This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
I purchased a Toyota Prius from Toyota sunnyvale, address: 898 w el camino real, sunnyvale, ca 94087 phone: (408) 469-4907. Intermittently the drivers dash display doesn't turn on and it is difficult to turn off the car. The speedometer, gas indicator, warning indicators do not light up. The first failure occurred in 2014, aaa replaced the battery, disconnecting the accessory 12 volt battery causes a reset and clears the intermittent failure. Since then the problem has occurred 5-6 times. I contacted Toyota America and was given a case #1612 272 228, in December 2016. I also searched online and found out this is a known Toyota problem and is the part called a combination meter. Toyota provided an extended 9 year warranty on this problem, further Toyota motor sales, usa sent a letter to dealers (copy attached) to notify Toyota customers that there might be this intermittent problem, I never received a mailed letter. I also purchased maintenance at the dealership and was never told of this intermittent problem. Since my initial call to Toyota motor sales, usa, I've been in contact with samantha elkins (408-716-1881) at the dealership and I have seemed to reached an impasse, the dealership requires that their technicians duplicate the problem and further want to charge me for the diagnosis labor (1 or more hours at $175/hour). If it was an obvious problem the maintenance visits should have showed it. As it's an know intermittent failure, it doesn't make sense to take the car to the dealer and pay $200 or more dollars for a diagnosis of no problem found. From my research online it appears that as many as 5% of the Prius cars, identified by VIN, can suffer from this problem. Is offering an extended warranty, but not notifying their customer an effort to avoid a recall? when the failure occurred I had to drive without instruments at night. Is this a safety issue.
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 rubber exterior of the back latch handle has melted completely making the back hatch completely inoperable. I can no longer press the button that is supposed to open the hatch as the rubber that coated it has melted into a gooey mass and then hardened. This has occured over the summer while the car was parked and the tempuratures were in the 100's.
The handle on the hatchback has become sticky and will not let me open the hatch. This is a safety problem because if I needed to get at my spare tire, I would not be able to do so. Toyota wants $250 to repair it. I think Toyota should repair it at no charge.
Takata recall. My car won't shut off. They say the instrument panel cluster needs replaced. It has been on back order for 13 days so my car is useless. I can't drive it. I paid either 23,000 or 28,000 for it and have kept it maintained. The Toyota place says they have another lady that's been waiting 3 days less than mine. I called California Toyota. They can't tell me anything - but today told me it might be on back order. This is a safety issue. A car that won't shut off is a danger. It could kick into gear. It could damage the motor. A car that you can't tell how much gas is in it can be a problem as well. I can't drive it. The speedometer won't work. This is a problem with safety as if you can't tell what speed you are going you risk tickets. The Toyota place in birmingham has replaced 30 of these instrument clusters. If that is representative nationwide there is a big problem and these cars should be recalled. I only have 150,000 miles approx. On my car. The salesman told me it would last at least 300,000 miles. I had to replace the $4800 battery at 103000 miles. My other gripe is they didn't tell me until 13 days later it was "probably" on back order. I wouldn't have rented a car for 13 days had I known it was "probably" on back order.
- Birmingham, AL, USA
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The trunk opener switch on my 2007 Prius no longer works reliably because it is made of a defective rubber which has at this point melted into a goopy mess. This means that the opener switch can become stuck in the closed position, rendering it impossible to open the trunk until the release mechanism of the switch overcomes the tensile strength of the goop. As a cursory google search shows, this is a common problem which Toyota routinely refuses to repair. It is a potential safety issue because a pet or child could be difficult to retrieve from the trunk area if the trunk cannot be opened. An unexpected hazard such as a leaking propane tank or a battery fire in the trunk area could similarly be difficult to mitigate.
Combination meter failure while driving. Unable to view speedometer or dash lights. Car sometimes locks up, unable to view ABS signal because dashlights become inoperable. Unable to turn car off during dashboard/combination meter failure.
The electronic dash (heads up instrument display) on our 2007 Prius has intermittently failed to light over the last year. Yesterday, it failed and also wouldn't turn off. We always use the remote (keyless) ignition system. But, after the failures yesterday I put the electronic key fob into the hole in the dash thinking that might help. Instead, I couldn't remove it. I tried every combination of pressing buttons (the park and power buttons) and other controls, brakes pedal, shifter and it still wouldn't shut off or light up the display. After holding the power button in for an extended amount of time, it turned off and ejected the key fob. But then the car wouldn't light up the instrument display or start. This morning, again, it would not start. I was told by an experienced Prius mechanic (also an owner) that these were classic symptoms of a failing power amplifier for the display and that it was a "secret warranty, " a voluntary repair to avoid a government recall, but that Toyota would only do it for 10 years. The dealer refused to do it under warranty even though the symptoms began before the car was 10 years old. They told me the recall was only good for nine years. They want $765 for the repair. It strikes me that this is a safety failure and should be covered, period. With no indication of speed or other functions (ABS function, traction control, etc.), or to turn the vehicle off, it is unsafe to operate the vehicle. The various failures, including loss of cruise control while in motion, took place when the car was cold and when it was warmed up. At rest and in motion.
The trunk release latch on my 2007 Prius has deteriorated almost to the point of not being able to open the trunk. The same part was replaced about 4 years after I purchased the vehicle. And now, it's happening again. It's like the plastic stuff is melting and falling apart. We are having to purchase this same part, for the second time now. Love my Prius, but hate having to make repairs on the same issue 2 times. Also, I had the headlights repaired (from a recall) about 2 years after I purchased the car. The front headlights are still doing the same thing. The problem was never really fixed. While driving at night and in day time, the headlights go out. Usually they go out one at a time. Like the right side will go out. Then you can flip the switch to turn them on and off, and it'll work again for about 5 minutes. Then the left side will go out. This usually happens every night while driving and I have to flip the switch on and off about 9 times while driving short and long distances. I just usually flip the switch and they come back on again. Sometimes while driving at night, they both go out at the same time. Really a safety hazard when driving around with my 2 small kids!! brought it back to Toyota dealership in lake charles to be repaired. But they said they couldn't re-create the problem, so they couldn't fix it. How long do you think I can keep driving around in the dark with malfunctioning lights and kids in the car"???????????????" this happens daily!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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.
Back hatch handle melts in hot weather and gets tar on fingers and drips on car body. The only way Toyota has to fix this is to make consumer pay for a new rear handle assembly.
Rear latch for the hatchback door is inoperable in cold weather (+/-<40*), the door latching release mechanism freezes and cannot be opened. In hot weather (+/->80*) the covering for the mechanism melts and it gets all over your hands and is impossible to get off. The freezing aspect of this defect is dangerous when the back cannot be opened. I have talked with Toyota about this but they will not offer much help in resolving the problem. It is very expensive to replace >$300. I did not notice the problem until I moved to the mountains in the winter time.
The rear hatch latch has become impossible to open. The exterior handle rubber has been softening, almost melting, for several years. When it has released in the past, sometimes it was only a partial release, leaving the hatch latched down. The hatch problems have been consistently affecting the operation of the latch to the point that I can no longer open it at all. I asked the dealer if there was a bulletin or recall after seeing all of the internet complaints and he said, no. He did say they get a lot of complaints/repairs on the 2007 hatch latch and the parts to repair it will take time to get in as they are in demand. Internet searches show this is a widespread problem that can involve safety. My spare tire is back there and I cannot access my trunk. Had to crawl though the back seat to change a taillight. Toyota needs to resolve this known problem and reimburse those who have fixed the problem themselves.
The rear hatch latch is controlled by an external rubber button that over time has melted into a sticky goo that has prevented the latch from operating with normal finger operation. My wife is unable to open the hatch even though her hands are stronger than the average woman. Not only is this a problem accessing items in the trunk of the car, but it could be a safety hazard under some emergency situations. Toyota has recalled similar latches on some Scion models but told me that there is not a recall on this Prius model.
The rear hatch latch is almost impossible to open. The exterior handle rubber has been softening, almost melting, for several years. It is now consistently affecting the operation of the latch. I asked the dealer if there was a bulletin or recall and he said, no. He did say they get a lot of complaints/repairs on the 2007 hatch latch.
Hatchback latch: In hot weather the rubber latch melts and it is difficult to open the hatch. When I took the car in for regular maintenance, I enquired about repair of the latch and they quoted a price of about $300. This was several years ago. I asked about a recall on this problem, as I understood it was a problem for many 2007 Prius owners. I was told there was no recall. It has not been repaired and is getting worse. I think it should be repaired by the manufacturer as it is clearly a defective product.
The issue relates to tsb-0172-09 - combination meters fails in sub zero weather. This problem happened several years ago and twice last winter in subzero temperature. Last week I needed to have lynch Toyota in manchester, ct replace my key fob and I requested that they run a computer diagnostic on the combo meter problem. They claim that they actually need to see the display not functioning. I explained that there is no way that they can confirm this problem - if the problem exists I am advised to not drive the car (once the car warms the problems disappears anyway) - the alternative is to have the car towed to the dealership - if they can confirm the problem they will cover the towing expense - problem is this - the dealer is located in the central valley of ct - elevation ~270 feet in contrast to my location northeast hills at elevation 780 - cooler in ne and warmer in central valley. I sent Toyota through their website and received an email response (incident #1509120648) and just called 800-331-4331. The Toyota representative to my surprise did not have an answer in hand so we had to revisit the email and I explained the problem. Basically what we concluded is that Toyota can not fix my problem for they cannot verify that the problem exists. So here we have a classic catch 22 - and the extended warranty of 9 years is about to expire. They also contend that providing photographic documentation of the problem is not sufficient to verify the problem
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.. the issue has worsened and today I was unable to open the rear hatch whatsoever.
The back latch of my 2007 Toyota Prius has degraded ("melted" almost). I have to press repeatedly to open the trunk. Each time I touch it to open the car my hands get covered in melted rubber. 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. Given how many people are experiencing this problem with a 2007 Toyota Prius (even my car dealer knows about the issue), why hasn't a recall been issued?
When attempting to shift the vehicle into drive or reverse the transmission selection will revert to neutral within a few seconds. The problem occurs multiple times even after tuning off all accessories and restarting the vehicle. In some cases it requires that the transmission joystick selector lever be held manually in the D position to continue driving. The problem also occurs at low speed, I.e after turning onto a street from a stopped position of the transmission will pop out of gear into neutral. The problem is intermittent and has occurred a few times over the past year.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- San Jose, CA, USA