2007 prius trunk hatch release rubber piece melted

Had the car in for service to replace 12V battery/Key fob batteries yesterday, also squawked the melted trunk hatch latch. At this point when it's cold out the latch doesn't work at all. Dealer checked Toyota service, apparently they're covering the replacement under extended warranty.

Had to order parts, at least getting it replaced.

 

I have been having the same trouble with my Prius 2007 that I bought used. I purchased the extended warranty at the time which is still in effect. My mileage is under 79000. I asked twice to see if repair would be covered under the extended warranty. Twice it was refused because the dealer said it was "trim" and trim isn't covered under the "bumper to bumper" warranty. They said it would cost $160 to be repaired. My service manager gave me the 800 number to call but I haven't done that yet - but I will. Customer loyalty has nothing to do with it as I have had all my servicing done at the dealership.

I am going to print off some of these replies and send it to the dealership. (It wasn't the one I bought it from. I went to one that is closer to me.)

I am not going to attempt to repair it myself. I am getting too old to do that sort of thing.

When it gets too hot- it won't open. When it gets too cold - it won't open. The temporary work around I found was to hold a piece of stiff paper too open it or the sleeve of my coat. Before I tried the covering it trick, I pushed forward instead of up and that worked really well but eventually it didn't work so well.

From reading all the comments, it is obvious that Toyota did receive a batch of defective rubber. It can happen in anything, so it isn't a design flaw but Toyota really should keep track of all the 2007 Prius cars having the problem and they should replace them.

 

Mine just had the same problem. I've parked the same way for 3 years. I think the angle the license plate faces the sun causes a tremendous amount of heat to be generated. I would guess the license plate will get to 160 degrees in the summer. Anyone else want to test this theory on their car? I'm starting to park my car with the front facing south.

 

Nope my car is garaged at home and work. Still melted and drippy.

 

My 2008 now has 111,000 mile on it....

... and yes, the HOT FLORIDA SUN or whatever else has cracked and damaged the rubber cover on the hatch. It's splitting open lengthwise on both the front and back portion of the cover right where I would have my fingers. Mind you, it's not gooey and dripping but it's exposed the switch. I will need to contact Customer Care to see if they can get the dealership to cut me a break or replace it at no charge.

 

No its not the sun its the type of rubber they used it just breaks down over time. It was to soft. The new switch has a very different type of rubber Like an inner tube of a tire.

 

Clever and cheap and fast fix. Good job.

 

I just purchased a used 2008 Prius and wanted to clean up the hatch switch because it was "melting". I initially attempted to use a bicycle inner tube but couldn't get it to fold under cleanly when I was tightening the screws.

My friend Mark was watching me having trouble doing this and suggested using shrink wrap tubing so I headed down to the local electronic surplus store and got 12 inches of tubing for $2.50 (which gave me 2 or 3 tries).

Can't seem to add pictures to post so here is a Flickr link to the pictures:
www (dot) flickr (dot) com/photos/erikcturner/sets/72157629823402686/with/7237113274/

Net result - a nice looking fix.

 

07 here in south Texas, same thing, but still working.

 

Just called the Toyota Customer Care number you listed and told them about the melted hatch opening switch on my 2009 Prius. They advised me there was no recall but did offer me a $200 reimbursement for being a loyal customer. The representative made a big deal of pointing out the $200 was for being a loyal Toyota customer, they basically are not taking responsibility for the defective part.

I'm satisfied with the $200 reimbursement. The car has been exceptional and my visits to the dealer have only been for oil changes.

Thank you for the information.

 

I can't seem to see the pictures.

 

Mine is a sticky mess also. Bad in winter, much worse in summer especially last week when temps (not heat index) were 109 degrees.

 

My 07 prius is a little sticky buy my 07 seinna turned into a glob. Called dealer - not covered. Toyota is the next Dell - turn from good everthing then start building crap and then turn into minor player with bad reputation!!!!

 

My daughter had the same problem with her 2007 a few months ago and now our 2007 has turned into a gummy mess.

I just put a piece of Gorilla tape over the strip and will live with that until I bounce it off my very good Toyota dealer.

 

There are some parts that do this on various makes of cars, including Honda. The Stopper on my side doors go so soft they dripped down the side of the vehicle -- quite a mess to clean up. I remover the remaining residue and replaced the parts. I kept the old parts in the garage where they are again as firm as boot heels. I suspect somewhere around 120 F they begin to liquify. These pieces need to remain slight flexible even at freezing temps yet remain solid at very high summer temps. I'd bet that sometimes the part maker doesn't get the recipe just right for the correct temperature range.

 

Ok... My rubber has been replaced on the switch...

Switch Assembly was $73.84,
Switch Sub-Assembly was $121.81

Total Parts and Labor should have been $195.65. It appears on my bill they comped the Switch Assembly not once but twice as I was only charged $47.97 for PARTS (if this explanation doesn't sound right, let me know...) and $98.95 for LABOR along with $9.90 for Shop Supplies and $10.68 for taxes. All total it was $167.80, less than what I thought it would be.

 

I'm having the same issue on my 2007. It's at the point where the trunk will no longer open. The dealer I've been going to is decent, has decent prices and I've given them over $1000 in maintenance in the last 18 months. I'll let you know what they say and do, but I'm not very hopeful.

 

Seems that way. Switches made from late 2006 through 2007 seem to be affected.

 

It's happened on a variety of rubber parts on diff models from diff makers. At high but not abnormal temperatures, the rubber softens and even liquifies. It hardens again when it is cooled for long time. It's of an improper mixture and processing when creating the rubber part.

 

No, it's not the soap. A batch of switches were made with poorly vulcanized rubber, in late 2006. You may have gotten a good one, by good luck.