The passenger side hid headlight on my 2005 Toyota Prius turns off spontaneously at random times. It will turn on again if I turn the lights off and on, but it will inevitably turn off after 1 to 10 minutes of driving. The car has never been in an accident and has 39,000 miles on it. The dealer-trained "master mechanic" ran a diagnostic test and claims that the "hid ECU" (hid electronic control unit, part number 8110747150) is malfunctioning and must be replaced. It costs $320 in labor to access the hid ECU under the dashboard, and $286.99 for the new computer. There are dozens of complaints about the hid lights turning off for no apparent reason on various Prius bulletin boards on line, yet Toyota's customer satisfaction center claims to have no records of this problem, and claims there is no recall or service bulletin. Headlights failing at random due to a manufacturer's defect is a serious safety issue that Toyota should address.

- Long Beach, CA, USA

Hid headlamps go out randomly and individually, but can be relit by cycling the headlight switch on and off. Dealer is replacing both hid lamp and controller assemblies on both sides; says replacing just lamp or controller will not permanently solve problem. Crash danger due to lamps going out without warning.

- Castaic, CA, USA

2005 Toyota Prius hid lamp burn out. Replace of lamp is approx. $400 each.

- Apple Valley, CA, USA

Low beam headlights aimed high and Toyota says they can not be adjusted lower. On coming cars flash high beam when Toyota headlights are on low beam setting.

- Roxbury, CT, USA

: the contact stated the visibility of the headlights was limited. The low beam only extended a short range between 30-35 feet. The high beam only extended 50-75 feet. The dealership was aware of the problem.

- Center Ossipee, NH, USA

: the contact stated the high beam headlights illuminate the tree limbs 8 feet above the road, but not the road. The dealership determined the vehicle met manufacturer specifications and no repairs were necessary. The vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop and it was determined adjustments cannot be made to the headlights. Updated 2/24/2006 -

- Plantation, FL, USA

The caller believes the headlight leveling sensor to correct the direction of the headlights is faulty. The headlights will tilt down without warning. She said when driving up or down hills the headlights did not shine where they were suppose to. Caller took vehicle to the dealer three times. Dealer said they could not duplicate the problem. Manufacturer told dealer they will be redesigning the sensor.

- Brentwood, NH, USA