general problems of the 2018 Toyota Camry - part 1

Transmission defective.

My 2018 Toyota Camry le went into limp mode while drive on the highway causing jerking while driving and tons of error codes on the dash, and issues with safety systems shutting off and accelration. After towing to a dealership, dealership gave me the following description of the defect: coolant is coming through the cylinder walls due to a hairline fracture in the cylinder causing 2 of the 4 cylinders to misfire and coolant to mix with usual contents. We aren't able to identify where the cause of this problem is but it makes the most economical sense to replace the engine with a lower mileage engine and replace the neighboring parts to support the less old engine. I was quoted $8300 approximately. The same vehicle just a few years older are recalled already for the exact same thing - NHTSA recall 20v064000. The NHTSA recall states: "the subject vehicles are equipped with a 2. 5l 4 cylinder engine (a25a) and may have been produced with engine blocks containing higher porosity levels. Higher levels of porosity could create cracks in the cooling passages, resulting in coolant leaking internally and/or externally. This may lead to engine noise, engine smoke, warning lights/malfunction indicator illumination, an audible chime sounding, and/or, in some cases, engine overheating and possible internal mechanical engine damage (e. G. Seizing of internal engine components). If engine overheating or internal mechanical engine damage were to occur on involved conventional gasoline vehicles, a vehicle stall while driving at higher speeds could occur without prior warning to the driver, increasing the risk of crash. ".

On September 6, my 2018 toryota Camry just stoopped all of the suddden in the middle of a 6 lane road. No warning lights or such until that exact moment. The car went into safe moode as I was driving. The water pump and associated parts failed. The electrical part of the water pump went and took the pump, thermostat, gaskets, etc. To be repaired after just dying on the road. The car had only 32465 miles at the time of the breakage. The car is out of warranty, but with such low milage this is and unusual repair to be made on a car only8 years old with low milage. It was a $1700 dollar repair. The company has not made any assitance availble, I have called and spoke with someone, have written a letter and now I felt that it was important enough to come here. There are facebook pages with "broken Camry water pumps" up so this is to my way of thinking an ongoing problem. I was lucky I was not hit when the car "stopped" on the road with no warning. The car has been well maintained at an authorized Toyota dealer the whole time I have had it. I am concerned that this is an ongoing problem with the Camry.

Reduce power and break power malfunction.

The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that while her son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the message “see dealer” was displayed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, but the dealer was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed the vehicle with water pump failure. The dealer was notified of the diagnosis but advised the contact to disregard the warning. The contact stated that while driving the vehicle back to the residence, the vehicle started to lose power and went into limp mode. The vehicle was returned to the independent mechanic to have the water pump replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 42,572.

After taking the car on a short drive: pre-collision malfunction; parking brake malf; ics malf; chk eng reduced power; secondary collision brake malf; rough idle and driving; sometimes won't accelerate (revs only); cruise control won't work; battery drained when off (12. 5 v to 10. 5 in one day; battery just under 3 years old); after replacing battery: obd 2:p0302.

The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Camry. The contact stated while driving 40 mph, the vehicle chugged, and the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact drove to her destination, where an acquaintance used a vehicle diagnostic scanner to retrieve dtc: p26cb, indicating a malfunction with the electric engine coolant pump. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with water pump failure. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but denied goodwill assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.

2018 Camry xse, vacuum pump went on my car less then a year ago. I had my car towed to the dealership for the recall to be fixed. Since that incident my car hasn’t been the same. While stopped at a light my dash board lite up with every issue the car could possibly have. Lane departure assist, secondary breaking system failure, engine coolant too hot, emergency brake failure and then the check engine light came on. I was able to get my cat to the side of the road and eventually make it home. I brought my car back to Toyota and a day later I was informed I might need a new engine, 8,000 dollars. I am very diligent about oil changes, tune ups etc. My car has 140,000 highway miles. I travel a lot for work. This car has never had a major issue until the recalled vacuum pump was repaired. All these complaints from other people with primarily the same issue cannot be wrong. It is definitely a manufacturing issue and I shouldn’t have to pay out-of-pocket for an issue that the dealership caused. Now I either have to buy a new car or pay 8000 to repair my current vehicle. I will never buy another Toyota again.

I am reporting a severe safety and vehicle integrity issue involving a Toyota vehicle purchased from wolfchase Toyota. After a technical inspection (invoice #xxx), it was confirmed that the engine VIN does not match the chassis VIN. This indicates an undocumented engine replacement of unknown origin and mileage. As a result, the vehicle's safety systems, engine performance, and structural integrity are unverified and potentially compromised. The dealership and Toyota north America have been notified of this 'frankenstein' engine configuration but have not removed the vehicle from the road, forcing me to operate an unsafe vehicle for my 110-mile daily commute. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

On March 19, 2026, I was driving to work when traffic began to slow, and I reduced my speed accordingly. As traffic started to return to normal speed, I pressed the accelerator; however, although the engine revved, the vehicle did not accelerate beyond approximately 15 mph. I safely moved to the side of the road and turned the car off. After restarting the vehicle, shifting into drive, and pressing the accelerator, the same issue occurred. I subsequently took the car to two separate mechanics, both of whom reported that the transmission needs to be replaced. This is unexpected, as the vehicle has fewer than 100,000 miles and has received regular maintenance.

The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Camry. The contact stated while drivng at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed, however the vehicle failed to stop as intended. The vehicle was towed to the dealer ted after several attempts, the vehicle eventually started. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed, howver the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The rpm's increased. In addition, the contact stated that the failure occurred while traveling over 800 miles away from home. The vehicle was driven to the contact's cousins's residence. The contact's husband inspected the vehicle, and noticed metal shavings on the dip stick. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was ade aware of the failure and a case was filed. Where it was diagnosed with a failed brake vacuum pump assembly. The vehicle was repaired. The contact received a recall notification, NHTSA campaign number: 21v890000 (service brakes, hydraulic). The contact stated when retrieving the vehicle from the dealer, the contact noticed an unusal sound. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer. The contact stated that the dealer confirmed that some was wrong. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to o'riley where a potable diagnostic tester was connted p050. The CO.

Ics malfunction error light and check engine light came on. I received a recall notice that this was being looked into but now the water pump has went out. The car is overheating.

When driving, the car would go into limp mode and wouldn’t get out of 2nd gear. It was super jerky as well. When taken to a mechanic, it was diagnosed with malfunctioning transmission among some other things such as brakes and tires. We take fairly great care of our vehicles and get them seen for regular maintenance. Once the car started acting up, the check engine light came on. It is now unsafe to drive and two mechanics have confirmed an issue with the transmission, which is now also in a class action lawsuit for transmission failures. It’s had hiccups before over the past two years (started around 85000 miles) but never to that extreme and every time we took it into a mechanic they never saw the issue before until now. The hiccups we just delayed shifting and simultaneous rpm increase but stoped after a few seconds and letting off the gas, and then would correct itself. Mechanics chocked it up to just needing a tune up and never saw the issue themselves, it happened randomly and just every once in a while.

While driving home from work , on a major highway, multiple warning lights came on my dashboard and my car would not accelarate. I immediately pulled over and shut the car off, turned it back on and the car was again drivable, however all the lights were on. I went directly to my mechanic and dropped the car off, for further inspection. The next day I was informed that the error code came up as slippage and he recommended replacing the transmission. The car only has around 130,000 miles on it. I have read that there are class action suits against Toyota, and my car make and model are in the group. However I can not find an active class action suit to join, as I just want my car fixed and should not have to pay for it, especially if Toyota knew this transmission was faulty.

Car stalled while driving and needed to be towed to dealership. Dealership confirmed that there was coolant intrusion into the engine that clogged the fuel injector causing the car to stall while driving. Dealership informed us that car will need a new engine and transmission because of the coolant intrusion. The car stalled while driving and could have led to an accident or loss of life depending on where the car stalled and when. This coolant intrusion has been confirmed by the dealership and shown to us via video they took. The vehicle has only been inspected by the dealership and we called Toyota corp to have then review this as a safety issue. They informed us the call stalling was not a safety issue. Unknown on confirmed symptoms prior.

The vehicle illuminated the malfunction indicator lamp (mil) and stored dtc p26cb71 – electric water pump speed stuck. The dealer confirmed the electric coolant pump actuator is mechanically stuck and requires replacement at a quoted cost of $1,257. 81. Toyota official TSB-0323-17 (published December 8, 2017) explicitly states that this exact repair for dtc p26cb71 is covered under the Toyota federal emission warranty for 96 months or 80,000 miles from the vehicle’s in-service date. Despite the vehicle being well within both time and mileage limits, the dealer and epa both refuse to honor Toyota’s own published 8-year federal emissions warranty, violating 40 cfr §85. 2107(a) which mandates that the manufacturer “shall repair or replace” any covered failed emission-related part at no cost to the owner. The failed electric water pump is an emission-related component because its malfunction triggers an obd-ii emissions dtc and can cause elevated emissions due to improper engine temperature control. The part remains installed in the vehicle and is available for inspection. No warning symptoms appeared prior to the mil illumination.

2018 Toyota Camry at times vehicle engine will run under engine temperature, and other times, vehicle will overheat. This is intermittent issue and is not all the time. When vehicle is shut down. For 5, 10 minutes, it seems to work fine again for a week or two, and then starts to act up again. Toyota is aware of this issue with a defective electronic water valve part that control the flow of water into the engine. Toyota did send notice out should this issue happen they will do a free voluntary repair to replace that defective electronic water valve even after the original initial warranty expires. Bringing to dealer to check and I will update after the fix was made that is suppose to fix this over heating issue with engine code reading p26cb. If you have same issue with vehicle years in question with code p26cb you might want to contact Toyota. This is a safety issue should engine start to overheat while driving.

Poor acceleration and lose of transmission control …. Complete safety hazard and the car has a failure to lose power while driving…. . A humming noise and the car jerks while shifting gears.

I gave yesterday a complaint (9/24/25 complaint #11689593). Today at the same location, exit ramp of the az 101, going west, the same thing happened. Today, 9/25/25, as I was approaching the car that was waiting to enter 56th street my engine increased from about 5 mph to about 35 mph. Instead of hitting the car in front of me I turned into the lane on my left. A car hit my car on the left side. My car isn't safe to drive!!.

As I was exiting a highway, and my foot was on the brake, the engine increased from about 15 mph to about 30 mph. I had to put the car in park. I almost hit the car in front of me. The engine increasing like this happens when I slow down for a red light or stop sign.

Vehicle cut off at a stop light twice.

2018 Camry with very low mileage (appx 38,000) and had all its required services done, suddenly had a check engine light. Less than a minute after that, "coolant temp high - stop where it's safe" message popped up. Service center indicated it was a failed water pump (diagnostic codes p26cb71, u0073, u016387, u0163, p26cb). Coolant was gone. Multiple users for 2018/2019 have reported this water pump failure on r/camry [xxx] does not seem safe to have a car go from no problem to near catastrophic engine failure with virtually no warning information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

I paid off my var in June. By the ed of August my cars engine started going bad out of no where. Started with oil and coolant mixing into the engine and then transmission started whining. Long story short I had to get both replaced. Oh yea my car only has 56k miles. Can you guys explain or give me any ideas on how this happened?.

My panoramic sunroof has a defect , my sunroof stopped working only a few months after having my car , I’ve spoke with many other people with the same car and it’s common. I had a warranty on my car but they wouldn’t cover the cables for the setup to the roof , and it’s $10,000 at Toyota to get it fixed and I’m having transmission problems . I keep my maintenance up to date on my car , I’ve also done my research and transmission failure is also common on this vehicle ! my car is barely over 100,000 miles . I’m very disappointed in Toyota and I won’t be purchasing another ! can honestly say this is the worse car I’ve had !.

Low braking power message is on and brake to floor and vehicle does not brake properly cause: diagnosed concern, found vaccum pump not producing vaccum causing concern, inspected and found vaccum pump broken and camshaft broken, pieces broken off inside engine. States low braking power message is on and brake pedal drops to floor and vehicle does not brake properly.

I am reporting a brake failure issue that matches the symptoms described in NHTSA campaign number 19v-544 (Toyota recall for brake booster vacuum pump failure). My 2018 Camry has experienced loss of brake assist, making it difficult to stop safely and requiring excessive pedal pressure. Despite these symptoms and the known recall for this issue, my VIN is not currently included. This raises concerns that the recall scope was too limited and that my vehicle should be included. I have contacted both the dealer and Toyota corporate, and I am requesting that NHTSA investigate this defect further and consider expanding the recall. This is a serious safety issue.

Intermittently, when leaving from a stop the car will have just enough power to pull forward about a car length before losing all drive power. The engine revs, but behaves as if it were in neutral. This happened a couple times when making a left turn from a stop sign leaving the car in cross traffic, powerless, with cars coming from the drivers side for a second or two before it had power again. It seems to happen in hot weather. It is intermittent. The dealership could not reproduce the problem. There were no warning lamps. I could make the vehicle available for inspection upon request. The first appearance was last summer. It did not do it over the winter. It happened again yesterday. When it happens it tends to happen for a few minutes before driving normally again. It may happen at start up or after the car has been driven for some time.

Only when it rains the forward collision warning light comes on. The last time it came on the engine light also came on with code p01280. Diagnostic at Toyota said the thermostat needs to be replaced. I decided to look into this as the thermostat should not be bad at 54500 miles. Weeks later and the neither light has come on again.

Vehicle has a safety issue involving the vehicles electric water pump. The water pump failed causing the vehicle to be unusuable until the electric motor is replaced. No warning when it failed, left consumer in the road blocking traffic.

In February of 2025 the brake vacuum pump failed and lost braking power. It was promptly towed to Toyota and the recall was performed. Roughly 3 weeks later an internal engine part that was removed during the recall repair came loose and damaged something internally. Since then the vehicle has yet to be adequately repaired. It produces no power, struggles to accelerate and has constant safety system malfunctions. Toyota had the vehicle from April to October and failed to adequately repair the vehicle after dozens of attempts. The vehicle was forcefully returned and will no longer pass smog from the engine malfunction they introduced during repairs. Currently in litigation and Toyota is ignoring all complaints.

I keep getting error code p0304 which says its cylinder 4 misfire the engine starts shaking a bit and most of the warning lights in my dashboard turn on and it disables the parking brake , I took it to a shop and they took out the fuel injectors to visualy inspect them and moved injector 4 to a different cylinder but the same error keeps coming back cylinder 4 misfire , I keep having to spend money and still have the same issue. It only does it on a cold start .

Replaced car battery , vehicle constantly jerking pressing the accelerator. It took almost a month to stop with harsh jerking . Going on 3 months and still transmission slips or jerks when entering traffic or accelerating sporadically. Feels as car either loses power or can’t find gears while driving. Very dangerous.

Check engine light came on one day. Ignored it. The next morning was driving on the highway and noticed the car had some trouble accelerating, tried to switch lanes at ~40-60mph (don’t remember) and the car started to kick back and almost felt like it was coming to a complete stop. I was so scared the car would just stop in the middle of the highway because I couldn’t even change lanes without it kicking back/not accelerating enough. There was not a lot of traffic around so I was lucky enough to get the car into the far right lane and coast. An alert came on, almost immediately after, on the dash and was told to pull over due to the engine overheating. Looked at the heat gauge and noticed it was all the way to hot. Got off the highway and tried to take local roads back home, the car started to kick back almost like it was about to come to a complete stop but was able to keep going local roads, didn’t pull over (was close enough to home that I didn’t want to leave my car on the side of the road if it didn’t start back up again) and the engine eventually cooled down. Got back home to put in more coolant (there was zero coolant, never noticed a leak) car ran fine for about a week, then check engine light came back on. Took it to autozone for a scan, code came out as p26cb. Took it to Toyota for diagnostic and repair, the code they found was p26cb71. Was told by the service advisor that the car should’ve turned off automatically and I shouldn’t have been able to drive it so far with the engine over heating like that. Also was told that the engine was very close to “blowing up”.

The transmission has completely malfunctioned. The car started stalling in traffic. It then stopped registering gears and stopped pulling. The car was taken to a shop who stated transmissions issues along with a brake assist failure. The torque converter has not been released by Toyota. My car has 139000 miles. I have researched this issue and many others have reported the same problem!.

About a month ago my daughter left the Toyota dealership in bradenton FL. After an oil change. She drove several hundred feet, the car stalled and she couldn't start it. The mechanic crew had to push it back into the service area, after been there for 2 days they found no problem, just last Monday [xxx] she filled the car up at a gas station, as she was leaving the car stalled again and she couldn't start it, the car was towed back to same dealership, they could find a problem after being there another 2 days. I believe it's a computer chip problem, which hasn't been resolved by Toyota, I don't want my daughter to have an accident and get hurt due to this problem, perhaps your agency can look into this Toyota problem information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).