2006 Toyota Prius Electrical System Problems
- 136
- 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.
Among these 136 stored complaint records:
- 2 indicate a crash
- 1 indicate injury
- 1 indicate fire
What owners report
- combination meter · 16 records
- side headlight · 15 records
- passenger side · 14 records
- warning lights · 8 records
- come back · 8 records
- failure mileage · 7 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 30–60k mi | 44 |
| 60–100k mi | 24 |
| 100–150k mi | 21 |
| 1–30k mi | 17 |
| 150–400k mi | 14 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
While driving at night a headlight went out making it difficult to see. After restarting the car it came back on. This has happened several times. Once when a headlight was out the second headlight went out making it extremely unsafe and difficult to pull off the road safely, just missed another vehicle. Upon restarting one of the lights came back on. This is an extremely unsafe situation, it is life threatening. I…
ODI 10584701
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
My hid light on my 2006 prius burnt out on driver's left side. Took it in for a replacement and they told me that i have to replace both for a price of $500 and will only warranty for 1 year. I was told the average span for a bulb is 2.5-4 years. This is a ridiculous price for a light bulb. You should put pressure on the company to bring the cost for this safety repair down to a reasonable level. *tr
ODI 10320822
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Headlights of 2006 prius go on and off at will. I reported this to toyota dealer and was told that they had to change both bulbs. The intensity of the bulbs are normal when they come back on and i have never owned a car where the bulbs recover on their own. It appears to be a wiring problem of some kind and toyota's solution of changing the bulbs does not seem to be a reasonable solution. Also the one year guarantee…
ODI 10318254
Electrical System · Latches/Locks/Linkages
I am writing to you about an unresolved problem with my 2006 toyota prius. In may 2008, the driver's side electronic door lock actuator failed and was replaced by my local toyota dealer. Now, the driver's side door lock actuator has once again failed, along with the passenger's side actuator. My local toyota dealer informed me that the estimated repair cost would total $1,300. I indicated that in view of the…
ODI 10328420
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Toyota prius exterior lights shut down. This happens all of the time the car is driven. Hid headlights turn off without the driver knowing and then keeps on driving until they are struck or hit something. Other cars may not see this. This has occurred over 5000 times... *tr
ODI 10307765
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
FAILURE OF THE PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT. *TR
ODI 10345247
Electrical System · Service Brakes, Hydraulic
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 toyota prius. While driving approximately 35 mph the vehicle lost complete power, shut off and she had no control over the vehicle; however, she was able to restart it within five minutes. She took the vehicle to the dealer and was told that the vehicle needed a new battery which she purchased and installed. Two weeks later, the failure occurred again. She took the vehicle to a second…
ODI 10307890
Electrical System · Vehicle Speed Control
Approaching state hwy. In cruise, assumed stop area would be slippery as it sometimes is in the winter..tapped brakes to disable cruise, applied brakes, kept right on going & ended in the ditch across the hwy. Was lucky that there was no collision.. Can't remember if the motor was racing at the time. *tr
ODI 10313056
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
2006 toyota prius headlights go out randomly creating an unsafe condition when driving at night. The headlight(s) will come on after turning off the switch. This has been a recurring problem since the vehicle was one year old. In one instance, both headlights went out which required and emergency stop. Both headlight have been previously replaced under warranty. The problem in now occurring most times the vehicle is…
ODI 10298997
Electrical System
I own a 2006 prius with the high-intensity-discharge (hid) lamp option and have made an online report to you previously with no reply. When i asked the local toyota dealer they said they had no recall or safety issue bulletins regarding the issue. I had a friend ask another friend who is a northeast toyota dealer if he had heard anything about the issue. He sent toyota document titled "2006 to 2009 model year toyota…
ODI 10307139
Electrical System · Electronic Stability Control · Exterior Lighting
In addition to my complaint, odi id #10400072, when i turn my headlights on, the lighting in my console loses it brightness--alot. During the daytime, it is very difficult to see the odometer/speedometer and all other information provided on my console... This includes the built-in gps/info screen. This is definitely a design flaw that toyota created and approved for sale here in the u.s. I cannot understand why…
ODI 10417216
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Passenger side head light goes out randomly. When the lights are turned off and then back on it will work for "some" period of time, could be seconds or days. Car has been taken to the dealership multiple times for diagnostics and alleged repairs yet the problem continues. Dealer has replaced bulbs & replaced some module within the circuitry. Continues to fail. *tr
ODI 10295211
Electrical System
I drive a 2006 toyota prius. On november 13, 2009, for about 10 days, the dashboard would not light up on a cold start in the morning. It would light up after i hit a pothole or bump. The problem inexplicably stopped. My toyota dealership said they had received no complaints about this and could not diagnose/fix the problem since it no longer occurred. *tr
ODI 10316679
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
I own a 2006 prius with hid headlamps. One of the lamps has been intermittent for over well over 2 years. I have been to the dealer and have not been able to recreate the problem. When i do find out that the light is not operating, i simply turn off the lights and turn them back on and the lamp works. Not sure for how long, because i cannot see whether or not the light is working until i am behind a car where i can…
ODI 10291383
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
I have 2006 toyota prius. I bought the car new. When it was about 2 years old, one taillight went out. When you tapped on the light, it would come back on. When it came back on it stayed on until i was traveling to chicago at night and i noticed that people were passing me and pointing to the back of my car. I pulled off the next exit, and both of my taillights were out. My son replaced both of them when i got to…
ODI 10291510
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Issue: 2006 prius with hid headlights work intermittently 1. Events: no specific events leading up to the event other than regular driving and usage of the headlights 2. Failure: the passenger-side headlight goes out every time i drive the car now and reduces night time visibility. 3. Corrective action: i replaced the light bulb, but the issue still remains the same. From research online, it appears that this is a…
ODI 10293807
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
My headlights continue to fail, increasing number of times, i reported it when the car was under warranty they could not fix it. 20 times while driving home from the er with my grandchild at night last night both lights went out. How is this not a recallable safety issue? The dealers just charge you to replace light bulbs which does not solve the problem, so then it is not listed as a complaint to them. This problem…
ODI 10289419
Electrical System
The hid headlights on my 2006 prius intermittently go out. This happens without any pattern. The car canbe sitting in the driveway with the lights on and after a few minutes the one headlight will go out completely (both low and high beams) the only way to get it to come back on is by turning the lights completely off and back on. Most recently i was driving with low beams on, when i tried to turn on the high beams…
ODI 10287450
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
I own a 2006 toyota prius. I am experiencing failure of the headlamps for the second time in 15 months. Last year when the headlights would go out while driving, turning off the headlights and then turn them back on the lights would have the light working again for a short time. I had the lights replace last summer and they then worked. Now the issue is starting again. I have own many different cars and have never…
ODI 10280544
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
2006 toyota prius. My headlights failed on mountain road without any warning. I was doing about 50mph and swerved into the shoulder to avoid going off cliff. This vehicle is a death trap after dark and somebody is going to lose their life because toyota doesn't seem to take this seriously. I called their consumer hotline an was told i would have to foot the bill of nearly $900.00. I was then told by toyota to have…
ODI 10277307
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Driving at night and headlight completely failed. Took it in to dealer but was working then and dealer refused to document. This same thing occurred several times since then, both headlights failing at one time or another resulting in dangerously poor visibility. Problem is intermittent and continuing with a failure just days ago. Toyota acknowledges the problem but refuses to take responsibility saying the current…
ODI 10436927
Electrical System · Seats
On 05/22/2009, my husband and his [xxx] had a car accident. My husband's car was hit from behind when he was driving a toyota prius with his friend sitting in the front passage seat. The backs of the chairs of the driver seat and front passage seat were move and broken.the seat back shaft damage failure. My husband and his friend both got hurt, and my husband was hospitalized for 6 days. Information redacted…
Crash reported · Fire reported · 2 injuries
ODI 10626606
Electrical System
Several battery cells malfunctioned in the battery. Battery was under warranty, got a free new battery. Not sure what caused the battery failure. *tr
ODI 10268886
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Toyota is familiar with the hid lights on their toyota prius' and even issued a tsb (t-sb-0030-08) and is still requiring the end user to pay upwards to $800 for the repair. Within the last few weeks, i am having to turn my headlights on and off in the day or during the night so that i can have both lights on. It's an intermittent issue and many other owners are complaining about the same issue. It is a tremendous…
ODI 10262177
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
After owning my used 2006 toyota prius for a week, i had my 1st incident: i was driving down the road at night, and right headlight went out, while left headlight remained on. Turned the headlight switch to 'off' position, and then to 'on' position. The headlight came back on for about 5 minutes, and then went off again. About 2 weeks later, i started having the same issue with both headlights. I used the same…
ODI 10277506