There are 50 owner-reported lighting complaints for the 2010 Toyota Priusin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
There is a long-standing problem with the instrument panel being very difficult to see when operating the vehicle on a very sunny day. It is very dim even when the "instrument panel light control" is adjusted, especially when wearing sunglasses. No response by dealer.
I INHERITED A 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS 3RD GENERATION WHEN MY MOTHER PASSED A FEW YEARS AGO. I'VE SINCE HAD SEVERAL UNNECESSARY AND COSTLY PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR AS WELL AS DEALERSHIP'S OUTLOOK, TREATMENT, AND INDIFFERENCE TO THE DANGER THAT THEIR CUSTOMERS FACE--AS MANY ALREADY HAVE. THE FOLLOWING ARE SITUATIONS THAT I'M EXPERIENCING NOW. FIRST, I WAS RECENTLY LEAVING THE PHARMACY WHEN ALL OF MY WARNING LIGHTS (ABS, BRAKE, TRACTION ) SUDDENLY CAME ON AND MY BRAKES FAILED AS I WAS HEADING HOME. I'M A SINGLE MOTHER OF A SPECIAL NEEDS CHILD AND I HAD TO GET HOME TO HER. I WAS APPROXIMATELY 1 MILE FROM MY HOME AND I WAS NEARLY IN 3 ACCIDENTS THAT COULD'VE BEEN CATASTROPHIC. THANKFULLY THE ROAD WAS DRY, CLEAR, AND WITH LITTLE TRAFFIC. WE HAVE BEEN HOMEBOUND FOR WEEKS, WITHOUT TRANSPORTATION FOR DOCTORS, FOOD, ETC. OUR VEHICLE IS OUR ONLY MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION, AND WE MUST GET TO DOCTOR APPOINTMENTS, ETC. SECOND, THE CAR HAS INEXPLICABLY STALLED TWICE. THIRD, I'M CONSTANTLY HAVING TO REPLACE LIGHTS, AND HAVE BEEN PULLED OVER BY THE POLICE FOR LIGHTS NOT WORKING. FINALLY, AN AIRBAG HAS BEEN RECALLED AND ONCE I CAN AFFORD IT I'LL GET THAT FIXED AS WELL. I SPOKE WITH MY LOCAL TOYOTA DEALERSHIPS, AND AFTER EXPLAINING THE PROBLEMS, I WAS INFORMED (SEVERAL TIMES AS I WAS REPEATEDLY TRANSFERRED) THAT I HAD TO PAY AN INSPECTION FEE THAT ALSO CHANGED WITH EACH PERSON. FINALLY, I WAS TOLD I HAD TO LEAVE MY CAR THERE FOR DAYS AND THAT I WAS GOING TO PAY THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO FIX THE CAR. I'M UNABLE TO PAY THAT MUCH MONEY--AND THE AMOUNT KEPT CHANGING AS WELL. I HAVE RESEARCHED THESE PROBLEMS AND NOW UNDERSTAND THE METHODOLOGY AND INTIMIDATION USED ON POOR PEOPLE SUCH AS MYSELF. TOYOTA SHOULD BE ASHAMED. FIX THESE PROBLEMS THAT WILL ENDANGER AND POSSIBLY KILL YOUR CUSTOMERS FOR NOTHING MORE THAN THEIR OWN INCOMPETENCE AND GREED.
HEADLIGHT BULBS KEEP GOING BLOWING CONSISTENTLY.VEHICLE STATIONARY
WAS GOING 25 MPH YESTERDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2020 EVENING WHEN 4 (BRAKE, ABS, TRACTION & CAUTION) LIGHTS CAME ON DASHBOARD. PULLED OVER THE SHOULDER & TURNED IGNITION OFF. RESTARTED LATER & 4 LIGHTS STILL ON. FOLLOWING DAY, WENT TO DEALERSHIP & WAS TOLD BRAKE BOOSTER ASSEMBLY NEED TO BE REPLACED DUE TO INTERNAL FLUID LEAK.
LOW BEAM STARTED GETTING DIM, BUT WERE BRAND NEW. THEY BOTH SUDDENLY FAILED ON THE HIGHWAY ALMOST CAUSING A CRASH. I REPLACED BULBS AND THEY WERE DIM AGAIN. I WENT TO BUY THE TOP LINE HEADLIGHTS THINKING THAT WAS THE ISSUE, BUT I DISCOVERED THE PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY WAS CORRODED AND MELTED. ONCE I TURNED THE CAR ON IT BEGAN SMOKING. I CAN'T INSTALL ANY LIGHTS NOW. *TR
ABS SYSTEM FAILS, REAR PASSENGER SEAT BELT ISSUE, HEADLIGHT BULBS BURNED TOO MUCH
FIRST THE DRIVER'S SIDE LOW BEAM FAILED, FOLLOWED BY THE PASSENGER LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT DAYS LATER. AFTER REPLACING BOTH LIGHTS, THE DRIVER'S SIDE LOW BEAM FAILED FOLLOWED BY THE PASSENGER'S LOW BEAM.
TOYOTA PRIUS LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS SUDDENLY GO OUT DUE TO KNOWN ISSUE WITH WIRE HARNESS. NO RECALL ISSUED AND OWNER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR COST OF REPAIR
LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS TURN OFF/FAIL. I HAVE REPLACED 7 LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS IN THE PAST YEAR, FOUR IN THE PAST 2 MONTHS. IN THE TWO MOST RECENT CASES BOTH LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS FAILED WITHIN MINUTES OF EACH OTHER WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. I HAD A TOYOTA DEALER CHECK THE WIRING HARNESS PER TOYOTA WARRANTY NOTICE AFTER THE LAST OUTAGE AND THEY STATED NOTHING WAS WRONG. WHEN I HAD THE LIGHTS CHECKED BY A DIFFERENT TOYOTA DEALER IN JAN 2019 THEY INDICATED THE SOCKET FOR THE BULB WAS MELTED. BULBS HAVE GONE OUT UNDER, WET, DRY, HOT, AND COLD CONDITIONS. THE MOST RECENT OUTAGE OCCURRED ON MARCH 8, 2019 WHILE DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE..
PREVIOUSLY HAD NO ISSUES WITH LOW-BEAM LIGHTS. USED IN THE MORNING- WORKING FINE. CAME OUT AFTER WORK AND BOTH LOW-BEAM LIGHTS WOULD NOT TURN ON. HIGH-BEAM LIGHTS WORK FINE. CAR WAS STATIONARY AND IN PARK WHEN LIGHTS WERE ATTEMPTED TO TURN ON. TRIED TURNING LIGHT SWITCH AND CAR OFF/ON MULTIPLE TIMES WITHOUT SUCCESS. HAD TO DRIVE HOME IN THE DARK WITH HIGH-BEAM LIGHTS.
ABS FAILED. WARNING LIGHTS DO NOT APPEAR. HEARD OTHERS HAVE SIMILAR ISSUE. TOYOTA WILL FIX THE ABS ONLY IF THE WARNING LIGHTS APPEAR. WARNING LIGHTS APPEAR ONLY WHEN CAR IS NOT ON COMPLETELY. BRAKES WENT OUT WITH NO WARNING AT ALL. BRAKES WENT OUT WITH NO WARNING WHILE DRIVING. LIGHT BULB LEAKS MOISTURE HAS SINCE PURCHASE. LIGHT BULBS BLOW FREQUENTLY.
HEADLIGHT WOULD BURN OUT A YEAR AFTER REPLACEMENT. MANUFACTURER ISSUED A VARIANT OF A RECALL INTENDING TO PROVIDE A FIX FOR HIGH RATE OF BURNOUT. I TOOK MY CAR IN TO A DEALERSHIP TO RECEIVE THE FIX AND THE DEALERSHIP CAUSED A PROBLEM WITH THE FRONT WINDSHIELD WIPER APPARATUS. WIPERS WOULD NOW WORK IF THE HEADLIGHTS WERE OFF, BUT WOULD NO LONGER WORK ONCE THE HEADLIGHTS WERE TURNED ON. THIS WOULD OCCUR WHETHER STATIONARY OR MOVING.
THERE'S A VOLUNTARY RECALL THAT TOYOTA IS DOING ON THE PRIUS RIGHT NOW THAT SEEMS DANGEROUS AND POORLY EXECUTED. THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT WIRING HARNESS HAS A DEFECT THAT CAUSES IT TO BURN OUT HEADLIGHTS OR SHORT OUT IN A WAY THAT THE HEADLIGHTS WON'T WORK. SOMETIMES YOU CAN GET THE HEADLIGHTS WORKING AGAIN BY WIGGLING THE WIRING HARNESS, BUT I'VE HAD THIS OCCUR SEVERAL TIMES WHILE ON BACK COUNTRY ROADS AND YOU JUST HAVE 1 HEADLIGHT, WHICH SEEMS SUPER DANGEROUS. TOYOTA WON'T FIX IT UNLESS YOU COME IN WITH THE HEADLIGHT BUSTED WHICH MEANS YOU HAVE TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT AND EITHER DRIVE THE CAR AROUND ILLEGALLY WITH 1 WORKING HEADLIGHT OR JUST NOT DRIVE IT FOR A WEEK WHILE YOU WAIT FOR YOUR APPOINTMENT. THIS IS A SAFETY DEFECT AND THEY NEED TO REPLACE THE WIRING HARNESS WITHOUT HOOPS TO JUMP THROUGH.
I KEEP HAVING TO REPLACE THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS IN MY 2010 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHAT IS GOING ON? MY COMMUTE TO AND FROM WORK EVERYDAY IS 3 HOURS AND WITH DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME I AM USUALLY GOING TO WORK IN THE DARK OR COMING HOME IN THE DARK. MY LIGHTS WENT OUT ON MY WAY HOME IN THE DARK ONCE AND I HAD TO USE MY HIGH BEAMS TO GET HOME SAFE. I AM SURE THIS WAS BLINDING TO ONCOMING TRAFFIC AS INDICATED WITH ALL THE FLASHING OF HIGH BEAMS I GOT.
THREE HEADLIGHT BULBS HAVE BURNED OUT REQUIRING REPLACEMENT BEFORE THE ODOMETER REACHED 70,000 MILES. TOYOTA SENT A NOTICE OF A WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM IN 2017 ON THIS ISSUE, DESCRIBING THE PROPOSED REPAIR AS THE INSTALLATION OF "VOLTAGE ADJUSTMENT WIRE HARNESSES." AS INSTRUCTED, I TOOK MY 2010 PRIUS TO A DEALERSHIP ON JANUARY 19, 2018 AND WAS TOLD THAT IT REQUIRED A REPAIR, BUT THE PARTS WERE NOT IN STOCK AND WERE ON BACK ORDER. IN A FOLLOW UP CALL TO THE DEALERSHIP ON APRIL 26, 2016, THE REPRESENTATIVE SAID THE PARTS WERE STILL ON BACK ORDER, AND THERE WAS NO INDICATION OF WHEN THEY MIGHT BE RECEIVED. THE ADMITTEDLY DEFECTIVE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM IN MY CAR CAN AND HAS CAUSED MY HEADLIGHTS TO BURN OUT PREMATURELY, WHICH IS AN OBVIOUS SAFETY PROBLEM. EVEN THOUGH TOYOTA RECOGNIZES THE PROBLEM, THEY SEEM TO BE DRAGGING THEIR FEET IN CORRECTING IT.
THE HEADLIGHTS KEEP GOING OUT, MAKING DRIVING AT NIGHT UNSAFE UNTIL YOU CAN GET IT FIXED. IT JUST HAPPENED AGAIN, MARCH, 29, 2018. IT HAPPENED 2/11, 6/11, 12/12, 1/13, 6/13, 3/15, 1/16, 7/17 AND NOW. IT WASN'T RAINING, NOTHING INTERESTING AT ALL. LOCAL DRIVING.
I FIND MYSELF CHANGING MY HEADLIGHTS MORE FREQUENTLY WITH THE PRIUS THEN ANY OTHER CAR IVE EVER HAD. THIS IS RIDICULOUS AND MOST DEFINITELY A SAFETY ISSUE. FRONT LIGHTS ARE NEEDED, I'D LIKE TO ASSUME THEY PUT THEM THERE FOR SAFETY, RIGHT? DRIVING WITH HFH BEAMS IS JUST RUDE TO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. DOUBLE SAFETY ISSUE HERE.
EVERY 4 TO 6 MONTHS HEADLIGHTS ARE BURNING OUT.
DRIVERS'S SIDE HEADLIGHT AND HIGH BEAM LIGHT GOING OUT AT SAME TIME. HEADLIGHT BULBS ON BOTH SIDES WERE CHANGED OUT IN NOVEMBER 2016 (A LITTLE MORE THAN A YEAR AGO) AND I ONLY HAVE A 10 MILE COMMUTE TO WORK. IN NOVEMBER OF 2016 DRIVER'S SIDE LIGHT WAS ALSO THE ONE THAT BURNED OUT.
EXITING OFF FREEWAY AT S. MAIN IN WALNUT CREEK CALIFORNIA AT APPX 45MPH BOTH HEADLIGHTS WENT OUT AT THE SAME TIME. COULD NOT BE TURNED ON. INTERIOR HEADLIGHT INDICATOR REMAINED ON BUT HEADLIGHTS REMAINED OFF. HIGHBEAMS WORKED.
Showing 1–20 of 50 complaints
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026