Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (headlights, tail lights, turn signals, interior lights).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2004 Toyota Prius owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
About 1.5 years ago during a vacation. My car decided to not shut off. I drove to the nearest dealership that was about the close. They assisted and said to hold the power button down until it shuts off then turn it back on. This was a dealership in georgia. The mechanic had heard of the problem before. I recently had the front dash light go completely out. I did not have an instrument panel at all. The was not a way to see MPH, gas gauge, warning lights, nothing. The center monitor stayed on. It took 2 days but it came back on. A week later it happened again and again came back on. Warning lights came on and I drove to dealership. It was the 2nd water pump going out. As I was leaving my dash lights went out again. I took it back into the Prius dealership. They had paperwork stating there had been issues with the metered dash before. Is there a recall on it or not? …
Speedometer & other control information display went blank. Pulled over to side of road but unable to turn off engine. Contacted Toyota & was told problem is known & warranty extend to 9 years & unlimited miles. However, my vehicle is older than nine years, so I must pay estimate $1400 to fix & car will be unavailable for estimate 2 weeks. The vehicle is unsafe to drive, prior to this known problem occurring car was operating perfectly ( averaging 50 mpg per tank of gas, documented). This appears to be a safety problem that was known by the manufacturer, however they seems to be trying to hide this by making the statistical estimate that by extending the warranty the majority of these cars would be off the road and their lawyers & legal insurance would cost less than the few humans kills after this arbitrary 9 year risk period. I could have been killed as a result of this failure! …
Description of the problem: the h.I.d. Headlights on my 2004 Prius fails unexpectedly (they turn off randomly, on their own). This problem affects mainly the right headlight. The right headlight fails very frequently (hundreds of times during the last 12 months). The left headlight fails sporadically (less than 10 times during the last 6 months). This issue affects both low beam and high beam headlamps simultaneously. When a headlight fails, I turn off the lights then I turn them back on. This brings back the lights. Then the failure occurs unexpectedly after seconds, minutes, or hours. This issue has occurred while my vehicle was stationary, in motion, on a city street or a highway, turning, braking, etc. This issue also occurs regardless of road conditions (smooth flat roads & speed bumps / potholes) or weather conditions (sunny, rainy, snowy, warm & cold outside temperatures). …
Right HID headlamp intermittently goes out while driving and does not go back on. However, when you switch the headlight toggle switch off then on again, right HID headlamp goes back on. While driving for a distance of 120 miles last night, this happened 6 times on both city and highway and road conditions ie. Bumps etc is not a factor since it happens on a smooth paved highway as well. The outage can occur a few minutes after turning the toggle headlamp switch on or it can stay on for 20 miles then out again. Since the car is never left idling with the headlamps on, it is unknown whether right headlamp will go out while parked. Have read in the Prius chat site that many other drivers have experienced similar problem and despite the dealer replacing the HID bulb or even the entire headlamp assembly which is over $1,100 the problems were never fully resolved. …
We've noticed this problem only a few times in the car since we've owned it. That's been about 3 years. We seldom drive at night but whenever we have it's always been an issue. Usually just the left goes out and resetting the lights brought it back on. This past week the same thing started to happen and resetting it worked a few times but then both headlights went out and resetting the switch did nothing. Thankfully dawn was on the way and with the fog lights on we just kept going. Once I felt comfortable turning the lights off completely and after waiting 3-5 minutes with the switch off I tried the lights and they came back on. There is definitely a problem with something; maybe an overheat issue with the bulbs, wiring or control box. This is a huge deal. If we'd been driving into the darkness instead of dawn could easily have had an accident.
Over the past few months my headlights would randomly turn off while I'm driving. Sometimes it's one head light, other times it's both. Usually they turn back on if I turn them off then back on. The other day they turned off for about 20 seconds while I was driving 70mph down the interstate at 10 pm. I saw my life flash before my eyes. They would not turn back on for 20 seconds approximately. Upon further research on a priuschat forum, I saw that lots of other people have had this issue. There was even a class action lawsuit against Toyota because they knew about the issue but did not recall. I'm a single parent and I depend on my car and my son needs his mom. Toyota needs to fix there error and recall the head lights.
Headlights intermittently flicker and shut off. If headlights are turned off then back on, both headlights will work again. Problem happens while vehicle is in motion, as well as when parked. This has happened several times while driving at night, on rural/poorly lit roads, as well as highways. Usually it is one light or the other that goes off, but about 5 different times both lights have gone off at the same time while driving at night. One of these incidents resulted in a traffic stop by a police officer, who promptly issued me a ticket for driving with no headlights on. Both headlight bulbs have been replaced; all fuses have been checked and/or replaced;12v battery replaced - none of which has solved the problem.
Driver side headlight intermittently turns off while driving. Driver is not aware headlight is not working until police pulls him over or after returning to garage at home, he can see from headlight glare on the wall that one light is out. Usually turning the light off, and then back on corrects the problem, however you cant be driving down the highway flashing your lights every once in a while to make sure they are on. It is just a dangerous situation. The internet shows this is a common problem and its frustrating that Toyota has not acknowledged or provided a fix.
While driving at night, my headlights will turn off randomly. Sometimes, it is just one but often it is both. If I turn the headlights switch to off and back to on, sometimes one or both lights will turn back on. More recently, this trick hasn't been working as well and I have to drive just using my fog lights. It seems to be something with the computer that controls the headlights. If it was the bulb it would always be out. If it were the wiring, simply flipping the switch on/off wouldn't suddenly get the wiring to connect again.
The passenger side headlight goes out while operating the vehicle. It begins to operate again after turning headlights off and on again. This happens multiple times during vehicle operation in a single drive. For example, three times today within 15 minutes. The headlight was replaced within the last 6 months, but we now believe it is a systemic issue, unrelated to the bulb assembly, because it has occurred with two bulbs in a row. This occurred both when the vehicle is in motion and when stationary (idling).
Related recalls
Exterior lighting › Brake lights › Switch
Certain passenger vehicles May be equipped with an improperly designed brake light switch. A silicon oxide build-up occurs on the contacts inside the brake light switch, which can make it inoperable.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the brake light switch. The recall began during December 2004. Owners should contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
Headlight complaints in other Prius years
Frequently asked questions
How common are headlight problems on the 2004 Toyota Prius?
NHTSA has 184 complaints about the lights of the 2004 Toyota Prius, 30% of the model year's 610 complaints. The component named most often is headlights (17 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2004 Toyota Prius headlight problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 04V-558 (switch, Nov 22, 2004). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2004 Toyota Prius headlight problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 105,000 miles, and 5% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.