2016 Toyota PRIUS C - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

"the original windshield has a “rippling distortion” where the windshield has ripple/bubble from defective glass or installation mistakes, making seeing traffic signs or streets very hard. i just bought this vehicle and noticed the problem. it created poor road vision, especially at night. toyota needs to recall and replace all these windshields before it causes more accidents due to poor visibility looking through the glass."

"moments ago, i entered my 2016 toyota prius to find that my windshield had mysteriously cracked while parked over night. the crack was not present when i last drove the car last night. based on some online research for windshield replacement cost, i've learned that toyota was faced with a class action lawsuit regarding 2016-17 toyota prius containing defective windshields; in which these windshields are known to unexpectedly crack while parked or under ordinary driving conditions. furthermore, my toyota prius is equipped with safety features (such as pre-collision system, lane departure alert with steering assist, automatic high beams and full-speed dynamic radar cruise control) that require a front camera to function properly. the cracked windshield now interferes with the camera's visibility, line of sight and perceived orientation, thus causing me to feel unsafe while driving the vehicle. i am filing this compliant because i am now faced with not only an unsafe vehicle to operate, but also the cost to fix a windshield that is known to be defective from toyota."

"2016 prius sitting in the driveway during a relatively hot day (~95 f temperature), appears to have a big crack. i looked it up and apparently toyota is undergoing a class action lawsuit over the same issue. no outside damage to the windshield, the driver side window was down for the reason of the heat. shame that this happened. hopefully someone from the authority can help with this."

"for the second time in my ownership of this toyota 2016 prius, the windshield has cracked considerably due to tiny road debris making contact with it. i was driving along the highway when a small pebble from the road made contact with my windshield causing a crack which has grown in size and has snaked along my windshield considerably since the crack occurred earlier this week (7/13/2020). the total replacement of the windshield along with the calibration of the equipped ads camera system is very expensive, especially considering that this will be the second time that i must replace and re-calibrate. although i would prefer to use a toyota dealership, it would be very difficult for me to do so as the estimated cost is over $1k. with the current state of global affairs, no glass repair companies in my vicinity offer any oem windshields and they are heavily inundated with clients so the earliest that i could get a replacement service would be at the end of this month. i fear that the crack may fully spread across the windshield and that the integrity of the windshield may give. as a healthcare worker, i cannot afford to not use my vehicle."

"i have a 2016 prius with approximately 20,000 miles that was pursued new from the dealership in nov 2016. at around 10:30am, i was two blocks from home, driving on a residential street (25mph) and decelerated to approx 10mph as i approached a red stoplight at the oncoming intersection. cross traffic was moving but there were no other cars in the lanes left or right of me and/or approaching my car. i heard a very faint click/popping sound coming from the upper right upside of the windshield and immediately pulled over to examine the glass. i found a very small star shaped ding, less than a millimetre wide about 3-4 inches from the top right of the windshield. i then called my insurance agent who stated a small ding like that could definitely be fixed by a glass shop and would be covered in full by allstate. i decided to just go back home and look online for somewhere nearby i could take in my car. i drove back, parked my car back into my underground temperature controlled space. i wasn't able to get a same day appointment so stayed in until 5:30pm when i left to go to dinner. i was shocked to see that the small ding was now a large diagonal crack from the upper left corner, to just past midpoint of the windshield. because of the crack, the windshield can not be fixed. i was told that replacement and recalibration will cost approx just under $1000, which i will end up paying out of pocket because my insurance deductible is $1000. has now been 8 days since the initial ding and the crack has continued to elongate. it is now 2/3 of the length of the windshield. i have owned eight toyota vehicles, three of which have been new priuses. this is the first and only car where anything like this has ever happened. it appears that many other 2015-2016 prius owners have experienced similar problems with their windshields too. toyota must address this safety issue,"

"with no impact whatsoever, and the car parked and stationary for more than 15 hours, i woke up this morning to find a crack in the front windshield. this crack is in the lower, middle section of the front windshield, generating up from the base of the windshield, and veering towards the left. there is absolutely no feeling of an impact (i.e. scratch, dent, ping, etc.) on either the outside of the windshield or the inside of the windshield - it appears that the crack is embedded in the glass itself. i have contacted my local toyota dealer and will be bringing it in for their inspection this week. however, in my online research, it seems that there have been a number of 2016 toyota prius' that have had this mysterious front windshield crack occur - enough to make me wonder if there is something wrong with the factory-provided windshield, and that would possibly warrant a recall. thank you for your consideration."

"there is something wrong with the windshield design of the car. i had debris or road gravel hitting the windshield twice in last 2 months and got a crack on windshield in 2 occasions. i was driving car at 65 mph on highway in both instances. i also realize a flaw with wiper design that the wipers do no clear the full wind shield. this reduces visibility specially winter when there is lot of salt and snow on roads."

"my windshield had a very minor chip which resulting in a crack across the windshield. this seems to be an disproportionate damage to the windshield suggesting a structural design defect."

"while driving from tucson to phoenix on us route 10 at around 65 mph on the way to southern california on august 24, 2018, in 100 degree f. heat, a crack began in the lower drivers side of the windshield and was a foot long within seconds. by the time i reached home at 5:00pm, the crack had grown horizontally to more than two feet in length. i have avoided washing the windshield with cold water, or at all, and if the crack has lengthened further in the more moderate temperatures, i have not noticed. there is no obvious sign of a rock impact. when the sun is a the wrong angle, there is a distractingly bright glare from the crack."

"owner of a 2016 toyota prius 3 with advanced technology package: i'll preface this that i'm satisfied with most/if not all other aspects of the prius (except entune...). however, it seems there is a definite issue with windshields cracking. i was driving on the freeway at the start of roadtrip when i heard and barely saw a rock/pebble hit lower left drivers side section of the windshield. i instantly saw 1-2 inch diameter crack/chip appear. over the next few hours i saw it grow and expand. reading up on this it seems i'm not only one who's experiencing this issue. i don't know if its just the design or glass is under some higher stress. unfortunately, due to the nature of the cameras and sensors, one has to go to toyota service anyway to get the camera recalibrated. oem glass does not appear to be cheap either!"