Table 1 shows one common unknown or other related problems of the 2007 Toyota Prius.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Unknown Or Other problems |
Rear hatch lock has soft plastic cover which melted in my hand when trying to open car. Plastic cover turned black and soft and sticks to skin when you touch to open the car. Lock also now does not open properly now due to electrical problem in the part. Should be recalled.
On the trunk is a door latch with a plastic cover. The plastic cover has melted or is disintegrating. There are many posts on google if you search for the terms "prius trunk latch melt". Considering I don't drive very often my car is almost always covered in the garage. Plus I live in hawaii so heat shouldn't be too much of an issue like other states. This isn't my picture but it shows what mines looks like. . Read more...
The rear hatch release on my 2007 Toyota Prius has begun to deteriorate and turn into a rubbery and sticky black mess. This issue interferes with the use of the hatch as the rubber not only gets on your fingers but appears to be blocking the release mechanism. The deterioration started during the summer of 2011. The issue has worsened and yesterday I was unable to open the rear hatch whatsoever.
The rear door latch rubber cover has turned to a goo, and make it difficult to open the rear hatch door.
Hatchdoor handle release plate melting. . . Just like the multiple reports of this same problem already reported at this website. Majority of my car miles were accumulated in michigan; melting occurred just recently in texas. When calling the dealership parts dept they immediately guessed the problem. . . Melting. . . Due to previous customer complaints. Estimated part ($97) and installation ($100). Guess I should be thankful my tires and other car parts aren't melting!.
The rubber tailgate release handle above the license plate has started to melt and has become a sticky, gooey mess. This black goo comes off on your hands whenever you open the tailgate. I fear this substance could be hazardous to a persons health, such as causing cancer. I also fear that because of its condition the handle may become inoperable in a life-threatening situation. I believe this is a serious part defect that Toyota should be responsible for fixing regardless of whether the car is under warranty or not. Thank you.
After only about 4 years use, the rubber cover on the hatch release handle (the exterior handle of the rear hatch) of our 2007 Toyota Prius, melted into a sticky tarry black rubbery gooey mess. I can best describe it as being a viscous black glob like roofing tar. To open the hatch, you have to touch this black goo each time, which makes it difficult to operate the hatch release. We believe this melting process started at about the 3 yr. Mark. We live in texas where temperatures were extremely warm last summer. Apparently Toyota knows about this, and is selling the entire wiring harness for $96 plus repair costs, and has done nothing about recalling this. From a safety perspective, this means you can experience extreme difficulty opening the rear hatch (a life safety access point), and will get sticky black tar on you from the melted down rubber cover of the exterior hatch release handle. I have had several instances where I was not able to get the hatch open on an extremely hot day. To me, this is both a serious life safety issue and a serious quality defect that Toyota is opting to ignore and only fixing on vehicles with extended warranties, since the failure appears to occur at around the 3 year mark (ie after 3 years of exposure to the bright sun in florida for example). I am aware of the outstanding work done by NHTSA on other safety issues, including the problem with rusty frames on 02 isuzu axioms, and I find this problem to be similar in nature, so I am asking for your agency to take a look at these instances and also to inquire from Toyota why they are not recalling these handles that are melting in the sun!!! it's outrageous. I think a door handle or hatch handle should be made to last more than 3 years.
After only about 4 years use, the rubber cover on the hatch release handle (the exterior handle of the rear hatch) of our 2007 Toyota Prius, melted into a sticky tarry black rubbery gooey mess. I can best describe it as being a viscous black glob like roofing tar. To open the hatch, you have to touch this black goo each time, which makes it difficult to operate the hatch release. We believe this melting process started at about the 2 yr. Mark. I thought that this might be a singular issue, but have found that this has happened to several car owners in texas. Toyota knows about this, and is selling the entire wiring harness for $96 plus repair costs, and has done nothing about recalling this. From a safety perspective, this means you can experience extreme difficulty opening the rear hatch (a life safety access point), and will get sticky black tar on you from the melted down rubber cover of the exterior hatch release handle. To me, this is both a serious life safety issue and a serious quality defect that Toyota is opting to ignore and only fixing on vehicles with extended warranties, since the failure appears to occur at around the 3 year mark I am aware of the outstanding work done by NHTSA on other safety issues, including the problem with rusty frames on 02 isuzu axioms, and I find this problem to be similar in nature, so I am asking for your agency to take a look at these instances and also to inquire from Toyota why they are not recalling these handles that are melting in the sun!!! it's outrageous. I think a door handle or hatch handle should be made to last more than 3 years. . Read more...
Twenty miles from my destination, both headlights went out, leaving only fog lights. This occurred at night, in the rain, on an interstate highway. The dealership advised both lights were burnt out and charged in excess of $400. 00 to replace the bulbs. Updated 01/20/11.
After 3 years, my 2007 Toyota Prius hatch release ( a black rubber strip ) has melted to a gooey tar strip. Toyota needs to put a recall on these hatch release buttons.
The trunk latch for our 2007 Toyota Prius started melting into a gooey mess about 3 years after we purchased it. It seems that many other owners of the 2007 Prius have experienced the same thing. Toyota will not replace it as defective equipment; however, it is obvious that door handles are not supposed to melt, even if you live in a warm climate.
2007 Prius touring. Consumer writes to express sincere disappointment over automobile transaction. The consumer stated she was involved in an accident and his vehicle was totaled. The consume stated he was assured the vehicle he was about to purchase, had not been in any previous accidents. The consumer later discovered the vehicle had indeed been in multiple collisions, both front and rear. The consumer stated he began to notice the hood was not aligned properly, the rubber on the right front corner between the windshield and the right quarter panel was disconnected from the body and the lower front panel appeared to be slightly flared out.
2007 Toyota Prius, back hatch release, rubber piece. This piece has deteriorated and it difficult to open back hatch. I have had this problem for about 1 year. I have done research and see this is a common problem in these 2007 Toyota vehicles. I believe this to be a hazard and would think Toyota would have recalled this piece as there are so many complaints.
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that the key to the vehicle was radioactive. The contact was concerned about the safety risk because he wore a pacemaker. The dealer informed the contact that there was no need for concern. The current and failure mileages were approximately 56,000. The consumer stated he was involved in two accidents and was injured. He didn't give any other specifics. Updated 07/22/jb.
Toyota Prius loss of electical power, loss of steering resulting in crash in may 2009 while driving in a residental neighborhood at low speeds, Prius lost all power resulting in loss of steering and loss of brakes resulting in crash into a high curb. I had Prius towed to Toyota dealership and filed complaint with dealership as well as with main California complaint center. They said that it would take them 4 months to investigate complaint. They recommended my storing car at dealership for four months if I wanted an investigation. They would not investigate otherwise. They told me there was no cause for concern and that the power loss must of resulted after the crash. They said that Toyota had no safety complaints about power loss or steering or brake loss. I went on line and found same year model recall in australia. They told me the products were dissimilar and not a cause for concern. I disagreed. My routine mechanic at merchants tire and auto could find nothing wrong. I repaired the structural damage and sold the car since Toyota assured me there was nothing wrong. Toyota corporation's methodology of investigation appears to be designed to stifle any meaningful determination of baseline safety fault. The requirement to store a car for months at owners expense and for driver to have no access for transportation would appear to discourage any meaningful investigation of safety concern. Given the current finding of brake and other safety defects in Toyota products, I am concerned that the power loss may have been under-reported because of their unethical business practices. I report it to help you determine if there is a pattern of power loss, loss of steering and loss of braking in the Prius.
Trunk latch rubber has deteriorated to the point of stickiness and black coming off on your fingers when opening. Sometimes, it takes a few tries before it will open. In the winter during cold weather, the rubber is very hard and you cannot open the trunk (hatch) at all. The only way we were able to open the hatch was to first run a hairdryer on it to enable us to open the door. This could potentially cause a safety hazard if access to the back was required in an emergency. Toyota has failled to issue a recall for this defect. Our car has always been garage kept and not left parked in the sun. Plus, we have owned numerous other cars, to include Toyotas, which have never had a problem with a trunck (hatch) lock.
I was driving onto the highway and the entrance curved. The road was wet from a recent start of rain. I tried to brake my car and the brakes did not catch and I spun out on the entrance ramp and hit a reflector pole and ended up in the dirt on the shoulder of the on ramp.
An fyi for Prius owners, I have a 2007 Prius and had the following happen to me, as I was driving my navigation display suddenly began displaying a view out of my backup camera, which was very disorientating as my eye was drawn to the image of the road disappearing behind me. I pulled over and powered down and then rebooted my cars computer system and it has been fine since. This does bring to mind that if the car is able to think its in reverse when driving forward then any number of things could be misinterpreted by the computer system.
This incident involves my 2007 Toyota Prius hybrid that I have owned for almost a year. As I was driving approximately 40 mph and put my foot on the brake as I approached a red light, the red brake warning came on the dash as did the abs warning light. My foot went all the way to the floor and I had no brakes. Luckily I had a right turning lane that I could veer into and not hit the stopped vehicles in front of me. As I continued to push the brake to the floor and maneuver the vehicle out of traffic, it seemed to catch a little and I was able to slow the vehicle eventually to a stop. I put the vehicle in park as it was still running, and pulled out the owner's manual. The manual specifically stated that if these two warning lights came on at the same time, you were to "stop immediately and contact your Toyota dealership". This is exactly what I did. I had the vehicle towed into their facility that evening. The next day I was interrogated by the mechanic after a diagnostic report was done on my car. He wanted to know when I let the car run out of gas. I have never let my car run out of gas, and in fact that just filled the take the day before this incident occurred. The mechanic couldn't tell me what was wrong and contacted Toyota's corporate office. Two days later, I was advised that the reason the brakes didn't work was because I "let the car run out of gas "and this caused the engine to shut off. I argued that the car had never run out of gas and the engine didn't shut off, the brakes went out. The service manager pulled out the diagnostic test showing that "at some point" the car had run out of gas----this test doesn't give a date of when this may have happened. I advised the service manager that the car had 223 miles on it when I purchased it-- this test result could have happened when the car was still at the dealership, not in my possession. The service manager advised me that his "hands were tied" and that Toyota had made their decision.
This event has occured on a number of occasions with my 2007 Toyota Prius. When I am applying the brakes and go over a bump or pothole, the traction control light appears and the brakes weaken for a moment. The light will go off and the breaks feel like they go back to full strength. I am aware of this issue and have modified my driving becasue of it. Recently while approaching an intersection I had to slow very quickly and hit a pothole while the brakes were applied. I traveled several feet further because the brakes were not reacting at full strength when the light was on. I have heard of other 2007 owners complaining but when I contacted my Toyota dealer they said there was nothing they could do until there is a recall. That was the only time I contacted my dealer because it made me so upset. It is safe to say that from the moment I have purchased the car (within the first week) to current, if I am breaking and hitting a bump or pothole of significant disruptance at the same time - this situation replays itself. The date of incident is around the first date of the first occurance. It has happened nearly 100+ times since then.