Latches/locks/linkage Problems of Toyota Prius - part 1

The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Prius. The contact stated the trunk opened at a slow speed and failed to remain open. The dealer was contacted and informed of the failure. The dealer informed the contact that the vehicle needed to be taken in to be inspected. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not covered under recall. The manufacturer directed the contact back to the dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.

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The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Prius. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 24v274000 (electrical system, latches/locks/linkages) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

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The back latch of my Toyota Prius 2007 has degraded. In the past I have rarely used the trunk of my car and therefore did not realize the extent of the problem. I am now almost 9 months pregnant. A couple of months ago (around November 2013) I tried to open the trunk. While it was difficult, after a lot of pressing and maneuvering I was able to open it. Most recently for the past 3 weeks, I am completely unable to open the trunk. Now that the trunk is completely unable to be opened, I am extremely concerned for the safety of my newborn that will be riding in the car. In the event of an emergency, being able to open the trunk to potentially remove my baby out of the car is a must. Therefore, I believe this is a serious safety hazard. I am requesting that Toyota correct this problem on my car.

See all problems of the 2007 Toyota Prius 🔎.

2007 Toyota Prius rear hatch handle failure. Rubber cover melts into electric switch making it inoperable.

Rear latch assembly on my Prius has started to melt and block the opening of the rear latch. This seems to be a problem with many of the 2007 Prius. I have never had a car where the plastic melted for no apparent reason.

The back latch of my 2007 Toyota Prius has degraded ("melted" almost). It no longer functions properly, and I am unable to open the back hatch door easily. Sometimes it requires considerable effort and perseverance to get it open. I am concerned that in the case of an emergency, I will not be able to get the door open. This is a major cause for concern and it is a serious safety hazard.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that with the vehicle parked, the interior doors locked independently and would not unlock when using the electronic key fob. The key-less ignition was off however, the air conditioner and radio were activated during the malfunction. There was an occupant in the vehicle who was unable to engage the power lock switch. The fire department was called to the scene to unlock the doors. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer and was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.

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Rear door opener !! rubber melted and block door opener (lock unlock system) .

The rear hatchback latch of my 2006 Toyota Prius has deteriorated over time. It started back in February 2012 with a difficulty opening the hatchback even with considerable effort. Now, when I touch the latch release it is gummy and will not open at all about 90% of the time. This is a safety hazard as I can't access any of the equipment (spare tire, emergency tools etc) that are located under the floor of the hatch. I found out that to fix it will cost me over $300. This is unacceptable that a door handle should fail so quickly. The rest of the car works beautifully. I believe there is a manufacturer defect in this latch release and it should be recalled. There is no way to open the hatch from the interior as an alternative (unlike a side door).

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The back latch covering has a vinyl(?) covering which has become sticky and the latch itself is difficult to open, resulting in continued attempts. It is a hindrance to gain access to the trunk area and thus access to the spare tire if needed.

2007 Prius rear hatch switch covered by a rubber strip. Rubber strip has melted and is now more like tar than rubber.

Rubber on the 2008 Prius is melting and dripping. I've seen many complaints on line about this problem.

After only about 4 years use, the rubber cover on the hatch release handle (the exterior handle of the rear hatch) of our 2006 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, particularly in florida. We also live in florida. Toyota knows about this, and is selling the entire wiring harness for $96 plus repair costs(200. 00), 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 (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. Please review these forum comments of other incidents:.

2007 Toyota Prius rear hatch handle melted. Nocticed about a 3 months ago just though that it was really hot out. Then though this handle should not melt to high heat there has to be a problem. Went to dealer to have oil change and inspection, had service mgr. Open hatch and he stated there is a problem. He stated that because car is out of warrante he can not do anything and that it will cost 58. 84 for handle and 97. 00 for labor. He gave me Toyota care number to call, I called today and they state the same thing out of warrante. . . . . . . . . . . I knew that was coming. . . . . This handle should not melt, there has to be a problem with the wiring over heating. The buttons on the doors to lock the car are made out of the same materical. Toyota will not do anything until someone has a fire and someone dies.

After only about 3 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. 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 was just sticky at firdt, but have found that this has happened to several car owners, particularly in florida. We also live in florida. 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. 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, and I find this problem to be very serious 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. Please review these forum comments of other incidents:.

Prius trunk handle melted.

The rear hatch release on my 2007 Toyota Prius has begun to decompose and turn into a rubbery, gooey mess. It interferes with the use of the hatch as the goo not only gets on the fingers but appears to be blocking the release mechanism.

After only about 3 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, particularly in florida. We also live in florida. 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. Please review these forum comments of other incidents:.

2007 Toyota Prius rear lid release button. This button release has begun 'melting' into a gooey plastic that binds the release.

I bought a scion in '06, my first car I've ever bought. It was wonderful, except that I live in florida and the rubber piece on my trunk handle melted. It melted so much that, to this day, there is a huge glob of rubber on my license plate. Well, yesterday I traded in my scion for a Prius. I am having the same issue with the handle! every time I open my trunk, I get black gunk on my hands. Upon research, I found that a large number of people are experiencing this problem with their Toyotas. I emailed Toyota and addressed them with the issue. They wrote it off as grease dripping from the handle, when if you look at my car, it is clear that there are globs of melted rubber everywhere. They told me it could easily be wiped off and I can't even scrape it off or wash it off with soap and water! I even sent them links to forums with page and pages of complaints with the same issue and they still won't address it. Therefore, I decided to report it here. This could potentially turn into a safety issue, if the rubber continues to melt causing the trunk to be inoperable.

The latch handle on my 2007 Prius has begun to melt and is worsening over time. I have to open the rear hatch with a towel. It is difficult to open and if I use my hands they become all blackened and my fingers stick impeding the opening esp in an emergency. Both problems interfere with a quick release.

After only about 3 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. I thought that this might be a singular issue, but have found that this has happened to several car owners, 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 (ie after 3 years of exposure to the bright sun ). 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.

My 2008 Prius trunk handle has melted. It is now difficult to open, and is extremely messy. This started in may 2011, just outside the warranty period of the car.

After only about 3 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. I thought that this might be a singular issue, but have found that this has happened to several car owners, particularly in florida. We purchased the car in florida. Toyota knows about this, and is selling the entire wiring harness for $96 plus repair costs, and has done nothing about recalling this. The dealer stated that this is a problem on numerous makes and they see this regularly. 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 (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.

I am owner of a 2007 Toyota pruis. Less than 3 years since purchasing the vehicle new from Toyota, a rubber weather seal component in the rear hatch handle has progressively melted. With the seal now compromised, I fear the hatch handle will eventually fail or malfunction resulting in corrosion or worse still, accidental opening of the rear hatch while the vehicle is in motion. I have contacted Toyota about the defect and they advise it would be a $150 repair and all costs would be the responsibility of the owner. As this is clearly a manufacturer defect and one that could potentially lead to serious injury or death, I would expect Toyota to correct the problem at their own cost.

At only 4 years of use and under 34,000 miles, the rubber cover on the hatch release handle of my 2007 Toyota Prius has melted into a sticky, black tar substance. In order to operate the hatch, you have to push a button which is located under the black tar substance, which makes it difficult to operate the hatch release. As I have looked into this issue, it seems that there are several other Toyota Prius owners, nationwide, who have experienced this same specific issue. Toyota knows told me there have been several complaints about the rubber switch melting as well, and is selling the entire wiring harness for $153. 23 plus repair costs, and had no recalls concerning the rubber switch. From a safety perspective, 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. 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, let alone any extreme weather conditions! it's outrageous to think a door handle or hatch handle was made to only endure 3-4 years of typical weather conditions.

2007 Toyota Prius rear hatch handle has melted like hot tar. Hard to open hatch and Toyota wants close to $250. 00 to repair. I realize there is wear and tear on vehicles but this is not one od them. This is definitely a manufacturing defect. I like my Prius but this has been the only Toyota I have bought and did so for the great reputation but this car has been recalled several times, which I'm happy they did, but it's the first car I've owned that's been recalled.

The Smart key on my 2004 Toyota Prius locked the doors on its own, even while in the car. I unlocked the doors with the Smart key, placed my baby in his carseat, buckled him in, placed his diaper bag on the floor in the backseat as always, with the Smart key in a pocket of the diaper bag, and as I was closing the back door so that I could get in the driver seat, all of the doors locked on their own. The Smart key was in the diaper bag inside the car, as was my baby, and I could not get into the car. I had to call my wife and have her bring the second Smart key to unlock the door. Luckily my baby was not freaking out, and it was not a hot day. It was an extremely dangerous and scary situation.

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After only about 3 years use, the rubber cover on the hatch release handle (the exterior handle of the rear hatch) of our 2007 Toyota Prius has begun melting. It is sticky to the touch and it does make the trunk release difficult to operate. I just dropped my car off at the servco hawaii dealership and they told me that I would have to pay $170. 00 to replace the latch system. The service tech asked me if my car has been out in the sun. Well, I do live in hawaii, I do garage my car but I have never experienced a rubber piece on any car to melt. Further, the rubber trunk release cover is not exposed to direct sunlight at any time because the rubber cover is on the underside of the trunk/rear hatch release by design. Please have Toyota take responsibility for this defective part. After a quick google search it appears that I am one of many people that have had this happen. Thank you for your assistance.

There were no distinguishing events that led up to the total failure of my 2008 Toyota Prius driver side headlight and door lock assembly (front). They both no longer worked within a 1 day period and required replacement. Noticing 2 or more other vehicles of the same make and model there for light replacement caused me to inquire what caused their light malfunctions. In the matter of minutes of my calling in, roughly an hour into the dealerships opening, I was told the lights were available, by the time arrived, within 5 minutes, enough autos had arrived also with the "hid" headlamps out that the dealerships entire stock of lights had been used up, and required my having to return after another shipment of lights were received, as well. I did not request the old part.

After only about 2 3/4 years of use, the rubber cover on the hatch release handle (the exterior handle of the rear hatch) of our 2007 Toyota Prius, started to melt into a sticky tarry black rubbery gooey mess. By the time I was trying to have the dealer replace it under warranty the car just passed a few days the 3 yr. Mark. Of course the dealer refused to replace it under normal warranty. Toyota knows about this issue, and is selling the entire wiring harness for $112 plus repair costs, and has done nothing about recalling this. Fyi I live in south louisiana. To me, this is a serious quality defect and a potential life threatening hazard. One may touch the electric wires by operating the handle. By filing this complaint I am kindly asking 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. This is outrageous. I think a door handle or hatch assembly should be made to last more than 3 years. Thank you for understanding and your assistance.

The latch on the hatch of my 2007 Prius has melted into a gooey mess. It interferes with the operation of the latch making it difficult to open the hatch. I started noticing this at the 3-3. 5 year mark, now it is a black glob that comes off on my hand whenever I access the latch.

Everything about my 2007 Toyota Prius is great except for the latch for the back hatch. There is a rubber cover for the latch that you have to push to open the rear hatch. This rubber has melted. It makes if difficult to open the rear hatch in any kind of an emergency. Right now, if you touch the latch you get a thick coating of melted rubber on your hand. Sometimes the latch fails to open at all. You still get the black melted rubber on your hand. This should not happen to a 4 year old vehicle. I live in a hot part of the country - the mississippi gulf coast - and rubber covers for hatch latches should be able to withstand summer heat down here.

After only about 3 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, particularly in florida. We also live in florida. 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 (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. . Read more...

2007 Prius hatch handle melt down.