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.

- San Diego, CA, USA

The rear hatch latch rubber cover has dissolved over the last couple years to the point you can no longer open from outside. If someone was in an accident you could not open the rear hatch door and you are trapped inside of the vehicle with no time to get yourself out or pull anyone else out, I have seen online complaints about this going back into 2011. This is happening on a lot of cars, especially Toyota Prius's. as of right now I can not open the hatch door on my 2007 Prius. It has just gotten worse until now when it will not open. I used to have to fight by pushing down and pulling up, but it will not open at all now.

- East Peoria, IL, USA

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.

- Springfield, VA, USA

Faulty liftgate handle. The rubber melts in warm weather, leaving a sticky black tar on your fingers that will not wash off. This rubber melts into the mechanism such that the liftgate is no longer operational. Toyota knows about this faulty batch of rubber that was used, but so far refuses to recall the faulty mechanism in the us. The liftgate would only open intermittantly, with a lot of effort about a year ago. Now, it will not open at all, so we are taking it to the dealer for repair.

- Peoria, IL, USA

I got unintended high speed and I could not stop the car. It stopped because the wheel was hit by the curbe

- Norfolk, VA, USA

Read hatch door latch switch failure due to rubber cover that has deteriorated and melted into sticky goo. The switch now is intermittent. Black tarry rubber gets on my hands when I try to use it. The price to repair was quoted as $350

- Santa Barbara, CA, USA

Liftgate handle latch mechanism deteriorated (inside the exterior handle, not the actual connection down near the bumper). This is a known 2007 Prius problem both within this database and in online forums, if you search. Probably part of the 'rubber parts / gasket turning into goop' problem discussed elsewhere. Should be a dealer warranty repair as it is expensive defect to fix, $600 or so, entailing removing panels from the inside etc and replacing the switch. I called Toyota and they gave me a case number but that is all thus far. Lexington Toyota dealer (mass.) said they had never heard of it, which seems unlikely.

- Wayland, MA, USA

The rubber cover over the rear hatch latch got soft and would stick onto my hands. I had to pay to have it replaced. Also my breaks grab especially when the weather is damp.

- Tampa, FL, USA

Trunk release hatch button degraded. Turned sticky, felt like, tar. To open the trunk took considerable effort. This is a safety issue, not being able to open the trunk or opening with difficulty. Trunk release hatch button "melted" then the entire garnish broke off when trying to open it.

- Beverly Hills, CA, USA

The rubber cover on the rear hatch handle is defective and melting. This causes the rear hatch to stick, not allowing access to the rear hatch when the vehicle is parked. This happens multiple times when trying to gain access to the rear hatch space.

- Vienna, VA, USA

The black rubber on the hatchback latch has melted and makes opening the hatchback difficult. The black goo sticks to the hand and is very messy because it gets on anything touched including clothes, door handles and children. The melted rubber interferes with the latch such on some occasions, the hatchback does not open.

- San Jose, CA, USA

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.

- Columbus, IN, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked in the sun, the dashboard melted and left a shiny substance which caused a reflection on the windshield that obstructed the contact's visibility. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 71,000.

- Mobile, AL, USA

The rear hatch handle assembly has melted completely into a gooey mess. This handle was replaced by Toyota under warranty in 2009.. and the replacement melted completely as did the original equipment. But now this will cost appx. $300 to replace. There is other way to open the rear hatch. This part is clearly defective and results in no way to access the spare tire and other safety equipment in the hatch. Update 9/15/15

- Hollywood, FL, USA

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?

- Damascus, OR, USA

The gas tank design Toyota Prius from at least 2007 and until 2010, contains no actual fuel gauge. In the northern states with severe winters this results in owners frequently running out of gas when they think they still have ample fuel as shown by multiple complaints found on the internet, and for us on a trip in February to March 2015 we were in serious fear of running out of gas when in fact if the specification for capacity has any meaning we still had over 4 gallons of fuel. We got so worried, we stopped at a brothel in Nevada so my wife could ask how far to the nearest gas station. When we got to the gas station the fuel pump indicator was even blinking to indicate we were in danger of running out of fuel, yet the car filled up with only 65% of its rated fuel capacity. Running out of gas unexpectedly is especially dangerous in the Toyota Prius because so much depends on electricity including the steering to get the car off the road. There is no guarantee it cannot happen when the battery is already at maximum depletion or the main battery itself has failed but not yet been replaced in which case the car is totally dependent on continuous fuel flow. It certainly came as a shock to me to learn that what is displayed is no better than a grossly inaccurate estimate of remaining fuel, or about to run out fuel level. Toyota should be forced to recall all of these vehicles for fuel system replacement in the interests of safety and keeping people from being killed for running out of gas at the wrong time and stopping dead on the highway. As these cars age, they become more dangerous because it is only a matter of time before they will be driven with a bypass of a defective main battery, but epa regulations preventing alteration of anything emissions related will make these cars road hazards across the nation if the problem is not dealt with.

- Vancouver, WA, USA

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.

- Avondale Estates, GA, USA

10700946 update--Toyota charged me $331.61 for the part and $182.15 for the labor.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

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.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

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.

- Oakland, CA, USA