Prius (2004-09) :: HID Headlight Leveling System Warning
Nov 12, 2013
First a bit of history: About a year ago, I received the headlight leveling system warnings comprising a red triangle alert with exclamation point in the middle located on the dash, combined with a yellow(ish) warning symbol on the center stack display comprising what looks like a headlight with up and down pointing arrows. Eventually, the warning lights went out, but the HID headlamps were left pointing in a down position that lit barely 10 ft in front of the car.. This is is supposedly their default position when the sensor breaks, most commonly due to moisture entering the sensor innards resulting in corrosion of the contact points. I effected the repair quoted elsewhere on this forum, and it was good to go.
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My 2005 Prius with around 60K has the occasional Headlight Leveling Warning Light. My question is how serious is this? Do I need to go to the dealer or can I wait on it? The lights still work fine.
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My '05 Prius with just 16k miles on it just started displaying the red triangle with exclamation mark (multifunction warning lamp?). It displays about every 3 times I start the car... The Info screen shows the icon for the Automatic Headlight Leveling System. So Ive been searching, and have found a few threads related to this, but the fix Ive seen referenced I cannot find since the posts referencing the fix are about 5 yrs old. Exactly where on the car I can find the sensor, and how it can be fixed?
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I just got the warning symbol that mine has failed, so I'm thinking of trying the repair myself, too. But I thought I'd ask here: how have people's repairs held up? Have you had to go back and eventually replace it? Is there anything you wish you had done differently when you repaired it?
On a related note, I see that the Toyota Service Bulletin for this problem instructs the mechanic to "Perform the Headlight Leveling ECU Initialization procedure using the SST" and then to "Perform the Headlight Aim Only procedure." This doesn't seem like something an individual can do without specialized equipment / knowledge. Is there a way to do it? Is it unnecessary?
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The dealership states that this is not a big problem and that the headlights will not be affected but the malfunction light stays on and the exclamation point is on the dashboard. The fix: replace the rear sensor harness where corrosion on the connection and pin was found - new harness assembly needed. What about just replacing the pin? Dealer states you cannot cut the wire and replace because the wires are not sealed.
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The auto leveling warning light has come on a couple of time now on my daughters 04 rx330. The lights do adjust when vehicle is started so the motors are working. I assume this leaves the sensor? I will also note that the lights are operated in the "auto" mode and the warning light has come on when just the daytime running lights are on. If this sounds like a sensor issue, great, probably a fix that I can take care of. 1st question, is there a sensor front and rear? And for question #2, where is it or they located?
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I have a problem with our oldest Prius, a 2005 Package V. I have had an ongoing problem with the warning triangle and the headlight icon coming on and off for a few years now. Anyway, after locating the post about repairing the sensor, I finally got around to checking out the headlight height control sensor and when I opened it up, I found it to be badly corroded/ unrepairable. My local dealer wants $500+ to repair the system and I really don't need the leveling function anyway.
My headlight level has been stuck it the same position for a long time, but as luck would have it,. they are at a perfect level....Always pass State inspection, illuminate the road perfectly etc.
The problem that I now have is that the two warning icons stay lit all of the time. Is it possible to disconnect or jump wire the Headlight Level Control ECU or something else in the wiring system to disable/turn-off these two warning lights? I disconnected the corroded Height Control Sensor, but the warning lights stay lit.
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I just got my IS350 F-sport which equipped with HID headlight for few days, but I have encountered a weird problem as every time I start the car the HID headlight never does a self-leveling job. It just never goes up and down and back to its original spot in which I have never encountered in my previous owned vehicles.
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I have a 2013 rx350 rebuilt suv. I had a mechanic check out my Headlight leveling error that comes up. Turns out the motors are missing for my headlights. I called the dealer and they said I have to buy the whole headlight assembly. Are those motors part of the headlight assembly? Can they be bought separate? I found some on ebay but need more information where they are located.
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I noticed the light below which seems to be a headlight self leveling error appear today. I know it came on a while back and disappeared butt the place its located is unnoticeable as its in the top corner and you have to tilt your head to see it so not sure if it came on many times.. But yeah I saw it today while waiting for my turn at the car wash since it was nice and sunny out and I leaned over to pull the foot brake release then saw it... It seemed to disappear a few minutes later.. then I stopped somewhere, came back started car and same thing and then it disappeared again. A while later it came on stayed on..
what could it be? I am aware that there maybe a 2 sensors, one in front and other in rear axle? I also know there is a module for left and right side... I am wondering what it could be, but I haven't got the code read yet..
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I charged the almost dead 12v with a slow charger and it is fine now. but immediately after charging the brake system light came on. I believe brakes are just fine, and want to reset the light and see if it will ever give again.
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My wife just called and said this light came on. She said when it came on the car turned off its cruise control but kept running. Now she says it seems to be running fine but the light is coming on.
The car has around 110k miles and I just replaced the spark plugs, air filter and engine oil about 1k miles ago. What it could be? I'm going to have her pull codes at the auto parts store but she needs to do about 20-30 miles of driving today for work. Is it safe for her to do so?
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2008 Prius touring model, owned since Dec 212. Brake system warning light went on when our rainy season started and went off briefly, but is now on all the time.
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My hybrid system warning light came on last night in my 2005 Prius with about 89,000 miles. The car may have run out of gas (I wasn't driving). This car will only take about 8.5 gallons when the fuel light starts flashing. I started it this morning, light was still on, only 2 bars on battery, my car usually runs near the green, and the gas engine stalled after about 30 seconds. The gas indicator was flashing, so I added a 1/2 gallon I had at the house, and unplugged the 12v for about 10 minutes to clear the system. Upon restarting, fuel light was still flashing, but no hybrid warning light. Drove a few miles, filled up with gas, and drove another mile.
So my question, could running out of gas and driving a very short distance (light came on as my wife turned into our driveway), cause this warning light to come on? If so, will there be any lasting effects? Did unplugging the 12v battery clear the computer codes, or can I still get these read to learn more about what happened?
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I have a 2005 Prius with 135k miles. Yesterday the red exclamation light came on and also the hybrid system warning light. I shut the car off and it came on again. The third time the car started normally and it is driving normally today with no warnings. Does this sound like the 12 volt battery? It is original.
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During a highway trip three months ago, my 2004 Prius suddenly lost engine power, the red triangle Master Warning light came on accompanied by a warning sound, and then the Hybrid System Warning sign appeared on the Multifunction Display. I pulled off to the side of the road and stopped. I turned the car off and then tried turning it on again. Engine power was restored although the warning lights remained. We took a chance and carried on with our trip. The same sequence of events reoccurred about 10 times on our 1,300 km journey. I took the car to a Toyota dealer where they found a C2318 DTC. They checked the battery and the HEV fuse but could not locate the problem.
We returned home and on the way the same thing happened a few more times. My service manual noted that the description for C2318 is Low Voltage Error (Power Supply Malfunction) and the trouble areas are HEV fuse, IGCT relay, Wire harness or connector, or Auxiliary battery. Since the car was nearly 7 years old I thought I had nothing to lose by replacing the battery, which I did. However, on a short 150 km trip last week the problem appeared again, once while approaching our destination and once when we were almost home. There seems to be a pattern in that the problem appears every 150 km or so of highway driving. It has never done it while driving in the city.
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A few days ago I was driving my 2005 Prius aggressively up a mountain road and all at once the hybrid system warning light, the triangle with the exclamation point, and the regenerative brake system warning lights came on.
After about 2 minutes parked, I restarted the car and the regenerative brake system warning light went off, but the other two were still on. I still drove it twenty miles home, over another substantial mountain gap (about 1000 ft up and another 1500 down), without any problems.
I checked the voltage of the 12v battery, which seemed to be on the low end, but OK. (I think the lowest reading was 11.9). There seemed also to be some turbulence in the inverter coolant reservoir.
I brought it into the electronic vehicle specialist in town here today, who pulled my codes and said that the hybrid battery was dead.
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I haven’t been on these boards very often since getting my used 2008 Prius because until now it has been very kind to me in terms of not needing mechanical repairs. Unfortunately that good streak seems to have come to an end. Driving home Monday evening (after ~30min freeway driving), my master system warning light came on, accompanied by the hybrid system warning light. I didn’t know what the latter was – had to look it up – but I immediately pulled to the shoulder. The car was driving normally, however. Since shops and dealers were closed for the evening, after much debate I ended up having the car towed to a family friend’s body shop; they were still there and had a scanner to check the error codes for me. My car was on the side of the freeway for well over an hour with hazard lights on and the dome light on and off occasionally as we got in and out of the car. By the time the tow truck arrived, I discovered that the 12V battery seemed dead; car wouldn’t boot up all the way, wouldn’t shift to neutral and didn’t want to power down – I had to try turning it off upwards of 10 times. I was surprised, given just the hazard light and limited dome light usage. We jumped it, got it in neutral and on the truck.
At the body shop, they said there were no error codes related to the hybrid battery; something about transmission that wasn’t clarified, and errors for low voltage on the 12V battery. With everything off, it measured 10-something V; something higher when turned on, but they believed the problem was a dead 12V battery. I was surprised that it would suddenly give out in the middle of driving, but we went ahead and replaced it the next day. I picked up the car Tues evening, and had no problems driving it home, to work the next morning. Unfortunately, during my drive home – strangely at almost exactly the same location as the first time – the same hybrid system warning light came back on. I’d driving about 70 miles with it off at this point before the reappearance. This time I didn’t pull over to the side (had enough of that before) but rather drove a few more miles to a parking lot where the car has now stayed overnight. I note that the car seemed to drive perfectly normally during that time; no loss of power.
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I have a 2005, I purchased new in 2005. I now have around 120,000 miles and have had no problems - just oil changes and new tires.
I was driving on the interstate in MS and all of a sudden all these lights come on on my dash including the triangle that means take it to your dealer immediately. The car sounded funny acted funny and accelerated funny. I was closer to home so I came home and called the dealer. They said to drive it in but if it started acting up to pull over and they would come get me.
When I cranked it, it sounded like I was pushing the accelerator but I wasn't so I cut it off then cranked it again. I drove it very slowly cause it was acting weird.
I drove it home to discuss it with my husband and to do some on-line research here. So 2 - 3 weeks later my husband decides to look at it and by now the little battery is dead - it is the original battery too -btw. So I bought a new toyota battery (the little one). My husband hooked it up to see if the car would crank. It did but all the lights on the dash lite up again including a couple new ones!
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The springs on my load leveling sensor keep getting corroded. This time I sprayed them with contact cleaner and then dipped them in dielectric grease so hopefully they won't go bad again, but I fear they might. It looks like there was some kind of anti corrosive treatment on them which was removed when I cleaned them off.
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I have had no issues with this car of 120K miles until today, although my MPG has decreased to 35 MPG. The following lights came on with a loud beeping sound : Brake warning lights, malfunction indicator light, master warning light and the hybrid system warning light. These stayed on for 25 minutes and then went off. I drove 12 miles without any issues with all the lights and sounds beeping.
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