2016 Toyota Prius
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
Vehicles › Toyota › Prius › 2016
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
These records cover every 2016 Toyota Prius. To see whether one car still needs a recall repair, decode its VIN or check it with NHTSA.
5 recalls name the 2016 Toyota Prius. Newest first.
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.
An electrical short can increase the risk of a fire.
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.
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…
If the air bags fail to deploy in a crash, it can increase the risk of injury.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A front passenger air bag that unintentionally inflates can increase the risk of a crash or injury.
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.
I turned on my car in a flat parking lot, reversed out of my spot, and drove up to a traffic light to exit the parking lot. When the light turned green, I took my foot off the brake and tried to accelerate, but nothing happened. After a few seconds, my car lurched forward with a sudden jerk, and I was able to exit, but this behavior (no movement, then sudden jerk) continued to happen. I was scared that I would get into an accident, so I pulled over and turned the car off and on. The behavior continued. I drove to a safe location, and parked the car. I noticed the engine kept revving up and down, even though I was parked, and the hybrid battery indicator showed no charge. I turned off the car, and had dinner for about an hour. After I finished dinner, I started the car, and it was driving normally again (creeping forward as soon as I took my foot off the brake), but I was afraid the problem would happen again, at a dangerous moment. There were no warning lights or messages while this problem was happening. I explicitly checked that the parking brake was not set.
The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while the vehicle was on and running, the ABS and traction control warning lights illuminated, and the messages "Braking Power Low - Stop in a Safe Place”, “See Owner's Manual", "Braking Power Low - Visit the Dealer", and "ABS Malfunction - See Dealer" were displayed. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH and depressing the brake pedal, the brake pedal was firm. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, and DTC: C14B6 was retrieved, indicating that the brake booster needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired; however, the code was cleared. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic, where the information from the dealer was relayed that the brake booster needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,028.
Second time !!!! during ownership of car that brakes fail. Same problem as before Brake Actuator/Booster Failures: Multiple reports indicate issues with the ABS actuator or brake booster pump, leading to warning lights ("Braking power low", "ABS system malfunction").
The car has a very strong gas smell, especially when full.
Found coolant leak from heat exchanger into exhaust pipe. Looks like, T-SB-0135-19.
The headlights are either too bright or aimed poorly that it blinds oncoming traffic, who frequently flash their high beams at me. This occurs without any load in back and without me using the high beams. Can Toyota either adjust the bulbs or place a film on the headlights to prevent blinding oncoming traffic? Thank you!
Water pump failed without warning and caused irreparable damage to the engine ("blown" engine requiring replacement). Vehicle began to stall and not respond to attempted acceleration while traveling on 4 lane divided highway, 55 mph speed limit. One "Maintenance Required" message was received the previous week, but disappeared. This is the same message that appears for routine oil changes. No other warning messages were noted at the time of the incident, no unusual noises, and no smoke or other sign of overheating. Driver was able to steer vehicle to safety, but this failure could result in stranding on a busy, dangerous interstate highway. For such a critical piece of the vehicle (i.e., the water pump), there should be obvious warning message(s) and dedicated monitoring of the equipment.
Refer to TSB 0135-19 dealer denied repairing under the California emissions defect and performance warranty.
My car suddenly stopped in the middle of the road with message "Hybrid system stopped steering power low". Safety concern to this happen on the middle of road during rain or cold.
During summer months when temperatures are above 100 degrees when accelerating from a complete stop I can hear the engine rev and the RPMs increase but the vehicle will move at 1-2 mph. Even if the accelerator is to the floor. After 3-4 seconds the tires will squeal and the vehicle will be jolted forward then it will slowly accelerate. This happens occasionally and I have taken it to a Toyota dealership and a chain mechanic shop, neither have been able to recreate the problem. There are no warnings and no error codes. I have been stuck in the middle of intersections trying to turn left, I have not been hit, but I fear it will happen. There is a recall out for this issue on other Priuses and I believe the issue needs to be investigated further as there is another complaint on this site for the same issue and I have found it on other sites. I bought the car in fall of 2019 and this problem has been occurring since summer of 2020.
We were driving in San Diego and had driven oven a bit pothole. About 50 miles after driving over the pothole, the brakes stopped working. We were pressing down hard on the brake, but the brake was soft and did not do its job. We almost rear ended the car in front of us. We brought the car right away to a close by auto shop and they said there were no leaks as the brake fluid was still close to the max and they did not find any indication of a brake fluid leak and sent us on our way. We are still unsure as to why the brake from this vehicle stopped.
Paint is starting to peel around trunk, clear coat has peeled off of black triangle areas by rear passenger windows on both sides of vehicle. Other 2016 Prius have had a paint recall. My vehicle needs to be included in the recall.
Starting in about 2019, the exterior black panel behind the rear right mirror began peeling. Soon, the blue exterior paint on the car began to show damaged spots, lining up with the parts of the car most exposed to the sun: the roof most of all, but the top panel behind the rear window and the top of the trunk showing signs of damage as well. The beginnings of this damage are also appearing on a couple of parts of the side doors, making it clear that the underlying problem applies to all of the blue exterior paint. It seems as if the exterior layer - some sort of sealant or finish - is not holding up properly in the sun. By contrast, our red-painted 2014 Prius, which has been exposed to the same conditions but for a longer period of time - shows none of this damage. The damage is quite extensive and visible, and it's unclear to what extent the protective qualities of the paint are now compromised. The service department at the dealership has inspected the paint, as has a third-party shop, and all agree that there is a serious paint problem. The issue is available for further inspection. The safety issue here is the potential for corrosion of the body due to the compromised paint integrity.
While driving vehicle on the freeway it stated braking power low, stop in a safe place, antilock brake system malfunction, pre-collision system malfunction, lane departure alert malfunction. I was almost in a major scary accident.
The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while driving at approximately 70 MPH, the steering wheel stopped operating and the vehicle began to shut down. The contact stated that a yellow blinking light and a hybrid system malfunction warning light illuminated the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the hybrid battery was low and there was a failure of the engine wiring harness. The hybrid battery was able to recharge but the dealer stated that the electric wiring harness needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 159,141.
Coolant is leaking. There were no indicator that coolant is low. Suddenly while trying to get on the freeway the car would not get up to speed regardless how much pressure was put on the pedals. On the way back home, all of a sudden the engine temperature light flashed on then off twice. The car operated like normal but it was still concerning and we had it checked out. Coolant was leaking but no where to be found? It seems Toyota had previous recalls where coolant was leaking into the engine. I think my model is also affected.
I reported issues with this car in 2018. Clicking sounds under the car which is still happening, peeling paint on exterior and inside door areas, substandard windshield that spread in a very unusual pattern when hit by a small rock. The NHTSA ID Number that was assigned to these complaints is [XXX] . None of these problems have been addressed. There are other owners that have experienced the same problems, apparently their issues have not been addressed. These problems should have been sent by you to the Toyota Corporation, but apparently was not. I have owned many Toyota vehicles and have not experienced these problems. I also own a 2012 Toyota Prius which I drive when I when I am traveling on the interstate, because I feel that the clicking noises on the 2016 Toyota Prius is a safety issue that seems to be coming from the steering section underneath the car. When traveling the speed limit on the on Interstate highways, what would be the outcome if the steering mechanisms underneath the car did not work properly. It is a shame that this safety issue has not been addressed by you, and it is also a shame that I have to drive my older toyota at these times to feel safer when driving. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
We were driving kids to camp and the thermometer light went on. It was blinking for a while, then turned off and then turned steadily on. We weren't sure what to do, so we called our trusty mechanic who said "bring it in right now." We did and it turned out that this was a broken head gasket. Our car is regularly maintained by a trusted Prius mechanic and has less than 78K miles, despite its age. From our mechanic: We found the engine coolant was low in the radiator. We filled the system and pressure-tested, found no external leaks. The thermostat and fans operate normally. We found 54 ppm HCs in the radiator initially, and after a test-drive we re-checked and found 110 ppm HC in the radiator. Combustion chamber gas is getting into the cooling system, typically a symptom of headgasket failure. The cylinder head needs to be removed to evaluate. FYI this is the first headgasket failure we have seen on the 4th gen Prius, but it is the same engine designation as the 3rd gen Prius, which has a pattern problem of headgasket failure. The expectation is that the failure is the same, but we need to open the engine to evaluate. Given the low mileage, it might be worth pushing Toyota for a goodwill warranty even though it is out of the official powertrain warranty period. I called Toyota and they refused to pass along a goodwill warranty.
The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Prius equipped with Cooper Tires, Tire Line: Mastercraft, Tire Size: 195/65/15, DOT Number: (Not Available). The contacted stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle began to violently shake and vibrated. After stopping to inspect the vehicle, it was discovered that the passenger’s side rear tire had experienced sidewall steel belt separation. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.
On September 2022 (at 46K) Dealer did TSB related fix on my 2016 Prius. PFA for service record. They replaced Exhaust Front Pipe, which is suggested work from Toyota PFA for Toyota Technical Bulletin. T-SB-0135-19 At 51,747 on March 1st 2023 around 8 40 am, while we are driving on highway at 70 mph suddenly Check Engine Light, Coolant light, Hybrid related lights were on Vehicle lost the control, speed was dropping luckily we could safely stop the vehicle on the shoulder no Vehicle hit us from behind. Sudden stop of engine while driving on highway at 51K miles is safety issue. Toyota dealer could not provide additional details except Engine is over heating.
Shortly after having my Toyota serviced, I had an engine coolant warning sign appear. I checked and noted the coolant was gone. I bought coolant and filled the coolant tank. A week later, I see the light again. I have seen no leakage at all on the ground. I refilled the coolant and checked again the next morning. Again the tank is empty. I took the car to a local reputable service person and thus far, he sees no leakage outside of the car. This suggests to him a bigger problem, where the coolant is going somewhere it should not. If it is to the engine, I will have to replace that!!
At the beginning of this week, I was checking fluid levels and upon dropping my hood, I watched a crack in the windshield extend up from the base of the windshield. Then, while I was driving, I watched the crack extend and branch into a second crack. Upon further inspection, it appears cracking started under the windshield wiper and arched downward to the base of the windshield and another a new crack extend upward. I am the only person who drives this car. I do not park under a tree or anything that might fall on the windshield. I have not experienced any rocks hitting the windshield recently. I have not driven in the rain in several weeks. The only time the windshield wipers moved recently is when I cleaned my windshield over the weekend and lifted the wipers to reach underneath. Best as I can tell, the crack started due to the windshield wiper being picked up and let back down. This concerns me a great deal considering that is not a great amount of force.
When the battery cooling fan is running, the car is slow to accelerate or will not accelerate at all. The incident has happened multiple times over the past year when the temperatures are above 90. If at a complete stop, the car will not accelerate, it will only jerk forward. The car has to be turned off and restarted to be able to accelerate. If braking or reducing speed, the car will be sluggish, and I have not been able to get the speed over 40 mph. I have taken it to the dealership, but they said they could not recreate the issue, though I do not believe that they followed the directions I gave them to recreate the problem. No warning lights appear when the issue occurs, so they did not have an answer. The first time the incident occurred, I had just had the scheduled maintenance completed two days earlier and they did not find anything in the inspection that needed to be repaired. The first time the incident occurred, I was at a stop light trying to make a right turn. The incident has occurred twice when trying to pull on to the highway and accelerate up to speed.
Overheating light began flashing while driving 5/21/22. Drove to Napa Auto Parts and saw coolant reservoir was empty. Bought anti-freeze and filled reservoir. Upon arrival at destination, reservoir was empty again. Filled it again. Upon the next morning, reservoir was empty again. Took it to an auto-shop which found that the exhaust heat exchanger in my car has failed and is leaking coolant. Please see Applicable technical service bulletin, T-SB 0135-19. While the car is less than 96 months old, it is above 80k miles. I see this issue has been escalated in California, where the warranty is for 96 months and 150k miles. Want to report that the change in miles between states is disappointing. This issue is common and should be handled as a known recall, not just a known issue.
My steering wheel controls, including odometer, cruise control, horn, and airbag light is on. I took it to the dealership and they said it is the spring (clocking) cable in the steering wheel. Looking up a recall there are quite a few years and models where this exact issue has been recalled on Toyotas, but the dealership says my 2016 Toyota Prius is not cover (same exact issue). I submitted a ticket through Toyota customer service but they have done nothing about this safety issue for the 2016 Toyota Prius. I see lots of blogs and complaints because the airbag default warning light stays lit, so I assume airbag is not functional. I found a site that says to put the complaint through here.
NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened these reviews into vehicles including this one.
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 matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.
Technical service bulletins and other communications the manufacturer sent dealers about this vehicle. Ask a dealer for the full document by its number.
Bars are owner complaints, dots mark years with recalls. Select a year to open its report.