Nine problems related to headlights turn off while driving have been reported for the 2006 Toyota Prius. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Headlights constantly go out. Research online proves Prius vehicles with hid bulb systems have ballast issues causing constant blowing of either bulbs or ballast failure. Not only is safety constantly compromised, but it is illegal when a headlight goes out driving down the road.
Both of my headlights went out at the same time the other day now the fact that both of them went out at the exact same time already tells me that its not the bulb,ballest or anything other then an electrical issue because everyone is having this problem and they have changed both ballasts and bulbs and the same thing happened over and over again, please make this a recall because it is very unsafe.
The headlights flicker and then go out. It is necessary to turn off all lights and then turn them back on. The same thing happens after a short period of time. This happens when the car is moving and I have been pulled over because I was unaware that the lights were out while driving in the city.
The right headlight turned off while the vehicle was in use and now the fog lights aren't working. Sometimes it would turn on and sometimes it wouldn't work at all. You just don't know when it will happen.
Both of my hid headlights went out (turned off) during normal highway driving. Since then, the lights have continued to turn off randomly during normal driving. When I turn the switch off and then back on, the lights operate fine for a while, then go back off. This is a very dangerous issue and I see it is a common issue.
Purchased 2006 Toyota Prius used on Aug 17, 2013 (61,500 miles). Within a month I was pulled over by police for passenger side headlight out while driving at night, but when headlamps are turned off and on again the headlight came back on, and the police officer thought he was crazy so he just issued a warning. The headlight continued to go out intermittently and I replaced the bulbs myself in November 2013 (philips hid headlight bulbs $95). The headlight still went out intermittently and I finally replaced both headlight assemblies in July 2016 by an independent mechanic (approximately $1000 at 143,000 miles). Passenger side headlight still goes out intermittently. Nhtsa launched a probe in April 2009, but then dropped the investigation after Toyota said it would initiate a "consumer service campaign" to address the issue. Then there was a class action settlement in 2011, all of which the previous car owner missed. Toyota uses "campaigns" to avoid recalls. . Read more...
My wife and I purchased a used 2006 Toyota Prius. After about 6 months one headlight would go out. We could cycle the switch and the headlight would work again. After replacing the bulb with a original bulb. Both headlight have gone out. I took the vehicle to our local Toyota dealership. They quoted a repair of $3800. I began looking for a lees expensive shop to do the repairs, when the owner of a shop[ informed me that Toyota had settled a class action lawsuit concerning the hid ( high intensity display) units. That settlement has now passed the date to submit a claim. All claims had to be submitted by may 30th 2011. We had not purchased our vehicle at that time. Why has there not been a recall done on these vehicles? obviously Toyota is aware that there is a problem with in the system or they would not of settled the class action suit. We now have a vehicle that we paid $15000 for that can not be driven at night or when it is raining out, because the faulty headlight installed by the manufacture. How can the government allow a major vehicle manufacture to allow these cars to stay on the road, and risk serious injury?.
The right headlight went out and then went on. The problem has recurred. Now the left headlight went out and then went on. We read that this is a common problem with the 2006 Toyota. Will there be a recall?.
While driving at night a headlight went out making it difficult to see. After restarting the car it came back on. This has happened several times. Once when a headlight was out the second headlight went out making it extremely unsafe and difficult to pull off the road safely, just missed another vehicle. Upon restarting one of the lights came back on. This is an extremely unsafe situation, it is life threatening. I has happened several times and continues to happen. I filed a complaint with Toyota and they said I had to come in when it was malfunctioning. They later said that it was out of warranty. They are well aware of the problem and how many lives have to be lost until they do something about it besides sweep it under the rug.