Failing transmission at 80k miles, multiple reports of similar incidences happening with same vehicle. Inspected by multiple mechanics, including Toyota Dealership, confirmed to be transmission, recommended to replace. No warning lamps, only indication was progressively worsening noise.
2018 Toyota C-HR complaints
Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 2018 record →
My car would not go forward nor backwards after the transmission making crazy sounds Now I'm a disabled woman who the dealer that I financed this car from has said I have no warranty whatsoever. Alot of customers are having to replace their transmission on this year and make Toyota with odometer reading as low as 33,xxxx miles to mine which has 94,xxxx and others with lower mileage than mine Toyota or you all should do what's right by us and recall these transmissions
The car started making a whining noise in the front end around 80,000 miles. The noise became progressively worse and around 84,000 miles I took it to the dealership. They said it was a transmission failure and quoted the repair at approximately $10,000.
I've had a second CVT transmission failure. The first one happened at 85906 miles, and now my second one is at 98995 six months later. Vehicle has been dealership serviced it whole life. These transmissions have some sort of fault that needs looking into and accountability needs to be taken. Toyota claims that there are no known issues with the part, but myself and many others with the Turkey built models are having these problems. Critical parts on vehicles should not be treated as disposable, and that's Toyotas attitude on it. $9,000 replacement cost on a 20,000 car is ridiculous.
Transmission problem with only 100k miles
Bought this vehicle brand new in 2018 from Toyota dealer and took it to all scheduled maintenance intervals at Toyota dealerships, including the 50,000 mile service at 48,000 miles in 2024. At 48,800 miles began hearing a whining noise from the engine. Took it to dealer at 48,882 miles and was informed I would need a new transmission with a quoted repair price of $8,900 USD. Search of C-HR forums and NHTSA reviews shows this to be a common and recurring problem. Dealer told me I was outside of my warranty based on the age of the vehicle. Dealer suggested I contact Toyota corporate for assistance as this is extremely low mileage for such an extensive repair. Toyota corporate only confirmed that the age of the vehicle was outside of warranty, offered zero assistance with repair costs, and indicated it would be an "out of pocket expense". This CVT is clearly an issue and could create an unsafe condition for drivers who are completely not expecting a Toyota powertrain to fail so early in its life. The fact that Toyota refuses to acknowledge, or provide assistance, is a travesty considering the reputation of the brand.
There is a whining and vibrating(knock) sound coming out of the transmission. it increases as the vehicle accelerate. There have been a lot of complaint about this toyota model transmission.
The CVT TRANSMISSION IS MAKING WHINING NOISE. HUNDRRDS, IF NOT THOUSANDS OF REPORTS ON TOYOTA FORUM, YOU TUBE, ECT WITH EXACT SAME ISSUE ON THIS MAKE AND MODEL.
I started to hear the wining noise from the front of the vehicle. When I took the car for inspection to Toyota dealership they told me this is transmission that makes this noise and it started way before. Transmission needs to be replaced. There was no warning lamps,messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure,that makes it extremely dangerous in the situation of failure of transmission, because the car will stop suddenly during driving.
83,000 Miles. Buzzing sound coming from transmission. Diagnosed by Toyota garage and an independent garage. I was told the transmission must be replaced at a cost of $9,400. This seems to be a recurring problem, especially with the 2018 Toyota C-HR CVT transmission. Upon researching this problem, I have found many complaints about this problem in Toyota C-HR forums some consumers having the problem with their C-HR as low as 30,000 miles! This is unacceptable and I suggest all repair costs be refunded and a recall be processed. It is obvious that there is a manufacture fault with that particular transmission. Please note that the cost of this repair is a devastating financial set back to those involved. My C-HR book price is $16,000 and a rather low-milage vehicle. This repair cost is well over half the value of the vehicle and emotionally I am distraught over this imposed financial burden that is the fault of the manufacture producing faulty product. Thank you for your consideration, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The contact owns a 2018 Toyota C-HR. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed a grinding sound when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The dealer was made aware of the failure. The contact was advised that the service manager would go to the residence and the vehicle would be driven to the dealer by the service manager. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed transmission and that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and agreed to assist with the cost of the repair. In addition, the contact was advised to report the failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
I was driving on the highway when I hydroplaned due to bad weather and hit the cement wall head on. The airbags did not deploy. There were no lights prior to failure. My insurance said that it was surprising that the airbags did not deploy given the extensive frame damage to my vehicle. My safety was put at risk due to potentially enduring life threatening injuries if any other cars hit me. My vehicle was totaled and taken possession of by insurance.
Humming noise coming from the engine that gets louder the faster you go. Toyota needs to recall this transmission as the Toyota dealership quoted 11,000 USD to repair and they said it's a transmission issue. Car has 109k miles and this appears to be a common issue if researched online.
Power train failed on my 3 year old car. It could've been catastrophic if it failed on the road. The CVT transmission is a mess. It's also caused undue financial burden on every CHR owner since the power train had continued to fail uncontrollably. This car was traded in since the transmission had failed. There should be a recall on every CVT that was manufactured in 2018. Every owner and previous owner should be compensated for the loss. After market and rebuilt power trains weren't available since the car was 3 years old. Almost $10k to replace this transmission. This car was taken to a Toyota dealer who assured me that is was "cupped tires". I'm confident that they knew what the problem was. By the time the power train failure was detected, the car was out of warranty. Thanks
Transmission failure at 50,000miles. Apparently thus is a very poorly designed Transmission and many many owners of this vehicle have had their Transmission go out. TOYOTA will not admit responsibility and a class action needs filed. Toyota will not do the right thing and fix their faulty Transmission.
My wife was driving the vehicle after taking it from its service around 58,000 miles and started hearing whirring noise coming from the front of the car and after returning from an overseas trip, I looked at it and thought that the wheel bearing was going. The mileage was only 59,003 miles. So, I scheduled a diagnostic service at the Green's Toyota of Lexington dealer, paid for it and Toyota and was told me that the transmission pump was failing, at 59,235 miles, but since the car was over 5 years old, which I purchased on 11/17/2017, warranty ended even though the car did not reach 60000, and that the cost estimate was $13,000+. I took it to a Power Transmission shop for a second option, paid for another diagnostics, and they stated that the transmission bearing is failing, and the transmission needs replacements, and that the cost estimate, for a remanufactured transmission, was $8,000+. I called Toyota, submitted report, C-HR Forum chats documentation that show other owners having issues even sooner, and they stated that since the car Power Train warranty was up, they could not do anything. And now I am seeing here over 112 complaints about the same issue when Toyota only recommends, on their maintenance manual, to change the transmission oil at 60,000 miles, not even an inspection before...., and the dealer that maintains my car looked at it around mileage 58,000, did not say nothing and scheduled the next service for 63,000 with no mentioning. So now, I have a $13,000 bi
Whining noise coming from transmission. Apparently, transmission bearing is not serviceable and new transmission is recommended.
Whirring sound from front end when you start to accelerate and get louder as you speed up. Dealer recommended replacing transmission for thousands of dollars...
The contact owns a 2018 Toyota CH-R. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at undisclosed speeds, an abnormal clicking noise was detected while speaking with her on the Bluetooth system. The contact stated that the noise was heard at 5 to 60 MPH. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
When the driver of the vehicle is coming to a stop a loud whine is coming from the transmission area caused by the paper filter cartridge inside the transmission housing being plugged causing damage to the transmission due to no maintenance as indicated by the manufacturer. The manufacturer has indicated the transmission is bad and needs replacing after hearing it in the parking lot, but has also indicated this is a sealed system and does not need servicing... so which is it? The car industry gets to tell their customers that a wearable part does not need to be serviced any longer, but needs to be replaced when it fails from no service. The transmission has an actual paper filter cartridge inside the transmission and the only way to replace it is to remove the transmission pan, but was told this was a screen and not a filter. Since vehicle was out of warranty, the filter was ordered and replaced by removing the transmission pan and found the filter to be plugged. After replacing all parts including fluid with Toyota Genuine parts, the damage has already been done. Metal shavings were all over in the pan as captured by two magnets Toyota places in the transmission pan, yet this is a sealed system and does not need servicing only replacement after warranty goes out. Manufacturer needs to realize ALL wearable parts need servicing and let their customers know this information in the vehicle manual(s) because if these transmissions fail at highway speeds, damage, injury (including
The Transmission of the car is failing at 75000. If the transmission failed while driving it would have caused me to wreck the car. The dealership notified me it was unsafe to drive with the failing transmission. I had driven on with this issues for 35000 miles.
The vehicle experienced an “EPB Malfunction” resulting in the vehicle becoming unresponsive during use due to the electronic brakes failing to disengage or engage. There were no warning lamps or messages prior to the failure. The vehicle is currently under inspection by the manufacturer.
At only 85,000 miles I had a total transmission failure. Diagnosed by Toyota dealership and repair falls under Toyota warranty. The vehicle has been maintained to the book, and is driven with love. I see hundreds of posts about this model year having this issue and it needs to be looked into.
The vehicle transmission failed very unexpectedly at very low mileage (62,000 miles). We had just finished a 500-mile highway trip and heard a loud whining noise from the front of the car. Our mechanic checked it the next day and said the transmission had to be replaced. There were no warning lights or notifications of any kind from the vehicle, only the noise, which was not noticeable at highway speed. Because of the low mileage, we felt completely safe driving the car on long trips -- and had the transmission completely failed when we were on the highway, the situation would have been extremely dangerous for us and surrounding drivers. When the garage ordered the new transmission, the supplier commented that failure of the transmission in the 2018 C-HR is a “known issue” because “the bearings were too small.” And we found that there are many, many instances of low-mileage transmission failure in this model year. We were already concerned about our individual incident, but this definitely seems like a larger safety issue.
I was driving and heard a whirring noise and thought that my wheel bearing was going. The mileage was 66000 miles. I called Toyota and was told warranty ended at 60000. I took it to my mechanic and he told me it was the transmission. I then took it to a transmission shop and they told me the transmission had to be replaced as they couldn't be rebuilt. The cost was 9400. The shop called Toyota to see if I had a warranty. They were told no so they replaced. I went to the dealer to lodge a complaint and they told me I did have a certified pre-owned warranty. I tried to get reimbursement from regional and national and they denied me. Now I have to trade this car in because I am afraid the transmission will go again and I no longer would have a warranty. I could have been in big trouble if I had continued to drive this vehicle as when the transmission would have gone it could have been anywhere. Plus for the cost of that transmission you could almost buy anothet car.
Very loud grinding noise coming from the transmission. It makes the entire car shake.
While driving in June 2023 I was suddenly unable to turn my steering wheel and I had issues bring the vehicle to a stop. The vehicle warning notice was "abnormal voltage steering power low". Once I was able to stop the vehicle stopped altogether. I towed the vehicle to my Toyota dealership and the description on the repair is Learn Value Reset and R&R CV Valve Lift Con. I am still having this issue which presents a safety concern as I can't steer and stop the vehicle.
I was driving down the high way with my cruise control set. When all of a sudden my dashboard lights up like a Christmas tree and the engine revs up. As I slow I can hear a grinding sound. The CVT transmission in my car went, it's the only 5 years old I've had every service done on time by Toyota. 90% of the miles on the car are highway miles, lots of straight line driving. I have seen Toyota has already made a recall on their Corolla that also has the CVT transmission. Other manufacturers that use the CVT transmission have also had it recalled.
The contact owns a 2018 Toyota C-HR. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, she heard an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000.
Vehicle has 59,000 miles on it currently I am a Toyota certified collision tech so I try to fix my own cars and not cause unnecessary visits to the dealer and my car started making a wining/clicking noise early 2022 around 55,000 miles. So I tried to diagnose this problem I replaced both front wheel bearings and it seemed to get a little better. Then it got exceptionally worse after about 57,000 miles the noise was always slightly there since I bought the car used with 20,000 miles. So as the noise continued to get louder I scanned the car and found no trouble codes in any of the vehicle systems. So I did some research online and found ALOT of people complaining about the same type of noise and all said they took the car to the dealer and was told the transmission needed to be replaced. So I took my car in because I knew my warranty expired at 60,000 miles. They said my transmission had an internal failure and that all of the fluids and stuff on my car looked great but unfortunately the transmission had broken internally. They also informed me that my warranty had expired in November of 2022. So even with the milage being in warranty because I do my own maintenance and car on my vehicle they were not willing to help with the costs of repair at all. And the best part is the transmission replacement is $10,000!!!! This isn't a Bentley or Lamborghini it's supposed to be a reliable affordable car and I can't think of any vehicle maker that has anything besides tires brakes and fl
General Defect with Transmission causing gear slippage at low RPMs from day one. Car can soft stutter to hard stutter going from idling position to soft press of accelerator. Hard transmission failure starting at 80K mi even with preventative maintenance. additional engine stalls randomly in middle of driving starting to appear with no error codes.
Just rolled over 100K miles and the Toyota service center just diagnosed it saying we need a new transmission. Upon further researching, it turns out the noise that started at 80k miles was actually the transmission failing. After doing a quick google search, it turns out to be a very common issue for this make and model. Toyota needs to be held accountable for this, because $10,588.85 to replace the defective transmission for a “lifetime fluid vehicle” is highway robbery.
Transmission went bad after 90K but the buzzing sound has been coming from transmission since 50-60k
The final drive bearing within the continuously variable transmission is causing a whining noise. Diagnoses from the dealer is that the entire transmission needs to be replaced. This component transmits all engine torque to the wheels, and if failure occurs, it could cause overheating, slippage, jerking, or stalling putting the driver, passengers and all other persons on the road at risk. No indication of the failure was communicated by the vehicle via a light or message. I had to hear the noise, know it was a problem and bring it in to the dealership for diagnoses.
My car started making a whining noise from the engine. I took it into my Toyota dealer, and was told there was an internal bearing failure in the transmission. The transmission would have to be replaced. This is not right for a car only 4 1/2 years old. I contacted Toyota Brand Engagement Center Headquarters. They were of little help. I have researched other cases on the Toyota forum with exact same problems in the transmission. How can this not be a recall?
Transmission is failing. Apparently it’s a very common problem amongst this car. Bunch of people are complaining about it on here and just a regular google search on any CHR form. This issue needs to be investigated as it may have faulty parts.
The transmission and torque converter both failed one morning. As soon as I️ realized I️ had a problem I️ took it to the mechanic. My car is available for inspection. I️ was lucky is happened while not driving. The issue has been confirmed by the mechanic as the problem and the NHTSA comments from others show it is a reoccurring problem with 2018 CHR Toyotas. The car has not been inspected by police or insurance representative. My car had a oil change a month prior at same mechanic and no lights or issues.
Bought the car brand new in 2018, my car is only 90k miles and the transmission is bad. Apparently there’s thousands of owners requesting a recall on the transactions of these cars, not reliable at all… Please help, it’s outside warranty already and they refused to help me out with this problem that ITS NOT MY FAULT
Informed today that the vehicle has an “internal transmission failure” with less than 90,000 miles.
Transmission is failing despite appropriate service through Toyota Care.
The contact owns a 2018 Toyota C-HR. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle in the driveway after the vehicle had been serviced at the dealer, he heard an abnormal sound coming from the front driver’s side door. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the impact intrusion prevention bar had fractured and fell inside the door. The dealer informed the contact to take the vehicle to an autobody shop to have the part re-welded. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact he would need to repair the vehicle at his own expense because the warranty had expired. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
Transmission and/or Torque converter failure. Attempt to accelerate onto major Highway and vehicle shakes dramatically and will not gain speed, requiring a pull onto the shoulder of the road safety concern. 3 times. Had towed to local shop. They diagnosed faulty transmission and torque converter.
Transmission grinding no warning.
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? CVT Transmission. Yes, it is available for inspection. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? After doing research on the safety of driving on a failing transmission, this is what I found: "If you want to risk transmission locked up while driving then yes, but if you want to be safe, you should avoid it at all costs. Even when there is a transmission fail-safe, it is not completely safe to drive." The car could fail to accelerate, and if on the highway, this could pose a significant risk to myself, my family and other people and their families. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Confirmed by Toyota of Olympia in Tumwater, Wa. as well as Advanced Automotive in Shelton, Wa. Reproduced: Over 100 cases on CHR Forum. Messaged with one particular Toyota Family owner in Texas who was able to get Toyota to replace his transmission for about 1500 after a lot of persistence (his estimate was a little less than 10K; my estimate was almost 12K) Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? NO Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No warning lights. Noises began about 2 months ago. I haven't driven it for the last month ...fearful of causing harm to myself or others). At 6
The transmission began to make noise and though the vehicle into park while sitting at a light. The vehicle has 80k miles. The dealership stated it was $10k to replace the transmission. This incident has happened twice and left me stranded. Reading the other complaints it sounds exactly the same.
On 2/13/2023, an object hit my windshield & it cracked. I filed a claim with my insurance & took it to Safelite. Safelite replaced my windshield on 2/27/2023, however, they were not able to recalibrate the sensors within the windshield. This means 3 safety components in my car no longer work, which are; lane departure, cruise control, & pre-collision. I now have a flashing warning in my dash constantly because the sensors embedded in the windshield aren’t calibrated, which is a hazard. I filed complaint #11448934 on 1/26/2022 with NHTSA explaining how my pre-collision system was giving me problems. Safelite is going to try a different glass and then try to recalibrate on 3/4/2023. My car is available upon request. My & others safety are put at risk because Toyota opted to put important safety features in one of the most exposed & vulnerable places on a car, that I quite frankly wasn’t aware of until it cracked. I have not had it evaluated by the manufacturer, independent dealer/service center and it has not been inspected. There haven’t been any accidents.. yet. I will upload a picture of the Safelite work order. You will see it says, “Recal failed”
At my most recent service visit (Oct 2022), I requested information about an issue my C-HR is having ("broken" image on the sideview mirror puddle lights) and was told that the issue was not covered under warranty even though the car was in Toyota’s care for months before I purchased it in 2020 and the issue was a known issue by Toyota. Unfortunately, it did not appear on my vehicle until recently. However, I have found a Toyota Customer Support Program Bulletin (No. POL19-05) on the NHTSA website that says that Toyota would cover the issue under Secondary Coverage for 5 years from the vehicle’s first date of use or 60,000 whichever occurs first. My car is definitely in this time range. I would like to have this issue fixed by Toyota as it appears to qualify as a known defect.
On December 21, my car would not accelerate while pulling out onto a 50pmh road. I took it to dealer where diagnostics were ran and nothing was found. 4 hours later after they worked on my brakes they said that my transmission was totally shot and needed total replacement for $10,000. The specifically said 4 hours prior that nothing transmission related came up on diagnostics and they could not replicate my acceleration issue when I first brought it in. How, all of the sudden 4 hours later, is there a complete replacement needed? and how does a transmission fail on a 4 year old car like that all of sudden. What if i was on the freeway? I could have been killed or injured. Google searches show many others are experiencing the same thing with the same vehicle yet no recall. Toyota is aware and will not acknowledge. Now I'm stuck with a $10,000 repair bill and a worry if my car is safe.
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Per my mechanic my car has a CVT transmission issues hearing a whining noise coming from the front end sounds like its going to fall apart, I just bought this car only 7 months ago . The warranty is non exisitent the first month I had this car the battery died and I had to lose a day at work becuase of that and paid $400.00 for that .No warning lights for this issue I will filing a civil law suit, I'm a middle age woman trying to work and pay my bills and when something like this happens to a car I just bought it's so unfair. I dont have $8000 to spend on these repairs . This is my only means of transportation.
Reading these
NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
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