2011 Toyota Prius Exterior Lighting
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
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.
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.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHILE DRIVING AT A LOW SPEED, THE HEADLAMPS FAILED. THE FAILURE RECURRED SEVERAL TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 80,000.
TOYOTA PRIUS 3 HEADLIGHTS QUIT WORKING ON LOW BEAM WITHOUT ANY INDICATION UPON STARTING CAR. IT APPEARS THAT IF ONE BULB BURNS OUT, BOTH HEADLIGHTS FAIL TO WORK, POSSIBLY DUE TO THE OTHER HEADLIGHT SHORTING OUT THE WORKING HEADLIGHT. EACH TIME THE LIGHTS HAVE WORKED JUST A FEW HOURS BEFORE AND WHEN WE RETURN TO CAR, THEY WILL NOT TURN ON.THIS HAS OCCURRED APPROX 3 TIMES NOW FORCING US TO DRIVE SIGNIFICANT DISTANCES WITH HIGH BEAMS ON. LIGHTS APPEAR TO WORK OK AFTER REPLACEMENT OF BOTH BULBS. PLEASE ISSUE A REPAIR RECALL TO FIX THIS ISSUE WHICH LEAVES A DRIVER WITH ABSOLUTELY NO LIGHTS.
I OWN A 2011 TOYOTA PRIUS WHICH I PURCHASED IN NOVEMBER OF THAT YEAR FROM ARLINGTON TOYOTA IN ARLINGTON, VA. SINCE THAT TIME I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE HEADLIGHTS THREE TIMES. AS OF NOV 2015, THE CAR HAD 29,105 MILES ON IT WHICH INDICATES I DO NOT PUT A LOT OF MILES ON THE CAR. ON ALL THREE OCCASIONS, BOTH LOW BEAMS WERE INOPERABLE WHEN I STARTED THE CAR. FORTUNATELY, I WAS NOT ON THE ROAD DRIVING. ON EVERY OCCASION, THE DEALER TOLD ME THE BULBS WERE BURNED OUT. THE MOST RECENT OCCURRENCE WAS THE NIGHT OF SEPT 10, 2015. THIS TIME THE DEALER TOLD ME TOYOTA HAS A WIRING SOLUTION THAT WOULD EXTEND THE LIFE OF THE HEADLIGHTS, BUT THAT I WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR IT. THE "SOLUTION" WOULD BE EXPENSIVE. I TOLD THEM THAT STATEMENT TELLS ME THERE IS A DEFECT IN THE WIRING OR ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, AND THE FIX SHOULD BE PAID FOR BY TOYOTA UNDER A RECALL NOTICE. I HAVE NOTED THAT PRIUS OWNERS HAVE BEEN COMPLAINING OF THIS SAME ISSUE SINCE 2007 AND A RECALL HAD HAPPENED IN 2011 FOR EARLIER YEAR CARS. THE PROBLEM REMAINS, AND THERE IS DEFECT IN THE CAR'S WIRING OR PERFORMANCE. GIVEN THE CURRENT VW DIESEL FIASCO, I HOPE THIS ISSUE CAN BE ADDRESSED BY THE NHSTA AND FORCE TOYOTA TO PROVIDE SAFE LIGHTING TO US PRIUS OWNERS.
BOTH HEAD LIGHTS STOPPED WORKING AT THE SAME TIME, ONLY HIGH BEAM WILL WORK, REGULAR BEAM STOPPED WORKING AND WILL NOT COME BACK ON. *TR
THE HEADLAMPS BURNED OUT ON VEHICLE START-UP FOR THE FIFTH TIME IN 73,451 MILES. THE HEADLAMP BULBS LAST AN AVERAGE OF 14,700 MILES. I WEAR LATEX GLOVES AND AM CRITICALLY CAREFUL TO NEVER TOUCH THE BULBS, BUT THE ESSENCE OF THE PROBLEM IS THAT THE CAR CLEARLY HAS A POORLY REGULATED POWER SUPPLY THAT STRESSES THE BULBS AT START-UP. MY PREVIOUS 2006 PRIUS ATE HID BULBS, SO I INTENTIONALLY PURCHASED A 2011 MODEL VARIANT THAT USED CONVENTIONAL HALOGEN BULBS TO ESCAPE THE CONSTANT BULB FAILURE ISSUES WITH PRIUS. TO NO AVAIL. CONSTANTLY BURNING OUT HEADLAMPS IS A CONTINUING TOYOTA SAFETY HAZARD THAT NHTSA NEEDS TO FINALLY ADDRESS. *TR
DRIVING IN RAIN IN DARK ON UNLIT ROAD. BOTH FRONT HEADLIGHTS WENT OUT. NOTHING WOULD MAKE THEM COME BACK ON - TURNING LIGHTS OFF AND ON, TURNING CAR OFF AND ON. VERY SCARY. VERY CLOSE TO DRIVING OFF ROAD INTO DITCH. THIS MUST BE A RECALL. TOYOTA AS USUAL WILL DENY THE PROBLEM SO THE NHTSA MUST ACT. *TR
SINCE THE FIRST SET OF BULBS HAVE WENT OUT IN THE VEHICLE AT AROUND 48,000 MILES I WILL NOW BE INSTALLING THE 4TH SET OF BULBS... ORIGINAL + 3. THE BULBS IN THE PRIUS FAIL WITHIN 24 HOURS OF EACHOTHER EACH TIME AND IT IS GOING THREW HEADLIGHTS AROUND EVERY 10,000 MILES AT THIS TIME. THIS IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE AND DANGEROUS FOR A COMMUTER VEHICLE. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE PASSENGER'S SIDE HEAD LIGHT SUDDENLY FAILED AS THE DRIVER'S SIDE HEADLIGHT BECAME DIM. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND NO SOLUTION WAS OFFERED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 86,000. UPDATED 04-29-14 *BF UPDATED 7/29/17*CN
WITHIN 2 YEARS OF PURCHASING NEW 2011 PRIUS VEHICLE, BOTH HID HEADLIGHT LAMPS FAILED (ON DIFFERENT OCCASIONS) WITHIN ABOUT 3 MONTHS OF EACH OTHER. NO WARRANTY AVAILABLE, AT CUSTOMER EXPENSE. *TR
WITHIN 2 YEARS OF PURCHASING NEW 2011 PRIUS VEHICLE, HID HEADLIGHT LAMP FAILED. *TR
SIMULTANEOUS FAILURE OF BOTH LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS. VEHICLE WAS PARKED AND SHUT DOWN IN A PARKING LOT WITH BOTH HEADLIGHT LOW BEAMS OPERABLE. UPON RETURN TO THE VEHICLE APPROXIMATELY 15 MINUTES LATER, NEITHER LOW BEAM FUNCTIONED, REQUIRING AN EXTENDED NIGHT DRIVE WITH HIGH BEAMS (FULLY FUNCTIONAL). UPON EXAMINATION THE NEXT DAY, BOTH LOW BEAMS BULBS WERE BURNED OUT AND REPLACED. PRIOR TO REPLACEMENT, CONTACT WITH DEALER RESULTED IN NO ASSISTANCE OR INFORMATION (THEY SUGGESTED IT WAS SIMPLY COINCIDENCE.) *TR
HIGH INTENSITY DISCHARGE (HID) BULB IN FRONT PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT WENT OUT. NO EXPLANATION FOR WHY THIS OCCURRED; IT SIMPLY BURNED OUT. THESE BULBS SHOULD LAST A LOT LONGER THAN 26,000 MILES. *TR
Trend Over Time
Complaints by year
Other Issues
Common problems reported
Quick Summary
The 2011 Toyota Prius has 39 Exterior Lighting complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.