Fog Light Switch Problems of Toyota Prius - part 1

The Prius v 2017 vehicle 4 series does not come with 'fog lighting' which I had in my Prius v 2012 and used all the time-the car I have does come with led day running lights-I really never knew they were lights because I never saw them on. At the dealers-the did reset them and the lights worked but now Toyota wants to charge me $300-400 to trace the power lines-the relay to these lights is $31-but for safety reasons-especially in texas and the bright sun-I wish they were working and should be looked at by the dealers for all owners. I drive professionally so my passenger's safety is also my main concern in the matter.

See all problems of the 2017 Toyota Prius 🔎.

My headlights went off while I was driving at night. I was out in the country, in the mountains on a curvy road, where there were no street lights. It was pitch dark and a very dangerous situation, to say the least. I'm lucky I didn't run off the road or get in a wreck. I'm 74 years old and my vision is not as good as it used to be and I had to drive 40 miles to my house, with just my fog lights. I called my local Toyota dealer, to see if they knew what caused my headlights to go out and if there was a recall on the problem. They said it was probably a light bulb problem and there was no recall on the problem. They said it would cost me $120 just to assess the problem. I checked on the internet and found this to be a widespread problem for this car and replacing the light bulbs cost around $500 and it doesn't solve the problem. In many cases it reoccurs. So, I don't know what to do. Why would I spend $500 on the problem, when it doesn't solve the problem?? I can't believe there's no recall on a problem of this nature, as it's a very dangerous defect!.

See all problems of the 2008 Toyota Prius 🔎.

While driving on a dark unlit windy road, the headlights seemed to be getting dimmer, then both spontaneously turned off. I had absolutely zero visibility of the road and I instinctively slammed the brakes. I was approaching a sharp turn with a guard rail and a steep ravine into a river. The car came to rest about 8 inches from the guard rail. Upon cycling the headlights on and off, they both lit up again. I turned in the fog lights as a back up and continued my drive, slowly. Since then, I have observed the lights fading and then turning off, usually only one light at a time, but sometimes both.

See all problems of the 2006 Toyota Prius 🔎.

Both headlights will flicker and go out, mostly at different times than the other but can happen at the same time. By turning the headlight switch off, then back on after 10 to 15 seconds they will come back on. Driving on the freeway this leaves you in a very dangerous situation. Thank god for fog lights, a life saver at 70 miles an hour. This can also happen sitting in my driveway before leaving for work.

See all problems of the 2005 Toyota Prius 🔎.

One light randomly went off. Then as we were driving (at night) both front and back lights went off, both high and low beams. Only the flashers and fog lights worked. We called for a tow ($120) and as they were unloading the car at home, the lights came back on again. So it's not a bulb, not a fuse. I found out online that this is a known problem.

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.

See all problems of the 2004 Toyota Prius 🔎.

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.

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.

On my way home from work, my drivers side headlight went completely out. The area I work in is extremely foggy and adequate head and fog lights are required. Driving without my headlights is extremely dangerous. Toyota needs to take responsibility and replace the faulty electronics in the headlights of the second generation Prius.

See all problems of the 2007 Toyota Prius 🔎.

The driver's side headlamp has been going off intermittently for many years. Now, both lights go out and I am driving with the fog lights only…very dangerous! if Toyota knows about this, there should be a recall and fix!.

I was driving down the highway and both headlights suddenly went out. The fog lights remained on. When we went inside a store and came back out to continue driving, they came back on again. They then failed again, both headlights, in a separate instance, turning themselves completely off while I was driving on the interstate, in an area with no lights, leaving me in the dark. I was able to resolve the issue this time by turning the light switch off and then back on again, but I am concerned this will continue to happen. I have done some research, and it seems this is an ongoing issue with Prius' within the same year (and surrounding years) as mine, and something the company probably needs to deal with.

The first time both lights went out, we were traveling south on I-95 near richmond, va. Prior to this, we thought the lights had dimmed a couple times, but when we checked them, they were fine. There is no mistake when you loose both headlights while on high beam, there are no fog lights, so it gets very dark. I think going to low beam gave us some light (the fog lights) but do not remember, I then turned the light switch off and back on immediately, which turned the lights back on. Since that first incident of them both going out, we have seen both the driver's side headlight alone, the passenger side headlight alone, and at least half a dozen times both lights go out at the same time. All but once, turning the light switch off and then on turned the lights back on. The last time both went out, I had to turn the switch off and back on several times to get the lights back on. With a cost of over $200 per light, I decided to change the passenger side light and see if that light would stay on. It made no difference. I found in the user's manual that low voltage could cause the high intensity discharge (hid) lights to go out, so I had aaa check the engine battery. The test showed the battery was good, but it only had 364 cold cranking amps so I had a new battery put in. We were told by two other sources that the right battery had 450 cold crank amps so I thought that might account for the hid light problem. That was just a few days ago, and the passenger side headlight has still gone out several times since the bulb and battery were replaced. So far, we have not had both lights go out again.

I have been told a few times over the last couple of months now that we had a headlight out in our Prius. I would later go back and investigate, flipping the lights back on to check. But the lights were on full blast, no problems. I dismissed this as people not seeing things correctly. Obviously the headlights were working, that it until we got on the interstate last night and both of the headlights went out while we were driving 70mph. We managed to get home by the dim light of our fog lights, but this is very dangerous! fog lights were not meant for nighttime driving. When we got home, we started playing with the headlights again, and like magic, they decided they were going to start working again. They turned on full blast, no flickering or anything. Looking up our issues today, apparently this is an issue with the hid headlights and is a common known problem for the Prius. People have paid hundreds or even thousands of dollars to have their headlights replaced only to have the same thing happen again. Seems like the guts of this car are flawed and need to be repaired. Presently I'm stuck. I'm not going to spend hundreds of dollars to replace headlights that really don't need replacing when people are saying it does not good. Toyota really need to address this. Can't have headlights going out when you're going 70 on the interstate. Someone is going to get killed from this.

Most recently I was driving at night and the left headlight was not working at all. The next day I took the car to my local mechanic and both lights were working fine so they were unable to do anything. Two days later I was driving home late and again the lights worked fine. This has been a constant problem. Sometimes the lights (one or both) work and sometimes they don't. Two months ago I was driving on a dark winding rode with only the fog lights working, both of the headlights were out. You never know when it's going to happen and it's extremely dangerous. Is it a problem with the hid lights or a circuit issue? my Toyota dealer was unaware of the problem despite what appears to be several complaints having been logged. My car only has 66k miles and I don't drive at night very often.

Problem started with the right headlight turning off intermittently. I reported the problem to the local dealership on 8/27/2013 when the vehicle was serviced. The dealership indicated that they could not find a problem because the problem could not be duplicated. Then the same thing started happening with the left headlight. I can correct the problem by turning off & then back on the light switch but this correction does not last long and the problem recurs. I have resorted to driving with my fog lights also turned on in order to provide some semblance of light. It is difficult and dangerous to drive like this in the long alaskan winters with so much ice and snow on the roadways. I can also make this problem occur when warming up my car in the driveway.

Driving down the highway and the head lights just stopped working , turned them off and back on and worked for about 25 miles and did it again this time I had the fog lights on and it wasn't as bad but again turned them off and then back on worked till I got home . .

Customer states while driving at night, with low-beams, left light went out. Customer switched to hi-beams and all the headlights went out. Customer reports this is the second time the car has done this. On first inspection unable to verify complaint, all lights functioning as they should. Inspected fuses and wiring and all good. While inspecting lights, lights failed after being on only 10 minutes, and turned off. This was a double light failure with both hi & low beam failure, on both left & right lights! located a technical service bulletin related to this condition. Performed all tests outlined in technical service bulletin and located both front headlamps defective with swollen center fogged over causing lights to overheat and ecm for headlights going into fail safe mode and shutting headlights off. Replaced both front headlight bulbs and verified repairs. After repairs, ran headlights for 30 minutes with no furhter failure. Returned vehicle to customer.

When I turned on the car, the headlights would not turn on. Both lights had been fully operational the day before. Both high and low beams on both sides did not work, so it is definitely not the case that four separate bulbs or fuses all blew independently. I tried turning the headlight switch on and off several times, but this did not correct the problem. The fog lights do illuminate, but that is not enough illumination for safe driving in my area.

See all problems of the 2009 Toyota Prius 🔎.

It was last Friday evening,Sep 16,2011,when my car had around 51270 miles,I discovered that the hid bulbs in Prius is going off while driving,sometimes first on the passenger side and some times on driver, and after sometime it could go off on both sides. I am less than 5 years in my car. After doing research in the internet,I came to know about Toyota hid bulb head light problems,experienced by other Prius owners, and the class action law suit regarding this,and the fact that the Toyota has extended the warranty till 5 yr/50k miles. I mostly use the car during the day time to work(8 miles one way),and since all my friends/amenities/shopping are with in 5 mile radius,I dont get much chance to drive for a longer time during the night. All my night drives are rare and is mostly less than 10-15 mins. I also have fog lights in my car which gives some decent light,and when there are other cars in the road,or when the road is well lit,it is almost impossible to diagnose this problem,when the first headlight goes off. Even when the second headlight goes off,under good road conditions,it is very difficult. It appears as some light dimming going on from inside the car,when only one head light goes off. Further I did my 50k miles service less than a month ago. I called Toyota,opened a case(number:1109191158)and took the car to the dealer. The dealer diagnosed it and confirmed that it was due to hid bulbs,covered by the class action settlement. He also updated my case with Toyota. The Toyota agreed to cover the cost of the bulb but not the labor. I tried to escalate the situation with Toyota, but they were firm on their decision. They were more talking by the rule book, about the expiration of warranty, than trying to help me with my problem. Clearly they have defective part,and they were unwilling to cover the complete cost. It would only be fair,if they refund the $112 labor cost.

The headlight on the passenger side just turns off for no reason. I saw it off when stopped. It has done it several times after about a half hour of driving. It goes back on, but I keep the fog lights on just in case it happens in the dark. I think it could effect both head lights and cause a safety problem at night. I drive on unlit streets at night.

While driving home from salt lake city during the evening our second hid headlight went out on us just outside of pocatello. We had fog lights so used those to get home. Our other headlight had been out for a few months. I had contacted Toyota about the first headlight since this was the third time that our lights had failed. The first time they replaced the bulb because that is what Toyota said to do since the headlight assembly was a much more expensive part and they could not tell if it was a bulb issue or assembly issue. The second time they replaced the headlight assembly. The third time the said it was the bulb and they would not replace it for free. They wanted $160. 00 for the bulb plus 2 hours of labor. About a $400. 00 dollar repair. I reminded them of the last time this happened & said how do you know it's the bulb this time. They said the assembly is not the issue. I called Toyota direct and complained. I then received a follow-up call from Toyota getting all the information once again. They said they would be in touch with our local dealer. The local dealer followed up and said he was going to check with his "parts" guy to see if they would give use the $160. 00 bulb and only charge us for labor. To this date they have not followed up. After losing my lighting on the interstate I did a ton of online research and found how to change the bulbs myself without the removal of the entire front bumper, as Toyota states this is how it needs to be done which is ridiculous for a part that obviously must be easily replaced. The bulb replacement is still not an easy process. I ordered replacement bulbs online, 2 bulbs for $39. 00. My complaint is the lack of service and follow-up from Toyota and the difficulty of replacing these bulbs. Toyota should make these bulbs replaceable by the average consumer and the bulbs should be available in the auto parts store.

The lights on my 07 Prius keep turing off as I drive. I can't turn on and off the brights to get the lights to turn on I have to turn the lights off then on making it a real hazard at night especially on highways. There is no time or function that has to happen for them to go out. I could just be sitting at a light or going down the highway. Once one light goes out it doesn't take long for the other to follow. The fog and break and back lights all work fine. Its just the head lights. If the headlights are out then not even the brights will turn on or fix the problem. If im driving with just the brights, the same thing happens. One will go out followed later by the other. And I can't just take it out of the brights setting. I have to turn the lights completely off.

The headlights on our 2008 Toyota Prius turned off suddenly while we are driving after dark on the highway doing 55 mph. The headlights would not come back on. We had to turn on our fog light to get home this is dangerous during night time driving. According to the internet, this headlight failure problem has been reported many times to your agency.

2004 Prius at 146k miles with original headlights. Drivers side headlight turns orange and goes out after 2 minutes. Passenger side light goes out randomly and takes out fog lights at the same time. A complete failure of forward facing lighting including fog lamps should not happen if a headlight goes out. Turning the lights off-and-on brings them back for an unspecified amount of time until complete failure once again.

Bought a used 2006 Toyota Prius on March 29, 2010, with 50,000 miles. The first time I drove it at night, the right headlight went out, followed shortly by the left headlight. I turned on my fog lights and proceeded to drive the 25 miles to my home. I turned off the headlights and turned them back on and they both worked. This time the left headlight went out, and I turned off my fog lights and turned on the high beams, then all the lights went out and I turned the fog lights back on. This occurred four times before I finally made it home on one headlight. Dealer replaced the bulbs. Toyota said they were high intensity bulbs that heated up and burned out, and suggested not using them except at night. The bulbs cost $150 or $350 and cost an additional $150 to install. Was told if it happens again, to let them know and they'll swap the bulbs to see if it's the headlight computer that has the problem. No idea what that would cost to replace. Wasn't happy with the situation, traded up to a 2008 Prius with 25,000 miles and tonight, April 6, 2010, the same thing has happened. There is something wrong with this scenario. One the headlight bulbs shouldn't consistently blow, and, two, no headlight bulb should cost $150 or more. Back to the dealer tomorrow or the next day to see what they'll do.

I began a 70 mile trip on the interstate at dusk in my 2007 Prius with the headlights on, or so I thought. It seemed they were not illuminating the road as well as usual. I turned my brights on to better see the curve on an interchange and the lights went completely off. I turned the brights off and the lights came back on, but I had drifted near a concrete barrier. I averted a crash, but was close enough to the barrier to see that I had foglamps on, but no headlights. Normally this arrangement is not possible. You can have headlights on without foglamps, but not foglamps without headlights. Turning the headlight switch off, then on did not help. When I stopped, leaving the car turned on. I was able to reproduce the bright switch turning off all the lights. The headlights would not turn on. I turned off the car, when I turned it back on, the headlights worked normally. In July, 2009, my daughter was driving this Prius and was stopped for having one headlight out. It worked when I took it to the Toyota dealer the next day. Then for several days, one headlight or the other was out intermittently but not reproduce-ably. Then the problem cleared up until this incident in March, 2010.

2007 Toyota Prius 50,000 miles when noticed the problem. 55,000 now. Probably has been going on longer than that. At first one or the other headlight would go off, usually within a few minutes of starting to drive. Noticed in the reflection on cars ahead that one light was off. Discovered that turning the headlights off and then back on usually fixes the problem at least until I get to work. Luckily it's well lit most of the way. Now I have had both lights go off at the same time. If it wasn't for the fog lights, I would have been in trouble. Got the notice from Toyota that they are reimbursing customers who have already replaced them for any cost over $150 per lamp. They were charging people $300 per lamp and some dealers were replacing the computer that controls them also. They will reimburse customers for that unnecessary expense too. I am trying to convince Toyota that since it was the bulbs that were the problem, they should reimburse customers for the total cost of replacing the lamps. My platinum protection does no good for lamps. My Toyota dealer says the cost to replace both lamps now is abbot $450 including labor.

2007 Toyota Prius with hid headlights. While driving to work, I experienced the following. Left headlight went out. I drove the rest of the way to work with right hid light working and fog lights. Called my mechanic, he never heard of this problem. On way home from work, I turned on headlights and they worked. I have not had the same problem since. Friend at home notified me of this web site.

The head lights, turn signals and fog lights turn-off randomly. *very dangerous! I've replaced the expensive hid bulbs, but the problem persists. I've taken the car for repair to the local, "thurston" Toyota dealer, but they will not repair it under warranty or recall.

I have a 2008 Prius with about 40,000 miles on it, the headlamps are turning off randomly. I quickly flip the switch off, then back on and they remain on for about 2 minutes, then fail again. Very dangerous when on country roads. I keep the fog lights on as back up. Just got back from dealer and they told me $400 to replace. Ouch! I decided to take the risk and keep on driving due to the extremely high cost and no decent guarantee after the install.

I own a 2006 Toyota Prius. The headlights go out intermittently. First the drivers side next the passenger side. If I turn off the lights they will come back on. Sometimes I can't tell if a headlight is out until I pull up to a window or behind another auto. Last night both headlights went out. I turned off the lights and they came back dim. Thank god I have fog lights as it was late and needed to get home ASAP. I don't know when my lights will work and when they wont. Toyota dealership says they are aware of this problem and I need the bulbs replaced (cost of $300. 00) and from my internet research I have found this to be a common (scary) problem. Most people replace the bulbs only to have the problem persist (leading to other expensive repairs) and not feeling confident and safe in their auto. Again, the lights just go off suddenly which is a huge safety issue.

Driver's side headlight goes out while driving. I have been pulled over by police and given 2 verbal warnings. When I notice the light is out I turn the lights off then on and the light will illuminate again. I am now noticing that the headlight will "turn off" anywhere from 15 minutes to 1 hour after turning on. My passenger headlight was replaced while still under warranty (6 months ago @ approx 33,000 miles). I now wonder if both headlight were going out without my knowledge? (I have fog lights and drive in the city). I am now at 42,000 miles. (I drive approx 2,000/ month). So within a 6 month period both lights have to be replaced. Unfortunately, I am now out of the standard warranty and I will have to pay $400+ out of pocket to repair.

2008 Toyota Prius both headlights went out this morning and I was able to get them to come back on for about 5 minutes total while driving to work. I drive 70 miles on freeway each way in the dark. Driver side bright light would come on briefly then go out again. Passenger side bright light did not. I drove to work with the fog lights on only.

I've been having problems with my '06 (94k miles) for a couple of months. The headlights seem to go out intermittently. It was always the drivers side. It will work just fine when I start the car. If I make a stop (to get gas, etc. ) and then turn the car back on, the light will work for a few miles, then it just cuts out. Yesterday (1/21/09) morning when I left the house, both headlights were working. I stopped and got gas. When I left the gas station, the lights were working. At some point about 10 miles down the road, I realized I had no headlights!! I was on I-66 at 5am (in the dark) with no headlights!!! luckily I had fog lights b/c I still had another 25 miles to go to get to work. I was able to get to the dealership later in the morning and they replaced my bulbs ($318 for the pair. . . . . . . . . . . . And $147. 15 for labor). I am not happy to say the least. My husband found a website (priuschat. Com) and showed it to me. I find it quite interesting to see how many others are having this problem. I found out my mom had the same problem with her Prius. She fought it and Toyota paid for the bulbs and the labor costs. My boss had the same problem with her '06 Prius, too. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . And Toyota paid for it.

Random headlight failure. When fog lights are not on total failure of headlights has occurred. Right, left or both headlights will go out with no correlation to weather, speed, temperature, location of lamp or time of day. Quickly turning the light switch off then on will reilluminate both lamps. The lamps may go out again, stay lit, the same lamp will go out or the previously lit lamp may fail and the previously failed lamp may light. There is a reduced interval between failures . Lightbulb replacement has been suggested but this has not solved the problem for similar complaints.