Known APK problem

Toyota Prius III: lights

On the Toyota Prius III the APK inspector finds lights problems 50% more often than on cars of the same age: at 11–12 years 26.0%, against about 17.3% nationally.

Window: Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · Updated: 16 Oct 2026

What is it?

Broken bulbs, misaligned headlights or damaged light units.

Repair indication: smallusually a small repair, often done with the service.

How to check it at the viewing

Walk around with the lights, indicators, brake lights and rear fog light on. Look for moisture in the headlights.

Ask the seller: Have the headlights been aligned, and has there been moisture in the light units?

By age

Share of inspected Toyota Prius IIIs with this defect, compared with all cars of the same age.

Age	Type	Prius III	95%-CI	National	Difference	n
9 – 10 years	B	11.7%	10.2 – 13.5%	13.0%	0.9×	1,460
11 – 12 years	B	26.0%	24.6 – 27.5%	17.3%	1.5×	3,598
13 – 15 years	B	28.6%	27.6 – 29.6%	23.8%	1.2×	7,990
16+ years	B	30.5%	29.1 – 31.9%	27.7%	1.1×	4,191

A = structure, safety or costly mechanics; B = fail, usually simple; C = advisory. An age is missing when this defect is not among the most common there.

Comparable cars at 11–12 years

Model	Lights	Vs. national
Toyota Prius III	26.0%	1.5×
BMW i i3	8.1%	0.5×
Mercedes-Benz V-Klasse / Vito W447	11.7%	0.7×
Mercedes-Benz E-Klasse W212/S212	8.6%	0.5×
Honda Insight II	14.6%	0.8×
Volkswagen Scirocco III	13.5%	0.8×

Looking at a Toyota Prius III? Check that car

Enter the plate and see the APK history, open recalls and how this car compares with other Toyota Prius IIIs of the same age.

All weak spots of the Toyota Prius III · Lights: which models more often · Checklist for this model

Frequently asked questions

Does the Toyota Prius III often have lights problems?

Yes, more often than average at the APK. At 11–12 years the inspector found a lights defect on 26.0% of inspected Toyota Prius IIIs, against about 17.3% of all cars of the same age (1.5×). Source: RDW Open Data, Oct 2025 – Sep 2026.

How do you check the lights on a used Toyota Prius III?

Walk around with the lights, indicators, brake lights and rear fog light on. Look for moisture in the headlights.

Repair indication: small, medium or large. An indication of the usual repair, not a quote: the real cost depends on the car, the cause and the garage.

Source: RDW Open Data (CC0), analysis CarXray.nl. 6,857,004 inspected passenger cars aged 3 years and older, Oct 2025 – Sep 2026. Each car counts once. How we know