NHTSA Complaint #11494903 — 2007 TOYOTA PRIUS

Toyota North America failed to notify me of the latent defect in the Headlight Operating System. I have had ongoing issues with the flickering of the lights for multiple years. I finally saved up enough money to try and fix the problem and spent $2854.34. After multiple failed attempts to get the problem fixed and having both headlights shut off simultaneously, I went to Alexandria Toyota in Virginia on October 20,2022 to get the problem diagnosed. The Automobile Status Report showed that the failed headlights were a direct result of the latent defect in the Headlight Operating System that was repaired free of charge in two separate Support Programs; one that ended in 2012, and the other in 2013. When I contacted Customer Support Service on October 24, 2022, to inquire when Toyota contacted me and where they sent the Support Program Information regarding the headlight issue, none of the three managers could tell me the date this was sent out, nor the address. I didn’t own the car in 2012, and never received the 2017 notice. If I had received this information, I would have brought my vehicle in at that time. I purchased this vehicle back in 2013 as a “Toyota Certified Vehicle” with the understanding that the 160-point quality assurance meant that this was a safe and reliable vehicle, and that any problems or latent defects were fixed. Toyota misrepresented themselves and are in contradiction with their own policy that states: “The TCUV policy prohibits the certification of any vehicle with an outstanding Safety Recall, Special Service Campaign, or Limited Service Campaign. Thus, no affected units are to be designated, sold, or delivered as a TCUV until all applicable Safety Recalls, Special Service Campaigns, and Limited Service Campaigns have been completed on that vehicle.”