Fog Light Switch problems of the 2008 Toyota Avalon

I have a 2008 Toyota Avalon. I was traveling September 2, 2014, at approximately 9:00 p. M. On highway 49 in alabama. The control for the headlights was in the "on" position and they began to flicker and grew dimmer and dimmer, until they completely went out. I immediately turned the headlight control knob to the "auto" position and the headlights came back on. When the headlight control is in the auto position, the fog lights will come on and remain on, regardless of the time of day or night. However,in the auto position, the headlights will remain off until the sensor detects the absence of daylight. Then the headlights will come on automatically while driving. Thank goodness, they operated in the auto position. I took the vehicle to a shop with a long standing reputation for quality workmanship involving electrical problems. I was informed I needed a new hid bulb and ballast. The total for the parts and labor totaled $696. 95. He checked the passenger side as well, which flickered twice within 45 minutes. They did not notice any problem the rest of the day. Should it become a problem in the near future. That will be another $696. 95! I have come across numerous complaints from owners of this model and discussions seeking solutions. It would be a shame for someone to die in a situation similar to the one I experienced because he or she panicked and hit someone, or lost control of the vehicle.

When I started my car last week, the drivers side headlight was out. I assumed it was the bulb but took it to a shop where they tried to replace the bulb but I was told it's not the bulb. It began working again a few days later but seems to turn on and off but without any consistancy. When I was driving to work this morning, both headlights were turning on and off together. The fog lights are working but I have to turn the headlights on and off every few minutes to get them to come back on. The headlights were checked again but I am being told again it is not the bulbs. This is very unsafe! I am waiting for them to turn off one late night and not return nd cause an accident, injuring me and my family.

Both low beam headlights on my 2008 Toyota Avalon sporadically go out, and I have to turn the lights off and on in order to get them to turn back on. Both high beam headlights are completely out, as well as both fog lights. There are thousands of 2008 Toyota Avalon owners who are experiencing this problem with their lights. This is a major safety concern for everyone who is affected by this problem. Originally, this type of problem is covered under a 5 year/36k miles warranty, but due to overwhelming complaints, Toyota extended the warranty to 5 year/72k miles. The repair involves replacing the hid headlight control unit (ballast), which came defective from the manufacturer, as well as all of the headlights, and in some cases both headlight housings. The total cost for this repair is about $2,500 to $2,800. In my case, as is the case of many other 2008 Toyota Avalon owners, my beams began to fail after the warranty period, at about 75k miles, and therefore I am required to cover this cost at my own expense. This is a common problem with 2008 Toyota Avalons, which Toyota knows about. Toyota claims that it is a warranty based issue, and they are unwilling to accept the fact that it is a recall based issue. It is a major safety concern for all 2008 Toyota Avalon owners.

Noticed my lights being dimmer than normal on various occasions, then realized that the headlights were going off alternately. But on at least 2 occasions they both went out at the same time. The running or fog lights were on so I had some lighting, but on at least 1 occasion I had to use my bright lights as I was driving on a section of road where there were no street lights.

It started off with my low beam hid lights on my passenger side. . . It would burn very dim and sometimes go out completely. I would turn the lights off and then back on and the light worked somewhat, it would burn but it was dim. A few months later the light completely stopped working so I used my high beams when possible. About a month or two after that (late August/early September 2011) my high beam on the driver side stopped working and it was replaced a little over a year before it stopped working. So that left me with a low-beam on the driverside and a high-beam on the passenger side. A few weeks after the high-beam went out on the driverside the high-beam on the passenger side went out leaving me with only a low-beam on the drivers side and fog lights. And everytime a light went out I was driving down the road and noticed my lights got dim.

Last weekend I was driving my 12yo son to visit his grandfather for spring break. We stopped to use the restroom and turned off the car. When we got back on the road, the high beams would no longer work. We were driving down dark country roads in the middle of no where. I needed extra light, so I turned on my fog lights. Forgetting the high beams wouldn't work, I tried them again; when I applied the beams, the fog lights went out. When I shut the high beams, they came back on. I now have to go pick up my son from his visit and am afraid to drive at night. I've had my left headlight go out intermittantly when the car was first shut off, but now my lights are all going off. My brother tried to help me figure out what was wrong and we found nothing physically wrong with the car. We looked online and found multiple complaints. I drive a 2008 Toyota Avalon touring - and I am now afraid to drive at night. I frequently do a lot of night driving, and don't know what to do. I have approx 45,000 miles on the car. If there is a similar recall on the prius, they need to do something before there is a fatal accident!!!!!.

My high-beam lights went out over a year ago on my 2008 Toyota Avalon touring (hid light package), not sure on mileage but approx. 60,000. I took it into the dealer I purchased the Avalon from (and also bought the top dollar extended warranty for 100,000 miles). They said the entire headlamp assembly was bad and needed replaced on both sides. Said it would be about $2,800. I thought my warranty should replace it, they disagreed. They said I could continue to drive it because my low beams were fine and didn't see any future problems happening. A few months later, I received a warranty extension from Toyota for this exact problem. They would replace the headlamp assembly's at no charge to me if I had less than 72,000 miles. I had about 80,000 and they refused to fix it. On 4/13/2012, driving over an hour home from dinner, my driver side low beam started flashing and went out completely. In the dark. I took my car to a Toyota dealership today to fix the bulb. They said it would be $380 ish to replace the one low beam bulb. But said both high beams and both fog lights were out too. And they thought this was a result of the headlamp assembly's and thought I should replace them both, back to the $2,800 for lights!!! I called Toyota customer service and complained but they said they couldn't do anything because I was past the 72,000 mark. This is a defect and shouldn't be based on miles or time. They posted a warranty extension, admitting their problem, but only for people who don't drive many miles. I feel taken by Toyota. This could have (and may in the future) cause serious injury or death. Make it right Toyota!!!.

Right hid low beam headlamp went off with out notice while driving at night. Also, right hid low beam headlamp went off after turning on fog lights or high beams. It has happened three times between 11 Nov 2010 and 20 Nov 2010 without any warning. Headlamps in auto mode. Mileage 48k.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Avalon. The contact was driving approximately 60 mph when all of the exterior lights failed. The vehicle was pulled over and the contact was able to turn on the low beam headlights. He continued driving momentarily before the low beams failed a second time. The fog lights were the only exterior lights that would function. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the headlights and headlight assembly would need to be replaced. The authorized dealer also informed the contact that they received a message from the manufacturer stating this was a known defect. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 50,000.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Avalon limited. The contact was driving approximately 40-45 mph when she was advised by another driver that her headlights were not on. The headlights were engaged but would not illuminate, yet the fog lights were operating as normal. The failure occurred intermittently and the contact stated that the failure could be corrected by switching the headlights on and off again. The head lights were replaced by a local mechanic yet the failure persisted. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for the failure. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 45,000 and the current mileage was approximately 60,000.