I bought the car used from a Toyota dealer after it had gone through the shop for 3 days. The problem occurred within the first hour of driving after I purchased it. I went to the service department, and the person greeting me thought I had the standard Halogen bulbs, and told me the bulb would be about $37 and no charge to install. When I came back he told me he hadn't realized I had HID bulbs, and a single bulb would be $300!!!! I was aghast. Fortunately, I went back to the salesperson who sold me the car and he had the service department replace the bulb. I only hope this is not a recurring problem. Those bulbs are ridiculously expensive. I bought the Prius because of the supposedly low cost of ownership. This does not bode well for the future. If there are more issues like this I will buy a Honda next time.

This is my second Prius and both of them have been great, except that this one has the headlight problem. Until last week, I didn't know that so many people have had this problem, and am surprised that Toyota hasn't done something about them. My driver's side headlight only works about 20% of the time, and it is a real problem in the winter darkness. My 2004 Prius has 231,000 miles and regular headlights which have never been a problem. This 2006 Prius has been excellent except for the headlights. Thanks, for any suggestions or help you can provide.

Took car to Toyota dealer, thought headlight had went out. They told me it was a short and I had to bring it in when it was happening before they could do anything. I've took it to a place close by where I live and they told me the same thing. I have a car that I can only drive to the doctors. Can't be driven at dark (have got stopped by police and given warning ticket} and can't be driven when raining. Have had to cancel two doctor appointments this week. As far as I know both lights haven't went out at same time but it changes from right to left light at will

I'm a 68 year old disabled woman and I need my car. I can't afford tickets for driving with only one headlight. I just found out that I'm not the only one having this problem.

The Toyota dealer didn't say anything about there being trouble with the lights just that they couldn't do anything unless it was happening when I took it in. What can I do to get this fixed. It is a danger to myself or others if both go out at same time. What good is a car that can only be driven during daylight hours or when it's not raining. My driving has been restricted for over a year now.

Have had intermittent headlight failure of either headlights for about 18 months. Dealer can't replicate problem so their proposed solution is to replace the headlight(s). Since both have sporadically failed, it would mean replacing both. The lights always work after being turned off, then on again. A few times, both lights have failed together, leaving me in the dark for a few seconds. Again, with a flick of the wrist, they'll come back on after turning the switch off then on. I looks like several members have had this problem with the 2006 Prius and that replacing the lights themselves doesn't guarantee a permanent fix.

Several months ago, my right side headlight started going off. It goes off in random intervals (minutes, hours, to days). Turning the headlights off then on again makes it start working again. I tried to have a mechanic fix the problem, but it would not replicate the problem in the shop so I was told to continue driving it until the light goes out completely. Now I see that it could be the headlight or an electronic device with the igniter and ballast inside that is going out. I don't know how to test it until it goes out completely. This is dangerous, because I am not completely sure when the headlight goes out. So I could be driving with one headlight for a while before I realize I need to turn the switch off and on again.

I purchased my Certified Used 2006 Prius in Feb 2011 from a Toyota dealership in Lodi CA. I'm not sure when I first noticed that the left headlight was out but it was sometime in 2013. But it wasn't out all the time. It was out sporadically. I was pulled over by CHP in Aug 2013 and warned to get it fixed. But, since it was a sporadic problem, I put it at the bottom of my priority list figuring it was going to cost me more than I wanted to spend. Then in Spring 2014 while driving at night South on the 99 from Yuba City to Sacramento, both headlights suddenly went out! It was pitch black! I couldn't see the road! I slowed to a stop, switched my headlights on and off a couple times and they were back on again. This happened one more time a couple months afterwards. I keep meaning to ask the Toyota service department to check out the problem, but haven't yet. Again, it's a sporadic problem.

I am getting really tired of people I know telling me "your headlight is out". Then I switch them off and on again until it works.

Finally a friend told me to go online and research Toyota Prius electrical/light problems and VOILA!

It's NOT just ME!

According to dozens of other Prius owners, Toyota is uncooperative, mechanics cannot seem to duplicate the problem, replacing bulbs is not a solution, and many people are driving with defective headlamps which can and do go out at random times and can cause accidents and death.

I've responded to many recalls on the 4 Toyotas I've owned since 1998, why is there not one for this seriously dangerous headlamp issue?

I have had several problems with Prius Headlights. The first time, a couple of years ago, both lights went out at the same time. Service told me that both just went out & would costs over $300 to replace each. After much discussion he replaced for costs of labor. Within 2 weeks I received a recall notice and had to submit my invoice for reimbursement.

Now they now have condensation build up and only work sporadically. I have read numerous articles about problems with the Prius headlights and am now being told it will costs approximately $1000 to have them replaced. Why hasn't there been a recall of these obviously defective lights?

We noticed headlamp going off occasionally. Then both went down same time whiling driving on dark mountain curving road. We reignited by turning lights off and on. Went to dealer who said it would be over $500 to fix and no guarantee would solve issue. Yet Toyota customer care issued us a warranty. We fixed lights 8/9/14.

Then 2 months later, we are on foggy mountain road and notice only one headlight is being reflected back by chrome off bumber of car driving in front of us. We took car next day to dealership who gave us bid for $940.00 to replace ECU which is one of two computers for the left and right headlamps. We showed them our warranty. They said that is for light bulb itself and technician believes it is the power not getting to the lights. So no warranty or no guarantee the left side wouldn't fail so do both, $1500 estimate.

By the looks of this common issue, this is original problem which caused both to go out at once in August. Therefore that which powers both ECY's has a faulty signal. Since Toyota fixed this in models late 2008 they must know how to fix mine. Come on Toyota, this is life threatening. You must respond to the 865 people with the actual remedy. Temporary fixes are going to come back to bite.

All I can say is this is the most frustrating problem I have ever had with any car in my entire lifetime. Cannot seem to fix left headlight. Removed headlight which is absolutely a ridiculous procedure in itself. Found water inside, and the ballast was all corroded indicating the lamp had been leaking for some time. checked lamp by putting in the right side, and it worked there ( also a pain in the ass). I ordered head lamp assy.on line, and it was wrong type, so had to return with penalties I decided to order the damaged ballast and fix my damaged headlight by siliconeing the leaky lens. The new ballast had too short of a wire lead to the lamp so had to extend it to make it work. It didn't fix the problem however, so I am back to where I started..Yes,I checked fuses. Frustrated and refuse to pay for a new headlight at a price of over $600.00 dollars. I am out of breath!!!---Jim Noel

As I was driving my 2006 Toyota Prius at night, I noticed the road seemed "dim" on the right side. I turned the lights OFF then back ON and it was brighter. Later I noticed the same thing and pulled off the road to find the right headlight was not on, but it came back on after turning the switch off and on again. This has happened SEVERAL times over the past couple of months, sometimes affecting the left headlight as well. Once, last month, as I was driving down the highway, BOTH headlights turned off! Fortunately I was able to quickly flip the headlight switch off and on to remedy the situation. The headlight bulbs have been checked and do not seem to be the problem. HELP!

I paid $450 after the first headlight kept flickering. When the second headlight did the same thing, a service man at the Toyota agency and St. Louis Missouri let it slip that I should check complaints on the Internet. Sure enough! I took the data back to the dealer and was given a "caseworker." First, I was refunded the $450 for the first head right. When I complained about the second one, the case worker stalled, saying that they had already replaced one. I reminded her that she had told me earlier that many millions of headlights came from Japan already defective, and she promptly refunded the other $450.

Next, this stereo dials did not work. The service adviser in St. Louis told me I should just use the button on the steering wheel. I told him that since I paid for dials on the radio I expected them to work. As with the headlights, the dealer said he could not address the issue until he saw the problem while my car was in the dealership. Fortunately, as I was leaving the dealership, the radio went out, and I promptly turned around so he could see it. Within a week, I had a brand-new stereo system. Of the four recalls on the 2006 previous – – including the problems with the floor mat – – I have yet to receive official notification! About any of them, hearing about them through the Internet or TV. Never again will I purchase any Toyota products.