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Toyota Prius Electrical and Lighting Questions

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Comments

  • jbvcjbvc Member Posts: 2
    Thanks for the response. I was afraid of them being some kind of unchangeable LED as the brake lites seem to have several segments. I don't think it is the switch as only a few of the segments on the left side are out. The right side is bright and all the segments are lit. Looks like another way for Toyota to extract money from us faster than the speed of electricity like the $300 magic key!
  • whitey9whitey9 Member Posts: 138
    NOT the switch if you have lights on the right side, and a few on the left side.
    Hard to believe that LEDs are out. Has car been wrecked? If you think your parts are high, you should own a Mercedes-Benz that is out-of-warranty. INTERGALACTIC! And the LABOR!!!
  • lkj0lkj0 Member Posts: 1
    jbvc, did you ever find any joy on this? I have the same issue.
  • nw_vikingnw_viking Member Posts: 11
    Today I noticed that my right headlamp was unlit when I parked the car to the side of a bank with glass walls. I cycled the lights and it came back on, but it seemed dimmer than the left headlamp.

    The left headlamp was replaced in Feb of 2008 -- same symptoms. The controller card passed diagnostics and they replaced the lamp itself. I believe there is one controller for each lamp, but I'm not certain.

    The first case was covered by the factory bumper-to-bumper warranty -- no cost to me. I'm hoping this problem will be covered by my 7 yr 100K extended warranty, since I'm outside the factory warranty period/miles -- I'll have to check.

    I've had no other issues with my Prius. I often drive with my headlights on during the day here in Seattle, unless it is clear and sunny (we do have some of those days). I think I'll keep the lights off during the day at this point. ;)
  • whitey9whitey9 Member Posts: 138
    I wish you luck. Most "light bulbs' are not covered by extended service policies. BUT, these being HIDs and the "bulbs" being generally called "burners" may be. Especially with the seemingly pronounced number of failures of the "burners".
    I had one ( right side ) intermittently malfunction, and it took ONLY THREE TRIPS in to get it "fixed". It was just a "burner".
    Again, I wish you good luck.
  • nw_vikingnw_viking Member Posts: 11
    Found out a lot more on this issue over at PriusChat. Sounds like a lot of complaints have been filed with NHTSA -- I filed one today myself. Toyota just sent out a letter offering to reimburse people that paid to have a controller card replaced -- they believe the problems reside with the bulb only. They are also discounting the bulb down to $150 and offering to reimburse the difference between what people paid for the bulb and the new $150 price.

    Yeah, I don't think my extended warranty will be of any help -- bulbs are considered wear and tear items. But a number of people over at PriusChat indicated they got their repair cost covered when they complained to Toyota Corporate Customer Service. I will try that route if the dealer tries to bill me. :mad:
  • whitey9whitey9 Member Posts: 138
    The NHTSA? Yeah, I was there looking several months ago. They opened an "investigation", and then closed it. It seems that no one cares if you lose just one headlight. It's a concern to them at NHTSA if you lose two, and are driving the car when it happens. Mine, and other's as well, were remedied by switching off/on the headlights. The "bad" light was revived albeit temporarily. They supposedly replaced the "bulb" under warranty. AFTER the service writer gave up and surrendered before she even wrote up the repair order ( "well, we probably don't even have the "bulbs" in stock anyway." ). So three trips later my lights were both on at the same time. And so far since. The time is about up on my 3yr warranty 'tho. Good luck.
  • sandoval10sandoval10 Member Posts: 1
    I have an '07 and have replaced the bulbs 3 times. Each time they till me the controller is fine. In the meantime, it's $300.00 a pop. Just fot a letter from Toyota with instructions to submit all bills as proof and I will get a refund. Hope you got one too..
  • whitey9whitey9 Member Posts: 138
    So you are saying you have replaced 6 ( six ) headlight bulbs total?
    That seems like kind of a stretch to me. I have done one in nearly 36,000mi. I drive w/lights on at all times. Oh my God! Eddie Money is singing the halftime show at the Arizona Liberty Bowl!!! I thot he was dead.
  • ikgikg Member Posts: 2
    The driver's side LED appeared to be gone. However, when you get really close to the housing, you can see all the lights are still functioning but extremely, dim. The local dealers obviously want me to change the entire housing costing something close to $300. I think there might be a power supply problem as the LEDs are either on or off, correct? Has anyone been exposed to this? Pls let me know.
    Thanks.
  • whitey9whitey9 Member Posts: 138
    If one side is less bright than the other, then I would check for a weak ground circuit. That's what is most often the problem with "bulb-type" tailights. Body Shops are "famous" for this problem. There could be paint/"bondo" on the grounding point, or the wire is loose/not making good contact with the pin connector of the light [non-permissible content removed]'y. Check the pin socket for a good tight fit too.
  • ikgikg Member Posts: 2
    Thanks for your response...I couldn't access the LEDs inside the housing. I saw a pin connector in the light assy and will check this out.
  • comptutorcomptutor Member Posts: 1
    Bought 2010 in August. I cannot listen to my favorite FM stations because of a crackle (satellite is fine). I was told the first time I took it in that the radio and antenna were OK, the second time he took me out in ANOTHER 2010 Prius to show me it wasn't just my car (!?!?!) that crackled. The third time he said he "was reporting it to Toyota for solution." I resent having paid so much for such an otherwise great car and having such a lousy radio/antenna. Suggestions?
  • whitey9whitey9 Member Posts: 138
    GET OVER IT!!! All cars nowadays have problems. REGARDLESS of their cost.
    Your car's problem could be a defective rear windshield antenna, or connection at the windshield. Or a bad coaxial cable to the radio from the windshield.
    Stop resenting how much you paid for a car with a "lousy radio/antenna".
    Start resenting the guy driving next to you who is texting, or applying makeup.
    If you think just because the cost of the car guarantees there will be no problems with the car throughout it's lifetime, you have another think coming. WOW! That burns me up!!! What a punk.
  • wingmanwingman Member Posts: 19
    I think your a little overboard calling somebody a punk just they expect to get what they pay for. When I pay for anthing new I expect to be as perfect as can be and if there's anything wrong I expect it to be fixed asap or its returned and a letter is sent to the CEO telling him what I think of their product.
  • inquirer0inquirer0 Member Posts: 1
    Yep. I've got the same problem. I just purchased a 2010 Prius in December and noticed that the FM radio reception is not nearly as good as my previous auto (2000 Honda Accord). I'm pretty sure that the problem lies not with the radio, but with the antenna. As you may have noticed, the roof antenna on the 2010 Prius is shorter than in previous models, and it has a coil, which I believe is the FM component of the antenna. (The straight part, I believe, is for the XM radio.) Coils allow a short antenna to function like a much larger one. However, this is not a perfect solution, and it depends very much on atmospheric conditions and surrounding geography. I notice that my Prius radio some days works almost perfectly with a given station in a given place, while on other days it works very poorly.

    I have not complained to Toyota yet, but I have been looking around for an after-market replacement antenna for the 2010 Prius. The only replacement roof antenna I can find is a "shark fin antenna," which looks primarily designed to reduce wind resistance and look "cool" rather than to provide better FM radio reception. So, I have asked some auto parts sellers be on the look out for a better roof antenna for the 2010 Prius. Really, almost anyone could design one, including Toyota, and its primary attribute is that the FM component would likely be longer to be better tuned for FM reception, and it should simply be a screw-in replacement to swap out with the original antenna using the same antenna base.

    Now, it's possible that Toyota has done the research on this and they just decided to do the best they can while achieving minimum wind resistance. I think people like myself, probably you included, would gladly sacrifice a little wind resistance (and the minor impact on gas mileage) for better FM radio reception. So, I'll probably put in a word with Toyota about this. In the mean time, someone might read this and say, "Yeah, we might be able to design something like that!" And beat Toyota to it.

    In the mean time, I'm afraid that 2010 Prius owners will have to live with poorer FM reception than they might be used to. Unfortunately, for me, XM is not an option, as I don't care for most of the XM/Sirius programming. (Otherwise, BTW, I love the car.)

    Anyway, if anyone hears of a better replacement antenna for this model, please do chime in here!
  • mickeyrommickeyrom Member Posts: 936
    Doesn't that battery start the car 's engine too?
  • stevegoldstevegold Member Posts: 185
    As far as I understand, the 12VDC battery runs the computer when you turn the Prius on. The ICE is started buy the big traction battery. If you can't start the car, you jump the 12V battery with the underhood terminals and everything else works normally.
  • stevegoldstevegold Member Posts: 185
    As far as I understand, the 12VDC battery runs the computer when you turn the Prius on. The ICE is started buy the big traction battery. If you can't start the car, you jump the 12V battery with the under hood terminals and everything else works normally.
  • lew74lew74 Member Posts: 8
    I had my 12 volt Battery replaced by Sun Toyota in New Port Richey Florida'

    The battery cost $138.70 and installation charge was $12.00 total of $150.70 plus tax.

    This is cheaper than the cost of the battery at e-learn which is $161.00 and you still have to install it yourself.

    If you google Toyota Prius 12 volt battery. you will see a site where you can buy the OEM Toyota battery Msrp $138.70 but thier price is $102.70 plus $13.99 shipping, so you can save about $40 if you order and install the battery yourself.
  • mickeyrommickeyrom Member Posts: 936
    So much for the horror stories about the $500 12V batteries.I called the dealer closest to my house and they said....$150 installed.Same deal with the alleged $500 headlight bulbs.And one call to a dealer,found that it's $45 for the bulb and $80 labor.Still pricey,but certainly not insane like a $500 halogen light bulb would be.I checked with a local auto supply store and the Sylvania head light bulb for a Prius is $10.95.
  • lew74lew74 Member Posts: 8
    When I went to the toyota dealer i asked him to make sure they put in the smart key battery which has 8 amper hour more power. They did. However when they brought the car around I paid and got in and started to lower the driver window, depressed the button all the way down released, and window went 1/3 way down, and radio was all static. I immediately called Service Tech back and told him, he had messed up and did not put the auxillary 12 volts under the hood to hold all the computer presets.

    He did not know what I was talking about and called another service tech over, and I told them they should have put a 12 volt source on the jumper posts to hold all the computer presets. They asked me if I was sure it would hold all the computer presets. I told them yes the jumper posts are in parallel with the 12 volt battery. They then said they would put a notice out to all the Prius Tech's to put 12 volts on the jumper posts to keep all the computers from resetting.

    BE CAREFUL OF DEALER TECH'S DIAGNOSIS OF YOUR PRIUS'S PROBLEMS.
  • mickeyrommickeyrom Member Posts: 936
    What exactly did they misdiagnose?
  • lew74lew74 Member Posts: 8
    Technically you are right. I was simply noting a lack of experience.
  • sarahapsarahap Member Posts: 10
    I have a 2010 Prius. 7k miles. Came home last night as usual, parked in garage, This morning would not start. No lights at all. Nada just dead. We jumped the battery per the instructions in the book--successfully. Off I went to work. Drove 15-20, minutes no problem. When I turned it off on arrival, I noticed that it is again dead. No lights no nothing. I will jump it again when I leave and hopefully get home okay.

    Aside from the obvious "what do you think is wrong?" my other question is, I would have liked to back it gently out of the garage to facilitate charging but how would I get it into neutral to give it a little push? (or to tow it, if needed?)
  • stevegoldstevegold Member Posts: 185
    edited September 2010
    Either you have a major problem or something is left on draining the small battery. Lights, glove box, door open? The jump you did is only to start the computer. Once that's on, the car can back up and should function normally using the big traction battery. The small battery should recharge after a short drive to work. It may be defective.
    To make it easier, I modified one cigarette lighter to be always on (from Coastal Tech) and then I bought a very small 12VDC charging battery from Autosport. Keep that charged and it can easily furnish enough juice to start the computer and avoid the jumping. This happened to my 2004 once at the very beginning and once or twice since. It has happened to my wife's 2007 HH a few times lately so when I finally did replace the small battery in the Prius (with an Optima), I put the old one which was really OK, in the rear compartment of the HH with a set of jumper cables. It is a minor PIA but we're probably leaving something on every once in while.
  • markmcjmarkmcj Member Posts: 1
    edited September 2010
    I have an issue currently where the bulb blew due to moisture collecting in the headlight assembly. I was told the warrantee won't cover water damage this is costing me $ 900.00 to correct I do have the extended warrantee. The warrantee wont paya dime. Turning me off to Toyota; they don't care about their customers needs. The controller card also was sitting in water and needed to be replaced now I wonder if this is an issue with the left front head light assembly
  • whitey9whitey9 Member Posts: 138
    edited September 2010
    I haven't had this problem yet. Just 1 inop light which required 3 visits to get the "bulb" replaced at 21K mi. No condensation, or leakage yet, only some "fogging" on exterior of lens due to UV degradation. Will keep both eyes peeled for water inside of light to nip future damage in the bud. Thnx.
  • myrafmyraf Member Posts: 32
    I had the same problem with my 2006 toy highlander hybrid,bring the car back it is defective,i have had nothing but trouble with my hybrid,and the more miles you get on your car the less the warranty,these hybrids are deathtraps,i almost got killed when mine died on fwy doing 70 mph.i'm lucky to be alive,go on the highlander hybrid problems forum and read.
  • skar7skar7 Member Posts: 2
    I was told that toyota is going to recall 2004 to 2007 prius's for a problem with some sort of pump. Anybody heard anything about that?
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    Yes, but it's not actually a "recall" on the cooling pump, but a "customer satisfaction campaign"...

    http://www.insideline.com/toyota/prius/toyota-to-repair-650000-prius-hybrids-for- -cooling-pump-problem.html
  • skar7skar7 Member Posts: 2
    OK, thanks. i just read the news article you sent and I'll wait for my "customer satisfaction letter" to come. thanks again
  • mickeyrommickeyrom Member Posts: 936
    Why are hybrids any more death traps than any regular car? Things can go wrong on any vehicle.You can lose power for many reasons.
  • rola2003rola2003 Member Posts: 1
    I purchased a new Prius IV in September 2010, and I am disappointed with the poor reception on my local FM radio station. I have never had this problem with any of my previous cars (Toyota, VW, Saab, Audi) and was just told that the navigation system needs to be replaced per a tech service bulletin regarding this problem. I am hopeful that this will resolve the problem. I disagree that one should expect problems like this with a new car at any price!
  • myrafmyraf Member Posts: 32
    it is not a customer satisfaction,it a voluntary recall on the cooling pump which overheats the inverta and the hybrid system shuts down,go on rueters.com and you will see the news@rueters.com,650,000 prius hybrids recalled for heat risk,good luck
  • frankjwillfrankjwill Member Posts: 1
    Headlignts on my '06 Prius seem to annoy other drivers...a lot. One semi tried to run me off the road. Others flash their lights. One driver, as I passed him, flipped me a bird. This has been happening since new. Last week, I had a dealer check, and they said that the lights were aligned within spec, but adjusted them to the lower spec limit. It was post adjustment that that driver flipped me off.
  • samanthaggsamanthagg Member Posts: 1
    A class action settlement involving the HID headlights on 2006-2009 Priuses has been reached. Information about the settlement can be found at www.GirardGibbs.com/Prius.asp.
  • sliceopizzasliceopizza Member Posts: 26
    My reverse camera stopped working. The screen is mostly white with a rainbow pattern in it when I put it into reverse. No other problems with the display. I have a 2006. Anyone else had their cameras do this?
  • nycjerseyguynycjerseyguy Member Posts: 1
    A guy with a 2008 Prius turned on his low beams and they seemed very
    bright. Were they HID's and if not, when did HID's become available?
    Thank you
  • iggy8niggy8n Member Posts: 2

    I was given a 2005 Prius as a gift for watching my neighbors' dogs for a few years. It has 239K miles and she was offered $1500 in trade for a new Subaru last year. I found that the HID headlamps wouldn't stay lit for more than a few minutes. Toyota has avoided admitting the fact that the OEM ballasts burn out. All the ballast is, is an inverter to get high voltage from the 12 volt DC battery. Generally, you don't need new bulbs. I opened up the OEM ballast and found where the laquer-covered coils were overheating. It seems that they were designed poorly. It's too bad that Toyota didn't recall the bad ballasts instead of having the dealer charge big bucks to repair them. I'd like to inform this forum about the way this has gone down.

    I bought 2 new D2R headlights bulbs and 2 digital ballasts from ProTuningLabs($50). The parts work. The connectors were not compatible with what was in the car. I had to clip all the connectors and solder the wires supplying 12volts to the ballast and outputting the HID high voltage to the headlights. It all works OK now. It would be nice if ProTuningLabs provided connectors that were compatible with the car. They ask for all the info and don't provide any plug and play connectors.

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