2008 Toyota Prius Exterior Lighting Problems
- 536
- 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 536 stored complaint records:
- 1 indicate a crash
- 0 indicate injury
- 0 indicate fire
What owners report
- Headlights · 4 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 30–60k mi | 191 |
| 60–100k mi | 132 |
| 1–30k mi | 71 |
| 100–150k mi | 61 |
| 150–400k mi | 25 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Exterior Lighting
Prius 2008 headlight go off and back on. Dealer says this is a known problem but toyota has not done a recall. New light will be $500 plus labor to put it in. Asked if this can happen with the other side and dealer says yes. *tr
ODI 10281462
Exterior Lighting
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. *tr
ODI 10277494
Exterior Lighting
The left headlight goes on and off. This is a recurring problem with 2008 prius according to other internet sites i have visited. There should have been a recall.
ODI 10722862
Exterior Lighting
HEADLIGHTS UNEXPECTEDLY STOP WORKING. *TR
ODI 10310180
Exterior Lighting
Constant headlight bulb replacement - serious safety issue - while driving on the highway a headlight bulb will go out; first on one side then the other side. Bulb replacement has occurred every couple of months for several years now. What happens if both headlights go out at the same time??? I loose time from work to have the replacements done. Why has there been no recall?
ODI 10817733
Exterior Lighting
The headlights on my 2008 toyota prius go off intermittently and at random. It is a daily occurrence. Sometimes it is the left sometimes the right. Turning the headlights off and then back on will relight the headlamp that has stopped working. Turning them off and then on while driving is not always easy to do and presents a safety problem since i am temporarily not visible to other drivers. On one occasion while…
ODI 10353842
Exterior Lighting · Visibility
We have 2008 prius that first began having left headlamp go out when driving, we would have to pull over safe place along road turn mess with turning headlights on and off... Created unsafe driving remainder of trip, aprox [redacted] to get home with one headlight... Not good on montana roads with wildlife prevalent on roadway... Dealer replaced under warranty... Two weeks later same trouble with right headlight…
ODI 10282418
Exterior Lighting
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. *tr
ODI 10275440
Exterior Lighting
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. *tr
ODI 10275461
Exterior Lighting
Headlight failure, had to have replaced. The part was covered by warranty but labor for $700 was not. *tr
ODI 10282332
Exterior Lighting
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. *tr
ODI 10277203
Exterior Lighting
Drivers side hid headlight flickers and dies. Can cycle power and comes on for 5 sec and dies. *tr
ODI 10274447
Exterior Lighting
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. *tr
ODI 10274597
Exterior Lighting
About 33k on my new beloved '08 prius my left headlight went out as i was pulling into my garage. The next morning it came on just fine. I noticed a decline from there. A few days later the right one went out and on a sunday trip about 2 months later both headlights flickered. I found that in the interim turning them off and then back on again helped sometimes. Now the lights are out and i cannot drive at night or…
ODI 10281622
Exterior Lighting
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. *tr
ODI 10277213
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
2008 toyota prius headlamp keeps going out. Replaced both hid headlamps as toyota corporate told me to do and problem consists. Safety hazard while driving at night with children in car and busy pedestrians on dark roads with strollers and babies not counting deer or other animals. Toyota has refused to recall issue. Im tired! *tr
ODI 10292212
Exterior Lighting
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. *tr
ODI 10267025
Exterior Lighting
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…
ODI 10266846
Exterior Lighting
Tl*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 *bf updated 06/09/09.*jb
ODI 10268550
Exterior Lighting
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…
ODI 10266415
Exterior Lighting
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…
ODI 10268742
Exterior Lighting
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.…
ODI 10278213
Exterior Lighting
In the 2008 toyota prius "touring edition", the hid (high intensity discharge) lamps fail at a more rapid pace than their standard halogen counterparts. When they do fail, they fail without warning and can be turned on intermittently, giving the impression of a loose bulb or wire and delaying repair. If the headlights are outside of their extremely short warranty period (only 36,000 miles), toyota also wants over…
ODI 10281979
Exterior Lighting
Head lamps went out with only 30k mile and both went out within a week of each other costing me 1k to repair. *tr
ODI 10281688
Exterior Lighting
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,…
ODI 10267599
Catalog parts for this system
Catalog year/make/model rows for 2008 Toyota Prius.
Catalog fitment does not by itself prove OEM-equivalent compatibility.