10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 8 / 2
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 5 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 78,200 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
The rubber trunk switch cover has degraded, and continues to "melt" or "disintegrate" over time. Originally this was a mere irritation, leaving sticky black residue on my fingers every time I opened the trunk. However, now the switch fails to operate most of the time. This is a safety issue, since I am unable to open the trunk to access the spare tire, as well as other safety equipment or supplies.
- Walnut Creek, CA, USA
The hatchback rubber door handle melted even though my car is garaged and not exposed to the sun's heat. Also the hatchback latch would not keep the door in an open position. It dropped multiple times hitting my head while getting the groceries. Can't remember how many times it hit my head but definitely a safety issue that Toyota should address.
- League City, TX, USA
Toyota Prius (2008) - fire after minor accident (battery fire) after a fairly standard rear end collision (25-30 mph), my Toyota Prius caught fire and burst into flames. I was stopped at a red light on a city street in Chicago, il when the accident occurred, my vehicle was not in motion. Within minutes of impact (to right rear of car), the responding police officer saw fire under the car (began in rear) and the fire dept was called. The fire travelled to the front of the car and the car has been deemed a total loss. The police and tow company believe this was caused by the Prius battery and these cars are very unsafe to be on the road with this condition. There has been no related recall on this vehicle, but it's incredibly unsafe and I'm very happy I was not traveling with my children at time of accident. I appreciate you taking time to review this case and taking steps to ensure Toyota addresses the issues with the Prius vehicles. I've attached the police report and photos of the car fire (I also have video of the fire, but the file is too large to attach on this submission - available upon request). No major injuries - I experienced soreness / headaches from impact/whiplash and saw my doctor following accident (no major injury). Please review and let me know if I can provide anything else / answer any questions. Thank you in advance! [xxx] ('parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).')
- River Forest, IL, USA
My 2008 Prius (67,500 miles) regularly serviced at the Toyota dealer had a catastrophic brake failure while I was going in reverse down my drive way. I have done the same maneuver every day for more than 20 years in this driveway and never had a problem. As the brakes failed I attempted to pump the brake pedal more to no avail. The car crossed the street and went in the neighbor yard across from my driveway. The car is totaled and I believe it was a complete brake failure that caused the accident. I would like Toyota to compensate me for the total loss of my car.
- Santa Barbara, CA, USA
My rear hatch door latch cover and switch are inoperable and the rubber latch cover is gummy. Hatch will no longer open - this is a huge safety issue- how can I get to my spare tire?
- Mercer Island, WA, USA
I was in a parking lot and turned my car into a parking space. As I slowed my car to bring it to a stop, applying the brake, the car accelerated on its own and crashed into a railing at the head of the parking space. Although I pushed the brake all the way to to floor, I could not stop the car. The car hit at such a speed that it broke a solid wood railing at the front of the parking space. My car was declared a total loss by my insurance company because of the damage. It seemed to me the car accelerated on its own and the brake was nonfunctional. I could not stop the car. I had two related incidents prior to this crash. The first, I rear-ended another vehicle when applying the brake to stop at a traffic light. Again, the car accelerated and the brake would not stop it. Even with the brake fully pressed, the car hit the other vehicle, bounced backward, continued to accelerate and hit the car again before coming to a stop. Secondly, one time I noticed when applying the brake to make a sharp right turn, the car lurched forward. This did not result in a crash.
- Groton, MA, USA
My daughter was driving with a passenger in the front, on a town street and a vehicle pulled out in front of her. The impact was on her front bumper and hood pushing the side quarter panels back. The other vehicle was an older Pontiac grand pris, their airbags deployed. No airbags deployed on the Toyota Prius.why did the airbags not deploy?
- Meyersdale, PA, USA
The rubber on the rear liftgate has deteriorated. My fingers get covered in a sticky goo every time I open it.
- Cary, NC, USA
The rear latch assembly is held in place by plastic bolts. Over time, the plastic distingrates. When attempting to open the rear latch of the parked car, the plastic cracked and the assembly came loose.
- Alameda, CA, USA
The hatchback latch has a rubber cover which has been deteriorating for several years. There are 100S of complaints on the internet about it. Now, the latch pressure plate fails to allow me to open hatch and the nearby (plastic?) part is broken--similar to many others on web. Dealer quotes a $540 cost to repair the latch and plate.
- Riverside, CA, USA
The latch handle on the hatchback has "melted" for lack of a better word. The handle has become gooey and leaves a black residue on my fingers every time I open the hatchback. Because of this problem, the handle is harder to use, making it more trying to open the trunk.
- Virginia Beach, VA, USA
Rear switch that allows lift gate to be open, fails. Rubber breaks down and becomes like glue, making it hard for individual opening lift gate to remove hand as normally expected, inducing strain on individual back and creating unexpected twisting motion causing injury and damaging trim on car. Toyota has issued recall in Japan but not us [https://Toyota.jp/recall/kaisyu/121107.html] [not sure of exact date, this is second report Toyota claim 1512-2317-10]
- West Palm Beach, FL, USA
I purchased my Prius in 2008. Approximately 3 years after purchase, I noticed that the handle on the back hatch had started to get really soft in hot weather and freeze up a little in cold weather. At first it was just a nuisance as it sometimes left a black sticky substance on my hands; however, over time it became progressively worse and the hatch became harder to open. I cannot open it at all now (Sept. 2015), leaving me without access to the spare tire, the battery, snow shovel, or my accident kit (flares, blanket, etc). My back light also keeps going off then coming back (I got a ticket for it) but I cannot get to the light fixture because I cannot open the trunk. This is therefore a safety hazard and Toyota should fix it. I am told that they have admitted liability and fixed this problem for free in Japan. If that is true, it should be extended to the us! lack of access to battery and spare tire and the problem with the rear light pose a serious safety issue.
- North Plainfield, NJ, USA
The latch handle on the hatchback has disintegrated. The handle has become gooey and leaves a black residue on my fingers every time I open the hatchback. Because of this problem, the handle is harder to use, making it difficult to open the trunk. Replacement part number is 84905-47010.
- San Marcos, TX, USA
We purchased our Prius in 2008. Approximately 3 years after purchase, we noticed that the handle on the back hatch started to melt. At first it was just a nuisance as it left a black goo on your hands. As time passed it became progressively worse and the hatch became harder to open due to the melted handle. Last week (Aug. 2015) our 12 volt battery died over night and we couldn't start the car or get anything to work. Of course, we could not open the back hatch at all to access the battery. We called a tow service to tow our car to the local dealer. We were able to jump the car and drive to the dealer. The service technician said that he had never herd of this happening. It was determined that the melted handle shorted out the wiring for the rear light and drained the battery overnight. After a little research< we found that this is not a localized problem but is pretty common on 2007 and 2008 Prius'. Toyota is not willing to fix ts own design flaw and we are out $250. This poses a serious safety issue if there is a flat tire or dead battery and we are unable to open the back hatch.
- Springdale, AR, USA
I was hit in the rear end which shoved me into the vehicle in front of me 7/31/2015. Air bags did not deploy.
- Mentone, CA, USA
The black rubber is disintegrating and falling off the outside trunk latch, making it difficult to open the hatchback to get to the spare tire or battery. This is also happening to my neighbor, who parks right next to me and also has a 2008 Prius.
- Los Angeles, CA, USA
Rear hatchback locking/unlocking rubber handle disolved/melted and became a tar-like mass that stuck to fingers. Unable to unlock truck manually and electrically. Unable to access trunk where emergency/safety equipment located.
- Sunnyvale, CA, USA
I was driving my 2008 Prius in rainy weather (normal for seattle) northbound on interstate 5 in relatively heavy traffic. Traffic was slowing down, so I brake and decreased my speed further. As I got closer to the car ahead of me, I pushed more firmly on the brake, and nothing happened. The ABS did not engage. The car just kept moving along and I ran into the car ahead of me. Luckily my speed was only 5-7 mph. The other car, an SUV, was not damaged. My front hood was quite crunched. No one was hurt. My concern is that the brakes simply did not engage at the last moment. I have read about the recalls of 2010 Prius' because of ABS failures, so I wanted to make sure that you were aware of at least one 2008 Prius that seems to have experienced a similar failure. Thanks.
- Seattle, WA, USA
- Theodore, AL, USA