Eight problems related to structure have been reported for the 2008 Toyota Prius. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The plastic part on the rear latch for the Toyota Prius is now like gum. After internet research this is a common problem for all Toyota latches and it costs about $280. 00 to fix. I have a 2008 Toyota Prius and this is a known defective part and should be recalled and the consumer should not be charged.
Toyota Prius (2008) hatch release rubber cover piece detached and tore apart. Note that my rx300 selection of make/part number is bogus, as I have no way of knowing who made this rubber component.
We bought our 2008 Toyota Prius in Nov 2007. After about 3 years use, the rubber cover on the hatch release handle (the exterior handle of the rear hatch) melted into a sticky tarry black rubbery gooey mess. 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, but has been a serious issue for the past year. We can barely open the rear hatchback now. I have seen on the internet that this has happened to several car owners, particularly in florida. We live in virginia though. 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, we experience extreme difficulty opening the rear hatch (a life safety access point), and will get sticky black tar on our hands 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, 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. Please review these forum comments of other incidents:.
Toyota 2008 Prius trunk hatch release rubber piece melted. 2008 model was only 2. 5 years old when this happened. Dealer says $197. 00 for this part.
The material in the trunk door handle is dissolving and or disintegrating. At times this appears to be the cause of a delay in opening the trunk. My concern is that in the case of an emergency a delay in reaching items needed to deal with a roadside emergency that are stored in the trunk may occur. I had mentioned this defect to Toyota dealers in prior years and my complaint was in my opinion relegated to the "unimportant bucket". I recently researched the defect on the internet and observed what I was experiencing has been previously documented in other complaints. In a recent visit to a Toyota service center for routine maintenance I again presented what was happening and the documentation I observed on the internet and was told the vehicle repair was out of the warranty period and there would be a charge if I wanted the repair. The charge imo was excessive for something that imo was a built in defect and deserves a recall.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The vehicle was stationary. The contact observed a water leak in the trunk in the spare tire wheel well. The failure occurred during rainy weather conditions. The water was drained from the wheel well. The contact was concerned about the potential safety hazard contributed to water leakage within the battery. The failure and current mileages were 40,000.
The Prius has a mark on dash by center screen and is poor sign.
Vehicle is extremely, almost dangerously, sensitive to cross winds and wake turbulence from larger vehicles, trucks specifically.