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 2005 Toyota Prius owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2005 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the left turn signal was activated, however, the left turn signal failed to function as intended. In addition, the contact stated that the four-way flashers failed to function as intended. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a computer failure. The contact was informed that an unknown part needed to be replaced, or an unknown software update was needed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact referenced an unknown recall with a similar failure description; however, the VIN was not under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 143,500.
The contact owns a 2005 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while replacing the instrument cluster, the contact discovered that the turn signals were inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that an unknown part needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 143,500.
I was driving at night on the freeway 280 and suddenly both headlights went out, it was so black you couldn't see anything on the road. Talk about scary, try driving at 65 MPH on a road that curves when you all yo can see is black. I was able to jiggle the switch the headlight switch off and on several times and the lights finally came back on. With my heart pounding I continued to drive home only to have both headlights again go out together. This happened 6-7more times until I reached home. I was actually shaking by the time I got out of my car. Why were both headlights malfunctioning at the exact same times? I took the car to the dealers the next day and after inspection they told me I simply needed new headlights. I thought it was an electrical malfunction, but they insisted that it was just the headlights going out and that this happened all the time. …
At about 104K miles the HID headlights, along with the dash dashboard lights, went out while my daughter was driving on a country road at night. The sudden darkness resulted in a collision with a guard rail while braking. After putting the car in park, turning off the power button and restarting the car everything came back on. While we were shaken up, no one was hurt. The car sustained $2K damage to the body, but not to the headlights. The local dealer didn't express any knowledge of headlight failures in priuses, inspected the lighting system and pronounced everything fine. I did have to pay for the inspection as the lights weren't damaged and not covered by the collision claim. Internet research has brought up many similar cases of this occurring with other priuses; with no acknowledgement by Toyota. My daughter is now terrified of driving this car. …
Combination meter intermittently not functioning. When turning the car on, sometimes the dash meter works, sometimes it's just black and continues the entire time the car is running. Then when trying to turn the car off, it will not turn off, which is a major safety concern. When this occurs, there are no dash lights at all to indicate fuel amount, odometer reading, door open signal, check engine, maintenance required and so on. The speed being driven is not showing either which is another major safety issue. Cruise control also does not function, the center touchscreen does not display hybrid motor information or mpg. The beeping when backing up does not function. Also the rear hatch will not open while car is running which is also a major safety issue in addition to all of the other functions not available. …
Originally the passenger headlight would shut off randomly. I would flick the lights on and off and it would turn back on. Then this past new years eve both headlights turned off and I flicked the lights on and off and that did not work. I shut off the headlights with the switch for a few seconds and luckily they turned on again. However the kept on shutting off more consistently. First the passenger then both. This is ridiculous. And the car was not safe to drive. I replaced both headlight bulbs at my own expense. The bulbs worked great for 2 days. Now both headlights will not stay on for more than 45 seconds. My 16 yr old son also drives this car and this is unacceptable. If something were to happen to him because of this known defect that Toyota is not willing to fix. This is terrible! Fix this problem! New bulbs is not the fix. There is something else seriously wrong here.
Headlights go out while driving, it takes turning them on and off a few times to turn them back on. It is random, sometimes passenger side, sometimes drivers side, sometimes both. Toyota settled a class action lawsuit with 2006 - 2009 Prius, mine is 2005, but this is a safety issue and is extremely dangerous. When both headlights go out, it May take several tries to get them to come back on, leaving me without headlights as I'm driving my kids to school early in the morning in the dark, going 65mph down the highway. Currently saving to get fixed(car was a gift). I called Toyota for an estimate on this known problem and they said they I would have to bring it in and they would charge me $85 for them to diagnosis the problem. Toyota is not taking any responsibility for this problem, which clearly they are aware of and somehow skirted out of a recall or any liability for all models.
We were on the overpass going from highway 87 to us 101 north in san jose going about 70 MPH heading to the san fransisco airport. It was 8 pm, and very dark. The headlights just shut off, while the dashboard indicator said that the lights were still on. We tried frantically tried turning the lights on and off again to see if they would come on, and they didn't. We took the next exit and stopped in front of a hotel were we could see the headlights in the window, and they were off. We turned the car off, counted to 10, then turned the car back on. The lights came back on. We turned on the foglights in case the headlights turned off again. They stayed on all the way to the airport and almost all the way home. They turned off for about 1 mile, and then turned back on.
The headlights on my 2005 Toyota Prius go out on a much to frequent basis. I have replaced both headlights multiple times. This last time, I took the car to the dealership (northshore Toyota) to ask if they could check the headlights. I thought it could be a bad connection. They checked the headlights and said they both needed replacing, although one was working when I brought the car in for service. They did not mention anything about an issue with the headlights, and gladly took our money for replacing the lights. Upon further research, I learned that this is a problem with headlights on Toyota Prius. I feel this is a safety issue and should be addressed by the manufacturer.
The passenger side front headlight started going off automatically after a while of turning on. If I turn it off and on again, it lights up and then first dims and then turns off on its own. The lights have been replaced and it did not solve the problem. This is very dangerous for night time driving as the drivers will never know when the headlights will go out. This is not a random incident; it is one of the most common problems of gen 2 Prius (04-09) that I found online. I am attaching a document that lists some online forums where other Prius owners have reported similar problems. Toyota settled a lawsuit for 06-09 Prius, yet there is no recall for the headlight issue of gen 2 Prius.
Headlight complaints in other Prius years
Frequently asked questions
How common are headlight problems on the 2005 Toyota Prius?
NHTSA has 346 complaints about the lights of the 2005 Toyota Prius, 33% of the model year's 1,051 complaints. The component named most often is headlights (27 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2005 Toyota Prius headlight problems?
No. NHTSA lists no lights recall for the 2005 Toyota Prius, though it has 6 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2005 Toyota Prius headlight problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 101,000 miles, and 4% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 0 fires and 0 injuries to lights problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
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.