I bought a used and regularly serviced 2007 toyota prius in september 2014 with 69,000 miles. This week of april 5th, the airbag symbol showed up on the dash along with the headlights not working properly. When I took the vehicle in to the local toyota dealership, I was told that the steering wheel spiral coil was broken and ;that my airbag system was disabled. This happened at 85,000 miles. It cost me almost $500 to have this coil replaced. The service manager said this was simply due to normal wear and tear. I also have outside hatch rubber opener that is gooie and sticky and the hatchback door often will not open. Updated 10/31/2017
2007 Toyota Prius body complaints
Page 3 of 7: complaints 41 to 70 of 184, newest first, as owners wrote them.
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.
10700946 update--toyota charged me $331.61 for the part and $182.15 for the labor.
I tried to open the hatchback and the entire handle came off (over a foot long), connected to the car only by wires. I have previously reported to you (last year?) that the rubber gasket that gets pressed to open this hatchback was melting and sometimes would not open the hatch. I noticed many other similar complaints and have been waiting for toyota to issue a recall. In the colder winter weather this was not such a problem. I called the dealer and they ordered the part and said they'll charge me $400 to replace. I said that I should not have to pay. I go in tomorrow to do this.
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.
The rear hatch release on my 2007 toyota prius has deteriorated 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 2014. The issue has worsened and this winter I have been unable to open the rear hatch whatsoever. This is a serious safety concern as I cannot access my spare tire, jumper cables, or anything else in my trunk in any other way.
The rubber covered latch to the trunk/hatch has disintegrated so it is impossible to open. This causes a safety hazard as I cannot access necessary safety equipment, including car jack, emergency sign, and jumper cables. I have read many other complaints about this piece on this model, and so believe it to be a defect of the substance used in the latch.
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. If it's cold out it will not open at all. 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. I can not get to spare tire or tools during cold weather. I am unable to get to the child car seat strap that latches behind seat to take car seat out. The part is very expensive to replace and I has seen numerous postings on this site of the same issues across the united states. Time to make toyota own up and replace it.
Trunk/hatchback opener/latch melted. Latch is now sticky and very difficult to open. This is a hazard as someone could be trapped in the car because the rear hatch will not open.
Rubber handle on rear trunk opener/release melted resulting in frozen latch (unable to open truck). Vehicle has no alternative way of opening (no inside vehicle release). To access trunk area I must remove either of 2 children sitting in rear seat strapped into child safety seat and lean over back seat. This removal of child opens the possibility that they could get hit in parking lot or along the side of the road when access is a necessity. Toyota refuses to repair. Have had difficulty over a number of years that has been escalating but at this time the truck will not open at all using the hand release.
The trunk latch has melted making it very sticky/gooey in hot weather and frozen solid (immovable) in cold weather making it difficult to open the hatch. The situation continued to worsen to the point of while attempting to open the trunk yesterday the entire back piece fell off the car. I can no longer open the hatch at all. This is both a serious safety issue (a life saving access point) and a serious quality defect that toyota has chosen to ignore. In addition, the cost toyota is charging for repair is exorbitant (over $500). Also, I've noticed that there are no complaints on later model prius', so it appears that toyota has fixed the problem at the expense of many. I do hope that the federal safety agency will look into this issue.
Liftgate latch rubber handle is disintegrating.
The rear hatch is poorly designed with no indoor release. I keep injuring my hand and neck to get it open, often having to take pain pills, get therapy the next day after straining my neck trying to lift up on the tiny little grip area with my hand. The latch will not release on the first try and when the temps are below freezing I often cannot get it to open at all. How is one supposed to get a spare tire out? When is it zero degrees out one should be able to get their rear door open without taking off one's glove. This hatch will never operate with a gloved hand attempting to open it. It is also not safe to have to fumble around in parking lots attempting to squeeze between parking places to load items purchased when one should be able to easily deposit items in the back of the vehicle. This is a safety issue and needs to be corrected by toyota. I have seen many people complain about this online but nobody has mentioned being able to solve the problem, nor have dealers been able to fix this without charging the customers $100's of dollars.
In july of 2014, I bought a 2007 toyota prius from a family member in nevada, a warm state; I live in minnesota, a cold state. The hatch release rubber seal had deteriorated, and it was tacky to the touch, but the hatch released and opened. When november came, the hatch release would not work; it was a cool november. I believe it is a danger to not be able to open the back hatch in case of an accident. The maplewood toyota dealership service person inspected the hatch release seal and said that someone must have put a chemical on it to damage it. Toyota does not believe that this is a defective part; I believe the part is defective. I am going to have the part fixed, but I believe toyota has created a dangerous situation, especially if someone with a defective hatch release seal travels to a cooler climate than the car has experienced in the past.
The rubber external trunk latch cover on a 2007 toyota prius 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 of the location of the battery is in rear compartment on the passenger side and if there was a need to disconnect the battery, it would be nearly impossible to get at, due to the inflexibility of the rubber I am unable to open the trunk and, thus, access the spare tire and any of my repair tools, jumpers, etc. There is no alternative internal method for opening the hatchback/trunk. Toyota needs a recall of this defective part and replace at their cost, as the cost to repair it is exorbitant and it is a faulty design.
The rear lift gate latch on my toyota prius has stopped functioning. In 65 degree weather today the exterior rubber over the latch mechanism has melted and will no longer function to open the lift gate. In cold weather the latch has been very difficult to open and now the melted rubber mess has ceased to perform. I can no longer open the trunk of my car. The rubber has melted out onto the metal part of the lift gate and over the screws that hold it in place. This is a safety hazard as I can not access the rear hatch of my car in an emergency or in any typical situation (I would have to crawl into the trunk from the back seat and remove the interior plastic panel to open the hatch from inside the car if I needed to open the hatch door.)
The lift gate latch on the 2007 toyota prius is inoperative because of the melting of the rubberized substance that covers the liftgate mechanism. I believe this is a defect that many 2007 toyota prius owners have experienced.
The hatchback latching mechanism has degraded to the point that it is nearly impossible to open in winter conditions. In the summer the exposed rubber parts became sticky and basically melted on your hand when you tried to open it. The latch also became harder to actuate. Now in the winter the latch requires so much force to open it that it is difficult to open at all.
As the weather gets colder and colder in the pittsburgh area this fall, the back hatch is becoming harder and harder to open. Today is the coldest day and the back hatch won't open at all. I saw that other owners have this issue.
The hatch or trunk sticks when I try to open it. The dark rubber in the latch area appears to have melted and spread.
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?
Water collects in wheel well when driving in wet conditions.
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 hatch rubber panel has been deteriorating. In winter the rubber panel is hard as a rock. In summer, the panel is melting and losing its form. It makes the opening of the trunk challenging. In summer months, the panel is gooey and makes fingers dirty. I am concerned that I cannot open hatch in case of emergency.
The rear door latch cover material has deteriorated and the latch is no longer operating as expected. The rubber material is a soft gummy consistency and the latch mechanism to the hatchback fails to release allowing access to the rear storage area. This area contains the spare tire.
Exterior rear hatch latch handle sticky/melting. Must use rag to avoid touching the mess when using the door. Latch and lock operation has become unreliable and hatch must be slammed to ensure closure. Practically identical to complaint id 10632829.
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.
Back hatch latch or opener is sticky and rubbery and failing. Seems like melting.
The cover to the back hatch latch has melted into a gooey black mass this makes it difficult (at best) to open the back hatch. There is no alternative internal method for opening the hatchback/trunk,. Since the spare tire and tire changing gear (jack, wrench, etc.) are stored in the back, this is a serious safety hazard. This is an obvious defect in the material used for the latch cover - the deterioration of this part can in no way be attributable to neglect or abuse on the part of the driver/owner of the vehicle. Should be recalled and replaced by toyota.
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.
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