBLEM HE WAS HAVING, WAS DUE TO IMPROPER INSTALLATION, BECAUSE OF AN INTERNAL BATTERY THAT REQUIRED A CONNECTION BEFORE USE. THE PROBLEM HAS SINCE BEEN RESOLVED. UPDATED 10/19/11. *JB THE CONSUMER STATED THE ONSTAR DEVICE MALFUNCTIONED AGAIN. UPDATED 08/15/12.*JB UPDATED 09/06/12. *JB UPDATED 09/18/12 *JB UPDATED 02/11/13. *JB THE CONSUMER STATED A DEFECT MANIFESTED ITSELF BY A PARTIAL LOSS OF INFORMATION ON THE CENTER CONSOLE DISPLAY AND THERE WAS A COMPLETE LOSS OF THE DIGITAL INFORMATION DISPLAYED ABOVE THE DASHBOARD. THE INFORMATION INCLUDED THE SPEED, ETC. THE CONSUMER STATED WHEN DEFECT OCCURRED, THE POWER BUTTON BECAME INOPERATIVE, WHICH RESULTED IN THE INABILITY TO TURN THE VEHICLE POWER OFF OR REMOVE THE ELECTRONIC KEY. UPDATED 06/22/15.*JB UPDATED 07/08/15. *JB