NHTSA Complaint #10995207 — 2006 TOYOTA PRIUS

PURCHASED 2006 TOYOTA PRIUS USED ON AUG 17, 2013 (61,500 MILES). WITHIN A MONTH I WAS PULLED OVER BY POLICE FOR PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT OUT WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT, BUT WHEN HEADLAMPS ARE TURNED OFF AND ON AGAIN THE HEADLIGHT CAME BACK ON, AND THE POLICE OFFICER THOUGHT HE WAS CRAZY SO HE JUST ISSUED A WARNING. THE HEADLIGHT CONTINUED TO GO OUT INTERMITTENTLY AND I REPLACED THE BULBS MYSELF IN NOVEMBER 2013 (PHILIPS HID HEADLIGHT BULBS $95). THE HEADLIGHT STILL WENT OUT INTERMITTENTLY AND I FINALLY REPLACED BOTH HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLIES IN JULY 2016 BY AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC (APPROXIMATELY $1000 AT 143,000 MILES). PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT STILL GOES OUT INTERMITTENTLY. NHTSA LAUNCHED A PROBE IN APRIL 2009, BUT THEN DROPPED THE INVESTIGATION AFTER TOYOTA SAID IT WOULD INITIATE A "CONSUMER SERVICE CAMPAIGN" TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE. THEN THERE WAS A CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT IN 2011, ALL OF WHICH THE PREVIOUS CAR OWNER MISSED. TOYOTA USES "CAMPAIGNS" TO AVOID RECALLS. TOYOTA'S WEBSITE (HTTPS://WWW.TOYOTA.COM/RECALL) DOES NOT LIST PREVIOUS "CAMPAIGNS" RELATED TO THE VIN SO BUYING THE CAR USED I HAD NO WAY OF KNOWING OF PREVIOUS "CAMPAIGNS" THAT STILL NEEDED TO BE ADDRESSED. UPON PURCHASING IN AUGUST 2013 I TOOK THE CAR TO A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP IN SAN MARCOS, TX FOR A STEERING WHEEL RECALL BUT WAS NOT ALERTED TO ANY OTHER RECALLS OR "CAMPAIGNS" AT THAT TIME.