I have seen the recent recall related to many makes and models of Toyota's for the clock-springs or spiral cables in the steering wheel. This is a very important part of the car which provides the electrical connection for many components such as the steering wheel controls, horn, and air bags. I have heard of others with the same issues in their generation II Prius (2004-2009). My spiral cable has recently stopped working as well and seeing as this is a safety issue I believe Toyota should be responsible for correcting it.

- Hillsborough, NJ, USA

Without warning, after stopping and turning off the engine, my Prius engine wouldn't start and all of the warning lights went on when I tried to turn the engine over.. thankfully, I was not in an intersection or on a road when this occurred. The Toyota dealer I had the car towed to, told me I had a poaa6 code and need to replace a transaxle assembly. (repair costs are over $4000) after a little bit of research, it appears that a lot of 2007 Prius owners are experiencing the same product failure. I just found out that Toyota has a service bulletin about the problem but does not cover the failure after 60,000 miles, except in a few states, such as California, which made Toyota extend warranty to 150,000 miles.. no Toyota mechanic ever advised me about this problem. Had I known it's potential, I would have purchased an extended warranty. Tsb number: Sb-0306-08 rev 2nhtsa number: 10037588tsb date: March 23, 2011date added to file: May 26, 2011 failing component: Electrical system:battery summary: Toyota: Malfunction light is on with two internal trouble codes. It is a problem with the transaxle assembly. 2004-2008 Prius.

- Chicago, IL, USA

The back door 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. Sometimes it required considerable effort and perseverance to get it open. I cannot open it anymore as the latch broke. 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. Blue 2007 Prius in cupertino, ca.

- Cupertino, CA, USA

I was returning home from a trip with a friend and driving on major freeway late at night, very dark with little visibility in a rural, unlit area..all lights in vehicle shut down while driving 70-75 mph. We could not see anything even the road, was like driving blind and very frightening trying to navigate the Prius off the road safely without getting hit by other vehicles. Once I stopped the vehicle off the side of the road in the far left lane we turned the vehicle off, but left the hazard lights on and let the vehicle sit for a few minutes. We started again, lights came on, and I drove the vehicle another 100 miles without any incident until we entered the city. I had a similar problem driving the 12 remaining miles home, but the front yellow lights worked and I had the hazard and brake lights working. The city lights improved visibility. I took the vehicle in and the only problem they could find was with one of the headlights. I was told I needed to replace both. I can't emphasize how dangerous and frightening this experience was for my friend and I, still unsure how we avoided a tragedy. I would like the NHTSA to investigate and make a recommendation to have some type of warning in the vehicle.

- Salt Lake, UT, USA

Brake (red color) warning lights appear while driving at 55 mph; yellow color indicator on ABS, vsc. Once these warning lights appear, I somehow lose 25-50% of my braking power. Not sure what is wrong despite getting brand new wheels, replaced all-new rotors, brake pads, oil and filter change. This is the 5th time it has happened in the last few weeks. Toyota should be held liable and to replace the full cost of any necessary fixes to the hydraulic brakes or run a diagnostic of the entire vehicle's electrical or brakes system or anything that leads to the dashboard warning lights at 100%. this will be a serious issue because it can lead to serious accidents if owners of this vehicle experience the same issues.

- Hollis Hills, NY, USA

Hybrid battery failed. The battery is hyped as lasting the lifetime of your car. 7 years and 131K is not a lifetime in my opinion. If I lived or bought my car in ca, it would be covered under warranty. Because I live in Alabama, it is not. Warranty should be standardized.

- Alabaster, AL, USA

For the second time in a year, the electronic display panel on my 2007 Toyota Prius has gone completely dark I.e, inoperative when I started the vehicle. This panel displays the vehicle speed, gas gauge and various status & warning lights. The car still is able to be driven even though the display panel does not work, which is a hazard. The first time it happened I had the Toyota dealership's service dept. Look at the car and they could not reproduce the problem. This time I noticed that the interior door light was lit. However no door was open. While the vehicle was powered, I open and closed every door including the rear hatch. The door light remained lit. I then hit the power button to power the car off and then back on. The interior door light went out and the display panel came on, resolving the issue. I've tried to replicate the problem by opening a door and powering up the car without success. There has to be another factor involved that causes the display to fail to operate.

- Miramar, FL, USA

The display screen in the center of the dash in completely black. It won't turn on.

- Long Beach, CA, USA

The bulbs turn off intermittently for no reason. I already replaced the bulbs but the problem did not go away. This is very unsafe. I made my research and there are many complaints of this kind of problem with the 2007 Prius. Toyota should recall and fix this problem. This is very unsafe.

- Haymarket, VA, USA

We own a Toyota Prius and have had the dealer replace the headlight 4 times. The first time we simply got in the vehicle and when we turned it on we realized it was not working. After we had it fixed about 2 months later we got pulled over and given a warning to get it fixed. We did so again and again with no solution. Since our last time the dealership has advised us to go to the Toyota dealership but there telling us that is simply a bad headlight and it will cost about 200 to fix it. I showed them where in 8 months it was changed 3 times and they simply said it must be human error because everything else looks fine.

- Columbus, IN, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving 10 mph, the contact heard a high pitch screeching sound as all the warning lights illuminated. The contact lost control of the brakes and the engine was shut off. The vehicle still had no brakes. The failure later recurred and the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The dealer stated that there was an error in the mother board that they repaired. However, the failure recurred. The contact had the vehicle towed to the dealer where the dealer then stated that the actuator would need replacing. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacture was contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 160,000. Updated 3/12/14

- Plantation, FL, 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

Headlight and taillights go out and then come back on. Also, when on they seem to be very weak.

- Katy, TX, USA

I too am a victim of the melting rear hatch cover. The rubber cover to the external trunk latch has deteriorated to the point where it is either gooey to the touch in warm weather or frozen solid to the point where it is immovable in colder temperatures. This is a safety hazard since I am unable to access the spare tire. The rubber appears to be blocking the release mechanism. The deterioration started during the summer of 2013. This issue has worsened and beginning December 29, I have been unable to open the rear hatch. It is clearly a manufacturer defect and is the responsibility of Toyota to replace this handle at no expense to the consumer. However, they are not willing to do so.

- Wichita, KS, USA

I have a 2007 Toyota Prius and the rubber has "melted" off if the latch and has made it nearly impossible to gain access to the rear compartment of my vehicle. It began with numerous black and sticky fingers then progressed to chunks of gooey of what I think was plastic coming off into my hands and has ended up being an almost impossible task to gain access via the back end of my car. From a very quick search of the internet, this appears to be a wide spread problem and everyone is getting the same answer I am getting from Toyota....pay up!! this has to be a mfg defect. I live in North Texas so yes, it does get hot here but melt the plastic off your car hot, I think not! please help us!

- Allen, TX, USA

The rubber covering the external hatch latch at the rear of my 2007 Prius has degraded to the extent that the latch no longer functions properly. This is a design flaw for the 2007 Prius and very dangerous as it will not allow access into the trunk area in case of emergency. Because of the melted/degraded rubber my wife can no longer get into the trunk and I can only get into the trunk at random intervals with severe pressure placed on the rubber/switch area. It could be impossible for me to reach the spare in an emergency. It could also damage the electrical system with the pressure needed to make it work. This is clearly a Toyota design and materials problem and should be fixed by Toyota before someone gets hurt.

- Seattle, WA, USA

The hatch handle made of rubber is deteriorating and now moisture gets in the switch and when it gets below freezing you can open the hatch. This rubber piece should not be coming apart like this. Many complaints have surfaced concerning this issue. If you needed to change a tire you could not get the hatch open to get the tire or emergency equipment.

- California, MD, USA

The rubber on the rear hatch release has deteriorated causing difficulty or impossibility of opening the rear hatch. This could pose a safety issue in an emergency.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

I am one of the many victims of the defective Prius 2007 hatch opening switch. After 4 years the rubber cover turned to tar for my 2007 Toyota Prius. Essentially the rubber cover melts into the electronic switch making it inoperable.

- Tampa, FL, USA

The rubber latch that provides access to the trunk area of my 2007 Toyota Prius has essentially melted. When I touch it my hand comes away with a black gooey substance. In the summertime this is more of an annoyance than anything (I have to carry around wet-wipes, and I often put groceries etc. In the passenger cabin just to avoid accessing the trunk), but in the winter it can be quite dangerous, as the melted latch freezes, making it impossible to open the hatchback. This means that I cannot access my tools, spare tire, snow equipment, or anything else back there. The degradation of the handle latch actually began some time ago (it probably began after I had owned the car for about 4 years) but it has gotten worse over time so I finally decided to try to get it fixed. My Toyota dealer wanted to charge me over $300 to replace the part. This struck me as absolutely outrageous given that it appears to be a design defect that creates a serious safety hazard.

- Washington, DC, USA