Defective hid headlights of Prius by Toyota. My 2008 Toyota Prius hid left side headlight began fading, intermittently ceasing and eventually ceased completely around 2nd week of July, 2009. The 100K mile bumper to bumper platinum extended warranty on the vehicle purchased from the Toyota dealer when I bought the car would not cover this replacement. So, I had to pay $325 dollars on July 24th to replace it. That evening, the right side hid headlight began having the same gradual failure and it's now working weakly and intermittently. Another $325 dollars will be needed to pay for it and I don't have it. For months, I have observed other Prius with 1 headlight out and this is obviously a defective product. Please investigate, punish and mandate a recall from Toyota.

- Clifton, VA, USA

Passenger side hid headlight failure on 2008 Prius touring model. The light failed suddenly while driving at night. It flickers when turning the headlight switch off then on again but does not reilluminate. Mileage is 30.

- Houston, TX, USA

2008 Toyota Prius headlight(s) turn off without warning. Over the past three months, the passenger headlight turns off anytime from 2-30 minutes after being turned on. Sometimes the driver headlight will turn off. On one occasion, the remaining light turned off, leaving me in the dark! luckily, I was in a 30mph zone with street lights. That's when I discovered that turning the lights off and on somehow resets them. Internet reports indicate that this is a common problem with hid headlights on the Prius. It's a safety issue, as my local police have twice informed me.

- Westford, MA, USA

The driver's side hid headlight system malfunctions (light goes out) approximately 30-60 seconds after vehicle startup. The passenger side hid headlight system failed (replaced) nine months ago.

- Alma, MI, USA

2008 Toyota Prius driver's side headlight goes out unexpectedly while driving. The headlight comes back on if the headlights are turned off and back on again. This has been occurring nearly daily since May 2009. Problem occurs on both smooth and bumpy roads and at different speeds.

- Zion, IL, USA

Both front headlamps intermittently fail. Turning the lights on and off fixes it for a short while. It is dangerous to drive without knowing if the lights are on at night.

- Los Altos, CA, USA

2008 Toyota Prius hid headlight failure. Vehicle was purchased new 2nd week of April 2008 and has less than 7,500 mi on odometer. Driver side hid headlight failed on the evening below without warning while on highway. Worked intermittently but dim, between June 22nd till replaced on 6/29 under warranty.

- San Francisco, CA, USA

2008 Toyota Prius. Hid headlight dims or goes out. Turning lights off and back on restores headlight. There are numerous reports of this problem on priuschat.com as well as other places. This is a safety issue for night driving.

- Worcester, MA, USA

My 2008 Toyota Prius headlights go out intermittently while driving. Sometimes one light, sometimes both. I will turn the lights off and turn them back on and they will both work for varying periods of time before one or both go out again. Extremely difficult to duplicate for the service personnel.

- Westminster, MD, USA

Drivers side hid headlight flickers and dies. Can cycle power and comes on for 5 sec and dies.

- Silverdale, WA, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that the bulbs blow out each month in the headlights and tail lights. The bulbs were replaced three times each. The current mileage was 91,000 and failure mileage was 3,000.

- Paintrock, TX, USA

My 2008 pruis head lights have been going off at night. It is very dangerous because there is no warning at all. After turning the light control on and off they will come back on. The dealership told me I needed new bulbs at $259 each. I told them the bulbs were working and on and will come back on. After I told him reading about all the problems on the internet he told me to contact Toyota. Haven't heard from the as of yet.

- Gainestown,, AL, USA

Passenger headlight went out on our 2008 Prius in March 2009. Since the car is still under warranty, the dealership replaced the headlight. The service manager told us that if we see even a "flicker" to come back in and have it replaced again before our warranty runs out. On May 26, 2009, the driver side light went out. We will be taking it in to have it replaced as well.

- Camarillo, CA, USA

Left headlight goes out, usually after the car has been on for a minute. Usually it stays out for the entire time the car is on. The right headlight also went out once, requiring me to drive with just the dim flood lights, but it came back on a day later and has stayed on. This is a major safety issue when even one light goes out, and is intermittent, but to have both lights go out while driving at night is very dangerous. Since it is intermittent, I would have to say this is a defect and not just the bulb burning out.

- Waller, TX, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. In November of 2008, the passenger side headlight bulb blew out. The bulb was replaced. In April of 2009, the driver's side headlight bulb blew out and was also replaced. Currently, both headlights are working, but the contact believes that the failures could recur. The failure mileage was 25,000. Updated 06/09/09 updated 06/09/09.

- Northport, AL, USA

My 2008 Prius passenger headlamp intermittently fails to light. It is usually not working, but sometimes after turning the on/off switch a few times, it works for a period. When it fails, my headlights do not illuminate the road correctly, causing a very unsafe situation. I have received a warning from local police. I have not attempted to fix this yet, but after reading through this, www.hybridcars.com/forums/replacing-headlight-bulb-T910.html, forum, I decided to file a complaint.

- Robbinsville, NJ, USA

I have a 2008 Toyota Prius and the headlights do not work properly. They go out, then turn back on. This is a safety issue that Toyota needs to take care of.

- Everett, WA, USA

Nothing leading up to the event of the failure of the headlamps going off while driving. I will be driving my vehicle on the road, and the lights will turn off; both headlamps, and while I can turn the switch off, then on again to make them operational again, they just turn right back off at random. This now occurs every time I use the vehicle. This is very dangerous. This is an accident waiting to happen, and manufacture does not warranty what the dealer claims is a faulty computer. The vehicle is currently at the dealer as I am in contact with Toyota to cover expenses as I cannot afford $1000 in replacement repairs.

- Fort Collins, CO, USA

I own a 2008 Toyota Prius. I have, within the past two days, experienced the failure of one of the hid headlights. It is my understanding that the Prius has been experiencing premature failure of the hid lights. My car is just over a year old with 44,000 miles on it. I believe the headlights going out, not staying on, or failing prematurely is certainly a safety issue. I drive home from work each night in the dark and have decide the Prius is now a 'daytime' only vehicle since it cannot be trusted to keep headlights on a dark, wooded highway at night. This is an accident waiting to happen. I believe it is time to have Toyota own up to their problem with the premature failure of these bulbs. Hid are expected to last somewhere in the vicinity of 3000-5000 hours, even with my high mileage, my hid have less than 1000 hours on them. There is obviously something more to this than just bulb failure and it is plainly dangerous and should not wait for someone to be injured!

- Manchester, NH, USA

I have a 2008 Toyota Prius, package 6 model that I bought December 27, 2008. The car has about 23,000 miles on it. Beginning in mid-February 2009, the left headlamp started going on and off. About two weeks ago, the right headlamp began doing the same thing. When I start the car, both headlamps will be on and on most drives, one of the headlamps will go out. If I turn the lights off and then back on, the headlamp will usually come back on for a bit (though sometimes it looks very weak) before going out again. Sometimes the headlamp will come back on by itself when I am driving. On some drives (usually short ones) neither headlamp will go out. The left (driver side) headlamp does this much more frequently than the right. I'm concerned about being stopped for having a headlight out and that both lights may go out at the same time (they haven't yet). Since the headlamp keeps coming back on, I don't think that replacing it will fix this issue.

- Fairfax, VA, USA