2016 Toyota Tacoma
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Power train is the leading concern among 323 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 10th highest complaint count among 26 Tacoma model years with reports.
Of the 2016 reports, 4 involved a crash and 4 involved a fire. 1 person was injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Structure, body, hood, hinge and attachmentsJul 3, 2017
Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain 2011-2016 Toyota Tacoma and 4Runner vehicles equipped with accessory hood scoops installed by SET or SET dealers. The adhesive attaching the hood scoop may weaken, allowing the hood scoop to detach from the vehicle.
If the hood scoop detaches, it may become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.
SET will notify owners, and dealers will mechanically fasten the scoop to the hood, free of charge. The recall began on September 1, 2017. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-954-429-2000. SET's number for this recall is SET17B.
Campaign 17V425000 on NHTSA.gov
EngineJun 1, 2017
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2016-2017 Tacoma vehicles equipped with a six-cylinder engine. The affected vehicles have a crank position sensor that may malfunction, potentially resulting in an engine stall.
An engine stall may increase the risk of a crash.
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the crank position sensor with an improved design, free of charge. The recall began July 26, 2017. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is H0H.
Campaign 17V356000 on NHTSA.gov
Power train, driveline, differential unitApr 27, 2017
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2016-2017 Tacoma vehicles. Oil may leak from the area where the rear differential carrier is assembled to rear axle housing.
If the vehicle is operated with an insufficient amount of oil in the rear differential, the differential may seize and cause a loss of control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the rear differential for oil leakage. Based on the inspection, dealers will either tightening the fastening nuts or replace the fastening nuts and gasket. If the rear differential components are damaged, the rear differential carrier assembly will be replaced. The repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall June 19, 2017. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is H0G.
Campaign 17V285000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bags, knee bolsterOct 14, 2015
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2016 Tacoma trucks manufactured August 20, 2015, to September 10, 2015. In the affected vehicles, incorrect bolts were used to install the driver's knee air bag module.
The incorrect bolts may loosen over time and affect the performance of the driver's knee air bag, increasing the risk of driver injury during a crash that necessitates deployment of the air bags.
Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will install the correct driver's knee air bag module mounting bolts, free of charge. The recall began on November 19, 2015. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is F0T.
Campaign 15V656000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints
323 reports, newest first.
Structure, Other or unspecified, Sep 15, 2022
2016 TOYOTA TACOMA. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO PAINT ON THE ROOF OF VEHICLE BEING DISENTEGRATED. THE CONSUMER STATED THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED, BUT DECLINED ANY ASSISTANCE.
Electrical system, Sep 1, 2022
System Failure lost all directional and hazard lights on this vehicle . With no directional signals can cause a serious accident. vehicle is at dealership. component has not been inspected by the manufacture . No warning just stop working. This vehicle has no separate Flasher relay. Toyota did not honor the last request to fix a electrical issue. should be a recall for this issue as other Toyota Tacoma owners had the same issue
Other or unspecified, Jul 22, 2022
This tailgates passenger side rear hinge and bushing. Failed to hold integrity. My 4-year-old attempted to help me and load my truck up with some camping gear. He pulled the handle like he has before to drop the tailgate. The tailgate has a soft dampener built into it. This time the tailgate came of. I'm glad I was within arm's distance of him. I was able to grab the tailgate before it hit or perhaps could have crushed him. This could have Caused severe bodily injury or death. They were absolutely no warning signs before the situation happened. Upon further investigation you can find the right passenger bushing in multiple different pieces. Not sure what caused the failure in this part. But if I wasn't close by it could have seriously injured my child. And I suppose if the tailgate wasn't properly latched driving down the highway the tailgate could have come off also causing a large accident.
Air bags, Jul 18, 2022, crash
I was involved in an accident and the airbags on my 2016 Toyota Tacoma did not deploy.
Exterior lighting, Jul 8, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated that while driving, the driver’s side fog light housing melted. There was an abnormal odor of smoke. There were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 143,749.
Power train, Engine, Jul 7, 2022
Vehicle pulls or skips a gears when driving
Power train, Vehicle speed control, May 20, 2022
I brought my truck into Miller Toyota of Anaheim due to a violent shuddering and acceleration at about 40 to 50 mph. This could have caused driver to lose control and injure themselves, passengers, and other drivers on the road. Dealership diagnosed the problem as a bad torque converter in the transmission and said it would cost about $3200.00 to repair. Couldn't afford that so I took vehicle to an independent repair shop and they notified me that there was a Toyota Service Bulletin that addressed this concern and that they would have to do a complete reprogramming update of Transmission Control Module. I haven't had any issues since this was done but the dealership should have been aware of this problem which could be potentially fatal. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms prior to this failure or during the failure.
Electrical system, Seats, Apr 6, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated that while attempting to activate the seat warmer, he noticed that the seat warmer was inoperable. The contact researched and read that the module underneath the seat could potentially burn causing the seat warmer not to operate as designed. The contact stated that it was a common failure. The contact stated that he then looked at the module in his vehicle and saw that it was melted. The contact had not noticed any smoke or a burning odor. The dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 45,000.
Engine, Mar 5, 2022
There is a known factory defect on a robotic seal around the engine block, in which the robot misses a half inch piece of the engine block, causing oil seepage and leaking of engine oil. The problem is on dozens of Toyota forums and I have also consulted with two different dealerships that have verified this. The 4 cylinder engines in the Tacoma have already been recalled for this issue but they are offering no reimbursement or recall on the 6 cylinder engines. The engine begins leaking oil early in it its life as mine has been. An engine should not fail at 20k 30k or 80k miles due to a factory defect. Toyota should be offering a fix for this issue as it will significantly cut the life of rhe engine. This can cause engine fire and various other safety issues in these trucks if enough engine oil leaks down into a hot engine.
Exterior lighting, Feb 28, 2022
We paid $638.42 to repair a leak issue which later became a recall. We we are now having difficulty getting Toyota to reimbursement that money.
Electrical system, Seats, Jan 30, 2022
The driver's side seat heating element failed due to a defective seat heater amp. When independently researching the failure, which could have simply been an unconnected wire, I discovered the amp and wiring had an electrical seizure and the wiring had burned the amp. The heating amp sits underneath the seat and with the right conditions could cause the seat to catch fire. The issue has been reported to Toyota corporate.
Suspension, Power train, Engine, Jan 27, 2022
I have three signifcant issues with my Tacoma: 1. A few months after purchasing my Tacoma in 2016 Toyota (no accidents to date & 95% highway driving) and one outside alignment shop had never been able to get the truck aligned properly so it would never keep its alignment more than 3-4 months; repeated visits to Toyota maintence for alignment over the years became as routine as an oil change, sometimes more frequently; the unaligned suspension constantly was causing unsafe handling and unintentional swerving. 2. Toyota missed, and maybe purposefully, identifying major engine, transfer case, and transmission leaks during regular and routine serivces (always serviced at Toyota dealerships) until my mileage exceeded 60,000 miles. Then when I asked the dealership to recheck a recent transfer case refresh because I saw leaks, I needed and got over $3,000 in repairs e.g. power steering pump, front and rear seals, differential gasket-- it was terrible. Toyota did give a good will reimbursment of $1,400. 3. Now ~6 months later and still under 80,000 miles, I just spent $4,100 for repairs on more engine leaks; Toyota will not tell me if my vehicle is safe to drive, tells me the truck is ourside its warranty period (as it was last year), and refuses any goodwill adjustment. Is this 2016 Toyota Tacoma TRD a lemon?
Electrical system, Jan 20, 2022
REAR POWER WINDOW RATTLES WHEN IN DOWN POSITION. MOST NOTABLE WHEN CLOSING DOOR, SOUNDS LIKE SOME HAS COME LOOSE!
Vehicle speed control, Engine, Nov 29, 2021
On 11-27-2021 I lost all power while on a highway. I would lose power even with my foot all the way down the rpm would not rise at all. The power would come back adruptly and throw me back into my seat. The trac off and check engine light came on. My truck seemed like it was gonna stall and had a really low and rough idle. It was only about 0-500 rpm at idle and truck was shaking bad because of the engine. After getting towed home I tested the battery and alternator and those were fine. I believe it is the crankshaft position sensor. I have read that this has happened to man other people with the same truck as mine. There was a recall for the cps but for some reason my truck was not included.
Electrical system, Seats, Oct 21, 2021, fire
The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated while driving at 60 MPH, the contact noticed their front driver seat warmer stop operating and started smelling an electrical burning. The contact continued to drive to their residence where at that time the contact inspected the vehicle and noticed the seat heater amp connection wiring was burned out. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 63,404.
Structure, Oct 18, 2021
I own a second hand Toyota Tacoma TRD 4x4 v6 2016. Is leaking water by the plastic welding on each side of the roof. The water runs along both sides of the inner roof and then drops by the front lateral bars, between metal and the plastic cover, until reach the carpet.
Electrical system, Oct 6, 2021
Driver side Heated seat connector has evidence of burning. Seat not working.
Steering, Oct 3, 2021
During routine maintenance at a independent shop, the driver side power steering rack boot was found to be leaking. I was informed by a former Lexus master technician that this was a problem with some of the similar Lexus models previously. The vehicle currently had 47,xxx miles which seems very low for a power steering failure. I can provide images of the leak as needed and the vehicle has not been repaired as of this filing.
Power train, Jun 10, 2021
After starting the truck and idling for any length of time, I place my foot on the brake and shift into Reverse or Drive. The truck almost leaps if I don't keep my foot on the brake. There is a noticeable pause many times, so it seems to be electronically controlled transmission. I have read that dealerships can Flash the ECU module and it will resolve it, but I do not have any "unresolved recalls" at this time.
Power train, Electrical system, Jun 2, 2021
Vehicle has been jerking itself while driving at both low speeds and high speeds. Had taken it to the dealership Sept.2020 in order to get the ECU/PCM reflashed/updated to resolve issue; issue persists. Now, at highway speeds, 80% of the time it will be jerking itself, as off being momentarily shut off and on. Caused my rear end to fish tail on highway.
Seats, Other or unspecified, May 4, 2021
3RD GENERATION (2016+) TOYOTA TACOMA'S HAVE A KNOWN TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN REGARDING LEAKING OF THE 3RD BRAKE LIGHT. DURING RAINFALL AND DRIVING THROUGH A CARWASH, WATER WILL LEAK INTO THE DRIVERS COMPARTMENT RESULTING IN WATER DAMAGE AND POTENTIAL FOR MOLD AND MILDEW. A QUICK INTERNET SEARCH WILL RESULT IN THOUSANDS OF OWNERS REPORTING THIS ISSUE. TOYOTA REFUSES TO COVER THIS ISSUE IF YOU ARE OUTSIDE OF THEIR WARRANTY PERIOD, WHICH CAN RESULT IN $1000+ LABOR BILL TO REPLACE A FAULTY GASKET. SEEING AS THIS IS A POTENTIAL HEALTH RISK TO OWNERS, THIS SHOULD BE A MANDATORY RECALL TO REPLACE FOR OWNERS OUTSIDE OF THE WARRANTY PERIOD.
Power train, Mar 7, 2021
VEHICLE HESITATES FROM PARK TO DRIVE AND SLOWING TO TURN OR GOING UPHILL EVEN ON SPEEDS UP TO 50MPH
Exterior lighting, Air bags, Mar 4, 2021
I BOUGHT THE VEHICLE AND REALIZED WHEN I WAS SOLD THE VEHICLE THE PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF INDICATOR WAS ON BUT I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A QUICK CONNECTION ERROR. THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE HEADLIGHT IS VERY DIM AND DOES NOT ILLUMINATE WELL. I CONTACTED CROWN DODGE OF FAYETTEVILLE AND THEY TOLD ME THEY CAN'T DO ANYTHING. THIS WAS A LITTLE OVER A MONTH AFTER BECAUSE LIFE HAPPENS AND I WORK WITH THE MILITARY. I DON'T HAVE A REGULAR SCHEDULE. I DO HAVE A WARRANTY BUT I'M NOT USING MY WARRANTY TO COVER SOMETHING THEY SHOULD FIX. WHEN I CALLED TO TALK TO A SALES MANAGER NO ONE WOULD ANSWER IT RANG AND RANG. THE COMPUTER ON THE VEHICLE WILL SHOW THE AIR BAG SENSOR AT LEAST.
Electrical system, Mar 1, 2021
IN THE MIDDLE OF FEB 2021 THE DRIVER'S SIDE (FACTORY) SEAT HEATER STOPPED HEATING. THE SEAT HEATER BUTTON STILL OPERATED NORMALLY WITH REGARD TO LIGHTS, ETC. I REMOVED THE SEAT AND DISCOVERED THAT THE CONNECTOR BETWEEN THE SEAT HEATER WIRING HARNESS AND THE SEAT HEATER AMPLIFIER HAD ELECTRICALLY ARCED (RED WIRE) AND MELTED THE CONNECTOR TOGETHER. (NOTE: THE PASSENGER SIDE HEATER IS UNAFFECTED. ALSO NOTE: THE FUSE FOR THIS CIRCUIT DID NOT BURN UP AS IT SHOULD HAVE WHEN THE CURRENT SURGED CAUSING THE MELTED CONNECTOR.) UPON DOING RESEARCH THIS IS APPARENTLY NOT AN UNHEARD OF PROBLEM ON THIS YEAR/MODEL TACOMA. I HAVE UPLOADED PHOTOS. THERE ARE THREE ISSUES HERE: 1) A CLEAR DESIGN FLAW, 2) THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE, IT COULD HAVE CAUSED A FIRE, AND 3) IT LIKELY AFFECTS THE ENTIRE FLEET OF TACOMAS IN THIS YEAR RANGE. MY BELIEF IS THAT THIS RISES TO THE LEVEL OF A RECALL AND HAVE TALKED TO BOTH THE DEALER AND CORPORATE ABOUT IT. TOYOTA HAS AGREED TO PAY HALF THE COST OF REPAIRS, AND I HAVE AGREED TO THIS, (ALTHOUGH THEY ALSO CLAIM TO HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THIS PROBLEM BEFORE). TOYOTA CASE #: 2103011304
Exterior lighting, Feb 19, 2021
THE 3RD BRAKE LIGHT BECOMES LOOSE ALLOWING WATER INTO THE TRUCK CAB. IT IS EITHER A RUBBER GASKET DEFECT OR IT WAS NOT PROPERLY INSTALLED AT THE FACTORY. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN NOTED IN NUMEROUS VENUES FOR THE 2016-2020 MODEL YEARS OF THE TOYOTA TACOMA. MINE LEAKS WHILE DRIVING OR STANDING STILL.