Owner-reported complaints naming the exterior lighting system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2010 Toyota Prius submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 147 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 147, in the owner's own words
There is a long-standing problem with the instrument panel being very difficult to see when operating the vehicle on a very sunny day. It is very dim even when the "instrument panel light control" is adjusted, especially when wearing sunglasses. No response by dealer.
Hazard lights flashing, flashes faster at higher speeds. Hazard button useless. Mechanic not sure what is the problem; reset codes. Problem went away for a few days and then came back.
The dash lights on my 2010 Prius went all dark, lost all information on my dash. No lights on dash, no fuel gauge, no speedometer, nothing. This is very dangerous to suddenly have happened and I don't see a recall from Toyota to address this problem.
The headlights on my car would get very dim and would burnout within 4 to 6 months. As time has past the time between bulb replacement would get shorter and shorter. At this point when I plug replacement bulbs into my car the burnout instantly. Without low beam headlights I am required to drive with my high beams on at all times. The dealer and the manufacture know about the problem and there was a notification regarding this issue with the headlights, but I was not sent this notice. Had I been sent the notice from Toyota I would have brought my car into the dealership for them to inspect the light problem. From what I have learned from Toyota is that there was never a recall on this issue. Headlights on a car I would think would be considered a major safety feature and should not have an expiration date on such a repair issue. The program to fix the issue was called Customer Support Program ZHB which allowed the dealers to correct the problem. How would anyone know that there was a problem unless they get a notification.
I INHERITED A 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS 3RD GENERATION WHEN MY MOTHER PASSED A FEW YEARS AGO. I'VE SINCE HAD SEVERAL UNNECESSARY AND COSTLY PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR AS WELL AS DEALERSHIP'S OUTLOOK, TREATMENT, AND INDIFFERENCE TO THE DANGER THAT THEIR CUSTOMERS FACE--AS MANY ALREADY HAVE. THE FOLLOWING ARE SITUATIONS THAT I'M EXPERIENCING NOW. FIRST, I WAS RECENTLY LEAVING THE PHARMACY WHEN ALL OF MY WARNING LIGHTS (ABS, BRAKE, TRACTION ) SUDDENLY CAME ON AND MY BRAKES FAILED AS I WAS HEADING HOME. I'M A SINGLE MOTHER OF A SPECIAL NEEDS CHILD AND I HAD TO GET HOME TO HER. I WAS APPROXIMATELY 1 MILE FROM MY HOME AND I WAS NEARLY IN 3 ACCIDENTS THAT COULD'VE BEEN CATASTROPHIC. THANKFULLY THE ROAD WAS DRY, CLEAR, AND WITH LITTLE TRAFFIC. WE HAVE BEEN HOMEBOUND FOR WEEKS, WITHOUT TRANSPORTATION FOR DOCTORS, FOOD, ETC. OUR VEHICLE IS OUR ONLY MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION, AND WE MUST GET TO DOCTOR APPOINTMENTS, ETC. SECOND, THE CAR HAS INEXPLICABLY STALLED TWICE. THIRD, I'M CONSTANTLY HAVING TO REPLACE LIGHTS, AND HAVE BEEN PULLED OVER BY THE POLICE FOR LIGHTS NOT WORKING. FINALLY, AN AIRBAG HAS BEEN RECALLED AND ONCE I CAN AFFORD IT I'LL GET THAT FIXED AS WELL. I SPOKE WITH MY LOCAL TOYOTA DEALERSHIPS, AND AFTER EXPLAINING THE PROBLEMS, I WAS INFORMED (SEVERAL TIMES AS I WAS REPEATEDLY TRANSFERRED) THAT I HAD TO PAY AN INSPECTION FEE THAT ALSO CHANGED WITH EACH PERSON. FINALLY, I WAS TOLD I HAD TO LEAVE MY CAR THERE FOR DAYS AND THAT I WAS GOING TO PAY THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO FIX THE CAR. I'M UNABLE TO PAY THAT MUCH MONEY--AND THE AMOUNT KEPT CHANGING AS WELL. I HAVE RESEARCHED THESE PROBLEMS AND NOW UNDERSTAND THE METHODOLOGY AND INTIMIDATION USED ON POOR PEOPLE SUCH AS MYSELF. TOYOTA SHOULD BE ASHAMED. FIX THESE PROBLEMS THAT WILL ENDANGER AND POSSIBLY KILL YOUR CUSTOMERS FOR NOTHING MORE THAN THEIR OWN INCOMPETENCE AND GREED.
HEADLIGHT BULBS KEEP GOING BLOWING CONSISTENTLY.VEHICLE STATIONARY
WAS GOING 25 MPH YESTERDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2020 EVENING WHEN 4 (BRAKE, ABS, TRACTION & CAUTION) LIGHTS CAME ON DASHBOARD. PULLED OVER THE SHOULDER & TURNED IGNITION OFF. RESTARTED LATER & 4 LIGHTS STILL ON. FOLLOWING DAY, WENT TO DEALERSHIP & WAS TOLD BRAKE BOOSTER ASSEMBLY NEED TO BE REPLACED DUE TO INTERNAL FLUID LEAK.
LOW BEAM STARTED GETTING DIM, BUT WERE BRAND NEW. THEY BOTH SUDDENLY FAILED ON THE HIGHWAY ALMOST CAUSING A CRASH. I REPLACED BULBS AND THEY WERE DIM AGAIN. I WENT TO BUY THE TOP LINE HEADLIGHTS THINKING THAT WAS THE ISSUE, BUT I DISCOVERED THE PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY WAS CORRODED AND MELTED. ONCE I TURNED THE CAR ON IT BEGAN SMOKING. I CAN'T INSTALL ANY LIGHTS NOW. *TR
ABS SYSTEM FAILS, REAR PASSENGER SEAT BELT ISSUE, HEADLIGHT BULBS BURNED TOO MUCH
BOTH THE LOW BEAM LIGHTS ARE OF A PROBLEM WITH RECALL WHICH TOYOTA EXPIRED THE RECALL ON 10/31/2019. I TRIED FEW TIMES LAST 3 YEARS TO GET IT FIXED WITH TOYOTA PORTLAND BUT THEY ALWAYS SAID 1) DON'T HAVE PARTS WILL CALL BACK ONCE AVAILABLE 2) IF YOU HAVE ISSUE WE WILL FIX IT OTHERWISE NOW NOW. NOW THAT BOTH WERE OFF AND I HAD TO USE HIGH BEAM, I TOOK TO TOYOTA BEAVERTON, OR. THEY SAID RECALL IS EXPIRED. WHY WILL RECALL EXPIRE IF IT IS SAFETY ISSUE? I CALLED TOYOTA CUSTOMER SUPPORT THEY SAID EXPIRED AND YOU HAVE PAY FO YOURSELF. THE COST IS NOT JUST BULBS BUT INTERNAL WIRING KIT WHICH STARTS FROM $600. I AM TAKING IT TO TOYOTA PORTLAND TODAY AS MY STUDENT DAUGHTER NEEDS THE LIGHTS TO DRIVE. WE ARE BOTH IN DIFFERENT STATES (CA AND OR). CSP INFO - "CUSTOMER SUPPORT PORGRAM ZHB CERTAIN 2010-2011 MODEL PRIUS COVERAGE FOR HALOGEN LOW BEAM HEADLAMP BULBS)
FIRST THE DRIVER'S SIDE LOW BEAM FAILED, FOLLOWED BY THE PASSENGER LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT DAYS LATER. AFTER REPLACING BOTH LIGHTS, THE DRIVER'S SIDE LOW BEAM FAILED FOLLOWED BY THE PASSENGER'S LOW BEAM.
TOYOTA PRIUS LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS SUDDENLY GO OUT DUE TO KNOWN ISSUE WITH WIRE HARNESS. NO RECALL ISSUED AND OWNER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR COST OF REPAIR
PREVIOUSLY HAD NO ISSUES WITH LOW-BEAM LIGHTS. USED IN THE MORNING- WORKING FINE. CAME OUT AFTER WORK AND BOTH LOW-BEAM LIGHTS WOULD NOT TURN ON. HIGH-BEAM LIGHTS WORK FINE. CAR WAS STATIONARY AND IN PARK WHEN LIGHTS WERE ATTEMPTED TO TURN ON. TRIED TURNING LIGHT SWITCH AND CAR OFF/ON MULTIPLE TIMES WITHOUT SUCCESS. HAD TO DRIVE HOME IN THE DARK WITH HIGH-BEAM LIGHTS.
LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS TURN OFF/FAIL. I HAVE REPLACED 7 LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS IN THE PAST YEAR, FOUR IN THE PAST 2 MONTHS. IN THE TWO MOST RECENT CASES BOTH LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS FAILED WITHIN MINUTES OF EACH OTHER WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. I HAD A TOYOTA DEALER CHECK THE WIRING HARNESS PER TOYOTA WARRANTY NOTICE AFTER THE LAST OUTAGE AND THEY STATED NOTHING WAS WRONG. WHEN I HAD THE LIGHTS CHECKED BY A DIFFERENT TOYOTA DEALER IN JAN 2019 THEY INDICATED THE SOCKET FOR THE BULB WAS MELTED. BULBS HAVE GONE OUT UNDER, WET, DRY, HOT, AND COLD CONDITIONS. THE MOST RECENT OUTAGE OCCURRED ON MARCH 8, 2019 WHILE DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE..
ABS FAILED. WARNING LIGHTS DO NOT APPEAR. HEARD OTHERS HAVE SIMILAR ISSUE. TOYOTA WILL FIX THE ABS ONLY IF THE WARNING LIGHTS APPEAR. WARNING LIGHTS APPEAR ONLY WHEN CAR IS NOT ON COMPLETELY. BRAKES WENT OUT WITH NO WARNING AT ALL. BRAKES WENT OUT WITH NO WARNING WHILE DRIVING. LIGHT BULB LEAKS MOISTURE HAS SINCE PURCHASE. LIGHT BULBS BLOW FREQUENTLY.
HEADLIGHT WOULD BURN OUT A YEAR AFTER REPLACEMENT. MANUFACTURER ISSUED A VARIANT OF A RECALL INTENDING TO PROVIDE A FIX FOR HIGH RATE OF BURNOUT. I TOOK MY CAR IN TO A DEALERSHIP TO RECEIVE THE FIX AND THE DEALERSHIP CAUSED A PROBLEM WITH THE FRONT WINDSHIELD WIPER APPARATUS. WIPERS WOULD NOW WORK IF THE HEADLIGHTS WERE OFF, BUT WOULD NO LONGER WORK ONCE THE HEADLIGHTS WERE TURNED ON. THIS WOULD OCCUR WHETHER STATIONARY OR MOVING.
THERE'S A VOLUNTARY RECALL THAT TOYOTA IS DOING ON THE PRIUS RIGHT NOW THAT SEEMS DANGEROUS AND POORLY EXECUTED. THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT WIRING HARNESS HAS A DEFECT THAT CAUSES IT TO BURN OUT HEADLIGHTS OR SHORT OUT IN A WAY THAT THE HEADLIGHTS WON'T WORK. SOMETIMES YOU CAN GET THE HEADLIGHTS WORKING AGAIN BY WIGGLING THE WIRING HARNESS, BUT I'VE HAD THIS OCCUR SEVERAL TIMES WHILE ON BACK COUNTRY ROADS AND YOU JUST HAVE 1 HEADLIGHT, WHICH SEEMS SUPER DANGEROUS. TOYOTA WON'T FIX IT UNLESS YOU COME IN WITH THE HEADLIGHT BUSTED WHICH MEANS YOU HAVE TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT AND EITHER DRIVE THE CAR AROUND ILLEGALLY WITH 1 WORKING HEADLIGHT OR JUST NOT DRIVE IT FOR A WEEK WHILE YOU WAIT FOR YOUR APPOINTMENT. THIS IS A SAFETY DEFECT AND THEY NEED TO REPLACE THE WIRING HARNESS WITHOUT HOOPS TO JUMP THROUGH.
I FIND MYSELF CHANGING MY HEADLIGHTS MORE FREQUENTLY WITH THE PRIUS THEN ANY OTHER CAR IVE EVER HAD. THIS IS RIDICULOUS AND MOST DEFINITELY A SAFETY ISSUE. FRONT LIGHTS ARE NEEDED, I'D LIKE TO ASSUME THEY PUT THEM THERE FOR SAFETY, RIGHT? DRIVING WITH HFH BEAMS IS JUST RUDE TO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. DOUBLE SAFETY ISSUE HERE.
I KEEP HAVING TO REPLACE THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS IN MY 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHAT IS GOING ON? MY COMMUTE TO AND FROM WORK EVERYDAY IS 3 HOURS AND WITH DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME I AM USUALLY GOING TO WORK IN THE DARK OR COMING HOME IN THE DARK. MY LIGHTS WENT OUT ON MY WAY HOME IN THE DARK ONCE AND I HAD TO USE MY HIGH BEAMS TO GET HOME SAFE. I AM SURE THIS WAS BLINDING TO ONCOMING TRAFFIC AS INDICATED WITH ALL THE FLASHING OF HIGH BEAMS I GOT.
EVERY 4 TO 6 MONTHS HEADLIGHTS ARE BURNING OUT.
THREE HEADLIGHT BULBS HAVE BURNED OUT REQUIRING REPLACEMENT BEFORE THE ODOMETER REACHED 70,000 MILES. TOYOTA SENT A NOTICE OF A WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM IN 2017 ON THIS ISSUE, DESCRIBING THE PROPOSED REPAIR AS THE INSTALLATION OF "VOLTAGE ADJUSTMENT WIRE HARNESSES." AS INSTRUCTED, I TOOK MY 2010 PRIUS TO A DEALERSHIP ON JANUARY 19, 2018 AND WAS TOLD THAT IT REQUIRED A REPAIR, BUT THE PARTS WERE NOT IN STOCK AND WERE ON BACK ORDER. IN A FOLLOW UP CALL TO THE DEALERSHIP ON APRIL 26, 2016, THE REPRESENTATIVE SAID THE PARTS WERE STILL ON BACK ORDER, AND THERE WAS NO INDICATION OF WHEN THEY MIGHT BE RECEIVED. THE ADMITTEDLY DEFECTIVE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM IN MY CAR CAN AND HAS CAUSED MY HEADLIGHTS TO BURN OUT PREMATURELY, WHICH IS AN OBVIOUS SAFETY PROBLEM. EVEN THOUGH TOYOTA RECOGNIZES THE PROBLEM, THEY SEEM TO BE DRAGGING THEIR FEET IN CORRECTING IT.
THE HEADLIGHTS KEEP GOING OUT, MAKING DRIVING AT NIGHT UNSAFE UNTIL YOU CAN GET IT FIXED. IT JUST HAPPENED AGAIN, MARCH, 29, 2018. IT HAPPENED 2/11, 6/11, 12/12, 1/13, 6/13, 3/15, 1/16, 7/17 AND NOW. IT WASN'T RAINING, NOTHING INTERESTING AT ALL. LOCAL DRIVING.
DRIVERS'S SIDE HEADLIGHT AND HIGH BEAM LIGHT GOING OUT AT SAME TIME. HEADLIGHT BULBS ON BOTH SIDES WERE CHANGED OUT IN NOVEMBER 2016 (A LITTLE MORE THAN A YEAR AGO) AND I ONLY HAVE A 10 MILE COMMUTE TO WORK. IN NOVEMBER OF 2016 DRIVER'S SIDE LIGHT WAS ALSO THE ONE THAT BURNED OUT.
WE WERE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT ABOUT 70 MILES PER HOUR WHEN THE READING LIGHTS AND DASHBOARD FLASHED ON AND THEN OFF IN A MATTER OF ABOUT 5 SECONDS. THE DASH SHOWED A TRIANGLE INDICATOR LIGHT WITH AN EXCLAMATION POINT. THE DASH ALSO SEEMED TO RESET AND SHOWED THE DISPLAY AS IS THE CAR HAD JUST BEEN TURNED ON. THIS INCIDENT HAPPENED TWICE WITHIN A 4 HOUR PERIOD. ONCE ON THE HIGHWAY AND ONCE ON A BACK ROAD GOING ABOUT 40 MPH. THE CAR DID NOT STOP EITHER TIME, BUT IT IS STILL CONCERNING.
EXITING OFF FREEWAY AT S. MAIN IN WALNUT CREEK CALIFORNIA AT APPX 45MPH BOTH HEADLIGHTS WENT OUT AT THE SAME TIME. COULD NOT BE TURNED ON. INTERIOR HEADLIGHT INDICATOR REMAINED ON BUT HEADLIGHTS REMAINED OFF. HIGHBEAMS WORKED.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .