2016 Toyota Corolla
Gas Midsize car
The 2016 Toyota Corolla is sold in the U.S. as a gas midsize car with 6 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Corolla LE Eco, is EPA-rated at 34 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 1 recall campaign for this model year, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of A. Owners have filed 213 complaints, most often about air bags. NHTSA crash-tested it at 5 stars overall.
Specs & fuel economy (EPA)
| Configuration | Powertrain | Drive | Engine / motor | City | Hwy | Comb | Annual fuel* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corolla LE Eco | Gas | FWD | 1.8L 4-cyl | 30 | 40 | 34 | $1,850 |
| Corolla LE Eco | Gas | FWD | 1.8L 4-cyl | 30 | 38 | 33 | $1,900 |
| Corolla | Gas | FWD | 1.8L 4-cyl | 29 | 37 | 32 | $1,950 |
| Corolla | Gas | FWD | 1.8L 4-cyl | 28 | 36 | 31 | $2,000 |
| Corolla | Gas | FWD | 1.8L 4-cyl | 28 | 36 | 31 | $2,000 |
| Corolla | Gas | FWD | 1.8L 4-cyl | 27 | 35 | 30 | $2,100 |
*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year and EPA reference fuel/electricity prices. Source: fueleconomy.gov vehicle records.
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Recalls (1)
Air Bags
highProblem: 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.
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.
Fix: 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.
NHTSA investigations
Air Bags:Frontal:Passenger Side:Inflator Module — Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture (open)
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.Consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substa
Opened Sep 17, 2021 · action EA21002
Air Bags: Air Bag/Restraint Control Module — Electrical overstress (closed)
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this investigation to determine if the failure of airbags to deploy during severe crashes, in certain vehicles, was the result of a safety related defect. During the investigation a complex failure was studied that can result in non-deployment of subject vehicle air bags and other restraint system devices in severe crash events. The subject vehicles may be equipped with an airbag control unit (ACU) for the supplemental restraint system (SRS) Electronic Control Unit (ECU) manufactured by ZF-TRW.  The ECU receives signals from crash sensors mounted in the vehicle and deploys the vehicle air bags and seat belt pretensioners in accordance with
Opened Apr 19, 2019 · closed Sep 19, 2024 · action EA19001
Owner complaints
213 complaints filed
66 involved a crash, 1 a fire, 56 injuries, 0 deaths reported by owners.
Filed by year — 2015: 1 · 2016: 26 · 2017: 34 · 2018: 27 · 2019: 32 · 2020: 48 · 2021: 12 · 2022: 5 · 2023: 6 · 2024: 10 · 2025: 7 · 2026: 5
Most-cited components
- Air Bags — 65
- Service Brakes — 29
- Seat Belts — 26
- Unknown Or Other — 23
- Vehicle Speed Control — 22
Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.
Crash ratings
| Configuration | Overall | Frontal | Side | Rollover | Rollover risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 DR FWD | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | 12% |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program.
Compare the 2016 Corolla with
Other Corolla model years
2027 Corolla
0 recalls · 0 complaints
A2026 Corolla
1 recalls · 15 complaints
B2025 Corolla
2 recalls · 42 complaints
C2024 Corolla
4 recalls · 70 complaints
D2023 Corolla
6 recalls · 84 complaints
A2022 Corolla
0 recalls · 102 complaints
A2021 Corolla
1 recalls · 185 complaints
F2020 Corolla
6 recalls · 307 complaints
D2019 Corolla
6 recalls · 201 complaints
B2018 Corolla
3 recalls · 141 complaints
B2017 Corolla
3 recalls · 190 complaints
Sources & method
Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.
EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records (ids 36803, 36804, 36801, 36800, 36802, 36799). Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.