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.

- Mt Kisco, NY, USA

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.

- West Chester , OH, USA

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.

- Belle Vernon , PA, USA

2007 Toyota Prius rear hatch handle failure. Rubber cover melts into electric switch making it inoperable.the back latch of my 2007 Toyota Prius first degraded ("melted" almost) over the course of several months/years. It no longer functioned properly, and I was unable to open the back hatch door easily. Sometimes it required considerable effort and perseverance to get it open. The malfunctioning handle started to get loose until eventually if just fall off and it's just hanging by the electrical wires. I had to tape it until it gets fixed 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.this is a safety hazard because the trunk is the only way to access the spare, any of my repair tools, emergency 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 over $200 for the part alone. I called Toyota customer service and they won't fixed their faulty parts until the government forces them to. It's sad that it might take some injuries or death for this issue to be fixed.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

Rear hatch handle has melted and making accessibility to the rear hatch lift gate is very sticky and soft. Sometimes the hatch does not respond when attempting to open the rear hatch. The piece was replaced under warranty in 2009 and is now malfunctioning again.

- Naples, FL, USA

The handle to the rear door is barely functioning. It has been sticking for a long time but now it is almost impossible to open the rear door altogether. The rubber of the handle looks melted.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

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.

- Ca, CA, USA

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

- Lakeland, TN, USA

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. Please review these forum comments of other incidents: priuschat.com/forums/gen-II-Prius-care-maintenance-troubleshooting/71647-2007-Prius-trunk-hatch-release-rubber-piece-melted-4.html [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B

- Gainesville, FL, USA