2018 Toyota Camry Problems

2018 Toyota Camry problems owners report most

2018 Toyota Camry problems are documented in public: owners have filed 747 complaints with NHTSA, the earliest in 2017 and the most recent in 2026. Sorting those by the component the filer named puts the powertrain clearly first, at 198 of the 747 complaints, about a quarter of everything filed.

A complaint is not a repair bill and not a defect finding. It is one owner telling the regulator something went wrong. What makes the count useful is the concentration: when one component takes 27 per cent of everything filed on a car, the pattern is doing more than chance.

Against the 2017 car, this model year has drawn 405 per cent more complaints (747 against 148). The 2017 car was led by its something the filer did not categorise instead, so the pattern shifted between the two years. A rise is worth more attention than a fall here, because a newer car has had fewer years on the road to accumulate reports.

Of those complaints, 46 describe a crash and 4 describe a fire. Filers reported 45 injuries.

Recalls on the 2018 Toyota Camry

A recall means the manufacturer or the regulator found a safety defect, and the repair is free at a franchised dealer however old the car is. There are 8 recalls on this model year. Your own car may be covered by some, all or none of them, so check the VIN rather than the model.

In owners own words

These are complaints filed about the powertrain, quoted as written. They are one persons account rather than a diagnosis, and they are here because a symptom described by a driver is easier to recognise than a component name.

My Camry has received two professional transmission services as per the manufacturer recommendation, within suggested timeframes as it is now 176k. The transmission ( surely this is not something new to hear) Has FAILED. No prior sign or code. THIS VEHICLE DIED WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY! It stopped automatically shifting and would not accelerate. There have been other owners of this same car, year ect. THAT HAVE LOST TRANSMISSION WHILE DRIVING!!!! Want to get to the bottom? HOW MANY 18CAMRYS MAKE IT TO 300k or even 200k without a new transmission. Most die 65k !! Lemon Come on. T

I am writing to express a serious safety concern regarding my Toyota Camry. Recently, my daugther experienced a potentially dangerous situation while driving to a doctor’s appointment that I believe requires immediate attention. She was traveling on the highway in the leftmost lane, the fastest lane, when the car unexpectedly began to slow down. Despite pressing the gas pedal to accelerate, the engine revved louder, but the car did not respond or gain any speed. It became clear that the vehicle was losing power, and she was unable to maintain speed, causing a significant slowdown in traffic. A

The 8-speed automatic transmission (Aisin UB80, the 4-cylinder variant of the UA80 family) failed at approximately 53,000 miles. Symptoms prior to failure: harsh shifting, RPM flare to 4,000 between gears before hard engagement ("thud"), loss of power in Reverse, and a metal-on-metal noise from inside the transmission when power was applied. No dashboard warning lights illuminated at any point. Safety risk: the vehicle would not shift normally and lost power in Reverse, with the engine revving to high RPM before abrupt gear engagement. This created a real risk of sudden loss of forward propul

After owning this vehicle for almost 4 years, the "Jerky" feeling that other individuals have faced is still there, although not as severe now after I figured workarounds. However I do not like having anyone else in my vehicle as they tend to get visibly uncomfortable once they feel that jerk while the vehicle is in motion. It is nearly impossible to have a smooth transition when the vehicle has to slow down and accelerate immediately. There is almost always a significant 2-3 second delay when you have to accelerate quickly into moving traffic. If I let my foot off the gas while in motion I ca

2018 XSE Camry 4Cyl, 114k Miles, 2026. Transmission is failing, and I bought the car used in Oct of 2025, 86k Miles. As of 2026 the car has started to make a noise that sounds like a jet engine when accelerating, and the transmission fluid is black. Went to a local transmission shop, and they told me the transmission is on its way out. I'm disappointed in Toyota's engineering this time around. I have a 2008 Tacoma with 320k miles, and I know a family member with an 2006 Matrix 310k miles with 0 Reported drive train issues. I will not be buying newer Toyotas moving forward until this issue is

Dear Toyota Customer Experience Team, I am writing to report a serious and potentially widespread safety issue with my 2018 Toyota Camry XSE. The automatic transmission has failed. The vehicle exhibits slipping, hard or delayed shifting, intermittent loss of drive, and most critically, the car completely shut off while I was driving on the highway, creating an immediate risk of a serious accident. The transmission is available for inspection upon request. These failures pose a direct safety hazard. The unexpected shutdown on the highway, combined with gear engagement problems, could easily le

Every component, by complaint count

The full breakdown of what owners named when they filed. Components below the top ten are grouped out of this table.

What parts cost for the 2018 Toyota Camry

Prices read from one AutoZone store for this exact year, make and model, covering 8 kinds of part and 200 products. AutoZone year, make and model catalog prices. Engine, trim, transmission and VIN fitment are not confirmed. They are what the shelf said on the day, not a quote.

The cheapest way to keep it serviced

Taking the lowest listed price in each routine maintenance category, the filters, plugs and wipers for this car come to $53.45 in parts. That is parts alone, before labour, tax and the oil itself, and it assumes the cheapest option fits your engine.

Battery. 19 products listed, from the Econocraft Group Size 48 / H6 Battery H6-E at $99.99 up to the OPTIMA Yellow Top Group Size 48 / H6 Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) Battery DH6 at $369.99. A refundable core deposit of $22.00 is charged on top and returned with the old part. AutoZone's own labels account for 11 of them, starting at $99.99.

Brake rotors. 33 products listed, from the PowerStop Disc Brake Rotor JBR1764SCR at $39.99 up to the EBC Brakes Disc Brake Rotor Set BSD7387 at $341.99. AutoZone's own labels account for 6 of them, starting at $80.99.

Brake pads. 52 products listed, from the Duralast Ceramic Brake Pads D1879 at $29.99 up to the EBC Yellowstuff High Friction Organic Performance Brake Pads DP42378R at $223.99. AutoZone's own labels account for 11 of them, starting at $29.99.

Fitment is by year, make and model only. Engine, trim and transmission were not selected, so confirm the part number against your own car before buying. Prices change and vary by store.

How other model years compare

The same nameplate across the years we hold. Complaint counts fall naturally for newer cars because fewer of them have been on the road for long, so read the column as a rough signal rather than a ranking. In this set the 2018 Toyota Camry has drawn the most complaints and the 2017 Toyota Camry the fewest.

What to check on the transmission and driveline

Powertrain reports usually describe a shift that arrives late, lands hard, or hunts between gears, often worse when the car is cold or towing. Some describe a shudder at a steady cruise rather than a bang between gears.

Buying a used 2018 Camry

Drive it from cold. A transmission fault that hides once warm is the most common thing a short test drive misses. Take it to highway speed, let it settle into top gear, then slow and accelerate again to make it downshift under load.

If you already own one

Get the fluid condition checked before anything else, and ask for the transmission control software level at the same time. Several of these complaints were answered by the manufacturer with a reflash rather than a rebuild, which costs a fraction as much.

• Test drive from cold, not after the seller has warmed it up.
• Ask whether a transmission software update exists for the VIN.
• Check the fluid condition and when it was last changed.
• Get any rebuild quote itemised into parts, fluid and labour.