PriusOnline.com

KTPhil,

What is the name of your dealer? You can PM me if you prefer. I find it interesting that one dealer is well aware of the issue and is ordering parts while other dealers and Toyota, are taking a step by step repair approach which involves repeated $300 labor bills (i.e removing the entire bumper) for essentially "plug n play" part exchanges could and apparently should be done all at once.

I'll PM the dealer after the work is done. This dealer may well eb charging me the "remove bumper" charge unnecessarily, and even charging me the bulb replacement work incorrectly, since the covered replacement of the controller already does much of the labor. I'll give them a chance to resolve these questions before naming them. So far they have been cooperative, especially since I mentioned that I knew the process of appealling to Toyota to get it covered, which they also have experienced.

My SA says that Toyota is planning on releasing a technical bulletin soon.. so they say.

I'm only at page 5 of this thread, so forgive me if I am repeating someone.
But one did mention that moisture was discovered in the assembly. Perhaps this may be causing the issue? You could replace ECUs and bulbs til the cows come home, but if moisture is getting in there, it could damage either the ECU, the bulb, both, or at least just make them look bad.
Even changes in temperature causing dew condensation could increase moisture.

But then I am only speculating, trying to throw possibilities out there. I have a 2004 with 105.5K miles on it and I don't appear to have this problem. But then, I might not notice it if only one went out.
Interesting enough, I have been flashed twice this week. I believe though it is because the oncoming driver thinks I am on high beams. I flash back to inform him that I am not.
Too bad we can't tell each other why we are flashing. Could even be for a marker light being out.

Moisture was not an issue for me.

With repsect to oncoming drivers thinking your brights are on, you should check your headlight assemblies to make sure that they are operating properly. The "shutters" on my car do not work properly and I am working with Toyota regarding replacments. It is difficult to tell when driving when they are working right or sticking on high. The best way I found to tell is to pull up next to the garage door or a wall and shift from low to high and back.

I dunno about not noticing my headlight being off.. the first time it happened BOTH HEADLIGHTS were off at 10pm at night.. I panicked, because I noticed while on the freeway just after passing a construction area (which was well lit) and then into complete darkness. I was scared out of my wits and confused. I thought I had forgotten to turn the headlights on (but recall turning them on in the parking lot of the airport..).

Since my 2006 has HID.. I can majorly tell when one light is off.. particularly when I used to drive to Palm Springs (no real cities alongside the highway for a huge stretch of road, so light from the headlights is majorly important).. and of course noticed when I'd come up to a car and only see one reflection.

Ah well.. it wasn't so bad if one or the other was out.. but the few times that BOTH went out, scared the crap out of me.. and it did it several times during a late night drive back from Vegas.

No problems since the fix yet, which was performed around 50K miles after issues started at 45K (can't recall the exact mileage.. I'm sure it's here somewhere when they changed it).. at 67K miles.. I'm sure we'll see anything in the next year if the problem occurs ~ 45-50K interval marks.

I too have a 2006 Prius and is experiencing the HID lights issue of going off and coming back on. I was told by a Toyota employee that a bulletin came out regarding this and the problem maybe the lights computer. Apparently each headlight has it's own computer.

I'm trying to find a way to change out the HID connector in order to use standard headlight bulb. $300.00 for an HID bulb is robbery.

Stats as of 2/15/08:
Between POL and PC, there are 32 separate owners reporting the same HID problem.
There are 34 NHTSA complaints about '05 and '06 Prius HID light failures.
There are 5 case numbers posted in threads so far, including mine today (200802150323). I am promised an answer about a possible "case-by-case goodwill" reimbursement by Wednesday next week.

so far no tsb's.

the repair manual, which is what most techs are going to use as a guide to doing the repair, indicates bumper cover removal to change out the hid computer. it can be done by just dropping the bumper forward if you are careful and you know what you're doing. but if your tech doesn't know what he's doing, you don't want him doing it that way.

(Pardon, but this an edited repost from it's own thread so as to share '07 experience with '06 owners)

Much has been written here about HID (High Intensity Discharge) headlights failing.
Toyota seems to recognize that there is a bad batch of bulbs installed in '07 models.
Mine failed at 30,000 mi of continuous burn driving; The symptom was: Either or both lamps flickering after 5 to 15 minutes of on-time, followed by offness. Cycling the headlamp switch restarts the light(s) and the symptom cycle.
My dealer had the bulbs in stock, and dealt with the problem with professional bearing, but with slightly imperfect technical expertise. (One of the bulbs wasn't seated properly, and the wheel well trim wasn't fully snapped in place... The tech quickly addressed both concerns.)
Pending a recall byToyota, it is important to look for the symptom (there is no 'lamp failure' icon in the dash), and to have both lamps replaced prior to the 35,000 mile standard warranty expiration.
The suspicion is that the bulbs were manufactured with impure gas or with gas at the wrong pressure. I would like to know where the claim about bulb life came from, as it was a deciding factor for me. If the claim was unsupported by actual tests of bulb life, I will be very disappointed. If bulb life of correctly manufactured HID bulbs is not significantly longer than filaments, I will be doubly disappointed and may have to resort to dissatisfaction.

Just a note (found elsewhere here and elsewhere on the web) that the '04/'05 cars use a D2R bulb, while the slightly restyled (with the row of "fake LEDs") '06/'07/'08 units use the mercury-free D4R bulbs. They cannot be interchanged.

I to had this problem. Now they are telling me my sensor arm (under the car) has been bent and it will cost me just over $600 to fix. I am out of warranty as I have about 75,000 miles on my car.

Take a look and see if it really bent. The units sometimes failed due to a faulty seal at the factory, and this might really be the problem. It can often be cleaned and repaired, and it is a known problem the dealer might even cover (unlikely).

I got a call yesterday that Toyota Corp is going to goodwill the bulb costs, leaving me with the cost of the hour of labor to replace the bulbs once the assemblies are already removed for the controller replacement. Check should arrive in two weeks. It took some complaining and multiple calls, but they are stepping up and (between the x-warranty and the goodwill $) covering all but about $85 of this escapade.

When I get details I'll post them, but the motto is to hang in there and point out the multiple cases and multiple fed filings by owners to the NHTSA, and point out is a QUALITY problem-- Toyota dearly wants to keep its rep and this has a lot to do with it. I also had all the docs, and had the dealer do other work, which showed I was a conscientious owner and hadn't abused or neglected the car.

Yeah, I told customer care that if they really wanted me to pay for it, that would be fine so long as they stated in WRITING that it was normal for HID headlights to fail after 45K miles regardless of time elapsed (1y 3m). Not to mention, had they NOT done the reimbursement, I wouldn't have minded spending my weekends with a copy of the signed documentation at the dealerships informing said pre-buyers--you know, get my $600 (the cost of the bulbs that wasn't covered by extended warranty) worth.

Honestly, if I had seen a written statement from Toyota saying that the HID lights would fail at 45K miles and would cost me $1000 to replace, and I was the one confronted at the dealership.. I wouldn't buy the car. Maybe I'm just evil.

All the headlight issues aside.. I <3 my car.