2008 TOYOTA PRIUS Visibilitywiper Problems

THE DASHBOARD LIGHTS GO OUT, MEANING YOU CAN NO LONGER SEE THE MPH, THE FUEL, AND EVERYTHING IMPORTANT TO DRIVE WITH GAUGES. THIS CAN HAPPEN AT ANYTIME, DRIVING OR PARKED, ON ANY STREET IN ANY WEATHER. ALSO NOTE, YOU CAN NO LONGER SHUT THE CAR OFF, UNLESS YOU HOLD THE START BUTTON FOR 20 SECONDS. SOMETIMES THE CAR WILL STILL NOT SHUT OFF, IT'S ALSO SOMETIMES HARD TO TELL IF THE CAR IS OFF, BECAUSE THERE IS NO MORE DASH. THE ONLY WELL TO TELL IS TO SEE IF THE RADIO GOES ON. THERE ARE A FEW WAYS TO RESET THIS MAJOR MALFUNCTION, TO TRY AND GET THINGS WORKING AGAIN BY DISCONNECTING BATTERIES, BUT THIS IS A DANGEROUS PROBLEM, THAT COULD KILL SOMEONE WHILE DRIVING AND NEEDS ATTENTION AND RECALLED SOON AS POSSIBLE!

MY 2008 PRIUS HID HEADLIGHT ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE GOES OFF INTERMITTENTLY AFTER FEW MINUTES OF DRIVING. SWITCHING THE HEADLIGHT COMPLETELY OFF AND THEN BACK ON BRINGS IT BACK SOMETIMES. READING FROM OTHER PRIUS OWNERS COMMENTS, THIS SEEMS TO BE A COMMON ISSUE WITH SOME OF THE PRIUS MODELS. THIS IS DEFINITELY A SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARD, AND I WOULD LIKE TO ASK IF TOYOTA PROVIDES ANY SUGGESTED FIX TO THIS PROBLEM SINCE IT'S COMMON ON MULTIPLE VEHICLES OF THE SAME MODEL.

WHEN DRIVING HOME ON HIGHWAY JUST AFTER DARK, BOTH HEADLIGHTS WENT OUT SIMULTANEOUSLY WITHOUT DRIVER INTERACTION. HEADLIGHT SWITCH WAS STILL ON, UNTOUCHED. VISIBILITY OUTWARD AS WELL AS OTHER VEHICLES SEEING ME (BLACK PRIUS AT NIGHT WITHOUT LIGHTS) SEVERELY IMPAIRED, COULD EASILY HAVE CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. PULLED OVER AND TURNED HEADLIGHT SWITCH OFF, THEN BACK ON; LIGHTS CAME ON BRIGHT AND IMMEDIATELY DIMMED, APPARENTLY NORMAL. CHECKED ONLINE AND FOUND A NUMBER OF SIMILAR (ESCALATING) OCCURRENCES BY OTHERS, WITHOUT A RECALL YET BY TOYOTA. AFTER PULLING OVER AND STOPPING

THE DRIVER HEADLAMP TURNS OFF AFTER APPROX 5 MINUTES OF USE. CAN TURN LIGHTS OFF THEN ON AGAIN TO RESTART HEADLAMP. I FIRST TOOK TO DEALER AFTER PURCHASING USED BECAUSE OF THIS PROBLEM AND THEY DID NOT MENTION WHAT I HAVE RECENTLY LEARNED IS A KNOWN DEFECT. THIS HAS BEEN OCCURRING FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS. CHANGING BULB FIXES PROBLEM FOR A WHILE BUT PROBLEM RE-OCCURS. THIS ISSUE IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE, AND TOYOTA IS CHARGING EXORBITANT RATES TO REPLACE THE HEADLAMPS. I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE MY CAR AT NIGHT OR FOR LONG DISTANCES. THIS PROBLEM NEEDS A PERMANENT FIX! *TR

BOTH OF MY CARS HEADLIGHTS TURN OFF INTERMITTENTLY AND FOR NO REASON (THE BULBS AND BALLASTS HAVE BEEN REPLACED AND ARE IN WORKING ORDER). I WILL BE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD AT NIGHT (INTERSTATE 70MPH) AND OCCASIONALLY BOTH HEADLIGHTS WILL JUST TURN OFF. I HAVE ALMOST GOTTEN IN A WRECK MULTIPLE TIMES DUE TO THE FACT I'M DRIVING AT NIGHT AND OUT OF NOWHERE MY LIGHTS GO OUT. THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE. WHEN LOOKING THIS UP ONLINE, I'M NOT THE ONLY PERSON WITH MY YEAR/MAKE/MODEL THAT IS HAVING THIS ISSUE. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING ON AND OFF SINCE MY VEHICLE WAS AT 75,000 MILES. LAST NIGHT SPECIFICALLY I ALMOST GOT IN A WRECK GOING 70MPH ON THE INTERSTATE BECAUSE OF IT. MANY TIMES I CAN TURN THE HEADLIGHTS OFF AND BACK ON AGAIN AND ONE OR BOTH WILL WORK AGAIN. *TR

WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED, THE HID HEADLIGHTS INTERMITTENTLY CUT OFF. THIS USUALLY HAPPENS ONE AT A TIME, AND MOSTLY ON THE PASSENGERS SIDE. I AM UNABLE TO TELL WHEN THEY GO OFF UNTIL EITHER I GET PULLED OVER AND WARNED WHICH HAS HAPPENED ONCE ALREADY OR I PULL UP AND SEE REFLECTION OFF BACK OF ANOTHER CAR. THE LIGHTS WILL WORK FOR SHORT PERIODS THEN OFF AGAIN THEN ON AGAIN. THIS APPEARS TO BE A KNOWN ISSUE WITH THIS MAKE/MODEL AND THE MANUFACTURER (TOYOTA) IS NOT TAKING RESPONSIBILITY AND CHARGING UPWARDS OF $600 FOR REPAIR. IN MY OPINION THIS IS A BIG SAFETY ISSUE WHICH I BELIEVE TOYOTA SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR AN OBVIOUS DEFECT. I HAVE ALSO READ THIS HAS OCCURRED TO MANY OWNERS OF THIS VEHICLE. AFTER A FURTHER LENGTHY RESEARCH MY UNDERSTANDING IS THERE IS ACTUALLY A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT FOR THIS, OF WHICH I WOULD...

MY HEADLIGHTS TURNED THEM SELF OFF ON ANY GIVEN TIME EITHER ONE ON A TIME OR BOTH AT THE SAME TIME SAME THING HAPPENS IF THE HIGHBEAMS ARE ON DAY OR NIGHT TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM TEMPORARILY YOU HAVE TO TURN THE LIGHTS ON AND OFF QUICKLY AND YOU HAVE NO GUARANTEE HOW LONG IT WILL STAY ON I SPOKE TO THE TOYOTA CORPORATION AND THEY WILL NOT HELP BECAUSE MY CAR HAS 90,000 MILES MY CAR IS 2008 TO FIX THIS PROBLEM THE DEALERSHIP IS CHARGING $1200 I HAVE EXTENDED WARRANTY ON THE CAR BUT ELECTRICAL IS NOT COVERED. *TR