I drive a 2006 Toyota Prius. On November 13, 2009, for about 10 days, the dashboard would not light up on a cold start in the morning. It would light up after I hit a pothole or bump. The problem inexplicably stopped. My Toyota dealership said they had received no complaints about this and could not diagnose/fix the problem since it no longer occurred.

- Sammamish, WA, USA

2006 Toyota Prius electrical system the consumer stated when she turned on her vehicle all of the electrical components on the entire dashboard were out. No displays, no navigation and no camera. When she arrived home, the vehicle would not turn off. The consumer contacted the Toyota hotline and was advised the only way to shut off the vehicle, was to disconnect the battery. About an hour later, the vehicle shut off. The next day, the consumer took it the dealer where they kept it all day, but was unable to find anything wrong. The consumer noticed that she was filling the gas tank more often than usual. She discovered there was another electrical malfunction; the bars on the fuel gauge were not matching the amount of gas that was being pun into the vehicle. Updated 03/30/10.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

Headlights intermittently go off when placed in the on position. Sometimes one, sometimes both. Does not matter if it is low or hi beam. This problem is ongoing since incident date. Toyota sent letter describing how hid bulbs reach the end of their life by intermittently going out and states that you should minimize turning them on and off which can't be prevented if they go out while you're driving. I don't accept this to be fact, I think it's an electrical problem.

- Milford, VA, USA

Approaching state hwy. In cruise, assumed stop area would be slippery as it sometimes is in the winter..tapped brakes to disable cruise, applied brakes, kept right on going & ended in the ditch across the hwy. Was lucky that there was no collision.. can't remember if the motor was racing at the time.

- Caro, MI, USA

Intermittent and frequent failure of hid headlights in 2006 Toyota Prius. One light or the other and sometimes both will go out. Turning the light switch from on to off and back on will relight the bulb but at lower brightness. Frequently must do this several times as the bulb may stay on for a few minutes to 1/2 hour. Toyota refuses to acknowledge design / faulty components in hid control / power module.

- Downers Grove, IL, USA

My Toyota Prius 2006 accelerated on its own. I called service and was told to drive to nearest dealer. But acceleration was scary out of my control other than by fierce braking. I have no idea how fast I was going, but had to put something in the box so I put 80mph. I stopped as soon as I could safely and where I could get signal to call (being in the country). As soon as I stopped the brake pads burnt up. I had to tick something on the "complaint type" but none of the categories quite fit. I was told that this occurred because of oem battery failure causing this problem.. it was time for service but otherwise had no indication the battery was low. I accepted this and paid the $903.42 bill for new battery, brakes. This probably also included a regular basic service and oil change. Now I wonder if this is a part of a larger picture. And what indication could there be so this doesn't happen again. I was very fortunate that this was all that happened and that I was on an empty country road at the time. Thanks for listening.

- Maitland, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Prius. While driving approximately 35 mph the vehicle lost complete power, shut off and she had no control over the vehicle; however, she was able to restart it within five minutes. She took the vehicle to the dealer and was told that the vehicle needed a new battery which she purchased and installed. Two weeks later, the failure occurred again. She took the vehicle to a second dealer who performed a diagnostics test which a code produced cited that a brake problem occurred. She called the manufacturer and a representative stated that they would notify her. On 3 occasions, when the vehicle was parked, the lights would flash on and off then the horn would honk for about a minute. The vehicle had not been repaired to-date. The current mileage was approximately 57,000. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.

- Samson, AL, USA

Toyota Prius exterior lights shut down. This happens all of the time the car is driven. Hid headlights turn off without the driver knowing and then keeps on driving until they are struck or hit something. Other cars may not see this. This has occurred over 5000 times...

- Honolulu, HI, USA

I own a 2006 Prius with the high-intensity-discharge (hid) lamp option and have made an online report to you previously with no reply. When I asked the local Toyota dealer they said they had no recall or safety issue bulletins regarding the issue. I had a friend ask another friend who is a northeast Toyota dealer if he had heard anything about the issue. He sent Toyota document titled "2006 to 2009 model year Toyota hid headlight customer support program." Last week Toyota sent me the same document. The document places the blame on the hid head lamps, recommends turning the lights off during day time operation, etc. I am highly suspicious of their document and believe there is a more serious and potentially dangerous electrical problem involving the head lamps, etc. On a number of occasions the lighting system shut down completely (both head lamps mind you- not one) if the car was shut-off and again powered up the system restarted and the lights would come back on. Toyota claims it is a lamp issue. I don't believe it and think there is more serious electrical problem. It has happened to both my wife and I and in both cases we were placed in dangerous situations on the road. When it happened to me I heard a distinct click and all the lights went out. I happened to be on the interstate and took the first exit which to my dismay was not lit and I was totally in the dark. I had to open the door to see the white line marking the edge of the road and drive off the shoulder. Fortunately there was no traffic taking the same exit or there could have been an accident. A car did take the same exit at about 65 mph minutes after I got off the shoulder. I can only imagine the outcome had I not been able to quickly find the white line marking the shoulder. This has happened twice, and Toyota claims it is how the bulb act when they are at the end of their life. If it has just been one of the lamps and the rest of the system didn't shut down their version might be believable

- St Simons Island, GA, USA

2006 Toyota Prius headlights go out randomly creating an unsafe condition when driving at night. The headlight(s) will come on after turning off the switch. This has been a recurring problem since the vehicle was one year old. In one instance, both headlights went out which required and emergency stop. Both headlight have been previously replaced under warranty. The problem in now occurring most times the vehicle is operated at night.

- Finksburg, MD, USA

Passenger side head light goes out randomly. When the lights are turned off and then back on it will work for "some" period of time, could be seconds or days. Car has been taken to the dealership multiple times for diagnostics and alleged repairs yet the problem continues. Dealer has replaced bulbs & replaced some module within the circuitry. Continues to fail.

- Canby, OR, USA

About a year a go my passenger side headlight started turning on and off randomly on my 2006 Toyota Prius. I took my car to Toyota of berkeley I-80 junction service center to fix the problem. I was told that Toyota would be more than happy to do a full diagnostic on my car at the cost of $125 to see what the problem was but since my light was on at that time they did not think they could duplicate the problem. My passenger side headlight had been randomly turning off while I was driving and in order to get my light to turn back on I would have to stop my car, turn my lights off, then turn them back on, and occasionally this would correct the problem. Recently my headlight went out completely and I took my car to Toyota of dublin service center to have one of my headlights replaced. I was then shocked to learn that my car had hid lights that cost $400 per bulb plus labor to replace. My front bumper needed to be removed in order to get to the lights therefore it was not a simple job and would take a few hours to complete. Hearing this appalled me! when I purchased the car and the extended warranty I was never told anything about replacing the lights and how much it would cost. This is a ridiculous charge for lights that do not last three years. I believe that there is more wrong with this car than just a light that needed to be replaced. I feel that the faulty lights in the 2006 Toyota Prius are a safety hazard and need to be recalled. I am a single mother with two young children. I do not feel safe driving my car with my children, nor do I feel good about selling my car to an unknowing buyer, and I do not have the money to keep paying repair bills in the amount of $1000 or more to replace headlights! I am asking for an immediate recall of the 2006 Toyota Prius so this safety hazard can be corrected.

- Pleasanton, CA, USA

Issue: 2006 Prius with hid headlights work intermittently 1. events: No specific events leading up to the event other than regular driving and usage of the headlights 2. failure: The passenger-side headlight goes out every time I drive the car now and reduces night time visibility. 3. corrective action: I replaced the light bulb, but the issue still remains the same. From research online, it appears that this is a common issue with Prius models between the years 2004-2007 and is linked to defects in the control units.

- Hebron, KY, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Prius. When the roadways were slipper the vehicle would lose traction, and the engine would stall. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and a technician stated that only the 2010 models had a switch that would disengage for the traction control. The current mileage was approximately 60,000. The failure mileage was approximately 1,000. Updated 12/17/09. Updated 12/21/09

- Bodfish, CA, USA

I have 2006 Toyota Prius. I bought the car new. When it was about 2 years old, one taillight went out. When you tapped on the light, it would come back on. When it came back on it stayed on until I was traveling to Chicago at night and I noticed that people were passing me and pointing to the back of my car. I pulled off the next exit, and both of my taillights were out. My son replaced both of them when I got to Chicago and they have not gone out to date. Then, when the car was about 3 years old, someone told me that I had a headlight out. I replaced the headlight. Three months later. I got in my car one evening in town and did not notice (because the street lights were bright) that I had no headlights. I have since found out that this is a problem with many Prius and avalon models. This is a serious safety hazard. I am thankful that I was not 2 hours out of Chicago at night this time!

- Murray, KY, USA

2006 Toyota Prius hid headlight(s) are unexpectedly shutting off while driving. Lights come back on when lights are turned off and back on or if car is turned off and back on. This problem has been reported over 400 times to NHTSA already according to the Toyota Prius chat forum. Problem has been occurring for over a year now.

- Reston, VA, USA

I own a 2006 Prius with hid headlamps. One of the lamps has been intermittent for over well over 2 years. I have been to the dealer and have not been able to recreate the problem. When I do find out that the light is not operating, I simply turn off the lights and turn them back on and the lamp works. Not sure for how long, because I cannot see whether or not the light is working until I am behind a car where I can see the reflection.

- Sunnyvale, CA, USA

My headlights continue to fail, increasing number of times, I reported it when the car was under warranty they could not fix it. 20 times while driving home from the er with my grandchild at night last night both lights went out. How is this not a recallable safety issue" the dealers just charge you to replace light bulbs which does not solve the problem, so then it is not listed as a complaint to them. This problem is getting worst. Are you telling police in my area not to stop priuses because it is not a safety issue when they see us driving without a light or no headlights. Can I send this complaint to anyone else above your Agency" your form does not accept my VIN number.

- King Of Prussia, PA, USA

The hid headlights on my 2006 Prius intermittently go out. This happens without any pattern. The car canbe sitting in the driveway with the lights on and after a few minutes the one headlight will go out completely (both low and high beams) the only way to get it to come back on is by turning the lights completely off and back on. Most recently I was driving with low beams on, when I tried to turn on the high beams all lights went out - very dangerous. Upon returning to low beams only one light came back on. Turning the lights completely off and back on did reset the lights to work but not enjoyable while driving! there has not been any pattern to these events. There has been numerous reports on-line reporting similar issues with Prius hid headlights. This has been occurring on-and-ff since I purchased the car in January of 2008.

- Hershey, PA, USA

I have an intermittent driver's side headlight on my 2006 Prius. I have been stopped by the police for safety reasons and I am concerned as it goes out, without warning, at night. The frequencies is every few minutes of so. I must continually switch the lights off and back on to get the headlight working for a few minutes. Toyota knows of this problem but will not acknowledge it or fix it. The dealer knows of the problem but insists that I spend over $600 for a headlamp. (they later agreed to give me the lamp but want a $200 "deductible" to fix it.) I have been trying to get this fixed for over a year now but have had no results.

- Gaithersburg, MD, USA