Problems with 2007 Toyota Prius EQUIPMENT

The display screen in the center of the dash in completely black. it won't turn on. *tr

I am reporting a defective 2007 toyota prius trunk hatch release. the material appears to have been defective. it appears to be a general issue due to poor quality control and faulty design by toyota. the repair cost for this crucial function is obscenely high (around $500). *tr

2007 toyota prius rear hatch handle failure. rubber cover melts into electric switch making it inoperable. *tr

Left front headlight. it goes out after 5 minutes of driving. i replaced the bulb and it still goes out. the cost of bulbs are very expensive and toyota should be made to replace this item and have all 2007 prius recalled. one accident could cause a major catastrophe on the roads because lights turning off in the middle of a drive is unnerving and dangerous. *tr

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. *tr

While driving to the store one evening, the headlights suddenly flickered and went out. i turned the light switch off and on then they went back on. ever since this the lights(driver side) go off and usually come back on after turning the light switch on and off. no resolution to this after contacting toyota since i appear to not be under warranty. *tr

Hatch latches should not melt down in 2-3 years, and access to the hatch is a life safety issue. as with many other 2007 toyota prius vehicles the rubber material on the handle of the rear hatch has been deteriorating on my 2007 toyota prius and is getting more difficult to use. without an expensive replacement by toyota the part will fail beyond the ability to open the rear hatch. toyota refuses to recall the part and replace it as a defective part. *tr

After only about 1 year of owning my pre-owned 2007 prius, the rubber cover on the hatch release handle (the exterior handle of the rear hatch) 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, particularly in florida and california. i live in southern california and noticed an increase after a particularly hot spell. 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 3-5 year mark (ie after 3 years of exposure to the bright sun in ca 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. *tr

2007 toyota prius - tailgate switch melted and makes opening the tailgate difficult and messy. *tr

2007 prius trunk hatch release rubber piece melted and i had to replaced it with my own money in toyota dealer. *tr

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 california. toyota knows about this, and is selling the entire wiring harness for $200 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 california for example). *tr

2007 toyota prius tailgate latch rubber has degraded and effectively melted to where the latch fails to work most of the time, and deposits rubber goo residue when contacting the latch. the part is clearly defective as indications of the problem started within 3 years of purchase. clearly should be a recall or replacement via toyota. if not labor, at least cost of new part. *tr

Hid headlamps on 2007 toyota prius go out all the time. turning lights off and back on usually corrects the problem. it happens to both sides independently. bulbs still work fine, but. *tr

The left hid headlight on my toyota 2007 prius went out at 63,000 miles. took to the dealer for service. i was told that not only would the bulb have to be changed but the chip in back of the bulb would need to be replaced also. price to replace the bulb/chip was $490.00. neither were covered under warranty. also advised by the dealer that they usually see this happening in pairs and could expect to see my right light go out as well. that would be an additional $490 to replace. *tr

My 2007 prius has the hid headlamps, which are too costly to repair and will randomly go out while driving at night...clearly dangerous. i try to have the bulbs replaced and toyota dealer says its a 200.00 to 300.00 dollar job to repair (money that i do not have) while the car was still under warranty the las vegas dealer fixed the issue ( or i thought they did) but less then two years later i am having the same problem and now toyota will not repair it cause it is not under warranty. this is wrong they tried and failed to fix now i guess i am no longer a good customer. why will they not fix a danger situation. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

This is not one incident, it happens whenever the road is slick (rain, or even sprinkler runoff!) or if i drive over a pothole--the power to the wheels is cut and the engine feels like it is going to stall. it is extremely difficult and nervewracking to drive while it is raining. the most dangerous times that this happens is when i am at a signal, making a right turn i need power to the engine to merge into traffic, and make sure that oncoming traffic is not interrupted. there have been times that i feel like my car won't "go" or hesitates when i need it to go! and if it's this bad in wet conditions, i would never even consider driving the prius in snowy conditions. i have read that this is all due to a problem in the traction control system. very unsafe!! *tr

2007 prius, touring model-right headlamp went out while driving-only 26,000 miles on car so far. next operation, light working again. poses very big safety hazard. told that my platinum certified warranty and extended 100,000 mile warranty would not cover this $400 + repair--and i have only owned the car less than 2 months. *tr

I was "t-boned" on my drivers' side on july 3, 2009 in my 2007 prius. the car had extensive damage and the electric motor was dismantled and replaced (same one) as part of the repair. at the time of the accident it was fine and i averaged about 48-52 mpg. it was in the toyota repair shop from july 7th through late august and wasn't returned until mid-september. i have not been driving it since i last picked it up because i did not feel safe it . the problem was never found and i was told "...if we can't find the problem, we can't fix it...if it happens again, bring it back, it's under warranty." yesterday (november 4, 2009) i had to drive it to work (downtown) because my husband had our van and i found that it is still accelerating in odd ways like it did when we got it back in september. while in stop and go traffic at a low speed when i went to accelerate to a higher speed (appx. 50 mph) it wasn't accelerating properly, then suddenly "kicked into" acceleration then i had to slow it down with the brakes. the toyota hybrid engine dismantling manual (i found online when i was told toyota could not find the problem) on page 1 #1-5 shows how the vehicle should be operating. as i've described since august, the day i first picked it up, this is not how it's functioning. in light of the news yesterday, the national highway traffic safety administration found no defect exists in vehicles with properly installed floor mats. and in fact, the nhtsa said, toyota vehicles have a very serious defect. i would like to know what toyota can do now to get my prius working properly (or consider it totaled) before i (or my family) are in a horrible accident like the 16 people who have already died or the 200+ who have had serious accidents as a result of this issue! by the way, there are no car mats in it, but there were before the accident and this issue never occurred before toyota's "repairs" to it! *tr updated 11/13/09

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. i live in louisiana . toyota knows about this, and is selling the entire wiring harness for $600, 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 louisiana, 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. and now my trunk won't open and it is about detach from the car because of the extra pulling needed to open it. why has it not been recalled? it should be mandatory. they told me i would have to pay over $600 to do it at the dealer, but they should pay for it. *tr

The passenger side headlight turns off intermittently at night. comes on and goes off randomly, even when on a flat surface or sitting still. recently i was driving on a dark, winding road and it went out presenting an extremely dangerous condition. according to the discussion boards, this is a very common indication and very expensive remediation item which will prevent many from fixing during out current economic crisis. i am very worried about my wife driving at night in this car don't want my children in it at night. this is a very serious issue in that the driver could hit something resulting in injury to the occupants, or another car could become confused by the headlight failure resulting in an incident. again, the message boards are loaded with discussion on this item. *tr

2007 prius hid headlight failure - drivers side hid bulb (part # 90981-20015 and computer sub-assy 81107-47150 was replaced by toyota santa monica on march 26, 2009 @ 33,929 mileage. & passenger side. first incident (drivers side). *tr

My 2007 prius has the exact brake failure described in the news reports of the past few days. when i approach a stop sign on a rough road and apply the brakes, there are no brakes for a brief interval. i have not had an accident but a few close calls. i think the investigation should be expanded to all model years, not just the 2010 prius. i thought maybe it was just an abs issue but i had another car with abs and never had this interval of no brakes. *cn

In the last month the headlight on my 2007 touring prius have had intermittent outages. one headlamp or the other might fail to come on, or stop working while driving. every so often, both headlight stop working while driving. and once, in the fog, when i turned on my foglights, the headlights turned off. if i turn the headlights off, and back on, both lamps might work, or one or the other remain off... that this can happen while driving is a safety issue. toyota service offered to change the failed headlamp at $400, but since i could not identify a particular lamp, would do but at double the cost, but could not guarantee that would fix it. and from the information on various prius forums, changing the bulbs out will not solve this issue. *tr

Headlamp bulbs burn out very quickly leading to repeated change of the bulbs at $250 a piece. *tr

The headlights on the 2007 prius turn off by them self. if you turn them off and back on they will be back on and turn off again, this is how i know it is not a lose wire. i worked with a fleet of prius and lexus hybrid cars. the prius has had this issue since 2006. multiple cars wit the same symptoms. the toyota dealership charges you up to $ 1,700 + to fix this issue. there are forums all over the net discussing this issue and many concern drivers on the road that do not know how to utilize the power of the internet. this is no longer a money issue, it has become a safety issue now. police have ticketed me over 5 times and i have gone to toyota and they charge me thousands. last week i almost ran over a little girl on a bike at dusk ...when i stopped and asked if she was ok she replied " i didn't see your lights sir, i am sorry" . *tr

Musty/moldy smell coming from air conditioning. *tr

My 2007 prius has the hid headlamps, which are too costly to repair and will randomly go out while driving at night...clearly dangerous. i try to have the bulbs replaced and toyota dealer says its a 200.00 to 300.00 dollar job to repair (money that i do not have) while the car was still under warranty the las vegas dealer fixed the issue ( or i thought they did) but less then two years later i am having the same problem and now toyota will not repair it cause it is not under warranty. this is wrong they tried and failed to fix now i guess i am no longer a good customer. why will they not fix a danger situation. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. while driving less than 1 mph, the cd track menu will not display, however, the disc changer could be loaded and radio channels could be adjusted. the dealer stated that the visibility of the menu was hidden because nhtsa stated that viewing the menu while driving was a safety risk. the current mileage was 5,600 and failure mileage was 12. updated 10/24/07 *tr

Complaint is in regard to the toyota prius navigational system. it has a gps system, but entries are blocked unless the car is stationary. i drive our nation's major highways and have to pull over to the shoulder to make an entry (nearest restaurant, hotel, tourist attraction, etc.). an officer pulled over and said that my constant pulling over is creating a safety hazard. i've seen other cars pulling over and stopped to talk to them and they are also trying to enter something in a toyota vehicle gps. i agree that blocking the driving from entering into the gps is a prudent safety feature. but in all the cases i described, it was the passenger who was doing the navigation. i've read on the internet that a large number of people are trying to cut into the wiring of the car or change it's program by hacking into the service screens. all of these create potential safety hazards. toyota is the only auto manufacturer who forces the customer to have a stationary car, leading to all these problems. i suggest that this safety block provides a way for customers to bypass it to avoid these problems i am seeing. this is a growing problem affecting more and more cars. when collisions and deaths occur, it won't be clear to the investigators what caused it. if you can pursue this at the warning stage, perhaps we can avoid deaths and accidents before they occur. *jb

Two instances of runaway acceleration within the first month i owned my 2007 prius (october - november 2006) poo pooed by the dealer. said they knew nothing about any such problem. googled it and it was all over the net even then. still blaming it on the floor mats which they sold to me specifically for my car that were included in the purchase price. glad this is now getting media attention. *tr