Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (power windows, windshield, wipers, mirrors, sunroof).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2007 Toyota Prius owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while driving at 60 MPH, the front windshield became foggy while driving at night. The contact stated that the defogger was operational; however, there was an extended period before the windshield was cleared. The contact stated that the vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that a dealer informed him that the windshields were made of cheap material. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 Toyota Prius. The contact attempted to park the vehicle into the residence garage, driving at approximately 2 MPH. Suddenly, there was an unintended acceleration. The brakes were engaged and the vehicle continued to accelerate causing the vehicle to crash into a closet in the garage. The contact suffered injury to the neck area. The vehicle front bumper sustained damages. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the technician was unable to duplicate the failure. The identical failures occurred on two separate occasions with no injuries. In addition, the contact experienced malfunctions with the automatic ignition switch, windshield wipers, and the front driver and passenger side automatic window mechanism. The failures occurred sporadically. The vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. …
One headlight on my car keeps shutting off, while the other is fine. I am able to "fix" the issue by turning my headlights off and then turning them on again. Dealers initially told me it was because the bulb burned out, but I replaced both at the same time, and it's always the driver's side bulb that "burns out." upon further review on public forums, it appears the bulb is perfectly fine and there's some type of electrical issue/connection problem that causes problems with the bulb. This happens when the vehicle is on and in-motion on any street.
For the past 6 months my left headlight will randomly go off. One time after it turned off the right light also extinguished. I was driving at night each time this happened . I quickly turned off the light switch and turned it back on and the headlights came back on. I was driving on local city streets when this happened and was not turning.
No one injured. Minor problem, but Toyota refuses suggestions "for legal reasons", so I have to report it to you, and hope that you will relay to Toyota. Good car, good dash lighting system, nice rheostat to dim the instrument panel lights at night, to assist in night road visibility. The problem is that as you dim the instrument panel lights, the lighted symbol for the emergency flasher light switch goes completely dark before the instrument panel lights do. So, on a dark night, you dim the lights to make the instrument panel lights just bright enough to read, without excess reflection or distraction, and the emergency flasher switch becomes invisible because its light went completely out before the other instrument panel lights did. This increases distraction and reduces reaction time when you need to find and turn on the emergency flasher light switch. …
The HID, high intensity discharge headlights go off intermittently without notice, usually right headlight, sometimes left, sometimes both. Started with right headlight at approx 18 months after purchase of new vehicle at approx 45000 miles. This week both headlights have gone off while driving at night without notice. Extremely dangerous. Last month the local Toyota dealer, who knows of this issue, wanted $800 to repair/replace right headlight. Now that both are bad, much more money to repair. This is unacceptable, considering the premium cost of this optional item, the short life span, and especially the extreme danger of a possible fatal accident. If this were brakes, fire, or seatbelts, there would have already been a recall under warranty. There are hundreds of documented complaints and Toyota and the NHTSA have not yet acted! …
I own and operate a 2007 Toyota Prius. To date I have been extremely satisfied with the vehicle. However, recently I have been experiencing intermittent failure of my passenger headlight and occasionally the brake light on the passenger side. This is a safety concern because I do not know when the light is on or off. The other day I was pulled over by the police and received a repair order. The cost from the dealer to replace the bulb is $535.00, apparently this is maintenance and a non warranty item. Personally I think there is a design flaw if it requires a mechanic to change a lightbulb. I am posting a message here in hopes that this will convert into a safety recall. I am going to work with the dealer and Toyota to try and get this repair covered. Wish me luck!
After the car has been parked for awhile, the dashboard was completely black. The car powered on, but there was no speedometer, no fuel display, and no odometer. The car will drive and gas engine and hybrid system works as usual, but there are no power steering, the turn signals do not work, and the wiper does not work. After driving for 5 to 15 minutes, the dash would light up and car drives like normal again and the problems mentioned go away. Based on internet research, this seems to a common problem. There are almost identical complaints on this site including NHTSA id number 10544698. Significant safety concerns exist due to the temporary lost of power steering, no turn signals, and no wiper during a rain.
Both HID headlights failed on a winding country road. I quickly turned the headlights off, then on then was able to swerve the car to prevent going off the road. I had intermittent problems with one light failing. This was the first time both lights failed at the same time. I spent over $400 to replace the lights. There is a class action case against Toyota that covers Prius with under 50K miles. Since I had over 70K miles on my Prius, I was hesitant to make the repair, because of the cost until both lights failed. This is an intermittent problem that gets worse as time goes by and should be recalled before someone is killed.
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.
Window & Wiper complaints in other Prius years
Frequently asked questions
How common are window & wiper problems on the 2007 Toyota Prius?
NHTSA has 25 complaints about the windows, wipers & sunroof of the 2007 Toyota Prius, 1% of the model year's 2,003 complaints. The component named most often is rear window wiper/washer (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2007 Toyota Prius window & wiper problems?
No. NHTSA lists no windows, wipers & sunroof recall for the 2007 Toyota Prius, though it has 4 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2007 Toyota Prius window & wiper problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 70,000 miles, and 5% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 1 injury to windows, wipers & sunroof problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.