Transmission shot after 100k miles. Dealer sold us on a lifetime transmission system, never to be serviced. There are thousands of people having the same problem on Reddit

- Naugatuck, CT, USA

The component that has been failing is the transmission is the CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) is plagued by loud noises which can eventually lead to expensive gearbox failures. The safety risk is that the transmission will start Whining, humming or buzzing noise Rattling noises Slipping first gear or reverse. I have been told by a representative of Toyota that they have had many reports of problems with this years transmission. I first started noticing it around 55,000 miles and thought it was a bearing until did research online and this seems to be a problem that most owners are dealing with.

- De Pere, WI, USA

Transmission failed even after vehicle being strictly maintained according to each and every Toyota recommended prepaid maintenance visit for the entire life of the vehicle. No warning signs of a serious failure.

- Temple , TX, USA

CVT Transmission experienced a "catastrophic" failure without any prior warnings such as service lights, noises, or other signs of trouble. After driving for about 1 mile, I was attempting to accelerate to merge onto a highway, and the vehicle "rumbled" for a moment and then lost all acceleration. Luckily, there was a shoulder I could drift to, but otherwise I would have been stuck in traffic, potentially causing an accident. The vehicle has 48k original miles, a clean title, no accidents, and no other mechanical issues have ever occurred.

- Halethorpe, MD, USA

I shared a common issue that many Toyota CH-r owners are having and not receiving compensation for it. Toyota Canada has been working with APA to advocate for extended warranty. Official forums and webpages have been created that exemplifies who tremendously widespread this issue has become. [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] accident have occurred to this vehicle. Sound occurring during acceleration. Transmission sound progressively worsened between 88,000-89,500 miles. Mechanics were unable to determine issue, relating it to the CV axel and sound near the transmission. Brought it to the dealership and was told that it is in fact transmission failure. Further research has led me to believe that malfunction that caused the transmission failure is due to the in adequate CV axel. My safety has been put at risk for +1 year because the issue was to unidentifiable to multiple mechanics. Therefore I unknowingly drove my car with a failing transmission on the interstate to work daily. my safety everyday but simply getting in the car, unsure if that day was going to be the day when my car stopped accelerating on the interstate, when someone could have rammed in the back of my car going +60 mph and could've killed me and possible the other driver. My CHR 2018 has been inspected by the Toyota Dealership in Metairie, Louisiana. There were no warning signs of the issue. They issue back noticeable when acceleration being to slow down. I could tell my car wasn't taking off as fast as it originally did. The noise under my driver side tired became evident just over a year ago April 2024 around 88,000 miles and has gotten louder since. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Metairie, LA, USA

Transmission suddenly started to fail and compounded other major issues prrtaining to transmissikn failure.

- Gonzales, TX, USA

My Toyota chr 2018 transmission died on me and left me and my family stranded as it-??s our only car and can-??t afford anything else. Toyota in Salinas California told me 4 months ago it was the transmission making weird noises they-??ve quoted $13,000 with no warning lights popping up. There is a lot people complaining about the same issue on the cvt transmission for Toyota

- Salinas, CA, USA

Vehicle feels clunky and check engine light turned on and many other lights. Mechanic says there-??s a problem with the transmission.

- Bentonville, AR, USA

Transmission failure at 102,000 miles. Purchased used at 70,000 miles. Dealership quoted almost $12,000 to replace transmission. No warning lights or warning messages. No issue(s) ever noted at routine maintenance at dealership. Took car to dealership because car was making a grumbling noise when driven. This is a known issue with 2018 Toyota CH-Rs. Should be a class action lawsuit. Toyota aware of issue as "there are now updates in place". Simple google search confirms that this is a known, widespread issue.

- Greenville, SC, USA

The contact owns a 2018 Toyota C-HR. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the engine revved loudly while the transmission was stuck in low gear. The check engine, power steering, Forward Collision Avoidance, and other unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that upon exceeding 25 MPH, the engine revved loudly to 4,000 RPM. The contact drove to the residence, where the vehicle was diagnosed by a mobile independent mechanic. The mechanic determined that the failure was related to the transmission. The vehicle was not repaired. Glen Burnie Transmissions was contacted, and the contact was informed that there were several similar vehicles at the location being repaired for the failure. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 91,000.

- Brooklyn, MD, USA

Reported by mechanics that this is a known issue with 2018 CHR at ~80k miles. My car has 86k. Toyota won-??t help me because I didn-??t have it regularly serviced at the dealership.

- Dardenne Prairie, MO, USA

I have a 2018 chr and the transmission start make a noise so i bring the car to the Toyota dealer and the transmission shift fine is making noise like some baring or gear is going bad so they told me the transmission needs to be replaced and the cost is $9000 plus labor total $11000 so a cost more than the car so I don-??t know why Toyota use this type of transmission if the cost so much is not getting reliable anymore that is insane they need to open a recall for this is totally ripping off what they do hopefully they will get a solution for that is not fair are several complaints for the same problems if they use the cvt transmission they supposed to have at least a fair price to replace it to be affordable to the consumer

- Fort Myers , FL, USA

My Toyota CH-R 2018, has an horrible noise due to CVT transmission problems. Because the bearing is the cause of the failure, and that the failure is a result of a manufacturer-??s defect in the transmission. warranty expired, but why the noise was not diagnosed as a pending failure during one of the regular service appointments. I also have learned that they are many vehicles with this same issue.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

The contact owns a 2018 Toyota C-HR. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact heard a loud pitch whining sound while attempting to shift gears. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated the vehicle vibrated when the contact came to a complete stop. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 84,000.

- Salinas, CA, USA

I purchased this vehicle new in 2018 was never made aware of any recalls on the transmission, took it to the toyota dealership for oil change and what I thought was a hub bearing from the sound. We were told the bearing in the transmission was faulty and the transmission needs to be replaced at the cost of 13,000. I have done research and found that there was a recall on the 2018 toyota chr but only certain vin numbers. My vin number was not one that was recalled. This has put a bitter taste in my mouth because there is oviously an issue with all chr transmissions. There was no warning message just the rubbing sound coming from the transmission. Toyota corporate needs to be made aware of this problem, im sure they already know.

- Columbia, SC, USA

Hello, The 2018 Toyota C-HR has approximately 44,000 miles on it from one owner bought new from a dealer in July, 2017. It has been maintained with all the regular interval services. It has low milage because the owner, my wife has a job that doesn't require her to drive a lot. Sometime within the last four months the car has slowly developed a whining noise where the pitch goes up and down with the speed of the tires rather than the RPMs. There aren't any warning lights or other indicators only the whining noise as you drive. We had an independent garage look at it, they drove it and said it was coming from the transmission and to take it to a Toyota dealer. We took it to a Toyota dealer and did a test drive with a service agent who heard the noise and wrote up a repair ticket that said the transmission needs to be replaced. The cost quoted to us is approximately $11,500 with tax. The car would have a trade in value of $13K-15K if it didn't have this defect. The warranty on the transmission is 50,000 miles or 5 years which because of my wife's low yearly mileage, the problem is coming to light at a significantly lower mileage than the warranty but unfortunatley outside of the timeframe. I opened a case with Toyota Corporate service line to see if they would at least help financially with the defect but they refused any out of warranty help or any other options. We are now stuck with a mostly worthless low mileage Toyota car and don't know what to do. I have read on various Web forums that this major problem is common in this year and model of this car and that Toyota has been aware of it for quite some time. They never issued a recall on our Lemon of a car and we feel that we have a car that is unsafe to drive a long distance and will soon become unsafe to drive any distance. The car is available for any inspection upon request. We feel that Toyota sold us a bad car with a short lifespan and would appreciate any advise or help. Thank you.

- Erie, CO, USA

The vehicle is making a very odd and distinct noise when accelerating, shifting, and/or idling. At a Toyota dealership, the diagnosis is that the transmission needs to be replaced. This issue first occurs around 72000 miles in conjunction with multiple malfunctioning lights turning on. There is a trend growing amongst the CHR community that vehicles manufactured in Turkey are developing transmission issues before or at the 100,000 mileage range.

- Tallahassee, FL, USA

I have less than 60,000 miles on my vehicle and the transmission is failing. I had my local dealer check the car out and they confirmed it needs the transmission replaced at a cost of over $10,000.

- Placerville, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2018 Toyota C-HR. The contact stated that while his daughter was at a stop sign, several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to shift out of low gear and the vehicle failed to respond as needed while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, and the contact was advised to take the vehicle to a local dealer for assistance. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified on the failure but offered no assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 102,000.

- Gilmer, TX, USA

The contact owns a 2018 Toyota C-HR. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made an abnormal sound, and the transmission was slipping. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the transmission was replaced; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 76,000.

- Asbury Park, NJ, USA