Problems with 2007 Toyota Prius STRUCTURE

Hatchback latch does not respond to smart key and will not open to touch as it is supposed to. this problem has occurred intermittently for about ten months. also, the rubber latch covering has deteriorated into a soft, sticky black substance that stains my fingers when i try to open the latch. the deterioration problem preceded the hatchback operational problem by four or five months as best i can recall. i was able to tolerate the messy problem but cannot put up with a hatchback that is inoperable because it prevents me from accessing the spare and safety equipment, and makes it impossible to use the cargo area. i think toyota should notify customers of this defect and provide a free repair. *tr

The problem has occurred whenever the donut tire is being used on the vehicle as a temporary replacement for a flat tire - this has occurred on both the two occasions that in which i have had to used them both times on the front tires, once on the left tire and the second occasion, most recent on the left. apparently, the donut tire because of its smaller diameter causes the car's slip differential system to activate (surmised by the icon i see on the dash when this occurs), often for periods of half the driving time - what then happens is that there is a total loss of engine power to the drive chain, the car cannot accelerate or even maintain speed - it essentially coasts or slows. this occurs even when/if the accelerator pedal is depressed to try to feed power to the wheels - the engine is unresponsive. intermittently, the power is restored, and then the cycle begins again. although i have not had an accident due to this loss of vehicle control, i consider myself lucky not to have. use of a donut tire is the only option open to temporarily replacing a flat tire. i think that this system's response to use of the donut tire (which is manufacturer's supplied) is a defect that is dangerous. a driver must be able to maintain and control vehicle speed to prevent and/or remedy a dangerous situation. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

The trunk latch cover has melted and the latch will not function most of the time. the problem started a couple of years ago. i have not replaced the latch due to the cost, but now it is worse and i often cannot open the hatch. the rubber cover on the latch gets soft and gummy in warm weather and gets black rubber on my fingers. i see numerous complaints on this issue and would assume there are many more owners who have not registered a complaint and may have paid a high price to get this fixed. it should be a recall by toyota to fix for free and reimburse owners who have already had this repaired. *tr

Brake system: abs warning malfunction light will illuminate when brake is tapped, but there is no malfunction or issue. have to turn off vehicle to reset it. handle on rear door/hatchback door: handle melted into a black gooey mess, hatchback could not be opened. went to dealership, they would not fix without charging me even though they admitted it was a known issue with the vehicles. the first quote we got was almost $300 to fix, waited a couple of months, dealer finally dropped to $138 to fix it. this is obviously a known defective issue--no one should be charged anything. it is a safety issue as the door cannot be opened in an emergency. why toyota will not fix this without causing their customer's potential danger/harm speaks volumes to them not caring about the customer. dashboard warping: dashboard on driver side buckles up where it meets the edge of the windshield, was told it was in issue with the material that the dashboard was made from. very poor quality to have this happen. *jb

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

The rubber trunk latch has melted increasingly over time. when the weather is warm, opening the trunk leaves my hand covered in tar-like goo and the sensor is difficult to engage. in winter, the latch does not work at all and the trunk cannot be opened whatsoever. in addition to being incredibly annoying, this is a safety concern as it is a possible egress point should the car ever become wedged. please get toyota to repair this problem. *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

I cannot open the hatch of my prius. this is a major safety concern. in all prius base models that i know of the handle literally melts off of the car making it impossible to open the hatch. this is a serious issue in the case of an emergency. the dealership charges up to $300.00 to fix this issue when it is quite obvious it should be a recall. it is completely insane that they are making prius owners pay this and are making an insane amount of money off of its consumers when we were sold a faulty part. *tr

The rubber trunk release is cracked, melted and does not function in cold weather. it is a sticky gooey mess in hot weather. the estimate to replace it is $187. it is not covered under the warranty. the dealer claims it is not a safety issue. i think that if you are not able to open a door to your car, it is a safety issue. how, for instance would i be able to remove my spare tire in the event of a flat tire. big safety issue. what if i was in an accident and the only accessible way out was the hatchback? big safety issue. really. *tr

For the past year, the rubber surface of the rear hatch release has been gooey, leaving black marks on my hands. the function of the release has been erratic. often, i can't release it at all. it seems particularly bad in cooler weather. i've read that this has been a pretty common problem and find it surprising that toyota has not recalled these vehicles to replace the assembly. *tr

The rubber cover to the external trunk latch has melted to the point where it is either gooey to the touch in warm weather or frozen solid and immovable in colder temperatures. this is a safety hazard because, at times, due to the inflexibility of the rubber i am unable to open the trunk and, thus, access the spare, any of my repair tools, our earthquake kit, flares, jumpers, etc. there is no alternative internal method for opening the hatchback/trunk. toyota needs a recall of this defective part as the cost to repair it is exorbitant, quoted to me as $352. *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

2007 prius rear hatch latch melted off. the rear hatch will not open. there is no way to get to emergency equipment and spare tire. this is an extreme safety issue. please issue a nation recall as this repair is not covered by under warranty. *tr

My toyota prius has a rubber hatch latch covering that has melted and has turned to a gooey substance that attaches to your fingers when being opened. it appears to have impacted the ease of opening the hatch. this appears to be a safety concern because of the difficulty to open the hatch. for example if the tire is needing to be changed i am afraid that the entry may be hindered due to the apparently defective latch cover. what i would like is for nhtsa to follow up with toyota on why this part has not been recalled. the rubber cover on the hatch release handle of my 2007 toyota prius has melted into a sticky, black tar substance. it is very difficult to open. please help. *tr

The trunk handle had melted off, making access to the spare tire impossible in the heat. *tr

The car was involved in a collision north of san antonio, texas. the collision ended up being a total lose of the vehicle due to the frame being split, firewall bent and a broken windshield. my concern is the airbags did not deploy. the airbags not deploying with an impact of this nature could increase the likelihood of injuries. i believe a failure of safety equipment of this nature should be investigated to prevent possible future injuries or fatalities. *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

The trunk rubber on the hatch latch is disintegrating. it's sticky and gooey making it difficult to open the hatch. the situation has worsened and sometimes, i can't open the trunk at all. this is happening to many 2007 prius owners. i believe it is a defect in the rubber. *tr

i was driving in heavy traffic about 20 or 25 mph the cars in front of me stopped, when i applied the brake nothing happened, my car crashed into the rear of the car in front of me. the time was about 2:30pm july 10/2012 the car had just been serviced by a toyota dealer on june 28th/2012 for the 30,000 mile check up. we live in west los angeles. *tr

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. http://priuschat.com/attachments/p1000894-jpg.22615/. *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

The rubber cover on the rear hatch latch has deteriorated so severely that the latch handle will no longer work. the rubberized cover has become gooey and sticky, and comes off on your hands when you touch it. there is no alternate trunk release on this vehicle, so with the handle mechanism gummed up by the deteriorating rubber cover, there is no way to access the trunk of the vehicle. this piece has been deteriorating over the past three to four years. we've been trying to hold off for a toyota recall on this piece, but now we have no choice but to pay to have it fixed.

The material in the trunk door handle is dissolving and or disintegrating. 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 presented what was happening 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. *tr

On my way home from work on the frontage road along i-5. my tires hit the gravel and i lost control. i went through the grass on the side of the road down a dip and landed on the passenger side of the car on the railroad tracks. i began to roll and rolled the car from side to side at least 15 times. a row of trees is what stopped me. the engine was still running and i was still buckled in the drivers seat. i had to kick out the windshield in order to get out of the car. i went to emergency that night where i was x-rayed and checked out. i ended up with only major bruising on the left side of my body, the chp that responded was sure i was dead. they told me they expected to see a dead body in the car. i barely escaped with my life and the air bags never deployed in the car. *jb

The hatchback release 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 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

The tailgate switch had a rubber cover that is melting and become nonfunctional at times. according to toyota service department, this is a common problem on many prius. the breakdown starts after warranty runs out in many cars. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. the contact stated that the rubber on the trunk melted and left a black tar substance on his hand whenever the trunk was opened. the failure occurred daily. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified. the failure mileage was 60,000.

The trunk hinge has melted, it looks like the plastic on the hinge has come apart thus not allowing the trunk to close. i've taken it to the dealer twice now with the same problem. *tr

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

The rear trunk release has melted and the trunk cannot open or if it does requires much effort. poses a safety issue. *tr

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. *tr

Another complaint regarding the rubber cover of the 2007 prius hatch release/latch. the rubber covering has deteriorated and degraded in a way that causes it to melt and become sticky in warm or hot weather; touching the cover causes the material to stick to fingers, and is very difficult to remove, requiring the use of a solvent cleaner. in cold and freezing weather, the cover becomes very stiff and not flexible, and is impossible to press, causing the hatch to be impossible to open. this is a basic operational problem, rendering the hatchback non-functional - it can't be opened, or if it can be opened it leaves a substance on the driver's body. also a safety issue, as when the hatch can't be opened this is essentially being locked out of the trunk where the spare tire and safety equipment are located. dealer will charge approximately $300 for part and labor to repair this. i've called toyota customer service, and their response was: "it is no longer covered under the warranty, and there is no recall for this, so toyota will not be covering this repair." i did a search in the nhtsa complaint database and found 147 owners with the exact same problem. very discouraging and irresponsible that toyota will not take responsibility and assist owners with resolving this issue.

The rear hatch release has become inoperable due to a deteriorated rubber cover. fixing the problem requires replacement of the entire release assembly. the area for the spare tire and hybrid battery are inaccessible until the latch is replaced. *tr

The hatchback handle/release is soft and gooey, and at times the release to open the hatchback will not work. gooey black substance gets all over hands and fingers when you try to "pop" the hatchback. unable to get the trunk to open on a couple of occasions. there is no internal release switch inside the car. since the spare tire is in the trunk, there could potentially be no access to the tire. this seems to be a common complaint on this site, including nhtsa id numbers: 10541882, 10541772, and 1053526. *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

The rear door latch rubber cover has turned to a goo, and makes it difficult to open the rear hatch door. *kb

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

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

The rubber cover on the rear exterior hatch latch melted and is like tar. big sticky mess every time i use the hatch which is often.the latch now also sticks sometimes. dealer wants $260 to fix it. why isn't toyota covering this obvious defect? *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. the contact stated that a plastic piece from the door prematurely melted from an unknown location, which melted into the door latch. the failure made it extremely difficult to use the latch. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was not available.

For about 3-4 years off and on it has been difficult to open the hatch back door. over time this problem has gotten worse. at this point even my husband is having trouble opening the door. non of the other doors is having a problem. the rubber cover on the hatch opening switch above the license plate is deteriorating and causing the problem. apparently we are not the only one having trouble with this. we will have to take this in to have it fixed. my husband just called our local toyota dealer and they said it would be $110 to diagnose the problem. what gives?

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

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! *kb

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. while parked, the contact noticed that he rubber cover on the hatch release latch was melted and making it difficult to open the hatch. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing where the technician stated to the contact that the hatch release assembly would have to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 55,000.

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. *tr

I started to notice the back hatch handle getting sticky near the 3 year mark, which was about a year ago. it has become progressively worse where the black sticky tar will get hot & mark my hands so i decided to take it to the dealership. they said that it would cost around $330 to fix. after searching around it seems that this is a very recurrent problem that if makes it difficult to open the hatch back, which might result in injury or even death. i hope that toyota recalls this known issue of theirs soon. *tr

The rubber on the hatch entry deteriorated so severely that it coated my fingers with a hot tarry mess that burned my fingers and stuck there, continuing to burn. the hatch also became virtually impossible to open and several times, especially in colder weather would not open at all. this is also a safety hazard since entry to the vehicle from the rear becomes impossible at such times. since i am handicapped and on disability (serious heart, lung and back problems) i need to be able to place equipment and purchases in the hatch area, but i often cannot access the area. toyota is well aware that this part is defective, but has refused to cooperate with toyota owners. therefore, i am asking the nhtsa to consider the safety issues caused by this defective part and take action to force toyota to replace or repair this defective part. *tr

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. *tr