10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 3 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 2 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 13,736 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
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.
- Swanton, VT, USA
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.
- Rosenberg, TX, USA
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.
- Pompano Beach, FL, USA
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.
- Bowie, MD, USA
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)
- Queen City, MO, USA
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
- N Olmsted, , OH, USA
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.
- Atlanta, GA, USA
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.
- Columbus, OH, USA
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 bill to pay to replace the transmission on a car that I paid $25,000+ for, but now only worths $19,000 and Toyota is taking no responsibility for this CVT transmission issue. Now, I have to fix and trade this car because I am afraid the transmission will go again, and I no longer 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, the cost of that transmission costs almost another c
- Lexington, KY, USA
Whining noise coming from transmission. Apparently, transmission bearing is not serviceable and new transmission is recommended.
- Covina, CA, USA
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...
- Los Angeles, CA, USA
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.
- Norwich, CT, USA
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 death) will be the result from a plugged non-serviceable/sealed filter. Will be splitting the plastic filter housing to inspect the filter media, but from the two openings where a portion of the media can be seen, it is completely plugged.
- Versailles, KY, USA
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.
- Sanford, ME, USA
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.
- New Albany, IN, USA
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.
- Port Jervis , NY, USA
Very loud grinding noise coming from the transmission. It makes the entire car shake.
- Knoxville, TN, USA
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.
- East Rochester , NY, USA
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.
- Reno, TX, USA
- Sanford, ME, USA