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The owner of a Toyota Prius says the company has failed to address a defect that causes the car’s headlights to burn out prematurely.
Plaintiff Michael Robey says the low-beam headlights in 2010 and 2011 models of the Toyota Prius have a defect that can cause them to die suddenly, even while the vehicle is in operation.
“The Headlight Defect has been documented to occur without warning during vehicle operation and poses an extreme and unreasonable safety hazard to drivers, passengers and pedestrians,” Robey states.
“Numerous Class Vehicle owners have reported suddenly losing one or both low beam headlights while driving at night in dimly lit areas, on the highway and/or under other circumstances where properly functioning headlights are crucial.”
Several affected owners and renters have filed online complaints with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, according to this Toyota Prius class action lawsuit. One reviewer claims their low beam headlights burned out while driving on the interstate and that they had to replace their headlights five times in the last three years.
Another reviewer reports having to replace the headlights in their Toyota Prius three times in a single year. Still another reports having to buy new bulbs every two months or risk having to drive with their high beams on constantly.
According to Robey, Toyota should have been fully aware of the alleged Toyota Prius headlight defect even without these agency complaints to put the company on notice. He alleges the company must have known about the problem through pre- and post-production testing and analysis.
Robey says he bought a 2010 Toyota Prius from a Berkeley, Calif. dealership in December of that year. He claims that by April 2014, the headlights were not functioning properly.
A dealership representative allegedly told Robey that not only were both low-beam headlights burned out but also that the driver’s side headlight assembly had melted. Repairs cost Robey more than $720 out of pocket, he says.
Robey seeks to represent a proposed plaintiff Class defined as “[a]ll persons who purchased or leased any 2010 through 2011Toyota Prius vehicle in the United States.” He is also proposing a subclass consisting of Class Members who made their purchase in California.
Robey is asking the court for a remediation program that would require Toyota to repair the alleged headlight defect in all affected Toyota Prius vehicles without charge, and to extend the warranty on those vehicle’s headlight systems to 10 years or 120,000 miles. The program would also reimburse affected owners for expenses already incurred as a result of the headlight defect.
He also seeks an award of damages, restitution, court costs, attorneys’ fees, and any other available statutory remedies, all with pre- and post-judgment interest.
Robey is represented by attorneys Mark S. Greenstone and Lionel Z. Glancey of Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP.
The Toyota Prius Headlight Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Michael Robey v. Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc., Case No. 3:16-cv-07212, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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45 thoughts onToyota Prius Class Action Says Headlights Burn Out Prematurely
I have the same issue as other writers on this blog. The headlamp on my 2012 Prius has burned out numerous times.
I have been pulled over by Police twice in less than a year and received a fix it ticket for the same headlamp.
I call Toyota and have had an open case documenting this issue. They say their service engineers do not feel there is a trend or a wider problem. Wake up Toyota!!!
We had two 2008 toyota prius automobiles. BOTH have had to have the headlights replaced many times. We have since sold one a few months ago. But the one we still have has to have headlights replaced every few months. Its horrible. This seems to be a widespread prius problem.
Volvo too has had this problem for years in their cars and it is both dangerous and very expensive. No one in the industry has acknowledged this defect. Every time I lose my headlights I have no choice but to replace either the headlight or wires to the headlights, the assembly and most recently, opted for an aftermarket headlight for the Volvo. The last repair was just a month ago and cost over $600 and 3 weeks later, the “low-beam failure” message appeared and again, I am without a headlight. This is crazy and wrong!
We have a 2008 Prius with problems with both sides burning out also when you start the car they work and then they shut off after a few minutes so already having paid for two bulbs in the past and we only had the car for a few months I’m hesitant to replace the lightbulb if it after I turn the car on then I’m thinking it must be another problem any advice?
My 2007 Prius has had to have 2 headlights replaced at around $750 each and now yet another headlight goes out off and on. Sometimes it stays on while driving and sometimes it goes off while driving, so I will need to replace it as well. I have also had to replace my back hatch latch. It melted and got gooey during the summer and then when it was cold it cracked. My Prius, I bought used – but, it has cost me a lot of out of pocket cash – more than normal.
My 2014 Prius has gone through 3 sets in 2 years and several peanut bulbs. We have been pulled over twice for license plate lights being out. This is a much larger issue!
My 2004 and 2005 go through headlights like water.
I have a 2008 Prius and driving home from Ojai another driver asked me to pull over and told me that my taillights were out. There was nothing I could do so I tried to drive to a gas station. I got pulled over by police because of the tail lights and as we talked behind my car he gently tapped one tail light with his knuckle and the light came on. Then he gently tapped the other light and it came on. I told him that he was probably Dumbledor and magically used a putteroutter to make my lights come one again.
Wth, my Kenmore refrigerator does that too! I am not kidding. The interior lights keeps flickering then I tap it a few times then it lights up. Really wierd.
I have a 2008 Prius, and have to have both headlights replaced by Toyota. They originally offered a 50% reduction in the cost of the bulb, overall each bulb replacement cost about $250.00. The second time the headlamp was replaced, I complained to the service manager, and wanted to know if they used the same bulb, so that I could potentially have the same expensive problem again. He was in the middle of telling me that, no, they used a new improved bulb. I then indicated that meant that the original bulb must have been defective, at which point the general manager got involved, and refused to say exactly what bulb was used to replace the defective bulb. I complained that either way, customers should not be the responsible party when it was Toyota who sold a defective product. Even at that time the Toyota blogs were loaded with Prius owners with similar complaints. The fact that I have not had additional problems indicates to me that Toyota replaced the original with a new, improved bulb, which amounts to tacit acknowledgement of an original defective product.
It’s not just the Prius. My 2014 tundra has gone through 8 sets of headlight bulbs in its first 2 years. At 52000 miles I’m considering trading it in.