2016 Toyota Prius

No clear pattern

14.5% of complaints about the 2016 Toyota Prius arrived in its first year of service. That is an unusual figure for a 2016 vehicle, but with only 214 complaints on record the sample is too small to call it a pattern — the margin of error covers the range where ordinary vehicles sit. The figures below are reported without a verdict. The most-reported system is visibility / wipers (40 complaints), typically at 2.3 yr or about 18,000 miles.

Complaints: 214
Median age at failure: 2.8 yr
Median mileage: 18,000 n=134
Crash / fire / tow: 7.5% of reports
Safety recalls: 5

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

18V579000 2018-09-05

Electrical system:wiring

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.

18V085000 2018-01-31

Air bags:side/window

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.

If the air bags fail to deploy in a crash, it can increase the risk of injury.

17V658000 2017-10-18

Hybrid propulsion system: inverter

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.

16V741000 2016-10-14

Parking brake

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.

16V672000 2016-09-16

Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module

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.

In owners’ own words

Other 15 mi 4 mo in service

THE CENTER DISPLAY HAS A MIRROR HIGH GLOSS/GLARE FINISH. BECAUSE OF THIS MIRROR FINISH, WHEN THE SUN IS AT AN ANGLE COMING THROUGH EITHER THE SIDE OR BACK WINDOWS, THE SUN IS REFLECTED BACK INTO THE DRIVER'S EYES. THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL ON THE CAR TO REPLACE CENTER DISPLAY TO PREVENT ACCIDENTS.

Other 25 mi 10 mo in service

THE 2016 PRIUS IV WE JUST PURCHASED 2 WEEKS AGO COMES WITH A WHITE DASH! THE WHITE DASH CREATES A HORRIBLE GLARE WHEN TRYING TO LOOK OUT EITHER DRIVER OR PASSENGER WINDOW! THE ONLY WAY TO AVOID GLARE IS DRIVE WITH WINDOWS DOWN ALL OF THE TIME. VISIBILITY IS GREATLY HAMPERED BY THE WHITE DASH REFLECTION OFF THE WINDOWS! THIS IS HUGE SAFETY ISSUE!

Other mileage not reported 9 mo in service

RODENT DAMAGED WIRING AND CASINGS BY EATING/DAMAGING BOTH AT A COST SO FAR OF $2700. I HAVE OWNED THIS VEHICLE FOR ONE MONTH. I'VE BEEN TOLD THE WARRANTY DOES NOT INCLUDE THE DAMAGE. I ASKED ABOUT WHERE THE DEALERSHIP STORED THE VEHICLE PRIOR TO ITS DELIVERY TO ME. I WASN'T SATISFIED WITH THEIR EXPLANATION.

Service brakes 500 mi 9 mo in service

WHEN GENTLY APPLYING BRAKES FOR A STOP LIGHT, AND THE RIGHT WHEEL HITS A 1 AND 1/8 INCH DEEP DEPRESSION IN THE ROAD, THE BRAKES FEEL LIKE THEY MOMENTARILY RELEASE. THE DEPRESSION IS FOR A 9 INCH DIAMETER CITY WATER COVER, AND THE OVERALL DIAMETER OF THE DEPRESSION IS 12 INCHES, AND IT IS 1 AND 1/8 INCHES DEEP. THIS CAN BE REPLICATED AT THIS LOCATION AND WE HAVE ALSO NOTICED THE SAME THING HAPPENING ELSEWHERE IN TOWN.

Other Prius model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2016 Toyota Prius

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

Other Prius model years

How to read this