2004 Toyota Prius Lighting Problems

MY LEFT HEADLIGHT GOES OFF BUT IF I TURN THE HEADLIGHTS BACK OFF AND BACK ON IT COMES BACK ON. THE HEADLIGHT IS NOT BURNED OUT. THIS HAPPENS WHILE ON THE FREEWAY IN THE DARK WHILE RAINING. THIS HAPPENS INTERMITTENTLY AND NOT ALL THE TIME.

ABOUT 1.5 YEARS AGO DURING A VACATION. MY CAR DECIDED TO NOT SHUT OFF. I DROVE TO THE NEAREST DEALERSHIP THAT WAS ABOUT THE CLOSE. THEY ASSISTED AND SAID TO HOLD THE POWER BUTTON DOWN UNTIL IT SHUTS OFF THEN TURN IT BACK ON. THIS WAS A DEALERSHIP IN GEORGIA. THE MECHANIC HAD HEARD OF THE PROBLEM BEFORE. I RECENTLY HAD THE FRONT DASH LIGHT GO COMPLETELY OUT. I DID NOT HAVE AN INSTRUMENT PANEL AT ALL. THE WAS NOT A WAY TO SEE MPH, GAS GAUGE, WARNING LIGHTS, NOTHING. THE CENTER MONITOR STAYED ON. IT TOOK 2 DAYS BUT IT CAME BACK ON. A WEEK LATER IT HAPPENED AGAIN AND AGAIN CAME BACK ON. WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON AND I DROVE TO DEALERSHIP. IT WAS THE 2ND WATER PUMP GOING OUT. AS I WAS LEAVING MY DASH LIGHTS WENT OUT AGAIN. I TOOK IT BACK INTO THE PRIUS DEALERSHIP. THEY HAD PAPERWORK STATING THERE HAD BEEN ISSUES WITH THE METERED DASH BEFORE. IS THERE A RECALL ON IT OR NOT? I HAD TO HAVE A CAR AND WAS ALLOWED TO LEAVE WITH THE DASH NOT WORKING. I DROVE TO A GAS STATION. AFTER FILLING WITH GAS THE DASH LIGHTS CAME ON AGAIN. I HAD TO PAY FOR THE METERED DASH PART TO BE ORDERED UP FRONT BECAUSE THE MECHANIC SAID IT MAY COME BACK ON. THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL ON THIS AS IT IS AN ONGOING ISSUE. THE MECHANIC EVEN CALLED IT A SHORT. DUE TOT HE PAPERWORK THE DESK REPRESENTATIVE HAD, IT APPEARS THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL REPORTS BEFORE ON THE METERED DASH SHORTING. PLEASE HELP. I NEED THE CAR AND CANNOT AFFORD THESE RIDICULOUS PRICES FOR MANUFACTURER MISTAKES.

HEADLIGHT GO OUT DAILY AND HAPPENS WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT FROM WORK, THEY TURN BACK ON SWITCH ON AND OFF

OUR 2004 PRIUS HAS INTERMITTENT PROBLEMS WITH HEADLIGHTS AND TAIL LIGHTS FAILING. ONE OF BOTH HEADLIGHTS WILL ALL OF A SUDDEN GO OUT. TURNING THEM OFF AND ON USUALLY CAUSES THEM TO COME BACK ON. MY SON WAS DRIVING ON A CURVY, DARK FORESTED ROAD WHEN BOTH LIGHTS WENT OUT. COULD NOT SEE A THING. THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION. WE HAVE ALSO REPLACED TAIL LIGHT BULBS. THEY WORK, THEN FAIL AGAIN QUICKLY.

THE PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT GOES OUT WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE. IT BEGINS TO OPERATE AGAIN AFTER TURNING HEADLIGHTS OFF AND ON AGAIN. THIS HAPPENS MULTIPLE TIMES DURING VEHICLE OPERATION IN A SINGLE DRIVE. FOR EXAMPLE, THREE TIMES TODAY WITHIN 15 MINUTES. THE HEADLIGHT WAS REPLACED WITHIN THE LAST 6 MONTHS, BUT WE NOW BELIEVE IT IS A SYSTEMIC ISSUE, UNRELATED TO THE BULB ASSEMBLY, BECAUSE IT HAS OCCURRED WITH TWO BULBS IN A ROW. THIS OCCURRED BOTH WHEN THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION AND WHEN STATIONARY (IDLING).

WHEN DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE IN THE DARK, BOTH MY HEADLIGHTS WENT OUT. LUCKILY THEY CAME BACK ON AFTER I TURNED THE SWITCH OFF AND BACK ON.

OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS MY HEADLIGHTS WOULD RANDOMLY TURN OFF WHILE I'M DRIVING. SOMETIMES IT'S ONE HEAD LIGHT, OTHER TIMES IT'S BOTH. USUALLY THEY TURN BACK ON IF I TURN THEM OFF THEN BACK ON. THE OTHER DAY THEY TURNED OFF FOR ABOUT 20 SECONDS WHILE I WAS DRIVING 70MPH DOWN THE INTERSTATE AT 10PM. I SAW MY LIFE FLASH BEFORE MY EYES. THEY WOULD NOT TURN BACK ON FOR 20 SECONDS APPROXIMATELY. UPON FURTHER RESEARCH ON A PRIUSCHAT FORUM, I SAW THAT LOTS OF OTHER PEOPLE HAVE HAD THIS ISSUE. THERE WAS EVEN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST TOYOTA BECAUSE THEY KNEW ABOUT THE ISSUE BUT DID NOT RECALL. I'M A SINGLE PARENT AND I DEPEND ON MY CAR AND MY SON NEEDS HIS MOM. TOYOTA NEEDS TO FIX THERE ERROR AND RECALL THE HEAD LIGHTS.

HELLO TEAM, ONE OF THE HEADLIGHTS KEEPS GOING OUT. I CAN'T REALLY TELL WHEN OR HOW IT GOES OUT SINCE I CAN'T SEE IT. I'LL NOTICE IT WHEN I SEE THE REFLECTION IN THE BACK OF ANOTHER CAR. IF I TURN THE BRIGHT LIGHTS ON AND OFF IT HAS NO EFFECT, BUT WHEN I TURN THEM ALL THE WAY OFF AND BACK ON THE LIGHT COMES BACK. SOMETIMES ON LONG TRIPS IT WILL STAY ON THE WHOLE TIME, SOMETIMES IT WON'T. SOMETIMES ON SHORT TRIPS IT WILL GO OUT, SOMETIMES IT WON'T. IT IS NOT AN EVENT I CAN MAKE HAPPEN.

THE PASSENGER SIDE BRAKE LIGHT DOES NOT WORK.

HEADLIGHTS WOULD RANDOMLY GO OUT COMPLETELY AND WOULD VERY QUICKLY HAVE TO TURN THEM OFF AND THEN BACK ON TO GET THEM TO WORK. THIS DID NOT HAPPEN VERY OFTEN BUT THEY DID OCCUR UNEXPECTEDLY AND CAUSED EXTREMELY UNSAFE CONDITIONS WHILE DRIVING.

HEADLIGHTS WOULD RANDOMLY GO OUT COMPLETELY AND WOULD VERY QUICKLY HAVE TO TURN THEM OFF AND THEN BACK ON TO GET THEM TO WORK. THIS DID NOT HAPPEN VERY OFTEN BUT THEY DID OCCUR UNEXPECTEDLY AND CAUSED EXTREMELY UNSAFE CONDITIONS WHILE DRIVING. ADDITIONALLY, THE HEADLIGHTS WOULD BARELY ILLUMINATE THE ROAD AT NIGHT ALL THE TIME WHILE DRIVING IN ALL CONDITIONS AND ON ALL ROADS, AND THE AREA THEY ILLUMINATED WAS ONLY A VERY SHORT DISTANCE IN FRONT OF THE CAR SO THIS ALSO CREATED UNSAFE CONDITIONS AT ALL TIMES. TO COMPENSATE I WOULD TURN ON THE HIGH BEAMS AND THEN THE PROPER AREA OF THE ROAD WOULD BE ILLUMINATED. THIS MADE ME HAVE TO SWITCH FROM LOW TO HIGH BEAM ON A REGULAR BASIS AND WAS EXTREMELY DISTRACTING HAVING TO DO SO WHENEVER AN ONCOMING CAR APPROACHED! I RECENTLY PAID ABOUT $350-375 TO HAVE THEM RELAMPED AND THAT HELPED BUT ONLY A VERY SMALL AMOUNT. THIS IS STILL A BIG PROBLEM AND MAKES ME NOT WANT TO DRIVE THIS CAR AT NIGHT!!! *TR

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM: THE H.I.D. HEADLIGHTS ON MY 2004 PRIUS FAILS UNEXPECTEDLY (THEY TURN OFF RANDOMLY, ON THEIR OWN). THIS PROBLEM AFFECTS MAINLY THE RIGHT HEADLIGHT. THE RIGHT HEADLIGHT FAILS VERY FREQUENTLY (HUNDREDS OF TIMES DURING THE LAST 12 MONTHS). THE LEFT HEADLIGHT FAILS SPORADICALLY (LESS THAN 10 TIMES DURING THE LAST 6 MONTHS). THIS ISSUE AFFECTS BOTH LOW BEAM AND HIGH BEAM HEADLAMPS SIMULTANEOUSLY. WHEN A HEADLIGHT FAILS, I TURN OFF THE LIGHTS THEN I TURN THEM BACK ON. THIS BRINGS BACK THE LIGHTS. THEN THE FAILURE OCCURS UNEXPECTEDLY AFTER SECONDS, MINUTES, OR HOURS. THIS ISSUE HAS OCCURRED WHILE MY VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY, IN MOTION, ON A CITY STREET OR A HIGHWAY, TURNING, BRAKING, ETC. THIS ISSUE ALSO OCCURS REGARDLESS OF ROAD CONDITIONS (SMOOTH FLAT ROADS & SPEED BUMPS / POTHOLES) OR WEATHER CONDITIONS (SUNNY, RAINY, SNOWY, WARM & COLD OUTSIDE TEMPERATURES). THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY CONCERN, ESPECIALLY WHEN DRIVING NIGHT TIME ON COMPLETELY UNLIT ROADS.

RIGHT HID HEADLAMP INTERMITTENTLY GOES OUT WHILE DRIVING AND DOES NOT GO BACK ON. HOWEVER, WHEN YOU SWITCH THE HEADLIGHT TOGGLE SWITCH OFF THEN ON AGAIN, RIGHT HID HEADLAMP GOES BACK ON. WHILE DRIVING FOR A DISTANCE OF 120 MILES LAST NIGHT, THIS HAPPENED 6 TIMES ON BOTH CITY AND HIGHWAY AND ROAD CONDITIONS IE. BUMPS ETC IS NOT A FACTOR SINCE IT HAPPENS ON A SMOOTH PAVED HIGHWAY AS WELL. THE OUTAGE CAN OCCUR A FEW MINUTES AFTER TURNING THE TOGGLE HEADLAMP SWITCH ON OR IT CAN STAY ON FOR 20 MILES THEN OUT AGAIN. SINCE THE CAR IS NEVER LEFT IDLING WITH THE HEADLAMPS ON, IT IS UNKNOWN WHETHER RIGHT HEADLAMP WILL GO OUT WHILE PARKED. HAVE READ IN THE PRIUS CHAT SITE THAT MANY OTHER DRIVERS HAVE EXPERIENCED SIMILAR PROBLEM AND DESPITE THE DEALER REPLACING THE HID BULB OR EVEN THE ENTIRE HEADLAMP ASSEMBLY WHICH IS OVER $1,100 THE PROBLEMS WERE NEVER FULLY RESOLVED. PLEASE REFER TO: HTTP://PRIUSCHAT.COM/THREADS/HEADLIGHT-PROBLEM.34584/

THE LEFT HEADLIGHT HAS BEEN GOING OFF WHILE DRIVING. I'VE GOT THE 'SAFETY' PACKAGE #7 WITH SPECIAL HID HEADLIGHTS. WHEN I TURN THE LIGHTS OFF AND ON AGAIN, IT COMES BACK ON FOR AWHILE. TWO NIGHTS AGO BOTH HEADLIGHTS WENT OUT WHILE DRIVING. VERY SCARY! I WAS ON AN ON RAMP AND COULDN'T SEE AT ALL. THEY BOTH CAME BACK ON AFTER I TURNED THE SWITCH OFF AND THEN ON.

WE'VE NOTICED THIS PROBLEM ONLY A FEW TIMES IN THE CAR SINCE WE'VE OWNED IT. THAT'S BEEN ABOUT 3 YEARS. WE SELDOM DRIVE AT NIGHT BUT WHENEVER WE HAVE IT'S ALWAYS BEEN AN ISSUE. USUALLY JUST THE LEFT GOES OUT AND RESETTING THE LIGHTS BROUGHT IT BACK ON. THIS PAST WEEK THE SAME THING STARTED TO HAPPEN AND RESETTING IT WORKED A FEW TIMES BUT THEN BOTH HEADLIGHTS WENT OUT AND RESETTING THE SWITCH DID NOTHING. THANKFULLY DAWN WAS ON THE WAY AND WITH THE FOG LIGHTS ON WE JUST KEPT GOING. ONCE I FELT COMFORTABLE TURNING THE LIGHTS OFF COMPLETELY AND AFTER WAITING 3-5 MINUTES WITH THE SWITCH OFF I TRIED THE LIGHTS AND THEY CAME BACK ON. THERE IS DEFINITELY A PROBLEM WITH SOMETHING; MAYBE AN OVERHEAT ISSUE WITH THE BULBS, WIRING OR CONTROL BOX. THIS IS A HUGE DEAL. IF WE'D BEEN DRIVING INTO THE DARKNESS INSTEAD OF DAWN COULD EASILY HAVE HAD AN ACCIDENT.

HEADLIGHTS TURN OFF WHEN DRIVING FOR ABOUT HALF AN HOUR. I HAVE TO TURN THE HEADLIGHTS OFF THEN BACK ON SO THEY CAN START WORKING AGAIN. I DO SEE THIS TO BE A SAFETY ISSUE SINCE I DRIVE OUT OF TOWN OFTEN AND USE THE FREEWAY MOST OF THE TIME AND IT IS JUST VERY HARD FOR ME TO BE TURNING ON AND OFF THE HEADLIGHTS AT A HIGH SPEED. THIS HAS OCCURRED SEVERAL TIMES AND IT'S NOT SAFE AT ALL. THIS HAPPENS AT ANY SPEED USUALLY WITHIN THE FIRST 30 MINUTES AND IT CONTINUOUSLY TURNS OFF.

AT AROUND 145,000 MILES THE RIGHT (PASSENGER) HEADLIGHT STARTED TURNING OFF RANDOMLY. IT WOULD COME BACK ON WHILE DRIVING IF I TURNED MY HEADLIGHTS OFF AND BACK ON. FREQUENCY HAS INCREASED OVER THE LAST 10,000 MILES. RECENTLY, THE LEFT HEADLIGHT WENT OUT WHILE ON THE FREEWAY AND THE RIGHT WAS ALREADY OUT, LEAVING ME WITH NO HEADLIGHTS. I HAD TO FLICK THEM ON AND OFF MULTIPLE TIMES AND FLICK THE BRIGHTS MULTIPLE TIMES TO GET THEM TO TURN BACK ON. I HAD NO HEADLIGHTS FOR AT LEAST 30 SECONDS WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY- THOUGH IN AN URBAN AREA WHERE OTHER LIGHTS ALLOWED ME TO SEE. TWICE, I HAVE BEEN LEFT WITHOUT HEADLIGHTS WHILE ON THE ROAD- ONCE ON THE HIGHWAY AND ONCE AT A STOP LIGHT (TURNING MY CAR OFF AND THEN BACK ON REVIVED THE LIGHTS).

I NOTICED THAT MY PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT WAS OUT WHILE DRIVING HOME AT NIGHT. TWO DAYS LATER, AGAIN WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT, MY PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT WAS WORKING PERFECTLY. I HAVE DONE NOTHING TO REPAIR THE LIGHT.

SOMETIMES MY LEFT FRONT HEADLIGHT WORKS AND SOMETIMES IT DOESN'T. I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO IDENTIFY ANY CONSISTENT CAUSE OF THE INTERMITTENT FAILURE. SOMETIMES IF THE LEFT HEADLIGHT IS OUT AND I FLICK THE HIGH BEAMS ON AND OFF, THEN THE LIGHT WORKS AGAIN, BUT THIS DOESN'T ALWAYS SEEM TO FIX THE PROBLEM.

WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT, MY HEADLIGHTS WILL TURN OFF RANDOMLY. SOMETIMES, IT IS JUST ONE BUT OFTEN IT IS BOTH. IF I TURN THE HEADLIGHTS SWITCH TO OFF AND BACK TO ON, SOMETIMES ONE OR BOTH LIGHTS WILL TURN BACK ON. MORE RECENTLY, THIS TRICK HASN'T BEEN WORKING AS WELL AND I HAVE TO DRIVE JUST USING MY FOG LIGHTS. IT SEEMS TO BE SOMETHING WITH THE COMPUTER THAT CONTROLS THE HEADLIGHTS. IF IT WAS THE BULB IT WOULD ALWAYS BE OUT. IF IT WERE THE WIRING, SIMPLY FLIPPING THE SWITCH ON/OFF WOULDN'T SUDDENLY GET THE WIRING TO CONNECT AGAIN.