2007 prius trunk hatch release rubber piece melted

This is a new one. The switch costs $71 plus shipping at Champion Toyota, Houston:
Champion ToyotaWorld

$200 at the dealer is not bad considering MSRP for the switch is $94. Good luck.

 

That is odd. Has it ever been exposed to some harsh chemical?

 

Yeah -- it gets to 115F here, and mine hasn't melted. I'd suspect the chemical contamination.

 

Mine has melted as well; it does get hot here in Houston, and I can't think of how it could have been chemically contaminated unless I drove through something that had no visible effect on the rest of the car. We don't even use it all that often.

The dealer wants $317 to replace it, which is somewhat hilarious. I believe this is a defect issue and am going to at least try to get them to fix it under the overly expensive warranty I was dumb enough to buy.

Also found out today that the stock tires need replacement after only 38K miles. Not really happy about that either.

 

The very air in Houston is chemically contaminated :_> At least you'll get some value out of the extended warranty.

Judging from reports here most people get less than 38K from the stock tires.

 

Yup...... Tampa here and my 07's melted too. Hadn't opened the trunk for a few months and first time it felt like grabbing on to a candy bar. It sure got hot here last summer didn't it? Brutal.

Please post and let us know how the replacement went. Thanks.

 

One of my solution to melting plastic/rubber is to cut a piece packaging tape about the same size and tape over it.

 

this same thing happened to me..... The handle was always very gummy and sticky since I first bought the car brand new. Today, in south Florida, when I walked to my car, I noticed 3 globby black gummy drips on my license plate and under the handle. The whole thing actually dripped away. I will be very dissapointed if I have to pay for a new handle. This should not happen. Are there any

 

I wonder if the 07 Prius cars got a batch of bad rubber covers.

 

I have a 2007 and was in Tucson AZ a few days at 108 degrees and nothing has melted or got sticky.
Walt

 

This is what my dad did when he owned my 2007. I replaced the switch when I assumed ownership, see this link:
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...g/78687-how-replace-hatch-opening-switch.html

I think that some bad rubber covers entered production.

 

I have the same problem. Going to the dealer to see if this should be covered warranty.

 

UPDATE: I went to the dealer this weekend and they went ahead to replace the melting unit under my extended warranty.

 

NICE! Next time it happens, put it in your mouth and chew on it. I bet it tastes like a gummy ball of sweet Toyota goodness.

 

LOL... and I thought it was me. I thought somebody tried to modify the latch with that black mastic that is used for sealing coaxial cable connectors in RF applications.

How the hell could Toyota have made a mistake like that? I've never heard of a rubber component devulcanizing in use? ROFLMAO.

 

Mines doing the same, it drives me nuts that my fingers have black gunk on it everytime

 

i'm having the same problem...
The dealership says that I'm out of warranty for 8 months so it's not covered.
I'll go there in person to see if they can make an exception.

 

I can confirm the same issue with my 2007 I just bought.

 

so anyone convinced a toyota shop to fix it for free although warranty was expired?
After all it's a design fault...