NHTSA Complaint #10583646 — 2009 TOYOTA PRIUS

ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS PRIOR TO THE MOST RECENT INCIDENT DATE LISTED, THE PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED 2009 TOYOTA PRIUS HAS HAD INTERMITTENT COMPLETE OR PARTIAL HEADLIGHT FAILURE. ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS THAT SEEM TO BE RANDOM IN NATURE EITHER THE DRIVERS SIDE OR PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT WILL FAIL INDIVIDUAL WHILE THE COUNTERPART (OPPOSITE HEADLIGHT) WILL CONTINUE TO OPERATE. ALSO, AS RANDOM AS ONE INDIVIDUAL HEADLIGHT FAILING BOTH HEADLIGHTS HAVE GONE OUT OR FAILED SIMULTANEOUSLY. THE OPERATOR HAS BEEN ABLE TO RECTIFY THE IMMEDIATE HAZARD BY SIMPLY TURNING THE MAIN ACTIVATION SWITCH FOR THE HEADLIGHT FROM "ON" TO "OFF" AND THEN TO "ON" AGAIN. THIS PROCEDURE WILL, ON MOST OCCASIONS TEMPORARILY RECTIFY THE IMMEDIATE HAZARD BUT THE INTERMITTENT FAILURE HAS AND WILL CONTINUE. OPERATOR CONDUCTED RESEARCH ON THE ISSUE AND DISCOVERED THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM THE 2005-2009 TOYOTA PRIUS IS DISPLAYING. TOYOTA CORPORATE WAS CONTACTED BY THE OPERATOR AND STATED THAT A CUSTOMER CARE INITIATIVE WAS DIRECTED TO ALL TOYOTA SERVICE DEPARTMENTS TO REDUCE THE COST OF REPLACEMENT BULBS. HOWEVER, WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT THIS SITUATION IS A HEADLAMP HID BULB ON THE DRIVERS SIDE WAS REPLACED APPROXIMATELY ONE YEAR AGO AND IS THE MORE FREQUENT HEADLAMP FAILURE OCCURRING. THIS SEEMS TO INVALIDATE THE REMEDY THAT TOYOTA CORPORATE HAS DEVISED WHICH IS TO REPLACE THE BULBS. *TR