2011 Toyota Prius headlight problems

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

Attached is a report from the Florida Attorney General's project office. Vehicle front headlight bulbs burn out prematurely and frequently and without warning causing reduced visibility at night on dark roads. This is a common and on-going problem for Toyota and other manufacturers and me. Toyota recognized this and issued its own recall ending in 2019, but my car was missed. The 'fix' for me is advice that I should drive my car with high beams on, but in bad weather or on-coming traffic this fix is also a safety hazard. My fear is that one night both bulbs will go out and I will be unable to see the roadway. My car is available for inspection. Constantly replacing bulbs has been and continues to be an expensive issue.

NHTSA complaint #11629190 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

The low-beam headlamps on thousands of 2011 Toyota Priuses were burning out very prematurely (a matter of weeks, not months). Toyota Corporate said they created a customer support program to replace the headlight wiring harness free of charge, but this program ended in 2019. I believe that Toyota should be compelled to issue a recall to replace the wiring harnesses on all 2011 Toyota Priuses, because working headlights are a critical component of a safely traveling vehicle. The cost of replacing the wiring harness is more than $700, a real dent in a working family's budget. For now, we are replacing the burned-out bulbs. However, we believe a recall initiated by NHTSA is warranted in this case.

NHTSA complaint #11622018 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

The contact owns a 2011 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed on dark roads, the contact became aware that the headlights were extremely dim. The illumination was inadequate while driving. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact became aware of a six-year Extended Warranty letter from the manufacturer. The contact stated that the harness needed to be replaced. The local dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 129,000.

NHTSA complaint #11564697 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

I have had this car since 2021 and have had to replace both the high and low beams multiple times a year. Each time they go out at the same time with no warning. This is deadly as I have. been on the freeway at night and almost crashed. I counted 4 times just in 2023 this has happened to me. This is more then any other car ive owned, along with any car my siblings and parents have owned. This is deadly and needs to be recalled ASAP

NHTSA complaint #11559302 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

The right low beam bulb goes out every 10-15k miles. This is a known issue by Toyota that addressed it with a "Warranty Enhancement Program" that worked to address the defect, but expired in 2019. I believe that headlamps are critical safety issues, and this should be subject to a recall, not a "Warranty Enhancement Program".

NHTSA complaint #11507856 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

I'M TRYING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT THIS LONG TIME AGO,BUT NOW I FOUND THAT OUT.I CAN'T DRIVE MY CAR LONG TIME AGO BECAUSE THIS PROBLEM. I DON'T MY MILES TO DRIVES AND I CAN'T SEE MY GAS MILES. ALL MY DASHBOARD GONE AND MY WINDOWS THEY CAN'T OPEN AT ALL. I CAN BELIEVE TO HAVE A FUTURE CAR.THEY HAVE SO MANY PROBLEMS WITH THE ELECTRIC SYSTEMS.

NHTSA complaint #11324854 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

BOTH OF MY PRIUS LOW BEAMS WENT OUT AT THE SAME TIME, I THOUGHT IT WAS UNUSUAL AS BOTH HEADLIGHTS SHOULD NOT GO OUT SIMULTANEOUSLY. IT WAS LATE AT NIGHT AND I WAS RETURNING FROM CHURCH. I EITHER HAD TO DRIVE WITHOUT THE LOW BEAMS WHICH IS VERY DANGEROUS OR DRIVE HIGH BEAMS WHICH BLINDS ONCOMING TRAFFIC. I LOOKED ONLINE AND READ SEVERAL PEOPLE HAD BOTH LOW BEAMS GO OUT SIMULTANEOUSLY. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A PROBLEM AND SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING AS IT CLEARLY PRESENTS A SAFETY RISK AT NIGHT AND PUTS OTHERS AT RISK BECAUSE I HAD TO USE THE HIGH BEAMS. THIS IS AN ONGOING ISSUE WITH TOYOTA AND THEY SHOULD BE HELD LIABLE FOR PUTTING THE MOTORING PUBLIC AT RISK. DEALER INSPECTED VEHICLE AND CLAIMED BOTH LOW BEAMS BURNED OUT SIMULTANEOUSLY. I WAS ADVISED OF A SERVICE BULLETIN THAT EXPIRED ON OCTOBER 2019 THAT ADDRESSED THIS ISSUE BUT THEY SAID IT DIDN'T APPLY AND THAT IT HAD EXPIRED. I WAS CHARGED $250 FOR TWO HEADLIGHTS. WHEN IT COMES TO PUBLIC SAFETY THEIR SHOULD BE NO EXPIRATION AND THEY SHOULD FIX THE PROBLEM.

NHTSA complaint #11319191 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

HEADLIGHT BULBS FAIL FREQUENTLY, SEVERAL TIMES PER YEAR. I CALLED TOYOTA IN JANUARY 2020. I WAS INFORMED THEY HAD A BRIEF WARRANTY EXTENSION TO COVER THE ISSUE, BUT THAT HAS ENDED. THEY'VE REFUSED TO OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE. THEY CLAIM THEY NOTIFIED ME OF THE ISSUE, BUT THEY CLEARLY DID NOT; THE ADDRESS THEY CLAIMED TO HAVE SENT IT TO WAS NOT MY ADDRESS. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE, BECAUSE THE BULBS FAIL SO FREQUENTLY AND ARE NOT OWNER-REPLACEABLE. I HOPE YOU CAN HELP. THANK YOU.

NHTSA complaint #11299922 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS ARE BURNING OUT WITHIN A WEEK OF INSTALLATION. WHEN BULBS ARE REPLACED, ONE OF THE TWO BULBS WILL BURN OUT WITHIN A WEEK, YET THE OTHER BULB WILL STAY ACTIVE. BOTH SIDES ARE AFFECTED. IT RANDOMLY CHOOSES WHICH SIDE TO BURN OUT.

NHTSA complaint #11282595 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

I REPLACED BOTH HEADLIGHTS SEVERAL TIMES AT A MUCH FASTER TIME PERIOD THAN ANY OTHER VEHICLE I HAVE EVER OWNED. ONCE I EVEN HAD TO REPLACE THE HEADLAMP ASSEMBLY WHEN ONE OF THE HEADLIGHTS GENERATED SO MUCH HEAT THAT THE HEADLAMP ASSEMBLY PLASTIC MELTED.

NHTSA complaint #11278809 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

MY PRIUS 2011 HYBRID BURNING LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT EVERY ONE OR TWO MONTH. IT IS HARD BECAUSE NO ONE HAVE SOLUTION FOR THIS ISSUE. THE PROBLEM IS NOT JUST CHANGING THE HEADLIGHT EVERY ONE OR TWO MONTHS BUT THE PROBLEM IS SAFETY, ON HIGHWAY ONCE THE LIGHT GOES DOWN. IT HAPPENED TO ME! IT WAS UNBELIEVABLE.

NHTSA complaint #11133428 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

BOTH LOW BEAM BULBS NOT WORKING, BUT HIGH BEAMS WORK. BULBS NOT BAD. HAPPENED WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY.

NHTSA complaint #11101182 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

DIM HEADLIGHT PROBLEM WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT, UNABLE TO SEE ROAD CLEARLY WITH LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS ON AT NIGHT, HAVE TO USE HIGH BEAM HEADLIGHTS TO SEE ROAD. THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE FOR ME

NHTSA complaint #11072238 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

THE HEADLIGHTS KEEP BURNING OUT ONE AT A TIME, TYPICALLY ABOUT 1-2 WEEKS AFTER REPLACE THE OTHER SIDE. TRIED SWITCHING TO A BETTER BRAND, SAME ISSUE. TRIED SWITCHING TO LED, EVEN THEY BURNED OUT AFTER 2 MONTHS.

NHTSA complaint #11032983 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

HEADLIGHTS ARE WEAK AND REQUIRE FREQUENT REPLACEMENT TOYOTA IS WILLING TO FIX THIS SAFETY PROBLEM FOR $400 SHOULD BE RECALLED AND FIXED FOR FREE MANUFACTURES DEFECT AND A MAJOR SAFETY PROBLEM NEED YOUR HELP

NHTSA complaint #11023977 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

FRONT LOW BEAMS HEADLIGHTS BURN OUT ABOUT EVERY SIX MONTHS

NHTSA complaint #11020317 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

WHEN THE HEADLIGHTS ARE TURNED ON DURING THE DAY (I.E. WHEN IT IS RAINING), THE LIGHTED PANEL ON THE CONSOLE FADES TO UNREADABLE. SINCE THE SPEED IS INDICATED ON THE CONSOLE, WE CANNOT MONITOR OUR SPEED DURING THESE TIMES. THIS IS PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS WHEN WE ARE HIGHWAY DRIVING. MY TOYOTA SERVICE DEALER DID NOT FIX THIS PROBLEM WHEN WE TOOK THE CAR IN FOR REPAIRING THIS PROBLEM, NOR DID THEY RESPOND TO THREE SURVEYS THEY AND TOYOTA SENT TO ME IN WHICH I OUTLINED THE PROBLEM.

NHTSA complaint #10993510 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

BOTH MAIN HEADLAMPS HAVE BURNT OUT REGULARLY FOR ~2.5 YEARS. IT SEEMS TO BE GETTING MORE FREQUENT. LUCKILY I CAN BUY THE PART AND INSTALL IT MYSELF, BUT TO ACTUALLY GO TO A MECHANIC AND CHECK THE ELECTRIC WIRING IS A DIFFERENT AMOUNT OF TIME AND MONEY ENTIRELY.

NHTSA complaint #10969193 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

BOTH HEADLIGHTS WON'T TURN ON. HOWEVER, WHEN I PRESS AND HOLD THE LEVER FOR BRIGHT LIGHTS, THE LIGHTS WORK ON THE "BRIGHTS" SETTING. LIGHTS DON'T WORK WHEN I'M DRIVING.

NHTSA complaint #10959463 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

DUE TO FAULTY HEADLIGHT WIRING AND ASSEMBLY, HEADLIGHTS WILL BURN OUT REGULARLY OR BE TOO DIM FOR SAFE USE. BOTH HEADLIGHTS WILL GO OUT WITHOUT WARNING, WHILE IN USE, AT NIGHT. THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT SAFETY ISSUE AND IS A DOCUMENTED/KNOWN ISSUE WITH TOYOTA. THIS IS NOT A MILD ANNOYANCE AND SHOULD BE RECALLED.

NHTSA complaint #10956508 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

PULLED INTO A PARKING SPOT AT NIGHT, PARKED, TURNED THE LIGHTS OFF, SHUT CAR OFF, RETURNED TO THE CAR, STARTED IT AND BOTH LOW BEAMS WOULD NOT COME ON. HIGH BEAMS WORK FINE. NOT A FUSE ISSUE BECAUSE HORN WORKS. TURNING THE LIGHT SWITCH ON THE STALK TURNS ON THE DASH INDICATOR LIGHT BUT NOT THE LOW BEAMS OR THE PARKING LIGHTS.

NHTSA complaint #10948073 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

BOTH LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS FAILED WITHIN 1 WEEK OF EACH OTHER. ONE WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT.

NHTSA complaint #10938709 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS AT NIGHT, THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE HEADLIGHT BECAME INOPERABLE. ON ANOTHER OCCASION, THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT ALSO FAILED WITHOUT WARNING. THE DEALER RECOMMENDED THAT BOTH BULBS BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED TWO YEARS LATER WHERE BOTH HEADLIGHTS FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.

NHTSA complaint #10927167 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

HEADLIGHTS BURN OUT FREQUENTLY OR STOP WORKING INTERMITTENTLY; HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY ON PASSENGER SIDE APPEARS TO HAVE LEAKAGE AND LOW BEAM APPEARS AT A LESSER BRIGHTNESS THAN DRIVER SIDE BEAM. HAD AT DEALER 4 TIMES IN SAME DAY FOR ISSUE WITH DRIVER HEADLIGHT IN SUMMER 2015 AND NOW AT DEALER FOR PASSENGER SIDE ISSUES. THIS HAPPENS IN UNPREDICTABLE CIRCUMSTANCES INCLUDING AFTER LONG OPERATION OR AFTER HAVING JUST STARTED THE VEHICLE - INCONSISTENT.

NHTSA complaint #10889190 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

MY HEADLIGHT ON THE PASSENGER SIDE KEEPS DYING OUT OF NOWHERE AFTER ABOUT THREE OR FOUR MONTHS OF USE (ABOUT 6,000 MILES OF DRIVING). IT HAS BEEN DOING THIS FOR THE PAST YEAR NOW AND OCCURS ABOUT THREE OF FOUR TIMES A YEAR. IT WOULD HAPPEN OUT OF NOWHERE. TODAY IT OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING IN THE RAIN DURING WORK (I DELIVER FOOD, NEEDING MY CAR TO DRIVE).

NHTSA complaint #10876301 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

HEADLAMP, 2011 PRIUS 5 DOOR HATCHBACK, I HAVE REPLACED THE RIGHT HEADLAMP 5 TIMES SINCE PURCHASING THE VEHICLE IN 2012. RECENTLY THE LAMP ABOVE THE THE HEADLAMP HAS ALSO GONE OUT. IF YOU MOVE THE WIRING I NOTICED THE LIGHTS WILL WORK FOR A WHILE THEN GO OUT. THE HEADLAMPS WILL WORK FOR A WHILE WHEN REPLACE BUT WITH THE LAST REPLACEMENT THE RIGHT NEW HEADLAMP WILL NOT WORK.

NHTSA complaint #10876013 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

THERE IS A SERVICE BULLETIN CONCERNING DRIVER SIDE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT MALFUNCTION TOYOTA WILL BE GLAD TO FIX THE PROBLEM FOR $300 BS HEAD LIGHTS SHOULD WORK !! THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL

NHTSA complaint #10871062 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

THE HEADLIGHTS IN MY 2011 TOYOTA PRIUS HAVE BURNED OUT 3 TIMES IN THE LAST 6 MONTHS, TWO OF THE TIMES BEING AT NIGHT AND I'VE HAD TO USE MY HIGH BEAMS SO THAT I CAN SEE. WHEN I BROUGHT IT TO MY MECHANIC, I WAS TOLD THAT IT'S A DEFECT WITH THE 2010 AND 2011 PRIUS AND THAT THE ONLY WAY TO REPAIR THE ISSUE IS TO INSTALL AN ENHANCEMENT KIT, WHICH COST ME OVER $500. WHEN I CALLED TOYOTA ABOUT THIS PROBLEM, I WAS TOLD THAT MY EXTENDED WARRANTY DOES NOT COVER BURNED OUT HEADLIGHTS. I KEEP TRYING TO TELL THEM THAT I DON'T EXPECT THEM TO COVER BURNED OUT HEADLIGHTS, BUT THAT THEY ARE BURNING OUT BECAUSE OF A DEFECT WITH THE CAR. THEY KEEP BRUSHING ME OFF. I AM VERY UPSET BY THE FACT THAT IT'S A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THE CAR AND TOYOTA IS NOT STANDING BY IT.

NHTSA complaint #10860952 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

LOW BEAMS FAILING. INCREASING IN FREQUENCY. BOTH LOW BEAM HEADLAMPS WILL GO OUT AT THE SAME TIME. HAPPENING MONTHLY AND USUALLY IN DAMP WEATHER. FREQUENCY IS INCREASING. SAFETY IS A MAJOR CONCERN.

NHTSA complaint #10850218 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE HEADLIGHT WIRING HARNESS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE WAS INTERMITTENT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 62,000.

NHTSA complaint #10849787 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.