People really need to learn how to change their own light bulbs…

HIDs are expensive and are supposed to last longer than halogen lights. You would be angry too if you had to spend $500 to replace bulbs after a few years.

LMFAO! this is irresponsible reporting. NOTHING EVER GOES WRONG WITH TOYOTAS! now I know its just headlights but the moral to the story is ALL cars have quality issues. Even the mighty Toyota

Well if you were foolish enough to overpay for a 1st gen like most did, Toyota just assumed you dont mind getting bent over.

@shaver, these are second gen Prii (plural for Prius), 3rd gen for Japan.

The cost to replace one of them is what freaks me out about my GTI’s self-leveling bi-Xenon’s. Talk about pricey to replace, I’ll only keep mine until the 4 year/50k warranty is up, then it’s so long.

Wheres 1115 to defend Toyota over this? And where is NMOFGM to say “Toyota is unreliable buy GM AN American Revolution!”?

“Toyota is concealing the problems from owners”, We’ve all heard that before!!!
If you have to buy japanese, buy from nissan/infiniti! For all other products, please visit GERMANY!!!!!!!!!

Why the huge range in cost to replace?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Toyota pieces of sh1t. You would never, ever get a recall like this on a General Motors vehicle. Pathetic import quality.

This is more proof that Gm getting out of Nummi was a good thing. They won;t have to deal with the sh1tty japanese quality ever again!

Buy American. Buy GM. It is your patriotic duty

Prius owners should be charged triple for everything. Then take that money and put it in a pool and distribute to those of us who have had our time wasted sitting behind these Turdles.

The more I think about it the more this pisses me off. Whats wrong with old headlights? If you’re gonna tell me that these fancy headlights can cost UP TO 1800 dollars to replace then you had darned well better follow up that statement by saying “But they are GUARANTEED to last the LIFETIME of your car”.

I changed the headlights on a friends car yesterday, cost her a couple bucks and took me 30 seconds. I could buy a flipping car for 1800 bucks!

Well I don’t care, I’m going to go curl up with a carburetor and nap.

you can get HID bulbs for about $50 a pair on ebay. cheaper than halogens. OEM bulbs too. stupid yuppies need to stop complaining and do their homework. lightbulbs should never be covered under warranty. it’s a wear and tear item.

LED’s use very little energy vs. Halogens. Prius was built for low energy usage.

New tech. costs big $.

This is a minor issue and not sure why all the fuss here. In less than 2 weeks Toyota will pay for all headlamp complaints. Of course you need to know to complain to Toyota.

Hundreds of previous-generation TOYOTA owners have filed complaints with the U.S. Transportation Department, claiming their TOYOTA VEHICLES prematurely expire, leaving owners with enormous repair costs.

Planned obsolescence is Toyotas and the rest of Japans policy. That is why everyone would rather drive a GM vehicle that will run for hundreds of thousands of miles with narry a wimper than some embarrassing POS import.

Drive American. Drive GM. Don;t embarrass yourself diving an import.

Yup. That explains why both my Honda’s were on original engines and transmission at 208k and 263k respectively, but my 88 GMC K1500 is on it’s third engine at 118k miles…

Clearly, GM is better…

NMOFGM, you are seriously messed up! No GM would ever have a recall like this! ALL AUTOMAKERS, EVERY CAR, EVERY LIGHT BULB MADE BY ANY COMPANY HAS THE POTENTIAL AND RISK TO HAVE THESE PROBLEMS. Its not really Toyota’s fault, its just that they did not use a good supplier. That is GM’s problem too. I know that sometimes, its not the parts and its the people at the factories who install them wrong.

Just another reason that the Prius is a steaming pile of sh1t

America has chosen and General Motors is our brand. AN American Revolution.

GM headlamp bulbs are made in China

All these snobby people who drive hybrids and drive 10 miles under the speed limit wont be out after dark YEAH!!!

Shaver:
I’m with you. My time is money. I don’t even want to start thinking of the number of times one of these things has held me up on the freeway.

SgtPepper, the best part is when the greenie enviromoron’s lights burn out and night and they run off the road and kill a tree!

@BMWMPOWER – those lights you are referring to on Ebay are not the same. Those are simulation HID. They are just halogen bulbs with a different color light. HID bulbs burn xenon gas inside of them. They cost $250+ per bulb.

@2wheeledspeed – HIDs/Xenon’s are 10x better than conventional halogen headlights. They are brighter, more reflective, and last longer. They are also more green. After having them on my current GTI, I will never buy a car w/o them. Plus they look good to the passer-by. I always take more notice of cars with xenon’s vs. halogen headlights. They draw more attention.

@carstuff – LED’s are different than Xenon headlights. There are no prodcution cars that use LED headlights. They are close. LED is used in tailights because they are faster responding to the touch of brakes. They certainly don’t last longer, at least they didn’t on my GTI.

This shouldn’t be a big deal but I know other companies DO cover HID/Xenon headlights under warranty. This is something that Toyota should and likely will cover. No big deal except to the people who have never used Xenons. I didn’t think they were anything more than a way to draw attention to your car but behind the wheel they are hugely beneficial. In rain and snow is when they are at their best too.

For the record. VW covers the Xenon/HID bulbs under warranty…

OMG if they kill a tree global warming is gonna happen sooner. I gotta a better air conditioner.

I take exception to the opening line of this article. toyota was the most recalled vehicle in 2008, and was removed from fanboi Consumer Reports automatic recommended lists. Yet this ‘quality’ misperception persists…

@TornadoGTI — HIDs haven’t cost “$250+ per bulb” since shortly after they came out. Not unless you’re buying them from your local dealership in which case they’re outrageous (as these Prius owners found out). When I first had to replace them in a car about, oh, 5-6 years ago now, they were about $200/pair. Now they run about $50/pair, and no those aren’t “simulation HIDs” as it’d be more than a little difficult to confuse them.
As someone who’s ran them about as long as they’ve been available outside of the super-exotics I can’t say that they last appreciably longer, despite countless claims that they’re supposed to. I’ve ran Halogens for north of a decade before and have had HID bulbs last only about 2 years and everything in between. After using them I’d never drive a car without them though — since my first car that did have them I’ve purchased 2 that didn’t and they were immediately converted over.

@ NMOFGM
Yes, Toyota’s are crappy cars. But all companies have their problems. Some worse than others:

June 8, 2009
GM Recalls Millions of Vehicles 1997-2009
http://www.usrecallnews.com/index.php?s=General+Motors

@TornadoGTI –

You see they extended the warranty on our LED’s? They are almost impossible to get to so I’m happy at least they aren’t pulling Toyota’s go f*ck yourself! attilitude.

The truth is, until HID came to existence, manufacturers never had bulbs under warranty officially, it was often changed for free as a courtesy, but just like windshield wipers and brake pads, they are considered to be wear and tear components.

Now with HID, the story changes because you’re no longer dealing with a 10 bucks bulb, and they are meant to last longer, as mentioned both in marketing and by people here.

So the dilemma really is: can we FORCE a manufacturer to provide warranty for a piece which was traditionally not covered, but when a paradigm shift occurred in the technology?

Personally, I think not (but then again, the HID on my 2003 Saab have not failed thus far thankfully, so I’ve never had to be pissed off about it). The company should have the right to decide, and if it chooses not to, then people will buy less of their cars, thus the market will punish them….

Regardless of costs and warranty or not , the issue which has always exsisted with Toyota is the crux of the pending class action lawsuit on “concealing the problem”. Toyota has been very effective in the last few decades of this very thing. It has had the effect of falsly inflating their quality rating. The issue has been that until very recently the media has given them a pass. A domestic is held at a different reporting standard than the Japanese. Toyota has always been at its heart a dishonest corporation focused on dominance, Honda, Nissan and the minors have a far more honest.

Tornado GTI–youre wrong about no production car using LED for headlights. Do your research….. there are 2. The new Audi R8 V10 and the Platinum Edition Escalade. Also I dont understand how a $500-$1000 option isnt covered under warranty. I smell a big pile of bull **** . I cant believe the media fried GM over a faulty battery cable that cost next to nothing to replace yet Toyota doesnt cover something as vital as expensive headlights and no one says a thing…..unfair I tell you unfair….however I do feel the tides are a changing

Somewhere about 10 years ago when I was a GM tech I had to replace a faulty HID bulb in a GMC Envoy, the first year they came with HID’s. The part alone was $1600 (remember, this was the first year and HID’s were still exotic, I’m sure they’ve come down since then). GM covered it under warranty.

I wonder if resale value takes a hit if the headlights don’t work….1115 do you have the answer?

sometimes consumers pay the price for early adoption…even semi-early adoption…these HIDs sound hideously expensive, but headlights are not traditionally covered by warranties, so i don’t see why they should be now…if toyota has to pay out a lot of money to set things right, they should pass the buck on to the crappy HID supplier…

i don’t blame toyota for trying to get away without paying…that’s the nature of a company…maximize profit, not “maximize voluntary expenditures for things you might not have to pay for if you can get away with it”…business can be very ugly…companies are not your friend…they are not moral entities…they don’t have to do what you feel is “right”…they just want your money, and once they have it, they only give it back when they are legally ordered to do so…

this is why the government and legal system is there to protect you, the consumer, from them, the corporate horde, who want every penny you have…

nice call mayer, btw, on GM’s chinese lightbulbs…hehe

This suit is stupid….light bulbs are never under the warranty…..Especially for for HID. if you use HID all the time in the night driving, off course the life span will be shorten. Unless the HID system malfunction, that’s other story. What a bunch of morons. Blame every wrong tings for their stupidity.

300 units? BFD

JakeK, the GTI’s HID’s are covered separately in the warranty I believe, I’m pretty sure they are covered until around 75,000-100,000 miles. I know LED’s on them are covered around that long, the ones in my mirror shorted out and they tried to screw me and say they were “regular” bulbs that are only covered for 12,000 miles.

LOL A4, imagine that, a VW dealer trying to screw someone… Story of my life, and I even use them for a ordering dealer at my job, so they should be wanting to help me!

Except for BMW, I don’t know any manufacturer who does not screw its customers. But then you pay for it upfront. I also had a decent experience with Volvo (they voluntarily replaced dead battery). Toyota, GM, Honda – all of them bastards as far as covering their own warranty. At least with Honda, I haven’t had a reason to bring my cars in for warranty work, but you hear complaints that when crap happens dealers are a-holes.

Hey my Focus SVT was covered. Yes it is the nature of companies to maximize profits but somehow Toyota gets away with falling on the “sourced component” when no one else is allowed to. Leftwing I can pull up plenty of statements that you have made regarding domestics recalls.

“Yup. That explains why both my Honda’s were on original engines and transmission at 208k and 263k respectively, but my 88 GMC K1500 is on it’s third engine at 118k miles…” Foamypirate, timing chains, valve cover gaskets, and air filters don’t count as a NEW ENGINE, many of the k series pickups have gone over 200k without a rebuild and some have even hit the million mile mark with one (I don’t know if it was GMC or Chevy) hit 2 million miles. 208k for a newer honda is nothing to brag about. Every car built these days should hit 200-300k.

Toyota does suck though. A 436hp corvette gets better average gas milage than a scion xb now. Toyota has no flare or taste and blends in but look at the malibu, cts, hhr, cobalt, corvette, camaro, and most american cars They make themselves noticed with style and all while having better quality and gas milage.

I can’t believe that there can be such a moron like that guy who writes about GM ****.
Pontiac is dead (thank God)
Chevy has so poor quality that you need change a whole gearbox every 3 years.And i don’t talk about electronic problems.Light bulb burns out after 6 months leaving dealership.
Buick ugliest cars.
And so on.And yeah GM uses new technologies their are building their first crappy hybrid called volt.When japanese do it from like 1995.Its shame that GM recalls more cars then sells (funny).GM was biggest car company and they failed when cars like subaru are not as popular as GM crap, but thei didn’t fail.I cant’ see difference between Cadillac and chevy’s interior and they aren’t luxury.If you want to see luxury look to infiniti,lexus,audi,mercedes.

Much ado about nothing
Define “premature”
They last past the warranty
Lights are definitely a wear and tear item
The lights are lasting at least 3 years, so premature is hardly accurate
If you are one of these 300 owners, don’t buy a Prius with HID lights anymore
Next story.
DrFill

wbent, just a reminder or two about Ford: the first one is Firestone and the second is Navistar. Other then those Fords has a stellar reputation. Ford didn’t really took a credit on those sourced components failures.

Define “premature”? Would that be what happened on your last date?

It’s 2009 and HIDs have been out for more than a decade. You’d think they would have figured out how to make them reliable. Guess not.

I’m always “premature”
I’ll leave “pre-teen” to you, John
DrFill

^ LMFAO @ DrFill

You know what they say, old enough to bleed…

Nothing new for Toyota to leave their customers with a huge repair bill and blame the customer for the problem. Toyota needs to be more like Honda when it comes to customer service. If your tranny goes out in a Honda at 100k, Honda replaces it. Seatbelts are for the lifetime of the vehicle no matter how old it is. I had an Acura Integra some long time ago, and at 115k miles a charcoal canister (emission part) went out…$400. I called their 1-800 number and they paid for the bill, and sent me a $50 gift certificate to boot. Porsche did the same thing with my Boxter when it needed an ignition switch.at 55k….$100 gift certificate. Toyota told me at 22k miles that it was my fault that my Sienna Van needed a new engine because of sludge. The dealer changed the oil at 3000 miles since it was new, but that didn’t matter to Toyota….”lack of maintenance” they said…I had to get an attorney to write a letter to the big T, and then they replaced the motor….no gift certificate here mind you. I sold the Van 2 weeks after the repair and I have never been back. But I see they still are operating the same way with their “concern resolution process”. Maybe the NEW CEO will change things…maybe.

another car to add with led headlights: Lexus LS600hL. its not the xenon gas that burns, its just more inert than argon (or whatever they fill halogens with) so THE FILAMENT can burn at higher temperatures, so yes, if something burns at a higher temperature, say 6000 kelvin versus 1000 kelvin, then its not likely that part will last as long. one final point, LEXUS in canada covers headlights/tail lights in all of their vehicles for the standard bumper to bumper warranty

Toyota will be run out of business by a combination od angry customers and the onslaught of the American Revolution. There will be no Toyota in 2011.

GM. An Americna Revolution

GO AWAY.

There is a special someone out there that hasn’t posted anything yet. We are all waiting for you.

This is MAJOR ! I cant believe this! This means that GM is better than Toyota in quality, resale and reliability bc 338 people complained about their headlights and the NHTSA has recalled the product! Oh wait ……….
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking into the situation but has yet to announce an official recall.
What did the NHTSA recall ??? Oh thats right 35,038 Pontiac G8s with more faulty equipement I knowyou guys forgot

Sorry guys I know you had your dicks in your hands ready but you will have to get off some other way HA

“Foamypirate, timing chains, valve cover gaskets, and air filters don’t count as a NEW ENGINE, many of the k series pickups have gone over 200k without a rebuild and some have even hit the million mile mark with one (I don’t know if it was GMC or Chevy) hit 2 million miles. 208k for a newer honda is nothing to brag about. Every car built these days should hit 200-300k.”

Believe me, I wish it was just a new timing chain and valve cover gaskets. A piece of a connecting rod cap fractured off and the debris blocked the oil pickup and nuked the motor. Second motor was probably just a faulty rebuild on the part of the machine shop though, so I can’t really pin that one on GM. Oh, and the 208k and 263k were on a 91 and 93 Accord respectively, and they are both running. Just got finished putting a clutch in the 91.

Yup. That explains why both my Honda’s were on original engines and transmission at 208k and 263k respectively, but my 88 GMC K1500 is on it’s third engine at 118k miles…
Clearly, GM is better…

Exactly! I agree this means that all the years of Toyota quality are FINISHED! These 338 complaints for headlights mean that Toyota’s quality is equal to that of GM who recently had 35k actual recalls on their “new GM ” product
I agree with all the domestic humpers now. I will buy a car based on the fact that is American (while being made in Candad and Mexico) and not any other reason.
I wont even eat sushi anymore just to show allegience to my country and its automobiles

Hey Bubs Solo (BS) are the 338 people complaining the same 338 JDPowers uses for their bull**** studies ?

tripleonefives rants are hilarious because although Toyota has had much better reliability than GM over the past few years the tides are turning and he is getting nervous. People are finally starting to realize that the Japs are all they are cracked up to be. Still good vehicles but not quite as infalliable as once thought.

Nervous …no. Is Toyota or Honda infalliable never said that I simply say they break down less and are more reliable than GM or Ford. Until proven over time GM and Ford have poor quality and will be associated with such. It took Toyota and Honda years to earn their well deserved rep and GM and Ford should not get a handout bc they are American

“GM and Ford should not get a handout” – a statement I agree with.

Bulbs burning out shouldn’t constitute a recall. Bulbs shining in the faces of other drivers causing them to crash should constitute a recall. All bulbs burn out, and Checker should have a replacement for you. Change your own damn bulbs, but make sure you use the paper or they’re going to pop.

Winnepegjets: Check your science book again. True HID lights do NOT rely on an element like an incandescent light does. The light in a Xenon bulb comes from an electrical arc jumping between electrodes through the gas.This arc is produced by a high voltage transformer (called a ballast – in my experience it was usually the ballast that failed, not the actual bulb, but they were replaceable as a unit). It’s pretty much just like a strobe ligh or camera flasht, except it stays lit instead of giving a brief flash. I think HID will be a short-lived technology though, as LED’s are getting just as bright but are generally more reliable and use less power while requiring fewer components (no ballast).

When I was a mechanic I worked at GM dealerships (first Saturn, then Chevy/Olds/Caddillac, then Pontiac/Buick/GMC) and we always covered bulbs for the full 3 years/60,000 km warranty. It wasn’t even questioned: Burned out bulb = free replacement, no matter where the bulbs were or what they were for. We also covered belts & hoses, and frequently covered brakes (but ONLY if the customer had a full maintenance record showing the recommended inspection/adjustment/lubtication of brakes were done regularly). About the only things we didn’t cover were tires and wiper blades (and of course fluid/filter changes).

This was not simply a matter of the dealership eating the costs as a goodwill gesture, either, as the parts and labour were both billed to GM. This was 10 years or so ago, so GM may have changed that practice since…

at nmofgm

yes, 338 people are going to revolt and kill off toyota because their lightbulbs burned out. how old are you? 7?

Thunder Chicken: just checked my inorganic chemistry textbook (as i am in my 4th year of studies and my major is chemistry) and xenon doesnt burn. it is an inert gas. that is why they call it a noble gas. xenon does not combine or combust with anything in order to burn. now i dont know the full mechanics of how the thing goes together, and its accessory components, i do not that all in all, xenon HID lights are normal lights just filled with xenon gas, and have a filament that can withstand the higher heat.

what causes the blue light you may ask? when a photon is released (emitted by the filament in this case) it can collide with other atoms that surround it, in this case xenon. the photon causes the one of the electrons to “excite” to a higher energy state, and when it comes back down to its original orbit “relaxed state” it itself releases a wave of light at a higher frequency (shorter wavelength), thus giving it its blue nature.

maybe if you stayed in school a little longer, you would know some of this information

Nice as they may be, HID headlamp bulbs and LED tail lamps are ridiculously expensive to replace.

I think SMD is better than LED.

Buy American. Buy GM. It is our duty as Americans

Hahahaha 1115, for owning a heap of **** 88 GMC you sure do like to spank it off to toyotas, at least your 88 GMC can do a brake stand.

…and the quality arguement is getting pretty tired. GM fully acknowledges that their cars used to suck big floppy monkey dick, and everyone here will agree with you that toyota and honda both made very (and more) reliable cars back in the 80’s and 90’s. Today the game has changed, the domestics are on par or above toyota’s quality and are committed to staying that way. so lets put it to rest.

Beatusmongus, the average american cannot change HID bulbs on their own, especially halfwitted Prius drivers who more often than not have the common sense of a canteloupe. It is easy enough to change out a halogen bulb, but HID’s use a more complex ballast system, and if any oils from your hand are transferred to the bulb it is pretty much already broken. They are very sensitive by comparison to halogens, and while some basic systems will run you $200 or so, a true factory set of HID’s, which is what most average halfwitted Prius drivers will buy, can run easily over $500.

“Beatusmongus, the average american cannot change HID bulbs on their own, especially halfwitted Prius drivers who more often than not have the common sense of a canteloupe”

Which is why they need to learn, A4, and why they need to use the paper. That’s what it’s there for.

In my opinion, if you can’t do the simple maintenance, you shouldn’t own it. But since I can’t mandate such a thing, I think these people should suck it up and pay the bill if they can’t do it themselves. The reason I started learning to do my own maintenance was because I was sick of paying for it. Oh, and for those that want to say, “Then don’t buy an unreliable car”, keep in mind that brakes, tires, oil, lights, air filters, belts, fluids and batteries all wear out quickly regardless of the manufacturer.

That last line wasn’t meant for you, A4. You understand reality.

I learned about oil popping light bulbs about 15 years ago when a 5k scoop bulb kept popping every time I changed it. Then, the studio engineer told me to use the paper, and explained about the oils, and I have used the paper ever since.

NMOFGM
Did you get to reading the article about toyota building at the GM plant?
Did you know that GM shares more than a few chassis with toyota (matrix / vibe)?
Did you know that GM and toyota are in bed with each other and have been
since the turn of the century?
I think that you should say:
Buy japanese, buy american, they are pretty much the same thing.

But congrats to Gm for not having anything to do with another massive recall.

Hahahaha 1115, for owning a heap of **** 88 GMC ???
—-Learn to read Ass that was Camaro 35th who owns the GMC

…And the quality arguement is getting pretty tired.
No hearing yopur bull**** is getting tired

GM fully acknowledges that their cars used to suck big floppy monkey dick, and everyone here will agree with you that Toyota and Honda both made very (and more) reliable cars back in the 80’s and 90’s.
—-Yes and today GM sucks and Toyota and Honda make better more reliable cars with higher resale values No evidence is to the contrary

Today the game has changed, the domestics are on par or above toyota’s quality and are committed to staying that way. so lets put it to rest.
—It will never be put to rest until GM and Ford PROVE (if you dont know what that means just look it up) that their cars are on par with the J2 Not talking about your bs JD Powers Marketing research of 100 people which is all you are basing your bull**** on but an AUTOMOTIVE AUTHORITY or something used in US Courts of law that show that they are

Hahahaha 1115, for owning a heap of **** 88 GMC ???
—-Learn to read Ass that was Foamy who owns the GMC

…And the quality arguement is getting pretty tired.
No hearing your bull**** is getting tired

GM fully acknowledges that their cars used to suck big floppy monkey dick, and everyone here will agree with you that Toyota and Honda both made very (and more) reliable cars back in the 80’s and 90’s.
—-Yes and today GM sucks and Toyota and Honda make better more reliable cars with higher resale values No evidence is to the contrary

Today the game has changed, the domestics are on par or above toyota’s quality and are committed to staying that way. so lets put it to rest.
—It will never be put to rest until GM and Ford PROVE (if you dont know what that means just look it up) that their cars are on par with the J2 Not talking about your bs JD Powers Marketing research of 100 people which is all you are basing your bull**** on but an AUTOMOTIVE AUTHORITY or something used in US Courts of law that show that they are

Need More Oil For GM.
One thing needs to be said. Get your Facts right. GM is recalling over 1.5 million GM vehicles due to Engine oil leaks presenting the possible risk of fire.

Never forget Ford IS THE BEST!

The Xenon gas is what enables HID lights to warm up so fast; without it, it takes more than a minute for normal HID lights to come on. Think stadium lights.

$50 for a bulb? No wonder so many losers are putting them in where they don’t belong.

LED headlamps require more power and are susceptible to heat. Don’t believe me? Look at any well made LED bulb and you will see a huge heatsink on them. I’d wait and see how well they last before moving to them.

Oh, and btw, out of every vehicle I’ve seen on the road that has them legally from the factory, only 3 vehicles had a headlamp out: One Lincoln Mark 8 (the first car in the US to have them), a Infinity G35 and a Lincoln Navigator. Contrast that with all the vehicles with missing LEDs in the tailamps and dim and “burned out” halogen headlamps.

SMD is a type of LED.

Those who say the owner should just replace it don’t understand what is involved. I just had the passenger side HID headlight on my 2006 Prius die. Toyota said if the car was within the 3 year/36K mile warranty it would be replaced, no questions asked. Mine’s just outside of that, though.

HID bulbs typically last a *lot* longer than halogen bulbs, and the specs for the OEM Philips D4R bulb used says it should last around 3000 hours. Normally I’d just get a new bulb and replace it myself, but Toyota made it far more involved, requiring removing the bumper cover among other things just to get to it. The bulb itself was $50 on Ebay for a replacement and not some cheap Chinese knock-off (which are a lot cheaper). The dealer quoted me $190 to change the bulb, but I’m sure I’m saving a lot by not paying the high-markup dealer’s price for the bulb. I’ve heard about dealers charging over $300 per bulb for the exact same bulb I paid $50 for.

This is my first car with HID headlights after using halogen and there’s no going back for me. The visibility is far better in part since the bulbs are also a lot brighter (3800 LM) compared to halogen.

Believe me, if I could just replace the bulb I would, but it is a lot more involved.

The complaint is that the bulb has nowhere near 3000 hours on it, or even 1000 hours. It should not have burned out. My other complaint is that the bulb should be user serviceable so I can just reach down and replace the bulb.

Other than the headlight and one of the water pumps (which squealed and was replaced for free) I have had zero problems with the car and other than that the Prius has been rated an extremely reliable car.

NMOFGM, I had a S-10 for about a year and a half and had four recalls for similar small things. GM has far more recalls than most Toyotas. Even the C5 Vettes had problems with their lights.

The dealership didn’t say that the bulb itself was burning out but that there was a defect in the wiring in the housing of the light. So a little bulb isn’t the issue. THe housing from Toyota costs $400+ per side and were supposed to last for 10 years. Mine started going out after 6 months of very sparse use, first one side then the other.