"How reliable is the 2016 Toyota Prius?"

"Based on 211 NHTSA complaints, the 2016 Toyota Prius has a median complaint mileage of 17658 miles. The most common issue is VISIBILITY/WIPER."

"What are common problems with the 2016 Toyota Prius?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2016 Toyota Prius is VISIBILITY/WIPER, accounting for a significant portion of the 211 total complaints filed."

2016 Toyota Prius: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 211 complaints

211

Total Complaints

17,658mi

Median Mileage

VISIBILITY/WIPER

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

5,986 25th Percentile

17,658 Median Mileage

31,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

ENGINE

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

SERVICE BRAKES

POWER TRAIN

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

STRUCTURE:BODY

AIR BAGS

TIRES

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DRIVER'S HEAD REST POSITIONING IN THE VEHICLE WAS TOO FORWARD MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO DRIVE FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME WITHOUT SEVERE DISCOMFORT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO BE DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED O..."

"THE 2016 PRIUS 4 DOESN'T COME WITH THE ABILITY TO CHANGE MILES TO KILOMETERS UNLESS YOU ARE AWARE THAT IT IS AN OPTION YOU HAVE TO BUY WHICH NEITHER SALESMEN OR TOYOTA TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE IS AWARE OF. I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO FIND ANYONE WHO CAN TELL ME WHETHER THIS OPTION CAN BE ADDED BUT SO FAR IT..."

"THERE IS AN ONGOING ISSUE WITH THE HEAD RESTS ON THIS VEHICLE. THE DEFAULT SETTING IS MUCH TOO FAR FORWARD, CAUSING A FORWARD HEAD AND NECK POSTURE, RESULTING IN HEADACHES, NECK PAIN, ETC., AND MAKE IT VERY UNCOMFORTABLE TO DRIVE, AND DIFFICULT TO CHECK BLIND SPOTS. IT ALSO FORCES THE DRIVER'S HEAD ..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

VISIBILITY/WIPER 40 complaints

25th: 11,250 mi Median: 17,900 mi 75th: 27,135 mi

UNKNOWN OR OTHER 30 complaints

25th: 3,510 mi Median: 9,500 mi 75th: 18,000 mi

ENGINE 17 complaints

25th: 22,000 mi Median: 40,100 mi 75th: 71,000 mi

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 17 complaints

25th: 2,687 mi Median: 17,200 mi 75th: 35,850 mi

SERVICE BRAKES 17 complaints

25th: 1,250 mi Median: 7,193 mi 75th: 17,825 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 77 HI: 12 TX: 12 WA: 11 AZ: 9 MS: 8 IL: 8 GA: 7 VA: 6 MI: 6

Who Files Complaints?

0.9%

Original Owners

99.1%

Second+ Owners

Toyota Prius — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
2001	215	60,824	STEERING	23
2002	201	65,395	STEERING	16
2003	123	75,000	STEERING	5
2004	737	72,436	EXTERIOR LIGHTING	50
2005	1297	78,000	EXTERIOR LIGHTING	133
2006	1687	50,000	EXTERIOR LIGHTING	109
2007	2448	52,000	EXTERIOR LIGHTING	191
2008	1892	55,000	EXTERIOR LIGHTING	214
2009	635	31,500	EXTERIOR LIGHTING	90
2010	3476	7,195	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC	255
2011	651	75,000	SERVICE BRAKES	56
2012	531	40,063	SERVICE BRAKES	75
2013	516	44,000	SERVICE BRAKES	54
2014	265	27,000	SERVICE BRAKES	45
2015	195	24,500	SERVICE BRAKES	50
2017	125	14,000	VISIBILITY/WIPER	20
2018	44	8,600	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	8
2019	51	4,500	SERVICE BRAKES	16
2020	23	14,260	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	13
2022	27	29,800	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	5
2023	20	-	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	2
2024	29	3,000	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	10
2025	22	-	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	3

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28