Headlight Switch Problems of Toyota Avalon

While driving straight ahead at night on a highway the high beams suddenly went out and would not go on again. I switched to low beams. I later learned from a mechanic that there is a design flaw or inferior microprocessor controlling the headlights and that the low beams could also suddenly go out while in motion. This is a severe safety issue. The Toyota corporation will not stand by their product and have referred me to a Toyota dealer that wants over $2,000. 00 to fix the safety issue. There should be a recall on this. I believe it only affects the 2008 Avalon models. There are even several articles on the internet relating to this problem. I have nothing to download as I did not get a written estimate, only a telephone quote, from the Toyota dealer.

See all problems of the 2008 Toyota Avalon 🔎.

Tl the contact owns a 2009 Toyota Avalon. While driving 45 mph in the dark, the headlights and the instrument panel lighting turned off. As a result, the contact was unable to view the road and instrument panel gauges. The contact had to flip the headlight switch on and off a few times in order for the lighting to be restored. The vehicle was taken to hesser Toyota (located at 1811 humes rd, janesville, WI 53545, (608) 754-7754) where it was diagnosed that the headlight assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the repair fees. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and opened case number: 1809132009. The approximate failure mileage was 111,000.

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While driving, the left hid low beam headlight randomly shuts off. When I cycle the on/off switch the light comes back on, but will go off randomly again. The light does this in different weather and driving conditions. No set pattern. When advised of the problem the Toyota dealership said this was an problem with my vehicle and I would be responsible for the repair. I did some research online and determined the issue was not isolated to my vehicle. Many other 2008 Toyota Avalon owners have had this issue. A very serious safety issue. Toyota does not want to address this issue. Given the randomness that the lights turn off, this is definitely a major safety issue. A recall needs to be issued to ensure Toyota fixes the problem properly.

While driving during dark hours , the headlights go off or just driver side headlight go off at some time . I have to turn it off and back on by switch attach to sterling . They work back on for some time and then go off again. It does happend every day to me on city street and highway. It's scary and unsafe . Its high risk safety issue while driving at dark time hours. Please make Toyota corp. Fix this issue . They know about that problem, deffect for so long.

My husband and son were recently in omaha and experienced severe weather (tornados/thunderstorms/flooding). As they were driving back to the campground west of omaha, during torrential rains, the headlights on our 2008 Toyota Avalon turned off repeatedly. My husband had to continue to switch the lights off and on while driving to get the lights to stay on. This has happened in the past; however, it was not during adverse driving conditions. About a week later, as I was driving through the black hills at night (where we have an abundance of wildlife), I experienced the same problem. I researched a resolution to figure out what might be wrong with the headlights, thinking it might be a loose wire or bad bulbs. During my research, I discovered that Toyota had issued a service bulletin in 2011 (tcs-11-030) related to this problem. We purchased our vehicle in November 2012, when the mileage was around 47,000 miles. Had we known about this service bulletin when we purchased the vehicle in 2012, we would have had the issue addressed. However, since we did not know about the recall and have not until very recently, during dangerous driving conditions, had problems with the lighting, we did not address it. When I called Toyota today, I was told that, due to our mileage on the vehicle (100,000 now), our vehicle was no longer covered under the extended that was issued (unbeknownst to us) in 2011. I was told that I could take the vehicle to a Toyota dealer in our area for diagnosis (at our expense) and possibly something could be done if the diagnosis revealed that our headlight issue was related to the recall in 2011 (the recall specifically addresses Avalons manufactured between 2008 and 2010). As I explained to the customer service rep, we may have been experiencing this issue during the day but didn't know due to the fact that we don't rely on the lights during daytime.

Front headlights suddenly cut off. I quickly switched interior light control and they immediately came back on. With no further obvious problems I dismissed issue as incidental. However, approximately 6 weeks later I was told my passenger side headlight was out. However, when I checked it was working. On 7/7/14 I was stopped by fhp and given warning for passenger side headlight out. On 7/12/14 gatorland Toyota replaced passenger side headlight bulb ($214. 15) and said everything ok. On 7/15/14 I was advised that driver side headlight out. On 7/18/14 gatorland Toyota advised both front headlight assemblies required replacement at $2,219. 95 plus tax (free labor) to install. Since out or warranty costs all mine. This is in spite of the fact that I have followed service manual to the letter and all work since purchase date performed at gatorland (approximately 20 service calls). On 7/29/14 the Toyota representative indicated they could do nothing as care out of warranty.

Low beam lights randomly go out after being on for a short time. I've been battling this issue since 2013 when I bought the car. The dealer says my low beam headlights are burnt out. I can turn the headlight switch off and back on quickly and the affected light comes back on. I do this several times a day when it is dark out. I even had small led lights mounted into my dash and wired into each low beam bulb so I can see if one goes out while driving in town at night as it can be difficult to know if one when out.

High beam headlight bulb bursts. Seems to be a well referenced design flaw the Toyota has failed to recall. 21300 exterior lighting:headlights:high/low beam dimmer switch bulletin no:TSB-0044-10 date of bulletin:08/16/2010 summary description: Toyota: high beam/drl bulb inoperative. On some vehicles, the high beam/drl bulb may become inopertive or shatter. A newly designed high beam/drl housing assembly (including the applicable bulb) is available in the event this condition h .

Evening interstate headlights fail at 65 mph then return after headlight switch is cycled to off and back on. . . . Third occurrence in as many months. No recall info on Toyota website. Over 100 complaints on same issue. Does someone have to be injured or killed before this problem is addressed??? original owner, maybe not for much longer. Get off your butt Toyota and address this dangerous situation.

While driving on an interstate, both of the Avalon's headlights went completely out, leaving me without any headlights. Turning the headlight switch on and off would sometimes reactivate one or both of the headlights but they would eventually fail again. The failure has continued to recur. Toyota dealer states that the headlight assembly for both headlights needs to be replaced. Toyota is aware of the headlight assembly defect in the 2008 Avalons, thus extended the original warranty, however, my Avalon was already beyond the extended warranty so it was not repaired due to the cost. The failure mileage was 82,000 and the extended warranty covered mileage up to 73,000. Repair cost is estimated at $2550. 00. The failure is due to manufacture defect and not a wear and tear/usage issue. I then called the manufacturer and was told no further assistance would be given since the original warranty was extended and it didn't matter that the headlight failure happened beyond the covered mileage.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Avalon. The contact stated that while driving her vehicle, the headlights failed to illuminate. The contact had to turn the headlight switch on and off several times before the lights began to illuminate. The failure recurred several times later. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for an inspection and the contact was informed that the headlight assembly for both headlights needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified and stated that the vehicle was no longer under warranty. The failure mileage was 82,000.

I bought a 08 Toyota Avalon limited from carmax in may 2012 with an extended warranty. Within 30 days of purchase I was told by my coworker that my headlight was out. I looked at the reflection in the glass but wasn't sure that the light was out. I turned the headlights off and on again, got out of the car inspected the light and both were illuminated. I returned to car to carmax, reported what I thought were small things, vibration in the tire, chipped paint. I verbally complained about a short in the cigarette lighter and the headlight going out but implied that the issue had been corrected. I was not aware of the hid headlight issue. Throughout the next few months I worked the midnight shift. I drove the car 10 min to work. The rest of the time was mostly daylight driving. On oct. 1, 12 I started driving the car at night. Days had become shorter and it got darker earlier. During the next few weeks I noticed poor illumination at night and was constantly switching my headlights from the on position to off and back on again. I had knee surgery oct. 25, 2012 and didn't drive for a week. Nov 19, 12 I visited the Toyota dealership in catonsville, MD. I advised that my lights were turning off intermittently. Toyota dealership suggested new bulbs claiming that the bulbs going out was an indicator that they were going bad. I'm no genius but it didn't make sense that bulbs still illuminated when they're bad. After insisting that the explanation made no sense and contacting Toyota motor corporation. The dealership reevaluated the headlights and found that the headlight assembly was bad. Tmc evaluated my claim and advised that they would pay for half the cost of replacement of the headlight assembly, $1500. Although I had the car 7 months it was out of the already tmc extended warranty of 5 yrs. But under the warranty mileage of 7200 miles. The TSB # for this is 004410.

Problems with headlights going out intermittently, when they go out it usually its one at a time, but the other day my wife was driving at night when both lights went out and was completely dark. She got stopped and turned off the lights and back on using the switch and both lights came back on as it did when we would lose just one light. We took car to the dealer and they said the bulbs were bad and replaced them for $589. 00 after researching this problem I was told this is a known problem with a lot of others. This is a safety issue that needs to be addressed and fixed before someone gets killed. Toyota needs to fix this problem now and not look the other way.

The headlight dimmer switch intermittently fails to dim the headlamps when returned to the low beam setting. This failure substantially impairs the vision of oncoming drivers.

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Right side headlight stopping working while driving at night, turned light switch off and back on and headlight worked, has happened numerous times without warning, worried it will happen to both headlights at the same time while driving at night.

Headlights turn off, intermittently. I went to my green Toyota in lexington ky Friday January 29, 2011 and they didn't fix the problem, they said they couldn't duplicate it. Now I have done research and found this is a common problem with Toyotas. The next evening (tonight) I have the same problem, driving and the left light went out. Sometimes it is the right. When I turn off the switch and then on again they resume operation. . . For an unpredictable time.

I just heard on the radio this morning there is a recall on the headlamp’s intermittently working/not working on the prius. Please add the 2008 Toyota Avalon to this recall. On December 24,2010, as my wife and I were leaving my daughter and son in-law’s house at approx. 8:30 p. M. , I used my remote start and started my car. My son-in-law looked outside and said, “you have a headlight out�. It was the right front headlamp. I got in the car and turned the light switch off and turned it back on to “auto� and both headlights came on once again. However, I had to turn them off and turn them back on to get them both working. On January 16, 2011, my wife, mother-in-law and myself were leaving a restaurant. I again used my remote start and started the car. I walked past the front of the car on my way to the driver’s door and would have noticed a light out but I did not. Approximately 1 mile down the road from the restaurant, we entered a dark area and we noticed we could hardly see the road. I said to my wife, I think I have a headlight out? I again turned the headlights off and back on to the auto position and they both came on allowing us to see the road again. This time it was the left front headlamp that went out. Again, please add the 2008 Toyota Avalon to the recall list above.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Avalon. The contact stated that the headlights malfunctioned while he was driving. The contact stated that after playing around with the switch, the headlights turned back on. The vehicle had not been inspected or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Avalon. The contact was driving approximately 55 mph when the headlights failed. The contact engaged the switch several times before the headlights re-illuminated. The failure occurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician stated that the front light unit would need to be replaced. The manufacturer was not contacted in regards to the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 53,925.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Avalon. The contact stated that both external headlights would fail without warning. The contact would adjust the light switch for the lights to become operable. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 50,000 and the current mileage was 74,000. Updated 4/2/12 updatd 04/16/12.

2008 Toyota Avalon passenger side headlight shuts intermittently. Dealership replaced the bulb for $385. 00. Problem went away for about 9 months and now starting all over again. The problems seems to occur when the lights are switched to auto mode. I travel with my lights on during the day for safety reasons and check them often. To date, I have not found the light off not once. I plan on having the dealership move the left bulb to the right and vice-versa to see if the problem follows the bulb or stays consistent to the right side.

Headlights turn off, intermittently. I went to my Toyotal dealer they said that I needed to replace them, now I have done research and found this is a common problem with Toyota Avalon. . The next evening (tonight) I have the same problem, driving and the left light went out. Sometimes it is the right. When I turn off the switch and then on again they resume operation. . . For an unpredictable time. This is a issue that have resulted in a recall.

Progressively worsening problem with headlights spontaneously shutting off. Initially just the left headlight, then the right headlight, and now on multiple occasions, both headlights simultaneously the bright lights stop working all together, leaving me with no lights or brights. It happens most of time when the light switch is in the auto switch position. Brought car to dealer (byers Toyota delaware, OH) and they at first wanted me to pay to replace the headlights and the rest of the enclosures for over $2000. 00. I have a 100,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty. The lights are defective they need to replace this free of charge.

2008 Toyota Avalon touring had both high beams go out at the same time and when taken to the dealership they were replaced at my expense. The service writer commented the bulbs appeared to have exploded within the unit per the service technician, however, no explanation. Now the low beam driver side headlight intermittently goes out and then comes back on. I am concerned that both low beams will go out at the same time, but will still come back on later. I have not taken the car back in for service due to the fact that this is only an intermittent problem, but seems to be a defect in the car and Toyota needs to research and replace at their costs due to safety concerns with losing headlights without warning during night driving. I have been able to clear the problem by re-setting the switch on steering column, but seems to be happening more frequent now. This seems to be a short time frame for having lighting issues of this type on a 2008 vehicle.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Avalon. The contact stated that the passenger side low beam headlights would erroneously shut off. When the headlight switch was turned off and back on the passenger side headlights would function normally; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the headlight assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 25,000.

Headlights turn off unexpectedly and also flicker. Started off with one light turning off and now both lights will turn off. Afraid to drive in the dark. Switching lights off and back on will start them back but they may go right back out. Is more frequent now.