The 2016 Toyota Prius has 5 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 340,427 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 215 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the visibility/wiper. Last updated July 5, 2026.
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.
Consequence
An electrical short can increase the risk of a fire.
Remedy
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…
AIR BAGS18V0850002018-01-3148,672 affected
Defect
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…
Consequence
If the air bags fail to deploy in a crash, it can increase the risk of injury.
Remedy
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.
Consequence
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.
Remedy
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.
PARKING BRAKE16V7410002016-10-1491,585 affected
Defect
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.
Consequence
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.
Remedy
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.
AIR BAGS16V6720002016-09-167,817 affected
Defect
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.
Consequence
A front passenger air bag that unintentionally inflates can increase the risk of a crash or injury.
Remedy
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.
Complaints by component
VISIBILITY/WIPER
40
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
30
SERVICE BRAKES
18
1crashes2injuries
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
17
ENGINE
17
POWER TRAIN
14
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
12
3crashes
STRUCTURE:BODY
10
AIR BAGS
7
4crashes3injuries
TIRES
6
Total complaints215
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“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 placeâ€�, “see owner's manual", "braking power low - visit the dealer", and "abs…”
“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 placeâ€�, “see owner's manual", "braking power low - visit the dealer", and "abs…”
“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").”
“Found coolant leak from heat exchanger into exhaust pipe. Looks like, t-sb-0135-19.”
“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…”
“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…”
“Refer to tsb 0135-19 dealer denied repairing under the california emissions defect and performance warranty.”
Defect investigations
InvestigationDP22005 Opened 2023-01-27 · closed 2023-08-07
Pedestrian alert sounds
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…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2016 Toyota Prius as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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