Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (doors, hood, frame, rust, paint and trim).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2008 Toyota Prius owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Trunk lock will not unlock or allow opening, back latch malfunctions, when car battery dies or car looses power you cannot open the trunk and access emergency tools/equipment and battery to jump car. You have to access by climbing through the front of the car if you are able-bodied too. There is no opening handle from the inside of the trunk to be let out, scariest and one of the most important major safety concerns, theres no emergency exit from inside vehicle. Water/snow/ice also falls down into the vehicle when opening hatchback, it slides inward from hood of car or slides back from rear windshield and door, causes water to be pooled up in my battery compartment.
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 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. …
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.
I was traveling at about 35-40 MPH on a 4 lane city road & a truck pulled in front of me from a shopping center on opposite side of road from which I was traveling without stopping in center median crossover. I hit brakes but I had no time to stop. I'm not sure the brakes even worked as there were no skid marks from braking. The front driver side of my car hit hard & also damaged drivers side wheel well, fender panel. My airbag did not deploy and my head collided with the steering wheel. It resulted in my having a concussion, whiplash, a fracture in my neck, shoulder pain & nerve issues in my arms & hands, back & hip pain. I know if the airbag had deployed I wouldn't have suffered all the physical issues. This all happened jan. 11 & I still have pain. The car is a total loss.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. While driving various speeds, the instrument panel failed to illuminate. The contact also stated that the rear hatch button melted. The vehicle was taken to south dade Toyota (29330 s dixie hwy, homestead, fl 33033, [phone]) where it was diagnosed that the wire connections were disconnected. The contact was also informed that the rear hatch button was a manufacturer defect and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failures and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in a recall. The approximate failure mileage was 75,000.
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?
On occasion the vehicle will pop out of d or will have a problem getting into d. This day I parked, left the vehicle running (on) since it was cold in boston and my wife was sitting in the passenger seat. Existed the car, retrieved a package I was delivering from the back seat and left. About 5 min later, my wife said that all of a sudden she feels the car moving forward and before she can stop it the car crashed into a truck with a very large tow hitch assembly. The crash nailed my front hood virtually dead center. Dealer could not replicate but seems from other online comments that this is not unknown about gear difficulty although popping out of p seems like a new add-on or maybe few of us ever leave a car running.
The latch cover on the hatchback has deteriorated and is almost completely melted away. In warm weather it is incredibly sticky and anything that touches it gets black goo on it, and the goo is hard to remove form hands or anything else. It has been hard to open for more than a year, and has gotten so bad that we have had to replace it today at a cost of $285. I emailed Toyota customer service months ago about the problem, and they said they have never heard this is an issue on their vehicles.
The rubber cover on the rear hatch door latch / switch has degraded and melted. It is impossible to open the rear hatch and to access my spare tire, making this a safety hazard. There is no manual way to release the hatch. There have been dozens of complaints on the NHTSA site about this issue, see http://www.meyersonstrategy.com/2013/09/toyotas-sticky-2007-Prius-hatch-problem.html for more. This should be fixed by Toyota--it is a very expensive ($200-400) repair.
Body complaints in other Prius years
Frequently asked questions
How common are body problems on the 2008 Toyota Prius?
NHTSA has 68 complaints about the body & structure of the 2008 Toyota Prius, 5% of the model year's 1,497 complaints. The component named most often is body (41 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2008 Toyota Prius body problems?
No. NHTSA lists no body & structure recall for the 2008 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 2008 Toyota Prius body problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 75,000 miles, and 6% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 9 crashes, 3 fires and 5 injuries to body & structure 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.