2016 Toyota Tacoma Electrical Problems

I am reporting a persistent and unsafe issue with the factory-installed Entune infotainment system in my 2016 Toyota Tacoma. While driving — whether locally or on the highway — the system frequently freezes, becomes unresponsive, or abruptly resets itself, often multiple times per drive. This directly affects my ability to safely use the navigation, backup camera, and audio controls while in motion. The system’s crashes divert my attention from the road, especially when I’m relying on navigation and it either stops functioning or forces me to interact with the screen to regain control. These interruptions increase the risk of distracted driving and could easily contribute to an accident. I have attempted to install the software update provided on Toyota’s official website, but the update is older than the version already installed on my vehicle (0101A0), so the system blocks the update. There is no way for a consumer to reinstall or flash the current version, and any potential resolution is only available at a dealership for a fee, effectively putting the fix behind a paywall. Toyota has not issued a recall or service bulletin for this issue, despite dozens of reports from other owners on Tacoma and Prius forums describing the same crash behavior and software version conflicts. This is a significant safety concern, especially when the infotainment system is used for navigation during high-speed or complex driving conditions. The inability to maintain consistent functionality puts drivers and others on the road at risk. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate this widespread issue and press Toyota to issue a free repair or software patch for all affected vehicles. Symptoms: •Frequent infotainment restarts while driving •Frozen or unresponsive touchscreen •Glitched navigation system and lost GPS routing •Driver distraction due to repeated system failure

NHTSA ID

11677329

Incident

Jul 1, 2025

Seat heating module for my driver seat has melted and is further irrepairable without buying the entire harness to fix the issue. There are multiple reports of this happening across forums.

NHTSA ID

11617153

Incident

Apr 22, 2024

Vehicle is designed in such a way as to allow moisture accumulating in drivers side floor mat and carpeting to wick upward and be deposited on the primary vehicle wiring harness located in the drivers side kick panel. The moisture collected travels down into the backside of the various female connectors and corrodes the conductors and receptacles that result in short circuits between the various vehicle components including the ignition, engine shutoff, temperature sensors, Antilock Breaking, Blind Spot Monitoring, Fuel Gauge, Forward Vehicle Lighting (high and low beam), Security, Traction Control and other critical vehicle systems. On February 5th, 2023 I returned to my vehicle to find the security alarm sounding in the parking lot of a local business, both the keyless entry system and key-fob were unresponsive and would neither silence the alarm or unlock the vehicle. After manually unlocking the door handle the alarm ceased, the vehicle started as normal and then began indicating a failure of the BSM system, while underway the ABS indicated it had also failed and upon arrival at our destination the engine would not turn off even with the emergency shutdown routine prescribed for unintended acceleration cases. In addition, the high beams would be triggered by unrelated button operation occasionally fail to turn off, the fuel gauge, temperature readouts and climate control provided unintelligible values. The vehicle was returned to to dealership where it was determined that water from the floormats was able to contaminate and cause systemwide failure. The repair was to replace the entire wire harness which would not be covered by warranty. On 3/15/2023 I reached out to Toyota Headquarters' Customer Engagement team and was advised that Toyota was aware of the problem and had no interest or obligation in rectifying the situation, regardless of my concerns that this presented a clear safety hazard to both operators and the general public.

NHTSA ID

11512057

Incident

Feb 5, 2023

Driver’s side front seat not delivering heat despite switch lamp indicating it’s on and working. Further exploration reveals passenger side seat heater working as it should. I checked wiring harness and connections under driver’s seat only to discover plastic connector entering amplifier scorched and melted with two of four pins destroyed (Red and Green wires). I believe the wire gauge sized for this system is improper and therefore represents a fire hazard. About the time the seat heater failed, I smelled a burning odor inside the car for a short time but didn’t associate the two events until later. The vehicle has 135,998 miles on it and therefore out of warranty. I spoke to the dealer who explained he’s had similar issues from other customers and added there is no recalls at this time.

NHTSA ID

11505879

Incident

Jan 12, 2023

Mileage

135,998 mi

While driving down the road with my driver seat warmer on, the heating element and/or associated electronics burned a hole in the seat canvas and through the jacket I was wearing. I think a small fire started which I put out with my finger and then I turned off the seat heater.

NHTSA ID

11493228

Incident

Nov 11, 2022

System Failure lost all directional and hazard lights on this vehicle . With no directional signals can cause a serious accident. vehicle is at dealership. component has not been inspected by the manufacture . No warning just stop working. This vehicle has no separate Flasher relay. Toyota did not honor the last request to fix a electrical issue. should be a recall for this issue as other Toyota Tacoma owners had the same issue

NHTSA ID

11482488

Incident

Aug 29, 2022

The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated that while attempting to activate the seat warmer, he noticed that the seat warmer was inoperable. The contact researched and read that the module underneath the seat could potentially burn causing the seat warmer not to operate as designed. The contact stated that it was a common failure. The contact stated that he then looked at the module in his vehicle and saw that it was melted. The contact had not noticed any smoke or a burning odor. The dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 45,000.

NHTSA ID

11459879

Incident

Apr 6, 2021

Mileage

45,000 mi

The driver's side seat heating element failed due to a defective seat heater amp. When independently researching the failure, which could have simply been an unconnected wire, I discovered the amp and wiring had an electrical seizure and the wiring had burned the amp. The heating amp sits underneath the seat and with the right conditions could cause the seat to catch fire. The issue has been reported to Toyota corporate.

NHTSA ID

11449467

Incident

Dec 6, 2021

REAR POWER WINDOW RATTLES WHEN IN DOWN POSITION. MOST NOTABLE WHEN CLOSING DOOR, SOUNDS LIKE SOME HAS COME LOOSE!

NHTSA ID

11448183

Incident

Dec 1, 2021

The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated while driving at 60 MPH, the contact noticed their front driver seat warmer stop operating and started smelling an electrical burning. The contact continued to drive to their residence where at that time the contact inspected the vehicle and noticed the seat heater amp connection wiring was burned out. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 63,404.

NHTSA ID

11437706

Incident

Oct 21, 2021

Mileage

63,404 mi

Driver side Heated seat connector has evidence of burning. Seat not working.

NHTSA ID

11435698

Incident

Oct 6, 2021

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.

NHTSA ID

11419334

Incident

Jun 2, 2021

IN THE MIDDLE OF FEB 2021 THE DRIVER'S SIDE (FACTORY) SEAT HEATER STOPPED HEATING. THE SEAT HEATER BUTTON STILL OPERATED NORMALLY WITH REGARD TO LIGHTS, ETC. I REMOVED THE SEAT AND DISCOVERED THAT THE CONNECTOR BETWEEN THE SEAT HEATER WIRING HARNESS AND THE SEAT HEATER AMPLIFIER HAD ELECTRICALLY ARCED (RED WIRE) AND MELTED THE CONNECTOR TOGETHER. (NOTE: THE PASSENGER SIDE HEATER IS UNAFFECTED. ALSO NOTE: THE FUSE FOR THIS CIRCUIT DID NOT BURN UP AS IT SHOULD HAVE WHEN THE CURRENT SURGED CAUSING THE MELTED CONNECTOR.) UPON DOING RESEARCH THIS IS APPARENTLY NOT AN UNHEARD OF PROBLEM ON THIS YEAR/MODEL TACOMA. I HAVE UPLOADED PHOTOS. THERE ARE THREE ISSUES HERE: 1) A CLEAR DESIGN FLAW, 2) THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE, IT COULD HAVE CAUSED A FIRE, AND 3) IT LIKELY AFFECTS THE ENTIRE FLEET OF TACOMAS IN THIS YEAR RANGE. MY BELIEF IS THAT THIS RISES TO THE LEVEL OF A RECALL AND HAVE TALKED TO BOTH THE DEALER AND CORPORATE ABOUT IT. TOYOTA HAS AGREED TO PAY HALF THE COST OF REPAIRS, AND I HAVE AGREED TO THIS, (ALTHOUGH THEY ALSO CLAIM TO HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THIS PROBLEM BEFORE). TOYOTA CASE #: 2103011304

NHTSA ID

11398540

Incident

Feb 17, 2021

Mileage

75,000 mi

WAS TOLD BY THE MECHANIC THAT THERE WAS A BULLETIN TO REPLACE IF AN ISSUE BEFORE THE 3 YEARS 36,000 MILES. HAVE HAD THE TRUCK FOR 4.5 YEARS AND NOW THE BSM LEFT SIDE NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. ONLY HAVE 26,567 MILES ON THE TRUCK! IF THEY HAD AN ISSUE, WHY AREN'T THEY REPLACING THEM IF THE ISSUES HAPPEN WITHIN THE 36,000.

NHTSA ID

11387119

Incident

Dec 16, 2020

Mileage

3 mi

THE TRAC OFF AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS COME ON PERIODICALLY. I HAVE TO DISCONNECT THE BATTERY AND TAKE THE GAS CAP OFF AND PUT IT BACK ON AND RECONNECT THE BATTERY WHEN IT HAPPENS. ITS A PAIN IN THE BUTT. I THOUGHT I SAW A RECALL FOR THE GAS CAP SEAL TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM, BUT THE DEALERSHIP SAID NOPE.

NHTSA ID

11373113

Incident

Nov 4, 2020

Mileage

49,000 mi

TOYOTA PUSHED AN OTA (OVER-THE-AIR) THAT CAUSED FIRMWARE AND COMPLETELY DISABLES THE ONBOARD NAVIGATION. PRESENTLY, I NOW HAVE 'DRIVER EASY SPEAK' OUT OF THE BLUE AND THAT THE 'SOFTWARE IS INCOMPATIBLE' ON MY HEAD UNIT'S DISPLAY. THIS UPLOAD HAS DISABLED VARIOUS TOYOTA MODELS ACROSS THE BOARD. CONTACT WITH VARIOUS TOYOTA DEALERS HAS BEEN A WASTE OF TIME. A LETTER SENT TO TOYOTA CORPORATE HAS BEEN FRUITLESS. THE DEALER WANTS TO REPLACE THE NAVIGATION UNIT FOR $1000!

NHTSA ID

11339339

Incident

Jun 1, 2020

Mileage

48,000 mi

ELECTRICAL WIRING/CONNECTOR FOR THE HEATED SEAT MODULE LOCATED UNDER THE DRIVER SEAT OVERHEATED OR ARCED CAUSING THE CONNECTOR (S) TO MELT POSING A SAFETY HAZARD AND RENDERING THE HEATED SEAT INOPERABLE.

NHTSA ID

11317162

Incident

Feb 25, 2020

Mileage

78,000 mi

THIS CAR HAS SHUT OFF TWICE WHILE DRIVING. FIRST TIME WHILE TOWING A BOAT... WHILE TURNING LEFT ON A HIGH SPEED TWO LANE ROAD AND SECOND WHILE GOING 45 TOWARDS A GREEN LIGHT. BOTH TIMES THE CAR JUST SHUT OFF. WE COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED...TWICE! TOYOTA SAYS "FIXED' THE PROBLEM "TWICE". WE ASKED THEM TO BUY THE CAR BACK AFTER THE SECOND TIME, AS WE NO LONGER FELT SAFE IN IT.......THEY REFUSED. AS A GESTURE OF "GOOD WILL" THEY OFFERED US AN EXTENDED WARRANTY, WHICH WE HAD ALREADY GOTTEN WHEN WE PURCHASED THE CAR SO IT WAS POINTLESS. WE CREATED A CASE WITH THEM AFTER IT OCCURRED THE SECOND TIME. THE MOST RECENT RECALL THAT ADDRESSES THIS ISSUE DOES NOT INCLUDE THIS MODEL YEAR AND IT NEEDS TO. SOMEONE IS GOING TO DIE..THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS ISSUE. WE ARE NOW STUCK WITH A CAR THAT WE DON'T FEEL SAFE IN BUT TOYOTA WOULD NOT DO THE RIGHT THING. HOPEFULLY BY US REPORTING OUR PROBLEM IT WILL SAVE SOMEONE ELSE LIFE.

NHTSA ID

11308914

Incident

Aug 2, 2018

Mileage

16,000 mi

THE BLUETOOTH ON THE IPHONE 11 PRO MAX AND THE TACOMA ARE NOT COMMUNICATING CAUSING A SAFETY ISSUE, BECAUSE I CAN NOT TALK HANDS FREE AS I AM SUPPOSE HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO SO. THE ENTIRE HEADSET WILL TURN OFF AND ON CONSTANTLY , THE ONLY WAY TO STOP THIS IS TO EITHER TURN OFF THE BLUETOOTH ON THE IPHONE OR REMOVE THE IPHONE FROM THE TACOMA. I HAVE READ ON LINE THAT MANY PEOPLE ARE HAVING THE SAME ISSUE AND EITHER TOYOTA OR APPLE IS DOING ANYTHING TO RESOLVE IT, CAUSING A SAFTEY ISSUE.

NHTSA ID

11302524

Incident

Dec 5, 2019

Mileage

35,000 mi

DRIVING HOME APPROXIMATELY 20 MILES ON A 2 LANE HIGHWAY (SPEED LIMIT OF 50MPH) AND NOTICED THE OEM/FACTORY INSTALLED DRIVER HEATED SEAT STOPPED WORKING. PROCEEDED TO SMELL BURNT PLASTIC BUT IT WAS LATE AT NIGHT AND I CONVINCED MYSELF THAT NOTHING OUT OF THE NORMAL HAD OCCURRED SINCE MY PASSENGER DID NOT SEEM CONCERNED. THE FOLLOWING DAY I DID A BIT OF RESEARCH AND TESTED THE HEATED SEAT WHICH NO LONGER GOT WARM LIKE THE PASSENGER SIDE. UNDERNEATH THE SEAT IS AN "AMPLIFIER" FOR THE HEATED SEAT WHICH LOOKS TO HAVE SHORTED OUT. BOTH THE AMPLIFIER AND THE MALE ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR HAD BURNT/MELTED ON ONE OF THE TERMINALS. THE PLUG LOOKS COMPLETELY RUINED AND I PRESUME THE AMPLIFIED IS NOW BROKEN. ALL OTHER FUSES AND ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS APPEARED FINE.

NHTSA ID

11286497

Incident

Nov 28, 2019

Mileage

52,500 mi

MY TRUCK WAS RUNNING FINE WITH NO PROBLEMS. THEN ONE MORNING I WENT TO CRANK IT AND IT WOULD NOT START. ALL IT DID WAS TURN OVER AND OVER. I HAD TO HAVE A WRECKER COME TO MY HOUSE AND TAKE IT TO MY LOCAL TOYOTA DEALERSHIP. THEY KEPT MY TRUCK FOR A WEEK AND NEVER DID COME UP WITH A REASON FOR WHAT HAPPENED. THEY REPLACED THE DASH HARNESS AND THE COMPUTER. THEY SAID THAT SOMETHING HAD SHORTED OUT THE HARNESS AND COMPUTER. IT COST ME ALMOST 3000 DOLLARS TO GET MY TRUCK BACK. MY TRUCK ONLY HAD 15,406 MILES ON IT. THEY TRIED TO TELL ME THAT LIGHTNING HAD HIT MY TRUCK. BUT THERE WAS NO PROOF OF IT. THIS ALL SOUNDS LIKE A DEFECT IN THE HARNESS BUT I CANT PROVE IT. HELP PLEASE !

NHTSA ID

11205876

Incident

Apr 23, 2019

Mileage

15,406 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 TOYOTA TACOMA. WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE WITH THE DRIVER'S SEAT HEATER IN THE ON POSITION, THE HEATER FAILED TO OPERATE. UPON INSPECTION, IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THE ELECTRICAL MODULE FOR THE HEATED SEAT HAD MALFUNCTIONED AND MELTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND ADVISED THAT THE VEHICLE BE TAKEN TO THE LOCAL DEALER (SUMMIT TOYOTA, 1535 VERNON ODOM BLVD, AKRON, OHIO). THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 36,000.

NHTSA ID

11121570

Incident

Feb 1, 2018

Mileage

36,000 mi

FAN BLOWER MOTOR FAILED , NO AC/HEAT OR DEFROST AS A RESULT. .

NHTSA ID

11109534

Incident

Jul 4, 2018

Mileage

41,000 mi

TRUCK WITH ONLY 8000 MILES HAS OVER 3000 DOLLARS DAMAGE FROM RODENTS CHEWING ON WIRING....RESEARCH ONLINE SHOWS THAT THERE ARE CLASS ACTION SUITS AS MANY PEOPLE ARE EXPERIENCING THIS PROBLEM OF RODENTS BEING ATTRACTING TO "SOY BASED WIRING".WHEN I PAID ALMOST 40,000 DOLLARS FOR A NEW TRUCK , I MISTAKENLY THOUGHT ID BE TROUBLE FREE FOR AT LEAST 3 YRS OR 36000 MILES...I HAVE INSURANCE BUT MUST PAY 1000 DOLLARS DEDUCTABLE AND WITHOUT TRUCK FOR APPROX 3 WEEKS AND NOW ALSO THE POSSIBILITY OF THIS RECURRING AGAIN. IM SURE THE INTENTIONS WERE GOOD WITH THE SOY BASED WIRING...IE, LESS PLASTIC IN LANDFILLS....BUT WHILE THIS PROBLEM HAS ALWAYS HAPPENED, NEVER THIS OFTEN AND REPEADEDLY...A SIMPLE GOOGLE SEARCH OF TOYOTA SOY WIRING SHOULD ENLIGHTEN ANYONE ...

NHTSA ID

11097989

Incident

May 15, 2018

Mileage

8,200 mi

VARMINT/RODENT DAMAGE. DEALER DISCOVERED RODENT NESTING AND WIRE HARNESSES CHEWED AND DESTROYED. COST OF REPAIRS ARE GOING TO BE ABOUT $1197.97 PLUS COST OF TOW AND COST OF RENTAL FOR +/- 2 WEEKS.

NHTSA ID

11091456

Incident

Apr 23, 2018

Mileage

30,000 mi