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2016 Toyota Prius

Hybrid
Midsize Cars
2 EPA-rated configurations
Data refreshed 2026-09-11
F
Safety Signal
53 / 100 from the NHTSA recall record
Recalls1 critical5
Complaintsowner reports to NHTSA154
Crash ratingNHTSA overall5★
Fuel economybest combined, EPA56 mpg
202720262025202420232022202120202019201820172016

The 2016 Toyota Prius is sold in the U.S. as a hybrid midsize car with 2 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Prius Eco, is EPA-rated at 56 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 5 recall campaigns for this model year, 1 rated critical, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of F. Owners have filed 154 complaints, most often about the visibility/wiper. NHTSA crash-tested it at 5 stars overall.

Specs & fuel economy

Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov
ConfigurationPowertrainDriveEngine / motorCityHwyCombAnnual fuel*
Prius EcoHybridFWD1.8L 4-cyl + 207V Li-Ion585356$1,100
PriusHybridFWD1.8L 4-cyl + 202V Ni-MH545052$1,200

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 37164, 37163.

Factory warranty running out?

The 2016 Toyota Prius is in the years where transmission, electronics and drivetrain repairs land on the owner. Compare extended-coverage quotes in about two minutes.

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Recalls (5)

Source: NHTSA recall database
!critical

Electrical System

J0T
192,347 vehicles
ProblemToyota 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.RiskAn electrical short can increase the risk of a fire.FixToyota 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.
NHTSA campaign 18V579000reported Sep 5, 2018Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing
▲high

Air Bags

JLA, J0F
48,672 vehicles
ProblemToyota 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.RiskIf the air bags fail to deploy in a crash, it can increase the risk of injury.FixToyota 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.
NHTSA campaign 18V085000reported Jan 31, 2018Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing
▲high

Hybrid Propulsion System

H0U
6 vehicles
ProblemToyota 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.RiskIf 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.FixToyota 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.
NHTSA campaign 17V658000reported Oct 18, 2017Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing
▲high

Parking Brake

G01
91,585 vehicles
ProblemToyota 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.RiskIf 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.FixToyota 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.
NHTSA campaign 16V741000reported Oct 14, 2016Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing
▲high

Air Bags

G0W
7,817 vehicles
ProblemToyota 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.RiskA front passenger air bag that unintentionally inflates can increase the risk of a crash or injury.FixToyota 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.
NHTSA campaign 16V672000reported Sep 16, 2016Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing

NHTSA defect investigations

Electrical System:Propulsion System — Pedestrian alert sounds closed

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 matt

Opened Jan 27, 2023 · closed Aug 7, 2023 · action DP22005

Owner complaints

Source: NHTSA complaint database
154complaints filed

8 involved a crash · 0 a fire · 6 injuries · 0 deaths reported

Filed per year: 2016: 24 · 2017: 40 · 2018: 29 · 2019: 9 · 2020: 17 · 2021: 9 · 2022: 7 · 2023: 4 · 2024: 7 · 2025: 5 · 2026: 3

Most-cited components

Visibility/Wiper40
Unspecified30
Electrical System20
Service Brakes18
Engine17
Power Train14

What owners describe

“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.”Jun 5, 2024 · Structure · NHTSA owner report
“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 …”May 1, 2024 · Structure · NHTSA owner report
“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.”Apr 24, 2024 · Service Brakes · NHTSA owner report

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Crash ratings

Source: NHTSA NCAP
ConfigurationOverallFrontalSideRolloverRollover risk
5 HB FWD★★★★★★★★★☆★★★★★★★★★☆11%

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program.

Other Prius model years

A

2027 Toyota Prius

0 recalls · 0 complaints

A

2026 Toyota Prius

1 recalls · 9 complaints

A

2025 Toyota Prius

2 recalls · 18 complaints

B

2024 Toyota Prius

4 recalls · 23 complaints

B

2023 Toyota Prius

4 recalls · 19 complaints

A

2022 Toyota Prius

1 recalls · 24 complaints

A

2021 Toyota Prius

0 recalls · 6 complaints

A

2020 Toyota Prius

0 recalls · 14 complaints

B

2019 Toyota Prius

3 recalls · 30 complaints

B

2018 Toyota Prius

1 recalls · 37 complaints

D

2017 Toyota Prius

3 recalls · 91 complaints

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

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