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6.5

fairly significant
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
10,638 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2016 Toyota Tacoma drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2016 Toyota Tacoma Owner Comments (Page 1 of 7)

problem #132

Sep 142024

Tacoma

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I purchased the vehicle new and noticed right away that the transmisson would clunk right away when I put it into gear[ it's an automatic]. I asked the dealership about it and they said it was normal and no issues. Now I'm [XXX] and have owned many cars so.... Anyway, over the years I've asked several times and they say no issue. Now, just this morning, my wife found an article about the issue and Toyota is finally admitting there IS an issue. What can I do? INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Englewood, FL, USA

problem #131

Dec 062023

Tacoma

  • miles
AT shifter was stiff from purchase. I thought this was normal. Sometimes it shifted OK, most times not. Had independent repair shops lubricate the shifter multiple times to no avail. Then the shifter wouldn't move at all and I was in a traffic lane causing a dangerous situation. Had truck towed to an independent repair shop that found a second way to lubricate the shaft. Curious how many trucks left the factory without AT shaft lubricated.

- Mustoe, VA, USA

problem #130

Jun 262023

Tacoma

  • miles
My 2016 Toyota Tacoma has had multiple oil leaks in the timing cover. The dealer has already fixed this issue twice and the timing cover is currently leaking oil. This leak is expensive to fix because it involves removing the engine and the transmission to properly seal the timing cover. This is a know defect that poses a serious safety concern as the oil leak may go from a small leak to a large leak quickly, causing the engine to fail. Additionally the air pressure from driving can cause the oil to end up everywhere which can lead other components to degrade and fail. Because the fix is so complex, the process to remove and reinstall the engine and transmission may result in other mistakes. During one of the attempts to fix the issue, the dealer forgot to replace an engine bolt and forgot to hook up a vent hose. The cost to fix this issue is so high that it makes it too expensive for many to fix.

- Brooksville , FL, USA

problem #129

Oct 012022

Tacoma

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Timing chain cover is leaving oil.

- New Cumberland, PA, USA

problem #128

Sep 202022

Tacoma 6-cyl

  • miles
Vehicle made a loud bang from the rear of the vehicle, then started to slow down slightly without brakes applied. And then suddenly within a few more feet the Rear wheels locked up without brakes applied. Traveling at between 35- 45mph the vehicle skidded causing vehicles behind me to also skid to avoid hitting me. Truck would not move from this position, I was stuck in the lane without a shoulder to move close to. I was shaken pretty bad, out of fear I popped the truck into reverse and the rear of the truck made a loud bang or loud pop noise. It wouldn-??t move back so I put it back in drive and it made another bang noise and started to roll forward with a lot of resistance. There was no safe place to park, I was close to home so I continued home driving very slow with my hazard lights on. Please help. I towed the truck to Servco Kauai Toyota 9-23-2022, they did not look at the truck until 10-20-2022 almost a month it sat at the Toyota. I went home and checked online to see if anyone had the same problem and found Tech. Bulletins and a Recall for this problem, I did not receive a letter for this recall. I had no idea there was even a Recall. Service advisor [XXX] and Service Manager [XXX]told me my vehicle does not fall into the criteria of this recall. Service Manager [XXX] said they are not part of Servco and this dealership would not perform this recall because it is a maintenance issue ( What ?) Please help. I towed My truck home, I m trying to sell my truck as is because the dealership gave me a quote of over $7000 to fix this problem. No one wants to buy my truck in this condition. Aloha [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Kalaheo, HI, USA

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problem #127

Jul 032022

Tacoma

  • miles
Vehicle pulls or skips a gears when driving

- Ontario, CA, USA

problem #126

Apr 212022

Tacoma

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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 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.

- Anaheim, CA, USA

problem #125

Jan 192022

Tacoma

  • miles
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?

- Rio Rancho, NM, USA

problem #124

Jun 092021

Tacoma

  • miles
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.

- Taylors, SC, USA

problem #123

Jun 022021

Tacoma

  • miles
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.

- Carrollton, TX, USA

problem #122

Feb 152021

Tacoma

  • 84,700 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Vehicle hesitates from park to drive and slowing to turn or going uphill even on speeds up to 50mph

- Tewksbury, MA, USA

problem #121

Jan 162021

Tacoma

  • 100,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start-up immediately while attempting to start the vehicle. Several attempts were needed for the vehicle to start-up. The failure recurred five times within three days. The vehicle was not taken to an independent mechanic nor a dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.

- Seatle, WA, USA

problem #120

May 282020

Tacoma 6-cyl

  • 28,500 miles
After driving at highway speeds for an extended period of time, the manual transmission gets stuck in gear and requires much more force than usual to put the gearbox into neutral.

- North Bend, WA, USA

problem #119

Apr 182020

Tacoma

  • 120,700 miles
Off-roading, restarted vehicle after a stop. Check engine light came on as well as trac off illuminated. Tried to drive forward and truck stalled and message said high transmission temp. Goggled issue to discover a recall for crank position sensor failure. Looked up my VIN and I don't have that recall although I have the stated year and model. Had this happened while driving on road it could have caused an accident.

- Pioneertown, CA, USA

problem #118

Feb 272020

Tacoma

  • 59,900 miles
Transmission slips when shifted from park to drive or reverse to drive. Has a 1-3 second delay. In addition this slip motion created a loud gear cranking noise as I tried to accelerate on a U-turn. The truck did not move or shift despite hearing the engine accelerate accompanied by the metallic gear-like grind sound. Sound very similar to a stick car when you try to engage a shift without the clutch (but my truck is 2016 automatic trd-sport). Lastly, when taking speed bumps or hard shifting motion (up-down) you can hear the suspensions make a loud clank noise as the truck shifts in the speed bump motion.

- Quebradillas, PR, USA

problem #117

Mar 022016

Tacoma

  • 40,400 miles
Car hesitates when needing to accelerate rapidly. While slowing down the car feels like it is pushing, not down shifting fast enough. The differential bang at time when coming to a stop, it seems like it is not disengaging. I think there is a programming issue that Toyota is not admitting to. I also heard that there is a blower issue. The transmission disengages at different speeds when you go to accelerate then don't and then do. Car goes into neurtal hunting for a gear

- Hauppauge, NY, USA

problem #116

Aug 222019

Tacoma

  • 67,000 miles
Transmition sleep also push gas pedal and go down speed and jump aster acelerate and delay went I star 1rs gear not move after few seconds motor make wear noises like noking only have 67000 miles suspention is bad Sep on curves and turn at 25 mikes pre hours so bad scarry back part is moving so bad and pull me out the road and I see the on other Tacoma same 2016

- Farmingdale, NY, USA

problem #115

Jul 112019

Tacoma

  • 55,000 miles
Bsm sensors stop working and after few back to work week latter stop work and dealers can not found the reasin to fail 3 times on dealers still not found the problem and say only Toyota have the solution to aprobe a recall for these issue

- Farmingdale, NY, USA

problem #114

Dec 182018

Tacoma

  • 24,500 miles
Transmission shakes vehicle in lower gears when slowing down to a stop. Transmission hesitates and hard jerks when shifting from reverse to drive.

- Florence, SC, USA

problem #113

Dec 212018

Tacoma

  • 68,000 miles
While driving in city my truck shakes and vibrating horribly when going into 2nd gear. And continues to shake lightly as I continue driving. Dealer says nothing is wrong with the truck could be a tire issue. So got my tires balanced and rotated. Problem still resumes. And still no answer as to what the issue is. I have only 69,276 miles on the truck but it's out of warranty apparently. On highway driving the problem is less noticeable but causes no power to climb hills or pass other motorist.

- Crossville, TN, USA

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