Toyota · Corolla · 2016
2016 Toyota Corolla: problems & reliability
NHTSA has logged 215 owner complaints and 1 safety recall for the 2016 Toyota Corolla. The most-reported problem area is the airbags (30% of complaints), followed by brakes and seat belts. Make sure every open recall has been fixed by a dealer before you buy.
Common 2016 Toyota Corolla problems
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Airbags problems
65 owner complaints to NHTSA (30% of all complaints for this model year) involve the airbags, including 45 crashes, 1 fire, 47 injuries. One owner reported: “This is a report of brake failure that caused a vehicle collision with injuries. On october 29, 2016, I rented a 2016 toyota corolla from a betterway rent-acar, inc. D/ba budget rent a car of atlanta, at 6509 roswell rd, atlanta, ga 30328…”
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Brakes problems
30 owner complaints to NHTSA (14% of all complaints for this model year) involve the brakes, including 13 crashes, 1 fire, 16 injuries. One owner reported: “On june 24th 2016 I purchased a 2016 toyota corolla s. I had 3 minor brake fialures with grinding sounds. I called the dealership on those 3 occasions.the 4th brake failure was a lot worse and I ended up applying the e brake and slide into…”
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Seat belts problems
26 owner complaints to NHTSA (12% of all complaints for this model year) involve the seat belts, including 11 crashes, 11 injuries. One owner reported: “Vehicle was stopped at a traffic light, our toyota was rear ended by a kia whos driver foot slipped off the brake. Our seat belt did not lock and caused my daughter to hit her head on the steering wheel. She was diagnosed with a concussion…”
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Speed control & acceleration problems
22 owner complaints to NHTSA (10% of all complaints for this model year) involve the speed control & acceleration, including 9 crashes, 4 injuries. One owner reported: “The contact owns a 2016 toyota corolla. The contact stated that while depressing the brake pedal upon approaching a stop sign; the vehicle began to accelerate independently without warning. The contact swerved the vehicle to the right to…”
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Steering problems
22 owner complaints to NHTSA (10% of all complaints for this model year) involve the steering, including 5 crashes, 3 injuries. One owner reported: “I have been driving my car since 2016, however since Nov 24, 2023. Incidents that alarm me have happen. I have filed a police report but don't have the funds to get vehicle swept. All of these events occur while I am driving. Passenger…”
Owner complaints by area
| Area | Complaints | Share | Chart |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbags | 65 | 30% | |
| Brakes | 30 | 14% | |
| Seat belts | 26 | 12% | |
| Speed control & acceleration | 22 | 10% | |
| Steering | 22 | 10% | |
| Transmission & powertrain | 22 | 10% | |
| Body & structure | 15 | 7% | |
| Electrical system | 14 | 7% |
215 complaints filed with NHTSA in total, reporting 66 crashes, 2 fires, 57 injuries. A complaint can involve more than one area.
2016 Toyota Corolla recalls
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Air bags › Air bag/restraint control module
Risk: In the event of a crash, air bags and/or seat belt pretensioners that do not deploy as intended may increase the risk of injury.
Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ECU and install a noise filter between the air bag control module and its wire harness, as necessary, free of charge. Owners were notified of the safety risk beginning March 2, 2020. A second letter notifying owners of the remedy repair will be mailed between March 16, 2020 and June 27, 2020. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 20TB03, 20TA03 and 20TA05.
Full recall summary
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2011-2019 Corolla, 2011-2013 Matrix, 2012-2018 Avalon, and 2013-2018 Avalon Hybrid vehicles. During certain crashes, the air bag electronic control unit (ECU) may malfunction, possibly disabling the deployment of the air bags and/or seat belt pretensioners.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. To check whether a specific car’s recalls have been repaired, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
2016 Toyota Corolla crash-test ratings
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings for the 2016 Toyota Corolla 4 DR FWD. Ratings can differ between body styles and drivetrains.
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Specifications
- Drivetrains
- FWD
- Body styles
- 4-door
Other Toyota Corolla years
About this data
Problems, complaint counts, recalls and crash-test ratings come from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) public databases, last checked 2026-11-03. Complaints are reports from owners and have not all been verified by NHTSA.
How we score reliability: every model year starts at 100. Points come off for the number of owner complaints (on a log scale, up to 40 points), for each safety recall (2 points each, up to 15) and for complaints involving crashes, fires, injuries or deaths (up to 15). Popular vehicles get more complaints simply because more are on the road, so compare scores between similar vehicles. More about our method.
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