My 2006 Prius headlights have started flicking off while I'm driving, one or the other, or both at the same time. They will come back on if the lights are turned off, then back on, although they may go back out again in 1-2 seconds, or later. This problem has been reported by other people on the internet (see wiki.answers.com). It's dangerous because the lights go off while driving. The dealerships have not been able to identify the problem.

- Chittenango, NY, USA

I own a 2006 Toyota Prius. The front right headlight works only intermittently and now does not work.

- Aurora, IL, USA

Known failure of hid headlamps on 2006 Prius. The lights prematurely fail as found on priuschat.com over and over. My lights failed the same way with the passenger side light shutting off. Turning off then back on the headlamps cures the problem temporarily.

- Santa Rosa, CA, USA

Passenger headlight goes out while driving and will only work again if you turn off the headlights.

- Sacramento, CA, USA

2006 Toyota Prius headlight failure. Complete failure of the headlight system during nighttime operation. Requires emergency manual switching off and then on of light switch to reignite lights. Called Toyota and they did not indicate that this is a massive defect. Took it to dealer and they quoted expensive, exceeding $800 bulb replacements. My car is a commuter car and is beyond warranty. This failure has now occurred 5 times, during evening operation at speeds between 35 and 65, requiring emergency reaction.

- Aptos, CA, USA

Noticed Prius head lamp went out as we were driving. After stopping somewhere and restarting the car the headlight came back on. High beams worked fine. Replaced the bulb even though highbeam should be affected and light should not come back on if bulb is blown. Asked dealer to look at the headlight. They told us it was a common computer problem and they had seen this problem quite a lot, and it is expensive to fix. Due to limited funds we have not been able to repair this problem yet. The problem is occurring more frequently and we are going to have to fix it in order to drive in the dark.

- Spotsylvania, VA, USA

My hid headlights started burning out, one by one, before the mileage was 20,000. I was told, "probably bad lights." Now that the car (2006 Prius) is out of warranty, I am told that the problem (continuous headlight problems) is probably a "bad computer/controller". replacing this will cost over $900. There was no problem or mention while the car was under warranty (and I did ask them to check it, but they said it wasn't necessary). I have read about a number of people with the problem on Prius chat.

- Pacoima, CA, USA

Intermittent outage of 2006 Prius hid headlamps. This is a continous problem and did not occur on a single day.

- Mission Viejo, CA, USA

High intensity discharge headlights intermittently shut off. Switching off and back on temporarily resolves the issue.

- Stafford, VA, USA

Hid headlights fail after a variable amount of time. Failure varies from just one light (both passenger and driver side show symptom) to both lights failing at the same time. Current solution is to turn lights completely off and turn them back on. This solves the problem temporarily although the light(s) will eventually go out again. So far I have not crashed into anything once my headlight(s) fail but that is obviously a concern I now have when driving at night. Current repair recommendation is to replace both bulbs and ecus for ~$1000. The car is just over 2 years old and has 46,000 miles on it.

- Penfield, NY, USA

I own a 2006 Toyota Prius. The front headlight on the drivers side, which is an hid lamp, works only intermittently. There is no pattern as to when it works and doesn't, and often I do not know when the problem is occurring because I can't see the headlamp (unless I can see the reflection on the back of another car). Obviously, this is a safety concern. I took the car in for service at my dealer and they said that Toyota knows about the problem but refuses to fix it as a defect in the headlamp.

- Trabuco Canyon, CA, USA

At night, the hid headlights will go off. Sometimes its the left light, or the right light, or both lights will just go out. In order for me to see again, I have to turn my headlight switch off and then back on. This will turn the lights back on. Then they will go out again. This creates a very dangerous situation when both the lights go out at the same time.

- Dinuba, CA, USA

Headlights that arbitrarily shut off. One at a time or both at same time. Recycling the headlight switch returns the lights to normal. Happens more often in the cold. Dealers repair shop quotes $850 to replace the headlight assemblies.

- Seaford, DE, USA

Obne or both high intensity headlights will shut off at random and then when the headlight switch is turned off and back on both are again working normally. Then began to occur slightly after the 36,000 mile warranty limit in my 2006 Toyota priius but well inside the 36 month limit. Dealer has replaced both ECU units but now wants almost $800 to replace both hid headlights as they are non warranty items although he cannot say that they are in fact the issue. Have seen many instances of this identical issue on the same make/model of vehicle reported at the similar mileage level in various owner group discussions and internet listings.

- Jackson, WI, USA

2006 Toyota Prius with hid-style headlights. On multiple occasions, a headlight has gone out spontaneously. This has happened at least 10 times, and usually the driver's side headlight is affected. The headlight comes back on when the headlight switch is turned off then back on. I have also noticed occasional flickering of the intensity of a headlight. This problem creates a safety risk.

- Bel Air, MD, USA

I was pulled over last night by our local police and received a citation for a headlight being out. The officer informed me that my passenger side headlight was out and when I tried my highbeams, they too were not working. The officer continued to inform me that I had 72 hours to fix the problem and the citation would be wiped clean. So the following morning I proceeded to fix the headlight when to my surprise the headlight was working just fine when I powered the car up. I wanted to find any recalls on this matter but it seems that all there are is complaints. I was shocked to find just how many people have had the same problem.

- Daleville, AL, USA

The headlights go out on occasion when driving at night. Sometimes it is 2 or 3 a night, sometimes not at all.

- Chesapeake, VA, USA

As I see from 43 other complaints involving 2006 Toyota Prius models, I'm not alone, and that doesn't count the owners who have not filed complaints about the hid (high intensity discharge) headlights that go dark for no apparent reason. In my case, it's usually the left lamp that goes out, which can always be restored by turning the headlight switch off and on again. The only problem is on city streets with ample ambient light, the driver doesn't always know the light has shut down. Separate from the nuisance factor here, how long before these lights stop working altogether, perhaps on some dark road at night, miles away from the nearest sign of humanity? on the Prius chat blogs, one owner said his headlights were fixed when a dealer installed a new hid controller. My dealership wants me to put this repair in under my extended warranty, which will force me to lose about 1100 dollars in rebate money at the end of the warranty term. (no claims = all but 50 dollars of 1150 returned at end of covered period). Needless to say, I'm saving that for something bigger. More importantly, Toyota needs to fix these headlights problems for all owners, especially those who've already been tricked into paying for them -- they are safety issues, not regular maintenance issues.

- Gainesville, VA, USA

On our 2006 Prius, the headlights will randomly turn off. You must cycle to headlight switch to off and then back again to on to get them to work again. It happens to both headlights.

- Hillsboro, ND, USA

Drivers side headlight burn out.

- Grosse Pointe Park, MI, USA