2016 Toyota Prius: owner complaints and recalls
Analysis of 179 owner complaints filed with NHTSA and 5 recall campaigns. Updated 2026-07-25.
179
Complaints
5
Recalls
13
Crash reports
0
Fire reports
8
Injuries
64.8
Severity index
Severity index 64.8 - Medium. This weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints; see methodology.
Among the 140 2016 vehicles we track with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2016 Toyota Prius ranks 70 of 140 by severity, where 1 is the worst. Its severity is higher than 50% of its model-year peers. See the full 2016 ranking.
What actually fails
| Component | Complaints | Share of complaints citing it |
|---|---|---|
| VISIBILITY/WIPER | 42 | 23.5% |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 37 | 20.7% |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 26 | 14.5% |
| SERVICE BRAKES | 23 | 12.8% |
| ENGINE | 19 | 10.6% |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 17 | 9.5% |
| POWER TRAIN | 15 | 8.4% |
| STRUCTURE | 12 | 6.7% |
The single most-reported system is VISIBILITY/WIPER, cited in 42 of 179 complaints (23.5%). One complaint can name several systems, so these shares overlap and do not total 100%.
Complaints filed per year
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 27 |
| 2017 | 45 |
| 2018 | 31 |
| 2019 | 12 |
| 2020 | 19 |
| 2021 | 11 |
| 2022 | 9 |
| 2023 | 5 |
| 2024 | 11 |
| 2025 | 6 |
| 2026 (year to date) | 3 |
Complaint volume is declining, consistent with a defect that was addressed by recall or that affected early builds.
Recall campaigns
| Campaign | Reported | Component | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17V658000 | 18/10/2017 | 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. |
| 18V579000 | 05/09/2018 | 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 |
| 16V672000 | 16/09/2016 | 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 |
| 18V085000 | 31/01/2018 | 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 sensor |
| 16V741000 | 14/10/2016 | 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 diseng |
Source. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports; volume is influenced by how many units were sold and how long the vehicle has been on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.