The headlights work intermittently with no indication from inside the vehicle that one is not working. I have had the vehicle checked three times, and the only thing that was fixed was a rear taillight bulb. The non-working headlights have been pointed out to me by security guards in the parking garage, and last week I was pulled-over by a New Jersey state patrol officer because one of the headlights was out. The only way to get them on again is to turn the car off, and then restart it. It has now become a safety hazard for myself, passengers, and other drivers. Toyota's response has been that if I notice them not working, bring the car in with the lights still out, and then they can try to track down the problem. The approximately 5 times I have been told about, or noticed the outages have been as I drove into my office or later at night when the dealer is closed, or out of town on the turnpike. This solution is merely an avoidance by the dealer to replace a known defect.

- Clifton, VA, USA

The headlights individually go out sporadically. When the car is turned off, and turned back on again, the headlights work. Usually, its the left headlight but has also been the right. Replacement of the left headlight did not correct the problem. Today, the "ECU's and hid bulbs" were replaced. Don't yet know if this corrects the problem. I have heard of others with this issue and am concerned that there should be a recall. Losing headlights is dangerous.

- Woodside, CA, USA

I have a 2006 Toyota Prius, package 6. the passenger side front headlight intermittently turns off while the vehicle is in motion. There are no specific antecedents. The headlight may stay on or may not during any time driving. If I turn off the headlights and turn them back on, the aforementioned headlight will come back on and stay on. Or not. Again, there is no way to tell when this will happen. I have reviewed the discussion boards and this appears to be a known problem among several Prius drivers. Toyota has no tech sheets or recalls on this issue. They say to bring it in and they will check it out, but since it is an intermittent problem, it is impossible to predict whether the problem will occur during an appointment/diagnostic time. This is a safety issue, particularly at night, and I am certainly at risk of getting a fix-it ticket for it. However, I am having trouble "fixing" something that manifests so unpredictably. I am wondering if there are other complaints about this problem with the Prius? I first noticed this problem in 1/2008, at about 35,000 or 36,000 miles, just after the warranty period expired.

- Modesto, CA, USA

Headlights go out intermittently, usually when the car goes over a bump in the road. Turning the headlights off and back on, usually corrects the problem until the next bump. Have taken the car to two different Toyota dealerships. First one said that because the car is out of warranty, Toyota is not willing to cover the cost, said to be $1800 to replace both headlight assemblies. Second Toyota dealer also said that Toyota would not cover the cost, said to be $850 to replace only the headlight bulbs.

- Grafton, WI, USA

I have a 2006 Toyota Prius with 35,543 miles on it. The driver's side headlight intermittently goes off. I will be bringing it to the dealer today.

- Weymouth, MA, USA

While driving my 2006 Toyota Prius, package #8, the headlights will go out intermittently. They can either go out one at a time or both at the same time. This started a few months ago with about 30,000 miles on the card. I am currently at aprox. 35,000 miles on the car. I can get the light(s) to come back on by turning them fully off and back on again. This will usually keep the lights on for the rest of my trip, short or long, in most cases. But there are times that they lights will go out again and I will need to turn them off and back on to get them to work again. I have not taken the car to the dealer yet, I am in the process of finding the time to do this. I have read online that this seems to be more than an isolate problem related to only my vehicle.

- Darien, IL, USA

Headlight failure.

- Rockville, MD, USA

I have an issue with the headlight (hid) on my 2006 Toyota Prius. I have discovered that I am not the only one. One headlight will go out, and if I turn it off and then back on it will come back on. The dealer told me I need to replace the bulb - for ~$725. The hid headlights are supposed to last the life of the car. However, the bulb is not under warranty (I have the extended super duper deluxe warranty). So I have to pay this out of pocket. Now if the bulbs were regular bulbs - I would just replace them. If this was not such a common problem, I would not be complaining. The issue seems to be widespread, and thus I believe this is a manufacturing defect that should at least be covered under my warranty - if not deserving of a recall.

- Kingston, NY, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Prius. While driving at an unknown speed, the front headlights would shut off without warning. The vehicle was taken to a dealer twice and they suggested that the contact replace the headlights for $500 per piece. The current mileage was 70,000 and failure mileage was 30,000.

- Springfield, MO, USA

We started having an intermittent problem with the driver's side headlight on our 2006 Prius. It would go out for no apparent reason. If we turned the lights off and back on, most of the time it would come back on, but not always. We asked our dealer to check it out for a possible "short" during a regular oil change. They said that they could find nothing wrong with it. On July 11, we brought it to a different Toyota dealer and got them to check it out. They said it was the bulb that needed to be replaced and charged us $427.99 to replace it!!! they had to remove the bumper to replace the bulb! I immediately got online and emailed Toyota. I let them know how ridiculous it was to charge $320 for a light bulb and then build a car that had to have the bumper removed to change the light bulb! I also said that I would not assume that a light bulb is burned out if it comes on most of the time. How did they know that it was the bulb and not some wiring or other problem? just a few days later, I got a call from Toyota saying they were investigating and wanted all of the details from me. Then yesterday, Toyota called me and told me that they were mailing me a check for the full cost of $427.99!

- Prairieville, LA, USA

The hid headlights on the vehicle randomly go off (both sides, but independently). Toyota has replaced both headlight assemblies at different times and the control module under warranty. Turning the headlights off and then back on again returns both lights to being on. This occurs at least once a week that we can notice. We are now out of warranty and Toyota indicates we will have to pay for all diagnostics and repair.

- Silverado , CA, USA

The headlight on my 2006 Toyota Prius (passenger side) failed just as the warranty ran out. It was an intermittent issue so it was hard to have it occur when it was in the shop. My dealer split the parts/labor with me, which I appreciated. Now my driver side headlight is intermittent off/on. After reading other Toyota owners complaints it appears to be a common problem.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

2006 Toyota Prius headlight system is faulty...numerous consumers having problem with intermittent headlight operation on relatively new vehicles. This is a manufacturer fault, not an owner/operator problem.

- Chesapeake, VA, USA

When driving my 2006 Toyota Prius before dawn, the hid headlights failed. I turned the light switch off, then back on, and the lights came back on. The security guard at my place of work had told me before that one of my headlights were out when I entered the parking lot, but when I turned the car back on, the lights were both working. This is an obvious intermittent, but serious defect. Having researched this problem on the various Prius chat boards on the web, this is obviously a widespread issue with the hid headlights on the 2006 Prius. I would hope that no one has to be seriously injured or die before the NHTSA forces Toyota to address this problem.

- Sevierville, TN, USA

The hid headlight problem started about a year ago on my 2006 Toyota Prius. I noticed that the right headlight went out as I was trying to drive around a cloverleaf at 5:20 am. I did not discover until later that I could turn off the lights and turn them back on and it will come back on. At first it was so intermittent that when I took it into the dealer for service they could not get it to go out. In the last two weeks I have to turn it off and on repeatedly as I travel to my job in the early am. I took it into another dealer when the light was out so they could decide how to fix it and they told me to turn the car off. I was sure that within the hour that they had to look at it that it surely would go out for them, but the service man told me that they could not get it to go out. I have now scheduled to take it back to leave it for a day so they can trouble shoot it. My car is no longer covered because I have 57,000 miles on it.

- Overland Park, KS, USA

For many months, left (usually) or right headlight goes off while driving without warning. Turning the light switch off and then back on causes the faulty light to come back on. Sometimes it will stay on for hours, sometimes for less than a minute before I have to repeat the switch off/on maneuver. Dealer says its the bulb ($362). How can it be the bulb if it goes back on when the switch is toggled? from what I see online this headlight problem is common with Prius.

- Raymond, NH, USA

The driver's side headlight (hid) goes out while driving every time we drive the car. Turning the switch on and off restarts the bulb but only for a minute or two. We have been stopped by police twice but so far have only received warnings. The car has 40,000 miles and is not covered by the warranty and we did not purchase the extended warranty, the bulbs cost about $409 to replace because the bulb costs $316 or so. We have chosen not to incur this expense and are unable to drive the car at night. I currently have a case number with Toyota experience and they are researching the problem. Priuschat.com has a lengthy thread on "headlight problem." After reading a Toyota tsb (see below) I wonder if my 2006 Prius, (accepted delivery 1-1-2006) contained 2004 or 2005 bulbs. A Toyota technical service bulletin T-sb-0030-08 rev1 April 11, 2008 states the following on the bottom of the second page. Note: The hid bulb and hid ECU service parts for 2004 - 2005 model year are not compatible with 2006 and later model year vehicles. Installing a 2004 or 2005 model year hid bulb or hid ECU on a 2006 or later model year vehicle may cause an intermittent operation/flickering of the hid bulb.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

About 6 mos. Ago the left headlight would turn off for no reason. It would come back on when I turned the switch off and then on. I took it to the dealer and they could not replicate the problem. Now the same thing is happening to both lights at the same time. This has happened on pitch black roads for no apparent reason - the lights just go out. An obvious safety issue! I have since taken the car in and am told that both lights along with their motors and computers need to be replaced at the cost of $800 a piece!

- Sheboygan, WI, USA

Intermittent headlights for which I have been ticketed. The dealership agrees that there is a problem with the headlights in my 2006 Prius and agrees to pay for the parts (2 headlight bulbs @~$370 each) but not for the labor which is over $300 plus diagnostic fees. The dealership informed me that the headlight which came on my Prius was found to have a problem and because of this, is no longer being used. But, from what I have read on the internet, I am not the only 2006 Prius owner with this problem and many have spent thousands of dollars trying to fix this issue without success. Why must I pay to have this repaired when the dealership has agreed that there is a problem with this specific type of headlamp. I even have been ticketed for this problem...just icing on the cake!!!!

- Sidney, NE, USA

2006 Toyota Prius headlight problem... passenger light comes on initially then fades out and turns off. Resetting the switch turns the light back on only to repeat the process!!! bottomline, the headlight will not stay on!

- Reno, NV, USA