NHTSA Complaint #11030421 — 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS

THE LOW-BEAM HEADLIGHTS GENERALLY MUST BE REPLACED EVERY 4 TO 6 MONTHS; OCCASIONALLY ONE LOW-BEAM WILL LAST A YEAR, BUT MAY GO OUT AND COME BACK ON INTERMITTENTLY, WITHOUT WARNING. THIS IS NOT ONLY A SAFETY CONCERN, BUT I HAVE RECEIVED REPEATED VEHICLE DEFECT TICKETS THAT MUST CONSTANTLY BE ADDRESSED BY VISITING A REPAIR SHOP TO DEMONSTRATE THAT I FIXED THE BULB MYSELF. THE SHOP MUST SIGN THE PAPERWORK TO ATTEST THE DEFECTIVE LIGHTS HAVE BEEN FIXED BEFORE I CAN MAIL THE FORM TO ABSOLVE THE TICKET. THIS PROCESS IS TIME-CONSUMING AND HAPPENS FOR ONE HEADLIGHT, THE SIX WEEKS LATER, TO THE OTHER HEADLIGHT. PRESENTLY, I JUST REPLACED THE PASSENGER SIDE LOW-BEAM TWO WEEKS AGO. THREE DAYS AGO, THE DRIVER SIDE LOW-BEAM WENT OUT. I BOUGHT A NEW BULB BUT THE LOW-BEAM STILL DIDN'T WORK. I RETURNED THAT BULB FOR ANOTHER NEW BULB WHICH DIDN'T SEEM TO WORK EITHER. MY HUSBAND THOUGHT TO TEST THE BULB ON THE PASSENGER SIDE AND DISCOVERED THAT BOTH THE NEW BULB AND THE CURRENT BULB THAT WE THOUGHT WAS BLOWN BOTH WORK!! NOW, WE ARE WONDERING HOW MANY BULBS WE REPLACED THAT WERE ACTUALLY WORKING!!! MY HUSBAND ALSO CHECKED THE FUSES, WHICH ARE FINE. IT SEEMS THERE MUST BE A CONNECTION ISSUE THAT SHOULD BE RESOLVED. I HAVE SOME OF THE INVOICES AND DEFECT TICKETS BUT THEY AREN'T WITH ME AT THE MOMENT.