KnownCarProblems2016 Toyota Prius Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 155 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Toyota Prius, most often about the visibility and wipers (27% of complaints, typically around 18,000 miles). It is 15th of 27 Prius model years by number of complaints and has 5 recalls.
Most common 2016 Toyota Prius problems
Visibility and wipers
41 complaints · 27%Half of these problems showed up before 18,000 miles. Parts named most often: rearview mirrors/devices, windshield.
2 months after getting the Prius, I was driving about 50 MPH on a elevated, single-lane highway overpass with no cars in front of me when I heard a crack and noticed a chip in the windshield on the passenger side. I had it repaired that day, but it still shows up. It has not changed since then. 8 months later, I was…
I had a very small pebble hit my windshield while driving slowly on a residential street. The initial impact caused several significant cracks running lengthwise and widthwise across my windshield instead of just staring or pitting as traditionally occurs. This is my third Prius and I have never experienced a…
Other or unspecified
30 complaints · 19%Half of these problems showed up before 9,500 miles.
The car's windshield seems to be softer than previous models. I had the windshield completely replaced a few months ago, after a failed repair of a large chip. A chip repair was done on the new windshield on april 7th. In the car wash last friday, I noticed several small chips in the windshield. My husband drives a…
Cracked windshield. New model vehicle w 10000 miles windshield cracked from an impact of a small rock or other on the highway. Never had this happen, 30+ years driving. Very thin and fragile glass and complicated expensive electronic sensors will require 2 repair shops, 7 or more combined hours, and many dollars for…
Brakes
20 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 8,500 miles.
Nhtsa recall no.16v672 and 16v741 were not completed. Called the authorized Toyota dealer, stevens creek Toyota, 380 kiely blvd, san jose, ca 95129, on 01/20/2017 for remedy to be performed. I was told that they will call me back when teh parts are available. Remedy not comleted yet.
When breaking while traveling over bumps/ripples on the road or over rough road conditions such as potholes or roadwork, the vehicle feels as though the breaks are skipping or failing. This has occurred multiple times under the same or similar conditions. There is a sensation while attempting to stop, that the car is…
Electrical
20 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 25,500 miles. Parts named most often: 12v/24v/48v battery, wiring.
The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Prius. While the vehicle was stationary, the battery became extremely hot. The vehicle was repaired by the contact. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 20,000. Updated 01/26/2017
When the car is in drive and stationary on a hill facing up wards (like in a driveway) the car still sends electrical power to the electric motor and to the wheels even when the brakes are applied. This only happens when facing up a hill. All electrical power is suppose to turn off when the brake is pressed. This…
Engine
17 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 40,000 miles. Parts named most often: cooling system.
Car does not accelerate from a stop when pressing the gas petal while car is in drive. This seems to happen only in the summer months. While pulling up to a red light I slowed the car to a stop. When the light turned green I let my foot off the brake, car motioned forward a bit but when I pressed my foot on the gas…
The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Prius. While accelerating from a stop, the vehicle jerked and would not move. The vehicle was able to be driven to hamer Toyota (11041 sepulveda blvd, mission hills, ca 91345), but they could not detect any failures. Three months later, the same failure occurred and the vehicle had to be…
Transmission
15 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 24,000 miles.
The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Prius. While accelerating from a stop, the vehicle jerked and would not move. The vehicle was able to be driven to hamer Toyota (11041 sepulveda blvd, mission hills, ca 91345), but they could not detect any failures. Three months later, the same failure occurred and the vehicle had to be…
When the car is in drive and stationary on a hill facing up wards (like in a driveway) the car still sends electrical power to the electric motor and to the wheels even when the brakes are applied. This only happens when facing up a hill. All electrical power is suppose to turn off when the brake is pressed. This…
Speed control
14 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 13,500 miles. Parts named most often: accelerator pedal.
The vehicle does not report speed in kph, only in MPH. This means that every time I cross into canada with this vehicle, I have difficulty discerning whether I am following all vehicle safety and traffic laws or maintaining a safe speed. To repeat, while every other vehicle I have ever owned has a speedometer that…
Spontaneous acceleration incident. I was slowly pulling into a parking space in a parking garage. As I straightened it out to complete the maneuver, the car took off on its own and hit the wall of the parking garage there was some damage to the front end. A similar incident occurred once before with no damage. Toyota…
Body and structure
11 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 17,500 miles. Parts named most often: body.
I had very small windshield crack while I was driving on 10 frwy covina ca , I didn't notice anything hit my windshield was very hot day just heard ting and I shaw crack but within a day was very long about 2ft crack .I took longo Toyota at el-monte they said it don't cover by dealer or Toyota company so they give me…
The windshield on my 2016 Toyota Prius cracked for no reason. I parked my Prius in a covered parking garage. When I returned to my car later, there was a large crack in the windshield (over a foot long), and the crack curved down to the bottom of the windshield. I don't know what caused the windshield to crack all of…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2016 Toyota Prius recalls
Electrical: wiring
Risk: An electrical short can increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the engine wire harness assembly and replace it if damage is found. A protective sleeve or protective tape will be included to prevent any future damage. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began october 30, 2018. Owners may contact toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is j0t.
Full defect summary
Toyota motor engineering & manufacturing (toyota) is recalling certain 2016-2018 toyota prius vehicles. A portion of the engine wire harness connected to the hybrid power control unit (pcu), could contact the cover at this connection and wear, causing an electrical short circuit.
Air bags: side/window
Risk: If the air bags fail to deploy in a crash, it can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the sensors as necessary based on their serial numbers, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin march 12, 2018. Owners may contact toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are jla, j0f.
Full defect summary
Toyota motor engineering & manufacturing (toyota) is recalling certain 2016 toyota prius and lexus rx 350, rx 350 f sport, rx 450h f sport and rx 450h vehicles and 2015-2016 lexus nx 200t, nx turbo and nx 300h vehicles. The air bag pressure sensors and/or the acceleration sensors may fail causing the side/curtain shield air bags and/or the front air bags to not deploy in the event of a crash.
Hybrid system: inverter
Risk: If the capacitor was not properly secured, vibrations from driving the vehicle may damage the capacitor, shutting down the hybrid system, causing a loss of motive power and increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the inverter, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin by early december 2017. Owners may contact toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is h0u.
Full defect summary
Toyota motor engineering & manufacturing (toyota) is recalling certain 2016 prius vehicles. A capacitor within the hybrid system may not have been properly bolted to the inverter housing.
Brakes: parking brake
Risk: If the parking brake cable disengages from the mechanism and the transmission is left in a gear other than 'park' while the ignition is on and the driver leaves the vehicle, the vehicle may roll unexpectedly, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will install a clip at the parking brake cable end to prevent the cable from disengaging, free of charge. The recall began november 10, 2016. Owners may contact toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is g01.
Full defect summary
Toyota motor engineering & manufacturing (toyota) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 prius vehicles manufactured august 6, 2015, to october 3, 2016. The affected vehicles are equipped with a foot-operated parking brake system that has a parking brake cable that may disengage.
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: A front passenger air bag that unintentionally inflates can increase the risk of a crash or injury.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag assembly, free of charge. The recall began november 10, 2016. Owners may contact toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is g0w.
Full defect summary
Toyota motor engineering and manufacturing (toyota) is recalling certain model year 2016 toyota prius vehicles manufactured november 30, 2015, to june 14, 2016. An air bag inflator manufacturing error may result in the inadvertent partial inflation of the front passenger air bag.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Pedestrian alert sounds
Summary
Nhtsa received a petition on or about july 18, 2022, requesting that federal motor vehicle safety standard (fmvss) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the united states. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under odi number 11486072. Fmvss 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 kg or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after march 1, 2021.on january 27, 2023, NHTSA opened defect petition (dp) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matt
Questions about the 2016 Toyota Prius
- What are the most common problems with the 2016 Toyota Prius?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: visibility and wipers (41 complaints, typically around 18,000 miles); other or unspecified (30 complaints, typically around 9,500 miles); brakes (20 complaints, typically around 8,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2016 Toyota Prius have?
- 5 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from September 5, 2018 (electrical). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2016 a bad year for the Toyota Prius?
- It is 15th of 27 Prius model years by number of complaints, with 155 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.