Prius left tail light issue?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

This could go into GQ because it may have a factual answer. It could go into IMHO because people may have anecdotes. But I’m putting it here because.

I was pulled over by State Patrol last night. My speedometer indicated 73 mph (in a 70 mph zone), but based on observations of those radar speed signs, it reads a little fast. If I wasn’t actually doing 70, surely I wouldn’t be pulled over for being one mile per hour over the limit? I pulled over, pushed the Park button, turned off the radio, rolled down the passenger-side window, and waited. The cop appeared and said, ‘Good evening.’ I said, ‘What’s the problem?’ He told me my left tail light was inoperative. I rolled my eyes, and I think I sighed. He said, ‘Have you been pulled over for that before?’ I told him that I hadn’t in that car, but I was pulled over twice in my last Prius. He said, ‘Yeah, we pull over a lot of Priuses for that.’ I told him I’m scheduled for maintenance this coming Monday morning. I wasn’t cited. He asked me for my license, took some notes on his notepad, returned my license, and wished me a good evening.

Have any Prius drivers here had an issue with the left tail light failing? Anyone notice Priuses with this problem? It seems weird that the same light would fail three times in two cars.

2

Of *course *it would be the *left *tail light - they burn out because Prius drivers never stop trying to get further left. :smiley:

(What’s a Prius with an Obama bumpersticker? Redundant. :D)
Seriously, I’d have to hear something other than one anecdotal data point to take this seriously.

3

My wife’s 2008 Prius hasn’t had this problem.

4

The left tail light in my Camry has gone out 3 times in 10 years. It’s the only one I have ever had to replace. Maybe it’s a Toyota thing?

5

In general, a left tail light will fail before the right because it spends more time activated, since you’ll wait longer to make a left turn than a right.

My 2010 Prius has had no problems with tail lights. However, I’ve had to replace both head lights twice. Each time, both head lights failed within a week of each other.

6

I’m fairly certain the directional indicator is a separate lamp.

7

3 Prii (?) and never a taillight problem.

8

Prions.

Also… haven’t Priuses/Prii/Prions used LEDs for all their external lamps since the model debuted? Or certainly must be in recent model years?

LEDs, for all practical purposes, never burn out. If there’s a common failure, it must be at some other point.