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2007 TOYOTA PRIUS — STRUCTURE:BODY:HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE

1 injured · 1144857 · 2015-01-05

Vehicle

Make
TOYOTA
Model
PRIUS
Year
2007
Manufacturer
Toyota Motor Corporation
Component
STRUCTURE:BODY:HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE
Miles at failure
8,000

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
1
Fire
No
Crash
No
Police report
No
Medical attention
Yes
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

THE REAR HATCH IS POORLY DESIGNED WITH NO INDOOR RELEASE. I KEEP INJURING MY HAND AND NECK TO GET IT OPEN, OFTEN HAVING TO TAKE PAIN PILLS, GET THERAPY THE NEXT DAY AFTER STRAINING MY NECK TRYING TO LIFT UP ON THE TINY LITTLE GRIP AREA WITH MY HAND. THE LATCH WILL NOT RELEASE ON THE FIRST TRY AND WHEN THE TEMPS ARE BELOW FREEZING I OFTEN CANNOT GET IT TO OPEN AT ALL. HOW IS ONE SUPPOSED TO GET A SPARE TIRE OUT? WHEN IS IT ZERO DEGREES OUT ONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET THEIR REAR DOOR OPEN WITHOUT TAKING OFF ONE'S GLOVE. THIS HATCH WILL NEVER OPERATE WITH A GLOVED HAND ATTEMPTING TO OPEN IT. IT IS ALSO NOT SAFE TO HAVE TO FUMBLE AROUND IN PARKING LOTS ATTEMPTING TO SQUEEZE BETWEEN PARKING PLACES TO LOAD ITEMS PURCHASED WHEN ONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO EASILY DEPOSIT ITEMS IN THE BACK OF THE VEHICLE. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND NEEDS TO BE CORRECTED BY TOYOTA. I HAVE SEEN MANY PEOPLE COMPLAIN ABOUT THIS ONLINE BUT NOBODY HAS MENTIONED BEING ABLE TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM, NOR HAVE DEALERS BEEN ABLE TO FIX THIS WITHOUT CHARGING THE CUSTOMERS $100'S OF DOLLARS. *TR

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10670321
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown