2004 Toyota Prius Exterior Lighting Problems
- 160
- Owner complaint records in our dataset
Records are owner complaints, not a measured failure rate.
Owner complaint recordsComplaint records reflect reports in our dataset and do not measure how frequently the problem occurs across all vehicles.
What owners report
- both headlights · 26 records
- side headlight · 26 records
- passenger side · 23 records
- them back · 14 records
- come back · 13 records
- left headlight · 12 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 100–150k mi | 52 |
| 60–100k mi | 45 |
| 150–400k mi | 32 |
| 30–60k mi | 8 |
| 1–30k mi | 7 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Exterior Lighting
Both headlights on my wife's 2004 toyota prius started going on and off. First the driver's side went out and came back on, eventually both of them went out and we were driving at night in the mountains. This seems to be a common problem with prius owners after researching the issue. Toyota repair cost have been estimated around $1000. *tr
ODI 10258715
Exterior Lighting
After several years of use, the headlights, most often the right, but sometimes also the left, spontaneously turn off. This happens about every 15 minutes while driving at night. We have to turn off the lights and turn them back on to get them to light again. This sometimes does not work, and we are stuck for a some time on the freeway without headlights. People on forums say it will likely cost $1000 - $1800 to…
ODI 10282334
Exterior Lighting
The hid headlight on my 2004 toyota prius has not been working right on the passenger side for a while. It was going off from time to time. But, now it appears not to be working at all. I took the car to the auto shop and was told that this is a common problem with many prius cars and that it will cost $457.99 to replace the unit. This appears to be an ongoing issue/defect with many prius cars, which needs to be…
ODI 10257072
Exterior Lighting
Headlights, one or both, turn off without warning and the only way to get them to come back on is to turn them off and then back on. *tr
ODI 10314468
Exterior Lighting
Head lights on a 2004 prius going out and being able to turn the lights back on by just turning the system off and then turn it back on again. Just like a computer, if something is wrong, shut down and start over. This happens almost every time i drive the car now, the consequences are not being able to see at night and during the day safety is diminished without the headlights. The headlamps were replaced but did…
ODI 10273727
Exterior Lighting
Intermittent hid bulb goes out. There is no particular event that takes place when the lights stop working. When turned on they always come on and at some point they will sometimes stop working. When i see they have stopped i will turn the lights off and back on and they work and will usually stay working the rest of the trip, but not always. I have been looking online and this seems to be a common problem. I was…
ODI 10373228
Exterior Lighting
Headlights will go out intermittently. Either side will fail. If you turn the light switch to "off" and then back "on" the lights will come back on. No particular amount of on time or bumps in road cause the failure. Bulbs are hid type. Dealer wants over $630 to replace bulbs. Non dealer mechanic advised that it may be something other than the bulb, possibly the hid controller. Dealer is the only source and very…
ODI 10265104
Exterior Lighting
I own a 2004 toyota prius. I just paid $332.50 to have my 2 headlights' hib bulbs replaced - and that didn't include the parts cost because i provided the hid bulbs from an online auto parts supplier. The symptoms were the same as noted by so many other prius owners: frequent loss of light from the headlight, and recovery by rotating the light switch off then on again...only to have it re-occur a few minutes later.…
ODI 10250142
Exterior Lighting
Random headlight failure. When fog lights are not on total failure of headlights has occurred. Right, left or both headlights will go out with no correlation to weather, speed, temperature, location of lamp or time of day. Quickly turning the light switch off then on will reilluminate both lamps. The lamps may go out again, stay lit, the same lamp will go out or the previously lit lamp may fail and the previously…
ODI 10252662
Exterior Lighting
Prius 2004 headlight goes out periodically. Turns back on only when all lights are shut down and turned on again. *tr
ODI 10250662
Exterior Lighting
2004 toyota prius has had headlight replacements five (5) times on the passenger side and now has the same problem on the driver side. 2006 toyota prius has had both sides replaced. Both cars suffer from intermittent operation which can be temporarily recovered by turning the headlight switch off then back on. All toyota wants to do is replace bulbs when the bulb obviously is not the problem. I am sure they are…
ODI 10277179
Electrical · Exterior Lighting
Driver-side hid headlamp in 2004 toyota prius was noticed to be very, very, dim (effectively off) around 2008/10/14. Turning headlamps off and on restored brightness. But the problem recurred at unpredictable times--frequently enough to be a serious safety problem. Frequently the driver can't tell while driving, whether one headlamp is off, and obviously it's unsafe to fix it by turning it off and on while driving.…
ODI 10253642
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
I was quoted $466 just for the price of my bulb for the headlight of my toyota prius. For a non luxury car it so expensive that a lot of people will choose to make due with their flickering one. It is outrageous that toyota did not give a more affordable choice. It is going to be more dangerous out there. *tr
ODI 10245227
Exterior Lighting
I have a 2004 prius and the front right headlight is working only intermittently. This happens at least three or four times a week; i haven't seen any pattern. I had my dealer check the light and its connections and i was told that the hid light bulb was not working and that it needed to be replaced and that i could only replace them as a pair. The reason being that they are somehow connected to each other and that…
ODI 10243108
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Hid headlights go off intermittently while driving. Headlights can be reset by turning headlight switch to off and back on again. A search of the nhtsa and other websites demonstrate that this same problem is widespread for several year models of prius autos. The dealer estimates to replace the headlight bulbs is about $1000 per headlight, making this a serious problem because people will seek lower cost remedies…
ODI 10435235
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
High intensity discharge headlights intermittently going out. No rhyme or reason as to when the outage occurs but turning the circuit off and back on again will re-illuminate the hid headlight...but for how long?? *tr
ODI 10257733
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
The hid headlight leveling sensor part# 89408-47010 failed. Big red exclamation on the dash and car won't pass inspection. Toyota says it costs $600 to replace. *tr
ODI 10445658
Exterior Lighting
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 toyota prius. The contact was driving at various speeds and the driver side automatic headlight would flicker intermittently. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where they informed that the headlight would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure continued to occur. The failure mileage was 108,000. Updated 01/13/11*lj the consumer stated both head lights were replaced.…
ODI 10360503
Exterior Lighting
Driver's side high intensity discharge headlamp began switching off about a month ago. Last weekend while traveling at night, the headlamp went out about 15 times in 3 hours. Each time turning the headlamp switch off and back on temporarily solved the problem. I brought the car to the dealer and they replaced the hid bulb for $355. I had the same problem with the passenger side headlamp six months ago and replacing…
ODI 10234740
Exterior Lighting
Hid headlights turnoff on the 2004 prius. First episode started last summer. Cost $600 dollars to replace one of the headlights. It has been approximately 7 months and the other head light is starting to turn off. This issue is dangerous and needs to be fixed before someone gets hurt. *tr
ODI 10259144
Exterior Lighting
Drivers headlight continuously goes out. I can replace bulbs and it may last 1 week. I can turn my headlights off and back on then it will start working but no more than 1/2 a mile. This is definitely a safety hazard with going down the road and flipping your headlights on and off to get them to work. Took to dealer he told me that most prius was having this problem but it would cost around 500 to get it fixed.…
ODI 10254645
Exterior Lighting
Front lights went dim. Able to turn back on with switch. Front lights continue to go out or get dim intermittently and i must turn switch on and off to get them back on. I have paid toyota for several new bulbs and diagnostics with no fix.
ODI 10421988
Exterior Lighting
Left headlight of my toyota prius 2004 will turn off with no apparent cause, you can turn off the lights and immediately turn on and it will come back on again, this action is dangerous specially driving at night since you?ll have to briefly drive without the lights on. This issue has a non-harmonic frequency but it just keeps repeating, sometimes on a trip for 10 miles it can go off up to 5 times and some other…
ODI 10279227
Exterior Lighting
Hid right headlight goes out randomly. If i turn headlights off and on again, it relights, but then goes out again between 15 minutes and 3 hours. Has been happening for over a year on my 2004 toyota prius.*tr
ODI 10272395
Exterior Lighting
For the last 30,000 miles on my 2004 toyota prius, left hid headlight keeps going off. However, when i switch headlights off and back on, it would go on, and stay on, for couple minutes, sometimes hours. After that it goes off again. At toyota dealership they told me that computer with the headlight assembly must be replaced. It would cost me around $400. My car is still under warranty, but they said it does not…
ODI 10256884
Catalog parts for this system
Catalog year/make/model rows for 2004 Toyota Prius.
Catalog fitment does not by itself prove OEM-equivalent compatibility.