There are 50 owner-reported powertrain & transmission complaints for the 2016 Toyota Tacomain NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
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)
2016 Toyota Tacoma is known to have an issue with the timing cover leaking oil. This is a Fire Hazard: Oil leaking onto hot engine components can vaporize and ignite, posing a fire risk to the vehicle and surrounding areas and can cause environmental pollution.
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.
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.
Timing chain cover is leaving oil.
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).
Vehicle pulls or skips a gears when driving
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.
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.
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.
VEHICLE HESITATES FROM PARK TO DRIVE AND SLOWING TO TURN OR GOING UPHILL EVEN ON SPEEDS UP TO 50MPH
TL* 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.
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. *TR
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.
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
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.
TRANSMISSION SHAKES VEHICLE IN LOWER GEARS WHEN SLOWING DOWN TO A STOP. TRANSMISSION HESITATES AND HARD JERKS WHEN SHIFTING FROM REVERSE TO DRIVE .
ON LONG TRIPS WHERE THE VEHICLE IS DRIVEN FOR SEVERAL MILES IN ONE GEAR IT IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO PULL IT OUT OF 4TH, 5TH OR 6TH GEAR IN ORDER TO CHANGE GEARS. THIS RESULTED IN DANGEROUS SPEED CONTROL ISSUES (BOTH TOO FAST AND TOO SLOW FOR TRAFFIC) WHILE DRIVING ON MOUNTAINOUS HIGHWAYS. THE PROBLEM AND ITS REPAIR ARE EXACTLY DESCRIBED ON TOYOTA SERVICE BULLETIN TSB-0088-16. IN MY OPINION THE BULLETIN SHOULD BE ESCALATED TO A RECALL BECAUSE OF THE SAFETY CONCERNS. THE PROBLEM IS REPEATABLE BUT DIFFICULT TO DEMONSTRATE TO A TECHNICIAN BECAUSE IT REQUIRES A LONG DRIVE TIME AND UNDER CERTAIN TERRAIN AND/OR DRIVING CONDITIONS.
MY CAR 2016 TOYOTA TACOMA HAS REBUILT TITLE AND VOIDS THE POWER TRAIN WARRANTY. TOYOTA CORP HAS TSB 0077-16 SHIFT FEELING ENHANCEMENTS FOR THE TRANSMISSION DUE TO: DELAYED ENGAGEMENT PARK TO DRIVE OR REVERSE TO DRIVE. HARSH 1ST - 2ND UPSHIFT. DELAYED UPSHIFT WHEN USING CRUISE CONTROL. I EXPERIENCE HARSH UP SHIFT AND DOWNSHIFT IN THE TRANSMISSION WHILE DRIVING. IT NEEDS SIMPLE SOFTWARE UPDATE, BUT THE TOYOTA COP DECLINED THIS UPDATE FOR MY VEHICLE (CASE# 1808271028 ON 08/28/2018) IF THE PROBLEM PERSISTS IT MAY MAKE TRANSMISSION UNCONTROLLABLE ORE DELAYED AND VEHICLE MAY GET INTO THE ACCIDENT. WE HAVE ONE SCHOOLED BOY AND INFANT GIRL. I WANT TO INFORM ABOUT THE ISSUE SO THAT ALL VEHICLES WITH THE SAME PROBLEM AND BRANDED TITLES ARE TO BE CORRECTED BY TOYOTA CORP AT NO EXPENSE TO THE OWNERS. I WILL ATTACH THE TSB TOYOTA DOCUMENT THAT EXPLAINS WHAT IS THE PROBLEM
THE REAR DIFFERENTIAL IS MISALIGNED AND THE CURRENT SOLUTION DOESN'T RESOLVE THE NOISE. I'M AFRAID EXCESSIVE WEAR IS HAPPENING AND ISSUE WILL ARISE MUCH SOONER
Showing 1–20 of 50 complaints
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026