2016 Toyota Prius problems and recalls

Owners have filed 179 complaints on the 2016 Toyota Prius, and NHTSA has issued 5 recalls. The most cited component is the Visibility/Wiper (42 complaints).

179
Complaints
5
Recalls
13
Crash reports
0
Fire reports
8
Injuries
63.4
Severity index

Severity index 63.4 Medium. The index weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints. How it is calculated.

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 63.4p25 46p75 80cleanestworst
Severity index against the quartile range for all tracked vehicles.

Ranked 70 of 141 by severity index among 2016 vehicles with at least 40 complaints, highest first. 50% of those vehicles scored lower. Full 2016 ranking.

Components cited in complaints

Visibility/WiperVisibility/Wiper: 42 complaints (23.5%)42 23%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 37 complaints (20.7%)37 21%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 26 complaints (14.5%)26 15%Service BrakesService Brakes: 23 complaints (12.8%)23 13%EngineEngine: 19 complaints (10.6%)19 11%Vehicle Speed ControlVehicle Speed Control: 17 complaints (9.5%)17 9%Power TrainPower Train: 15 complaints (8.4%)15 8%StructureStructure: 12 complaints (6.7%)12 7%
A single complaint can cite more than one component, so shares total over 100%.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
VISIBILITY/WIPER4223.5%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER3720.7%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM2614.5%
SERVICE BRAKES2312.8%
ENGINE1910.6%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL179.5%
POWER TRAIN158.4%
STRUCTURE126.7%

Complaints filed per year

022452016: 272017: 452018: 312019: 122020: 192021: 112022: 92023: 52024: 112025: 62026: 3 (partial year)161745181920212223242526
Complaints by the calendar year they were filed. The hatched bar is the current year to date.
YearComplaints
201627
201745
201831
201912
202019
202111
20229
20235
202411
20256
2026 (year to date)3
Filings in 2023 to 2025 ran 0.6x those in 2020 to 2022 (22 against 39).

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
17V65800018/10/2017HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM: INVERTERToyota 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.
18V57900005/09/2018ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRINGToyota 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
16V67200016/09/2016AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULEToyota 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
18V08500031/01/2018AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOWToyota 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 sensor
16V74100014/10/2016PARKING BRAKEToyota 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 diseng

Other Toyota Prius model years

Severity index for every other model year on file. Compare all 13 years side by side.

Source. NHTSA public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports. Totals vary with units sold and years on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.