2008 needs new trunk supports; doors not locking all the time

I had door locking problems on both our 92 camrys, our 97 avalon, our rx and one of our 2 prius, the other prius and our 04 corolla haven't had the problem yet (knock on wood) but I can attest that the company toyota uses to make the door actuators is no good. You can no longer replace just the actuator (or at least toyota doesn't sell it) they want a whole locking mechanism, with 45 minutes labor they quoted me something like $367 a door. My dealer swears that dry cold winter air isn't what ruins the actuators and the fact that you are having trouble in warm arizona proves its not the cold, so maybe its the dry air. Anyways, there is a thread somewhere about removing the door panel & lubricating the locking mechanism and actuator. This should do the trick.

As for the rear hatch struts, a non-criminal dealer should be able to "re-charge" your hatch struts, but for roughly the same price you should be after to buy aftermarket hatch struts and change them yourself, with the aid of a helper to hold the hatch up as you change them out one by one.

another common problems with all our toyotas was window regulator failure (thanksfully not the entire motor although I'm confused what the regulator actually does). often the drivers window stops working because that is used more than the other windows (drive-thru, toll booth, etc), since you live in dry climate spray silicone lubricant onto a paper towel and with the windows lowered all the way apply it to the both the inner and outer window seals. These rubber seals keep water our of your doors but dry out over time and give a lot of resistance to the glass as it travels up and down, forcing the motor and regulator to work overtime to move the window, causing breakdown. I can do our 4 cars in under 10 minutes, perform this quarterly and more often on the drivers window if its used more often.

Another thing you shouldn't do is ever ever ever turn the steering wheel when the car is still or moving very slowly as this puts tremendous stress on the steering components. Always make sure you are moving when turning the steering wheel.

 

When it's cold the hatch struts don't fully extend. I am reminded of this when my head impacts the hatch that should be a lot higher than it is. Happens every winter. Additionally, the cover does not fully retract.

Struts wear out or dry out. I replaced a set on my 2000 Intrigue when I had enough of holding up the hood.

The Prius is a low maintenance car. It is not a no maintenance car. On low mileage cars things are more likely to rot than wear out.

 

Do not use WD40 on the hatch struts it rots the internal seals. The best thing to use is silicon spray, and that is also very good for the electric window channels when the windows get tight and slow down. It is very safe to use and will not mark clothing and is safe to use in food areas.