Mary Johnston of Raleigh, N.C., said she was driving on a lonely country road last week when both headlights on her 2007 Prius cut off at once, leaving her in total darkness. Unable to see, she drove off the road, almost wrecking the car.
The 62-year-old retired schoolteacher was able to turn the lights back on by flipping the switch several times, but no sooner did she pull back on the road than they cut off again, she said.
"It was very scary for me," said Johnston, who said she had had one of the headlights replaced at her own expense just two weeks earlier after it suddenly winked out. Now she refuses to drive the Prius at night. "It doesn't feel safe," she said.
The lawsuits allege that there is an "inherent defect" in the Prius computer.
Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons declined to comment on the suits, but disputed that the there was a problem with the vehicle's computer. The issue is "isolated to the bulb," he said, noting that many drivers have them switched on in daylight, causing them to burn out more quickly.