Problems with 2007 Toyota Prius ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Passenger-side high intensity headlight started intermittently failing. the light goes out randomly and unexpectedly. turning both headlights off and back on again temporarily fixes the issue. *tr

Right headlight flickers when starting car, then goes out intermittently. known issue with 2005-2007 prius. *tr

I am one of the many victims of the defective prius 2007 hatch opening switch. after 4 years the rubber cover turned to tar for my 2007 toyota prius. essentially the rubber cover melts into the electronic switch making it inoperable. *tr

Headlight and taillights go out and then come back on. also, when on they seem to be very weak. *tr

Both front head lamps shutoff at the same time while moving at about 25 mph. turning off the head lamp switch and turning the switch back on restored the lights. *tr

After taking the vehicle in for a recall for a steering column issue, 3 of the buttons on the steering column fail to operate once the recall repair was complete. the dealer says it's an issue with the clockspring cable and are not willing to repair it at no cost. *tr

We own a toyota prius and have had the dealer replace the headlight 4 times. the first time we simply got in the vehicle and when we turned it on we realized it was not working. after we had it fixed about 2 months later we got pulled over and given a warning to get it fixed. we did so again and again with no solution. since our last time the dealership has advised us to go to the toyota dealership but there telling us that is simply a bad headlight and it will cost about 200 to fix it. i showed them where in 8 months it was changed 3 times and they simply said it must be human error because everything else looks fine. *tr

After short period of servicing a recall on steering extension shaft #c0t, some of steering wheel buttons stopped functioning due to damages to clock-spring cable. the dealership don't want to admit their technician fault failing to realign the steering wheel to center position. many of prius second generation hybrid owners been recalled have this issue after fixing the shaft. is the damaged spring cables already were or due to lack of expertise? *tr

The dash board did not display when i turned on my car. only the blinkers, and air bag lights work on the dash. the gas gauge and the speedodometer do not show, it is black. and my car will not turn off. it seams to me that this issue is a major safety issue. *tr

My car will not turn off. after my dash went black my key will not release and my car will not turn off . this is a big safety issue and needs to be resolved asap! *tr

The plastic weld process or other type of gluing process used to make the vehicles exterior front and rear turn signal, brake and back up light lense assemblies or housings fails. all four, two front and two rear, exterior combination light lense assemblies suffer this premature and serious failure. when these exterior lenses begin to fail they allow water intrusion from the exterior of the vehicle. this allows moisture to penetrate into areas of the lense assembly which support all of the light bulbs used to warn or signal other drivers or pedestrians. at a very minimum this problem results in premature bulb failure for all of the signaling systems specified above. researching your site this problem has been reported to you many times and toyota motor corp. is also aware of this problem. what you don't seem to be aware of is the most serious concern resulting from this problem; if the right (passenger side) rear lense suffers this problem and begins leaking, the water runs or drains directly into the interior 12vdc starter battery well. this battery well is as deep, or deeper than the factory installed 12vdc starter battery is tall and can result in water overtopping the battery. this causes shorting/grounding across the positive/negative 12vdc starter battery terminals. this prevents the operator from starting the vehicle and cuts off power to all 12vdc electrical systems including emergency flashers. it could easily result in serious damage to the 12vdc starter battery and many expensive 12vdc electronic components or systems. this problem is more serious in areas that receive high amounts of rainfall. i called a toyota authorized dealership, lum's auto center, and reported my car wouldn't start. they suggested i bring it in. after 4 days they were unable to find the problem. no diagnostic codes were logged. this is a serious problem needing immediate attention! *tr

Both headlights went out without warning. this has recurred numerous times since then, also with taillights. i've been pulled over 4 times by police for lights out. next day, they're fine, or a different light is out.very dangerous and scary, as we live in a rural area with windy roads and no street lights. *tr

The back hatch door grip handle on the hatch of my 2007 toyota prius no longer functions properly. the rubber grip has degraded and is soft and sticky during warm weather and in cold weather becomes nearly immovable. the back hatch door grip handle frequently jams rendering the car inaccessible through the rear compartment. this is a major cause for concern and is a serious safety hazard. there have been multiple cases of this complaint reported. this rubber grip is clearly a material of poor quality and given the past history of electrical problems toyota has had with the prius it is highly probable that this is one more. before someone is injured or dies as a result of not having egress from this vehicle toyota needs to be made to take responsibility and provide repairs at no cost. *tr

My headlights keep going out. both headlights will go out at once. i've replaced the bulbs which did not change anything. i also contacted toyota multiple times, all incidents ending up in them telling me they would do nothing about the issue, it's not a recall and will not be a recall and it's my responsibility to take care of. even after i pointed out the multiple articles i read of toyota reimbursing and extending the warranties for this issue. along with the class action lawsuit. i've long extended the warranty because i bought the car used. it had over 30,000 miles on it when i bought it. the toyota dealership is even less of a help! going down a dark highway at 65 mph and both headlights going out is insane. not to mention being pulled over multiple times for the headlight(s) being out. this is one of the worst safety hazards a car can have and should recalled and every prius owner should have this issue taken care of! *tr

Approx 12/19/12 i went outside to start my 2007 prius. when i hit the power button the car started up, however the dashboard lites did not work (speedometer, gas gauge, heat, a/c, etc). i turned the manual control wheel on the dashboard back & forth, thinking that would solve the problem but the lites still did not work. i backed out of my driveway and drove forward, thinking once i put the car in drive the lites would come back on, however that did not work either. i pulled the car back into my driveway, put it in park and hit the power button, but the engine would not shut down. i held the power button for an extended period of time and the car still would not shut down. i sat in it (in 32 degree weather) for about 20 min. and it shut down on its on. on the following day i took the car to toyota & left it there all day long. they told me they could not determine why it had malfunctioned because the battery checked out good and all the diagnostic tests were all good. i had the same thing happen again on 01/13/13 and on today, 01/20/13. i do believe that this is a safety violation that toyota refuses to recognize and i just want my complaint documented in the event something serious happens as a result of this situation. thanks... *tr

Total dash board failure.....design is composite so all instruments go dark except check engine light which is the least of a safety issue...instrument panel should have separate circuits so safety isn't dependent on any single point of failure. *tr

When i turned my car on to go home my dash lights did not work or backup cam or seat belt alarm nothing was showing i could not tell if i was going forward or backwards etc i parked it turned off 2 times then 5 mins later it can back on automatically fixxx this. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. the contact stated that while driving 65 mph, the gauges all failed. the failure recurred numerous times. the contact took the vehicle to a dealer for diagnosis and was told that the failure could not be replicated. the manufacturer was notified but offered no assistance. the vehicle had not been repaired. the vin was unavailable. the failure and current mileage was 80,000.

I purchased my 07 prius from a dealership in september of 2012. there was only 1 previous owner & at that time my car's mileage was around 55k. i commute 1 hr and 20 minutes to work (one way) & my first incident occurred after dropping my son off at daycare early in the morning, almost a month after purchasing my car. i noticed my right headlight was out. when i got into my car, i turned the headlights off and back on. both my headlights came back on so i didn't think twice about it. afterwards, almost every month i noticed my right headlight turned off, which started to concern me, but after getting quotes on how much the repairs would be i knew it would take some time for me to budget the costs into my monthly expenses. after another month or so, i found myself driving on highway 55 westbound (cary, nc) at around 9pm at night & both of my headlights suddenly shut off. highway 55 does not have much lighting in the first place & i am very lucky that my 2 year old son was not with me. i panicked but quickly turned my headlights off & on again. fortunately, they turned back on. now almost every month, & aside from one of my headlights failing nearly every 2 days, both of my headlights randomly shut off. in fact, my headlights shut off again this morning at around 5:45am during my commute to work on highway 55. i did some research but found toyota has only agreed to pay for repairs for '04-'09 models (with the same hid headlight issue) through the earlier of 5 years warranty and 50,000 miles or reimburse drivers who have already paid to have the problem corrected. i've already contacted toyota at 1800-331-4331 and filed a complaint but i was told that my car (at 102k miles) was now ineligible for this program. this issue should be an official recall to avoid any severe accidents it can cause for owners who cannot afford upfront repairs. *tr

Toyota prius dashboard failed in idle and while driving posing a death risk due to mileage per hour not displaying and the inability to shut off your car when stopped this is a serious matter and toyota needs to recall the whole toyota prius and give everyone there money back for over paying for this car in 2007. *tr

During cold weather i lose all odometer speedometer backup light gas gauge . back up lights have caused a lot of close call when i'm backing up one time i got close to hitting a pedestrian because they did not know i was baking up i have ran out of fuel on the freeway and i never know how fast i'm going. this problem is well documented and toyota knows a bout the problem but will not issue a recall. *tr

We have had some unseasonably hot weather here recently; on the day in question the car thermometer said it was 91 degrees in full shade. the rubber gasket covering the hatch opening switch was attached when i parked. when i came back, it looked like the gasket had literally melted off one of the screws; the covering was just hanging on to screw on the driver's side by a few gooey threads. that left a melted, tar-like residue on the hatch opening switch. now the switch is covered in gunk and nearly inoperable. the prius does not have a trunk release, and without a repair the hatch is nearly inaccessible. this is a major safety issue because the hatch on the prius is a safety access point (the largest on the vehicle); the hatch is also the only way to access the batteries stored in the rear in case of fire or accident. when i googled the issue, i found multiple reports in hot weather areas of exactly the same issue, but i found no official response from toyota. my understanding is that this is a very common problem, especially here in southern california, and dealerships keep the part on hand in hot weather for exactly this reason. *tr

I was driving on freeway (us 101 southbound in marin county caat 8:30 am), dry weather 60 deg f. entire dashboard went black (speedometer, fuel gauge and other indicator lights all quit providing readings) and the energy monitor screen panel, while still lit, quit providing data (the miles shown on this panel were stuck at 107). therefore, no speedometer readings were available. more importantly, i had extreme difficulty turning the prius off when i reached my destination--depressed and held power button several times, with foot on brake and auto in "park". radio and air conditioning kept running, door would not lock and the energy monitor still showed background information. otherwise, prius drove normally. this was the second time this happened in last two weeks. after several tries, holding power button down for several seconds, i finally did get the prius to shut off. and, when restarted, the dashboard appeared to operate normally. not having dashboard indicators while driving is disturbing, but auto could be operated. not being able to turn vehicle off is more problematic because it is difficult to tell prius was not shut down (the fan continues running when the car shuts down normally and electric motor is almost silent)--my indication was that the radio was still on and air conditioning was still running. if the car had been in drive, it could have taken off as electric motor was still on (i tested when i thought it was peculiar that radio was still on). *tr

The following described incidents have taken place at least three times with no warning. upon starting the vehicle there is no instrument panel display which is digital. the vehicle could still be driven. the vehicle's engine would not turn off without making numerous attempts.this has sometimes taken up to 10 min.. then for whatever reasons after several hours the mentioned malfunctions stop and everything works correctly.i am very concerned the dash display showing speed and other necessary information will malfunction while the vehicle is being driven.especially at night.being able to turn the vehicle off immediately is also important.this vehicle is regularly serviced by toyota who have been unable to locate or correct the problem. i have researched this issue online and have found that there is a large number of toyota prius owners having the same type of safety issues with their vehicles. i have read but not confirmed that toyota is aware of the mentioned problems with the prius. there are some serious safety issues with this make and model of vehicle that need to be addressed as soon as possible. i hope nhtsa will be able to assist in this matter. thank you. *tr

The passenger side headlight frequently fails to turn on. sometimes it turns on, then shuts off within the course of a drive. sometimes it doesn't turn on at all. it seems like it must be a problem with the electrical system, as the bulb itself continues to light, it just doesn't light all the time. the driver's side headlight, in the mean time, is perfectly fine and never has problems, which also suggests some kind of electrical/connector issue. *tr

When i started my prius and the dash lights did not come on (fuel gauge, mileage, speedometer etc). i put the car in reverse and the backup camera picture did not appear on the screen. the screen was on but continued to show the consumption screen. i then put the car in park and hit the power button and the car would not turn power off. i put the car in drive then park and reverse then park several times hitting the power button after each try and the car eventually powered off. i started the car again and headed to the golf course and called toyota and made an appointment for the same day. the next time i got in the car (about 4 hours later) the dash lights came on and i drove home and the car powered off normally. i cancelled the appointment at toyota for now and will see what happens. the service person at the dealership said that she had not heard of this problem. *tr

Hid headlight random failure while driving prius. unreliable to drive vehicle during the night. *tr

The front headlight started going on and off periodically while driving, we went on a trip to hungary and the light started acting up. we have taken it to two toyota dealerships within germany with no resolution but expensive bills due to the mechanics hooking it up to computer systems to diagnose the problem. this is causing us safety issues while driving especially on not clear days due to the early morning fog. i have consulted with my brother's body shop to see if there has been any recalls or defects on the lights, nothing. i am taking it again this week to the toyota shop in mannheim germany. this problem has not been resolved since feb 2012. i would appreciate some resolution to this problem before the lights cause us an accident. i have had the two front headlight bulbs replaced which are not inexpensive. thank you if you need to contact me do it via email, this is my parents phone number in pa, i cannot type in my number in germany. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

1. the right-front headlight often goes out after the car has been driven for a while. (fortunately, both headlights don't haven't out yet!) this really should be considered a safety issue - why isn't there a recall? 2. the back-up camera often stops working for a few days at a time. this is a problem, given the very poor visibility the mirrors have behind this car. *tr

No one injured. minor problem, but toyota refuses suggestions "for legal reasons", so i have to report it to you, and hope that you will relay to toyota. good car, good dash lighting system, nice rheostat to dim the instrument panel lights at night, to assist in night road visibility. the problem is that as you dim the instrument panel lights, the lighted symbol for the emergency flasher light switch goes completely dark before the instrument panel lights do. so, on a dark night, you dim the lights to make the instrument panel lights just bright enough to read, without excess reflection or distraction, and the emergency flasher switch becomes invisible because its light went completely out before the other instrument panel lights did. this increases distraction and reduces reaction time when you need to find and turn on the emergency flasher light switch. i doubt this problem is limited to just my car. the simple solution (everything seems simple to the guy not doing the work) would be to design and wire the dash panel lights so that the emergency flasher switch light stays a little brighter than all the other lights, as they all dim. that way, the switch you might most need in a hurry will be visible, even if you have dimmed your instrument panel lights. quicker turn-on of the emergency flasher alerts following drivers sooner, increasing their safety, and mine. thanks for working to keep us all safer on the road, and to improve the vehicles we drive. *tr

Left headlight started just going off completely at nite, now both are going off while driving. checking online, it seems that many other toyota owners have had same problem, and one of the vendors of headlights for toyotas manufactured defective headlights. thus not all toyotas have the prob, just the ones with this vendor's headlights. but it still shows many do have the bad headlights. toyota is not standing behind this issue and repairing the defective ones as they should. it is a very expensive...almost 2000 dollars to replace the computer controllers and headlights. *tr

The rear latch of my 2007 toyota prius has degraded to the point that it is inoperable. the rear latch release has melted to the point that it ends up all over my hands when i attempt to open the rear hatch and does not open. i am unable to open the trunk. this is a major safety issue. i have two children under the age of 5 who are strapped into car seats. in the event of an emergency, the rear hatch may be the only way to access them. obviously, if i am unable to access them, the failure could result in serious bodily injury or death to the passengers, including my children. i have contacted toyota requesting that toyota correct this problem on my car, but they have told me that: 1) they are unaware of the problem; 2) my car is out of warranty and i do not have an extended warranty; and, 3) they will not fix the car. do people need to get injured or die before toyota reacts? *tr

2007 toyota prius. consumer writes in regards to a serious electrical failure *tgw the consumer had to call aaa for emergency road side assistance. when the consumer went to the dealer to the retrieve the vehicle, he was handed a repair charge of over $ 5,300. the consumer stated the cause of the failure was incorrectly jump starting the vehicle. according to the dealer, the incorrect procedure in attempting to jump start the vehicle lead to a main fuse failure and complete failure of the inverter-converter.

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. the contact stated that the upper coating of the rear hatch melted and the hatch was unable to be opened. in addition, the electrical switch for the door hatch malfunctioned and needed to be replaced. the contact did not have the electric switch replaced. the contact stated vehicle was unsafe because the rear hatch could not open. the failure mileage was 87,000. updated 11/16/11*lj updated 11/30/11

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. the contacted stated that on two separate occasions, the lights on the instrument panel failed to illuminate. the vehicle was taken to the dealer but the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was unavailable. the failure mileage was 67,000 and the current mileage was 69,500.

While driving to work one headlight went out and stayed out until i stopped the car turned off the lights and then turned them back on. this went on for a week and we took the car into toyota dealership where the replaced the bulbs at no charge cause we were under warranty. however, this problem has continued to happen over the last 80000 miles. now we are seeing both headlights go out at the same time and or one or the other. we are tired of purchasing new headlights over and over again. . *tr

In 2010 (approximately), the dashboard display of my prius would intermittently not display when the car was first started. this condition makes it impossible to know how fast the car is going, how much fuel there is, etc. i visited dealers and independent mechanics and no one claimed to know anything about this problem. however, i have subsequently learned that toyota issued a service bulletin on this very issue in 2009! (t-sb-0172-09). i've also since learned (due to my own research) that the most likely cause of this problem is a faulty combination meter (as per the toyota sb). one independent garage in san francisco, ca has even started a blog about this because they are seeing so many repairs for this condition! it is absolutely a safety issue and the problem continues in my car today (i've just discovered the potential fix of replacing the combination meter). in addition to the dash display not working, often other issues, such as the engine not turning off, key not releasing from ignition, and rear hatch not releasing are also associated with this problem. toyota admits in its sb this is due to a faulty computer design from one of its suppliers but refuses to issue a recall notice. nhtsa should force toyota to address this issue as the problem happens not only at start-up, but sometimes while driving. losing speedometer visibility is a serious safety issue; as is not being able to disengage power in the normal fashion. *tr

The rubber covering on the rear hatch opening mechanism is melting. i have two other model year prius vehicles (2004 and 2006) and this has not occurred on those - only on this 2007 car. it is becoming difficult to open the hatch and it will probably fail completely soon. *tr

Headlights are intermittent on both sides. major safety issue. i have replaced the bulbs twice in less than a year and the issue still persists. it isn't the bulb the headlights are defective. *tr

The back door opener (hatch back) completely melted starting in july. the back tarry substance gets on my hands when i'm trying to open the door.. in addition, i cannot consistently open the back hatch - another door needs to be open for the back hatch to open.

Approximately one week after having my battery replaced by a toyota dealership in temecula, ca the digital display on my dashboard stopped working and no longer displayed my speed, gas tank gauge, trip mileage or total mileage. after another week or so passed, the display, or cluster display, as it is listed on a toyota repair estimate from november 3, 2011, would work intermittently by again displaying my speed, gas tank gauge, etc. the display would sometimes work for a few hours and then stop working, and not work again for several days or a week or more. currently, it the display continues to work intermittently only, causing me to drive for days or a week or more with no visual display of how fast i am driving or how much gas i have remaining in my tank. this failure of the cluster display is a hazard to me and especially to my young teenage daughter because we do not know for sure how fast we are driving or how much gas we have remaining at any given time when the display stops working. i had my vehicle inspected by the toyota dealership in temecula, ca and they recommended replacing the combo meter since they believe there is an open circuit in the combo meter, but they could not guarantee that their recommendation would resolve the problem. they then advised me that a service bulletin was issued for problems with the cluster display, but no recall has been ordered and they could not cover the cost of fixing the problem under warranty. i then called toyota corporate offices at 800-331-4331and spoke to the service director, who offered me a 40% discount on the cost of replacing the combo meter on a reimbursement basis and said if a recall was ordered i would get a full refund. i believe the problem on my toyota prius of an intermittently functioning cluster display presents a significant hazard for the reasons stated above and warrants a recall.

Headlamps turn off on their own intermittently. the left light will go off more than the right. i usually correct the situation by turning off the lights then back on. this problem has increased in frequency. i read in an online forum (priuschat) that this is a common problem. *tr

The passengers side hid headlight on my 2007 toyota prius has started to fail intermittently. it will come back on for a while when the lights are turned off and back on. this constitutes a significant safety issue. *tr

2007 toyota prius. consumer states experience of difficulties with a low battery, resulting in the dashboard lighting-up with red flashing warning lights; brakes, abs and vsc, sounding of a buzzing indicator and the car shutting off *tgw a diagnostics revealed multiple low voltage codes for the auxiliary battery. the dealer informed the consumer the auxiliary battery was important for the initial engagement of the brakes and to power the computer to start the vehicle. *jb

Headlights work intermittently and the passenger side taillight also goes out and comes back on intermittently. car is not driven often at night and this has been going on for several years. *tr

While driving the left headlight went out i turned off the lights and back on, the headlight came back on. since this first incident the right headlight done the same while driving. both headlights have turned off at the same time while driving. it seems like this is a wide spread issue with this year of prius. the dealership will currently only replace the bulbs at a cost to me of $1250.00. the bulbs don't seem to be the problem, considering they work most of the time. if you can turn the lights off and back on again and the light(s) return to working state, its seems to be an electrical controller board problem. *tr

Toyota 2007 prius (us model) hid headlights are intermittent. this has been going on for years and replacement bulbs don't fix the issue. lights may extinguish at any time with no warning creating a dangerous driving condition, particularly at night. thousands of owners have complained about this issue, but no recall has been provided by toyota. *tr

Hid headlight in 2007 toyota prius keeps going on and off. this is a known issue with toyota. it is expensive to replace the bulb. i wanted to add my name to the list of people affected by this problem. *tr

Hid headlights work intermittently and randomly. when it first occurred, i replaced one lamp. it continued to work intermittently. now both will work randomly. when one goes out, you can turn the headlight switch off and back on and both will work. *tr

The headlights on my toyota prius failed. came on some times then after turning on and off. the wire harness to the bulb of the headlight seem burnt, and after reading hundreds of complaint just like this, toyota has a problem-i have a problem -hundreds of dollars to replace headlight bulbs is insane and not the only issue here. *tr