I have a 2006 Prius and in the fall of 2007 the headlights started going out while I was driving. The problem was fixed by turning the headlight switch off and on. However, the problem persists. Sometimes the left will go out sometimes the right will go out and sometimes both at the same time which is extremely dangerous. After several trips to the Toyota dealership maintenance dept. They could not determine the problem and suggested that I purchase new headlights at $300 each not including labor. They couldn't guarantee that the bulbs were the problem but thought it was worth a try. I didn't like the idea. The headlights were less than 2 years old and hid lights are supposed to have a long life. I have seen where other owners of the Prius were having the same issue. When headlights go off while driving at night and the driver can't tell it is dangerous to everyone around. It is also a driving violation and will be a problem with annual inspections. Toyota should recall the headlight assembly unit and replace the faulty ones before someone gets seriously hurt.

- Indian Trail, NC, USA

2006 Toyota Prius, headlight failure after 45,000 miles with hid system. Light bulbs would intermittently fail (left bulb, right bulb, or both) randomly. Power off and on would return them, but period between turning off would vary. First time was at 10pm, could not figure out why the road was so dark on the freeway and then realized the headlights were out. Extended warranty did not want to pay full issue, Toyota says the hid lights were extinguished--later they said there was an issue with the controllers, but still did not admit fault. Car was 1yr 3mos old, with only 45K miles. Major safety issue that Toyota says is "normal" to occur. Extended warranty paid for hid controller replacement, Toyota reimbursed as "goodwill" for $600 headlight bulbs. If the system is faulty, they should fix it before someone gets hurt! I have found many Prius owners having the same issue, most of them 2006 models.

- Yorba Linda, CA, USA

Driver and passenger side hid lights turn off intermittently. To date, perhaps 20 or more times each, almost always separately, but simultaneously once. Frequency of failure increasing with time. Turning lights off and on resolves the issue temporarily.

- Winnetak, IL, USA

My passenger side headlight on my 2006 Toyota Prius fails after a few minutes of operation. It will be operative again when I turn the car back on, only to go out again. I have read in message boards on the internet that this is a common problem. I purchased an extended warranty, but it did not include the bulb, which also must be replaced. The bulb is over $300! the extended warranty covered approximately $650-- so the total cost is nearly $1,000!

- Alpharetta, GA, USA

Drivers side hid headlight flickers then goes out. If you turn off the headlights and turn them back on it re-ignites.

- Fernley, NV, USA

2006 Toyota Prius driver side hid headlight will intermittently go out. Manually turning both off and on will sometimes turn it on again, but sometimes not.

- Holliston, MA, USA

The drivers side (left) headlight will extinguish itself after being turned on and running for a varying amount of time. If, when this happens, I turn off the headlight switch and immediately turn it back on the light comes on as normal. The amount of time between these failures varies and does not seem to conform to a regular pattern however it has happened numerous times over the past month or so.

- Stafford, VA, USA

Periodically the right front xenon headlight goes out on my 2006 Prius. This has happened several times over the past 3 months. Had a diagnostic done at the dealership, but could not isolate the problem.

- Alexandria, PA, USA

My vehicle, 2006 Toyota Prius, the hid lights have been shutting off intermittently. It starts with the driver side light first, then after a few miles or minutes the passenger light shuts off also. Once I turn the light switch on and off, both the driver and passenger light resumes to normal. I reported the problem to the dealer for the first time (9/24/07), the dealer tried to replicate the problem but I was advised that they are not able to replicate the problem. I took my car again back to the dealer (2/25/08) since the hid headlights turning off while driving is now becoming unsafe for me and my family. I was advised by the dealer that both bulbs are needed to be changed but I have read enough of these cases online that replacing the bulbs does not resolve the problem, (priuschat.com/forums/care-maintenance-troubleshooting/34584-headlight-problem.html). I have also seen other Prius on the road that have the same problem like ours, in fact, my wife's sister bought an 07 Prius and it also showed the same problem. Pictures of the hid lights when intermittently off is available if needed.

- Vallejo, CA, USA

Both left and right headlights on my 2006 Prius intermittently failed, sometimes at the same time. Dealer replaced both. Now, less than one year after replacement, the left headlight assembly is doing the same thing. Incident date refers to the latest failure.

- Lakeland, FL, USA

Hid headlights would shut off while driving. Have to turn them off and back on to get them to work. Repair performed 02/23/2008 was to replace both headlight ECU assembly.

- Friendswood, TX, USA

Intermittent hid headlights.

- Milford, DE, USA

I own a 2006 Toyota Prius with hi-intensity headlamps. On several occasions the passenger-side lamp has gone off while I am driving. This is a dangerous situation (especially at night). I have just returned from the dealer, where they recommended replacing the bulb at a cost of $424.24! I have since done some web searching and I have found a 'pattern' of many 06 Prius owners with the same problem, or more severe, with both lights going out! from the dialog that I read on sites such as priuschat.com, it has been traced to several components of the Prius hid light system. There also is evidence of technical bulletins being generated through Toyota about this problem. This is clearly an emerging and dangerous situation of recall proportions. I urge you to investigate and act on this situation as soon as possible.

- Groveland, CA, USA

Drivers side hid headlamp fails while driving, can be restarted only by shutting off headlamps and restarting. Failure impairs nighttime vision.

- Southeastern, PA, USA

While driving at night in heavy fog on a single lane road, my right hid head light went out. By very quickly turning the headlight switch off then on, the headlight came back on and stayed on for the rest of my trip. If they did now come back on, I would undoubtedly had a crash.

- Long Valley, NJ, USA

Hid headlights on 06 Toyota Prius defective, go on and off intermittently, dealership unable to correct problem on reliable basis. Multiple other lights (parking/tail ect.) also going out.

- Casco, WI, USA

My passenger side hid headlight began to go out intermittently. Flicking the light off and on restarted it. On one occasion both went out at once while on the freeway in the rain---very scary. The dealer just changed the bulbs yesterday. The passenger side went out with in 10 minutes. When I flicked the lights on and off, it only stayed on for a few seconds. Then today, it was dusk driving home, and the divers side went out. I now have no light. This is a safety issue, especially since they go out so fast, are hard to replace and not readily available. I see from posts on the internet that many 2006 Prius with hid lights are having similar problems. My dealer is clueless on the cause.

- Lakewood, WA, USA

While driving the car, locally or long distance, one or the other of the headlights will just go out. Turning the lights off and on gets it to work again but this is dangerous at night while driving over a mountain pass while visibility is low due to precipitation such as rain or snow and it confuses other drivers.

- Port Orchard, WA, USA

When the lights are first turned on, there is a few seconds of full brightness, then dimming in the right light, and then after a minute or two, it goes out. It comes back on if you turn off the lights and then back on. I first noticed this around 40,000 miles. Many people have complained of similar problems here: priuschat.com/forums/care-maintenance-troubleshooting/34584-headlight-problem.html

- Pomona, CA, USA

Hid headlamp bulbs failed within weeks of each other and with less than one year of service on the vehicle. It took almost three weeks to get a replacement bulb after the first failure. During that time the second bulb failed while I was driving at night. After the bulbs were replaced I realized that the hid headlight "shutters" in the headlight assembly system intermittently failed to properly shift back to low beam from high beam. This problem occurs on the drivers and passenger side. This can result in blinding oncoming traffic and to avoid the problem I can only drive with low beams. Toyota advised that both headlight assemblies are defective and must be replaced. Toyota has not acknowledged that other 2006 Prius owners are having problems with their headlights although many customers have posted similar complaints on the internet.

- Peoria, AZ, USA