Toyota Prius 2007 with hid lights. One or the other headlight randomly turns off, but to the driver they are unaware unless both turn off at the same time. Toyota dealer replaced bulb twice but problem persisted. Finally the service manager who is also a friend of mine, told me the problem is in one of the circuit boards and he replaced it. That was 5 months ago and it has been fine since then. Toyota, this should be widely known by all your dealers and fixed.

- Oroville, WA, USA

Hid headlights flicker out intermittently and randomly. Turning the lights on and off again turns the offending light back on - this on/off procedure is required 1 time every 5-10 minutes. Sometimes both bulbs go out at the same time. Sometimes one or the other goes out only once during a 20 minute trip. Sometimes they go out 10 times during a 20 minute trip. Changing the light bulbs didn't solve the problem.

- Lakeport, CA, USA

I am about to replace the second headlight on my 2007 Prius at a cost of approximately $600. The headlight, which costs approximately $175, has repeatedly failed which failure is apparently caused by a defect in the design and construction of the headlight. This is a serious safety hazard which Toyota should replace immediately. In addition the car is designed so that the front bumper has to be removed in order to replace the headlight (a labor cost of approximately $400). The cost alone is somewhat of a deterrent to replacing the headlight.

- Somis, CA, USA

The third headlight bulb has just failed on my 2007 Toyota Prius...I've had it! under 60,000 miles! 3 bulbs? ridiculous.

- Montrose, PA, USA

Toyota Prius hid headlights go out intermittently. If you power them off and then on again, sometimes they'll work. Since they go out without warning and irregularly, it's impossible to tell if they are actually on or off while driving. Toyota technicians refuse to replace headlight if it is working when they test, leading to false sense of security on the part of the driver.

- San Jose, CA, USA

There is a headlight safety issue with the Toyota Prius. It is hard to identify when you are driving the vehicle because the lights turn on, but they do not stay on. So when you start your car and turn on the lights they both start on. However intermittently there is a trigger that causes the lights to go out. Sometimes it is the passenger light, sometimes it is both the passenger and driver headlights.sometimes they don't ever turn off. This has been going on for about a year and took this long to figure out. The problem is there is always "some" light coming from another light source around the headlights so when driving, you see that there is some light on the road, tricking you into thinking you have both headlights when you really don't. this is a huge safety problem, especially driving in rural mountain areas. When this started happening, since I had some light on the road, I thought it was my eyes or health and went to the eye doctors, etc. Not my eyes - it's the car. It is interrmittent and because there was some light on the road I thought it was my vision not the headlights. When the lights do this you have a hard time seeing curves in the dark etc. It is harder to detect in city driving which we do mostly. We did receive a letter frm Toyota about the headlights indicating some people had problems with the headlights and Toyota erroneously charged them for the switch and they would be reimbursed. However, it did not describe the problem the same way it happens so we didn't think there was an issue. There are many people on the internet reporting this serious safety issue and Toyota is considering this regular maintenance and wants everyone to pay for it themselves. This should be a recall notice describing exactly what happens and they should pay to fix it. I'm putting the appx date it started, but I have been documenting the light behavior in detail the last few days. There are more reports of this problem on the internet.

- Cypress, CA, USA

My 2007 Toyota Prius headlamps on the passenger side burned out at 50000 miles then a month later the driver side burned out. After paying $275 for each new headlight to be replaced the passenger side has burnt out again with only 30000 miles usage. I purchased the car to save money on the fuel mileage but end up saving nothing due to service work on replacing headlamps.

- Tallassee, AL, USA

Driver side hid headlight repeatedly goes out while driving. Have to stop vehicle and turn lights off and then back on to make them work again. Dealer wants $700-$1,000 to replace parts without knowing if that will fix problem. Car only has 46,627 miles.

- Moscow, ID, USA

I have a 2007 Toyota Prius with hid headlights, 54,000 miles. Today, (7/26/2010) I had the headlight bulbs changed for the 3rd time, under warranty. First time Jan. '09, 2nd time, Aug. '09, and now, July '10. First time was under vehicle warranty; dealer said replacements had 1 year warranty, so the last 2 times were covered. They go out at random. Today, one of the bulbs was shattered. My own observation: These lights are so bright, that when one goes out, you don't even notice, (until you get pulled over by the police). This is an ongoing Toyota Prius problem, is not safe, and a recall should be initiated. This is my 3rd contact to NHTSA on this issue.

- Green Bay, WI, USA

The car was used very rarely and headlights were rarely turned on. The driver side headlight turned off on its own and could be turned on again by flipping headlights switch off then on again. It would then turn off shortly again thereafter. A night drive in yosemite proved to be quite frightening with this happening over and over. I complained to Toyota while my car was still under warranty and they denied the problem because they could not reproduce it. Shortly thereafter, the company sent a letter to all Prius owners confirming the problem. It's disappointing to see that Toyota knew about it yet denied it completely. When the letter came out, my car was no longer under warranty. The product was defective because it's lifespan had nothing to do with the amount of time it was used. I think to say the headlight flickers is incorrect-it shuts off completely and sporadically.

- San Francisco, CA, USA

The hid headlight on the passenger side of my Prius is starting to flicker and go on and off. The bulb is supposed to last 10 years but it's been only 3 years since I bought the car. The bulb or headlight electronics is defective but I've been told it could cost up to $1,000 to repair. It seems this is happening to a lot of Prius owners.

- Carmel, NY, USA

The headlights in my 2007 Prius turn off without notice. Sometimes a single headlight will go out, sometimes both will. There have been several occasions where I have found myself in total darkness while driving. I am able to get the headlights to come back on by turning the headlight off/on lever. The headlights always go out within the first minute or two of starting the vehicle, and continue to randomly go off as I drive. The car was taken to the dealer for repair. The lights went out at the repair shop as is noted in the invoice. Both headlight bulbs were replaced at a cost of $345. (part # toy 90981-20029) it took 3 labor hours to replace these bulbs for which I was charged an additional $295. The invoice states: "H.I.D. ballasts and wires with connections are ok at this time." The Toyota service advisor stated that they were having problems with the original bulbs and they now use a different bulb, however nothing was covered by a recall. While no accident occurred in our vehicle due to headlight failure, there was a significant possibility of an accident. There are many reports on the internet by other Prius drivers of this same problem.

- Trabuco Canyon, CA, USA

I own a 2007 Toyota Prius ; for the past 6 months my hid headlamps spontaneously turn off, and I need to turn the light switch to off then back on again, for them to re-light. This week it happened on a dark country road and I suddenly had no lights at all. Thank goodness there were no cars or pedestrians on the road at that time and there was no damage. I brought it to my local Toyota dealer today and they say my lamps have burned out and need replacement, to the tune of $550.

- Gloucester, MA, USA

2007 Toyota Prius headlight failure. This is my second complaint. Problem has existed sine 2008. How long will it take for action" you have over 400 complaints on this issue. It is a real problem, and unsafe. Will someone need to be killed"

- Petersburg, VA, USA

Intermittent hid driver side headlight off while driving. Recovers with restart of engine and/or turning headlights off and on again. When on it is dimmer than the passenger side light.

- Lancaster, OH, USA

There has been repeated failure of one or both headlights suddenly going off without warning. This has occurred numerous times under all driving conditions - local, highway, good weather and bad. There is no apparent action that causes the headlight failure. Sometimes it is either headlight and other times both lights will fail. It is not a complete electrical failure in that the car still operates and the dash board stays lit. There was a burning odor after the last incident, but no fire. The car was shut off for a few minutes, restarted and driven away.

- Northvale, NJ, USA

2007 Toyota Prius with hid headlamps. Light works intermittently, turns itself off and on without any input from the driver. Cost of replacement bulb is obscenely high and the procedure of changing the bulb is prohibitive for an average car owner. The replacement bulb appears to have the same problem. I have other make of car with hid bulbs without any problem at all.

- Norwich, NY, USA

2007 Toyota Prius 30,000 miles. Individual hid headlights spontaneously turns off. Will come back on if we turn lights off completely and then turn back on.

- Poland, OH, USA

The drive side headlight randomly goes out while driving. Turning the headlights off and then back on will resolve the problem. This happens many times a month. Last occurrence was yesterday.

- Quincy, MA, USA

Condensation in 2007 Prius headlamp for 6 months. I have a platinum extended warranty in effect. Toyota will not repair or replace the defective headlamp under the warranty & will not acknowledge responsibility for an obvious manufacturer defect that according to internet research is a very common problem in Toyota vehicles.

- Redlands, CA, USA