Prius Headlight Bulb Co$t$ at the Toyota dealer

VLS_GUY · July 2nd, 2009, 16:46

All love affairs must come to an end and the one between Prius owners and Toyota is coming crashing down over HID Headlight bulbs burning out short of their anticipated lifespan. A burned out HID is not big deal right? A replacement HID bulb and pair of latex gloves-worth $15.00 fixes the problem-Wrong! The dealers are charging $350.00 for each bulb and $200 to install; freaking the owners out. The bigger issue now is when the HIDs continue to show premature failure the controller is being replaced for $1,100.00. Angering the owners that bought the car on Toyota reliability.
Yes the lawyers are talking about class action. The outcome should be interesting for those seeking balance shaft assembly replacement compensation.
Check out the issue in a Pruis chat room: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-p...t-problem.html

RabbitGTI · July 2nd, 2009, 17:41

Having a microprocessor run the headlights is not progress.

Joe_Meehan · July 2nd, 2009, 18:04

And all this is because they need HID lamps? Why?

VLS_GUY · July 2nd, 2009, 19:31

I read further down the thread and one dealer replaced a $1,100 controller before replacing the lamp! The magic price seems to be $1,100 since the head light assembly also costs $ 1,100. The owners are grasping at straws with theories blaming the PWB in the head lamp assembly and other wanting a heavier gauge wiring harness. To me this looks like a poorly through out lamp control strategy in an attempt to make the lights as bright as possible.
The sad part of this for Toyota is that Advertising Age ran the story before the automotive press. If Ad executives are running pieces like this then Toyota is in big trouble.

RabbitGTI · July 2nd, 2009, 19:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe_Meehan

And all this is because they need HID lamps? Why?

They probably save energy and therefore are Green

thebigarniedog · July 3rd, 2009, 05:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by VLS_GUY

All love affairs must come to an end and the one between Prius owners and Toyota is coming crashing down over HID Headlight bulbs burning out short of their anticipated lifespan. A burned out HID is not big deal right? A replacement HID bulb and pair of latex gloves-worth $15.00 fixes the problem-Wrong! The dealers are charging $350.00 for each bulb and $200 to install; freaking the owners out. The bigger issue now is when the HIDs continue to show premature failure the controller is being replaced for $1,100.00. Angering the owners that bought the car on Toyota reliability.
Yes the lawyers are talking about class action. The outcome should be interesting for those seeking balance shaft assembly replacement compensation.
Check out the issue in a Pruis chat room: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-p...t-problem.html

If the Prius shares this part with other models I could see where the price is high. If this is a specialized Prius only part, it will be pricey to produce and supply, hence the cost. A good question would be whether there is a workaround to this problem, so one could use an aftermarket solution (doesn't the Prius chat have such technical info?).

oilhammer · July 3rd, 2009, 05:38

Nothing new, saw that at Lexus all the time. We also had the LED tail lamp assemblies on the RXs die frequently too.

The HID failures were why Lexus instituted a TSB/recall on installing these anti-theft brackets on the RX's headlights, since people were steeling them. Since the RX is made of thin metal and tinker-toy plastics, you can quite literally walk up to one and with little more than a medium sized screwdriver bust the headlight assemblies right out from the front of the car in just a few seconds.

But the frequent failures and stupid high prices dictated the high theft rate. I would imagine the same may happen with the Prius.

dieseldorf · July 3rd, 2009, 05:43

The dealers, regardless of marque, charge huge money to replace an HID bulb.

It's unfortunate, but changing bulbs in some of these newest cars is no small feat of assembly/disassembly to access the darn bulb.

I think only the upscale Prius has HID lights, the base models don't.

VLS_GUY · July 3rd, 2009, 07:34

Bryan is correct in that a lucrative market in parts warm to the touch has developed for all Toyota hybrids. This forced the addition of anti-theft brackets and more time to R&R.
The real solution to this problem is going to come from the owners themselves by taking responsibility for understanding how to repair their cars and then doing those repairs they can do themselves.

oilhammer · July 3rd, 2009, 10:09

Lexus owner's doing anything themselves? Hybrid owners? Hybrid Lexus owners? No way!

You'd be floored how many Lexus owners would drive 40 minutes just because the TPMS light was on, just because the tires were a wee bit low from a rapid temp change.

Or all the RX owners that would complain that the power rear door would not close, yet the carpet mat stuck in the floor latch pin (plain as day, right out in the open) needed to be shoved back in place.

Or the "CD changer not detected" error message on the radio, only to find the door to the CD changer magazine holder was not shut

.

Or the 'my cupholder is broken' because they spilled their morning Starbuck's Latte in the console.

Or my personal favorite, 'the air conditioner won't work' and you get in the car and the climate control temp is set to 85 F on a 75 F day.... DURRRRR.....

Yeah, I would not want nor expect anyone with a Lexus to change their own light bulb. But they typically have earned the income necessary to pay someone else to do pretty much every menial plebian task in their lives so we all have our place.

VLS_GUY · July 3rd, 2009, 14:17

Well I was not thinking of Lexus owners... One of my wife's pal has an RX330 and if the guy doing the regular service can not see a problem then hey man, no worries! She thought tires were part of the maintenance package you get when you buy the car. When I was called out due to a flat I pointed out the racing slicks she was using. She bought new rubber but afterward said the car should personally email you every time it needs something. How about having HAL from 2001 speak interactively to the driver that would work even better...

lovemybug · July 3rd, 2009, 21:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by VLS_GUY

How about having HAL from 2001 speak interactively to the driver that would work even better...

I'm sorry, Dave, I can't do that.

Powder Hound · July 4th, 2009, 08:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by VLS_GUY

...
The sad part of this for Toyota is that Advertising Age ran the story before the automotive press. If Ad executives are running pieces like this then Toyota is in big trouble.

More likely a mucky-muck at Advertising Age got stuck with one of these high bills and got p.o.'d.

phazersonstun · July 5th, 2009, 14:15

Dude! I can't believe people want something else to take responsibility for their possessions and actions. An email? Really?

TurbinePower · July 5th, 2009, 16:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by phazersonstun

Dude! I can't believe people want something else to take responsibility for their possessions and actions. An email? Really?

Things like this are why I'm seriously all in favor of there being a "Basic skills and maintenance" section of the driver's license exam. Change a tire, pop the hood and go over some basics like checking the oil and the transmission fluid, be able to answer questions about the basic function of the vehicle and more common failures (blowouts and similar, not "running out of oil and engine seizes up" or "what to do when you a knock on piston #4"), things of this nature to prove to your examining officer you have a flipping clue.