2018 TOYOTA C-HR Complaints

I noticed a humming sound coming from my car about a month ago. After getting it looked at it is a transmission issue. The same issue many people are having with this model of car. It is drivable for now but for how long I don’t know.

Yes, Toyota has extended the warranty for the Continuous Variable Transmission (CVT) on certain C-HR models (specifically 2018-2019) in Canada and potentially the US due to widespread reports of a defective bearing, covering failures up to 10 years or 193,000 km (around 120,000 miles) and offering refunds for past repairs, a move prompted by consumer advocacy, though US action often lags Canada's. Details of the Extension (Canada-focused, but relevant for US): Models Affected: Primarily 2018 and 2019 Toyota C-HRs, with investigations extending to 2018-2022 models. The Problem: A faulty bearing inside the CVT can fail, leading to very expensive ($10,000-$15,000) transmission replacements, notes the Automobile Protection Association (APA). New Coverage: Up to 10 years or 193,000 km (about 120,000 miles) from the original purchase date, with some reports mentioning no mileage cap until September 2026. Reimbursement: The program also provides refunds for owners who paid out-of-pocket for repairs before the extension was announced.

The issue I’m having with my vehicle is my transmission. When I drive it doesn’t want to shift smoothly, grinds and whines when accelerating and braking. The safety on my 17 MONTH OLD daughter is the main one that I transport around and this definitely puts her safety at risk as we could be driving down that posts higher speeds or up hill and loose momentum to go and could be struck by another vehicle. As we hope people pay attention accident death rates rising shows otherwise. The vehicle has been loosed at and diagnosed it’s my transmission and now CNA warranty is bending over backwards to NOT replace it when it is a known issue. There have been ZERO indication that an issue was happening and that puts me and my family at greater risk of injury or death due to negligence of Toyota not making a recall on the transmissions or being transparent about the issue.

My 2018 CHR has a faulty bearing in its transmission. This is a common problem in this make and model. Toyota is quoting customers $13,000 to replace this part. My vehicle started experiencing a noise and when taken to dealership was told the transmission is going out at only 90,000 miles. This is a huge safety concern that they know this is an issue with this vehicle and no recall has been made. This car is a true lemon and customers are being put in danger by owning it with no recall.

The contact owns a 2018 Toyota CH-R. The contact stated that while driving in ECO Mode, there was a humming sound coming from the transmission. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who diagnosed that the transmission and torque converter were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not covered under a manufacturer’s Extended Warranty Coverage for the failure. The contact stated that a recall for the failure had been issued for certain vehicles manufactured in Canada. The failure mileage was 35,100.

I have a 2018 Toyota CHR with of course a CVT transmission. I am around 105k miles with normal maintenance and have had small issues but nothing crazy until now. I have been noticing a strange noise coming from my car and after replacing pretty much every moving part on the car (besides the transmission), the issue is a bearing coming from within the transmission. After doing further research through the NHTSA and other websites it seems like this is an inevitable problem with all models from this make within the year 2017-2022. This is extremely disappointing coming from a lifelong Toyota customer. There seems to be a recall for these units in other parts of North America but not the United States. I would not recommend this car or this company to anyone. Failures in this part exceed the value of the car as of 2026 and it is completely ridiculous that Toyota has not done anything. As a loyal Toyota customer you have lost my business and every time I see someone in this model CHR I can only feel bad for them knowing their car is most likely not going to make it 5 years or even to 100k miles. This is a great little car on the interior and exterior but is unfortunate that Toyota made the wrong decision mass producing and rushing the import of them into the United States with a Turkish made transmission. Not the Toyota quality that anyone expected.

The component that failed is the CVT transmission. Toyota dealership in kansas city replaced transmission and the faulty transmission is no longer available for inspection. The faulty transmission could have placed me at risk by failing without notice and causing a loss of control while driving. the componenet has been inspected by a toyota dealership named Molle toyota in kansas city and they have deemed that the transmission needed to be replaced as well as the torque converter. there were no warning lamps or messages, a faint whining noise was the only symptom.

When I was heading to work I started to hear a grinding sound. After my shift I drove my car to pickup my kids from school and the sound I was hearing was louder. It sounded like something was cracking as I was driving . I was worried that we were going to be stranded in the middle of the road. I drove as slow as possible till we made it home. So, the very next morning I took it to a mechanic shop. I did not have any warning symbols or messages to alert of any issue. I was told their was and internal failure within my transmission. They also mentioned it was a sealed transmission and the only solution was to replace it. They quoted me 11k to replace and program new transmission. My vehicle has 125k miles and was purchased when they first released in 2017. I purchased a Toyota because they have a reputable name so I thought. Now I see many people have been having trouble with this CVT transmission around the same mileage or earlier. My registration is due this month and cant renew it do my vehicle being undrivable. I'm stuck without a car and I'm not able to afford to repair or purchase another vehicle. Something has to be done with these CVT transmissions. My wife's Highlander has the same type of transmission and I'm worried that it potentially will have the same issue down the line.

My front camera sensor light came on stating it was unavailable, then turned back on after a few minutes. About a week later on several occasions, the emergency brake notification came on when I was on the freeway with no vehicles in front of me to cause this. There has been an excessive whirring sound coming from the engine also. With these issues there have been no warning signs including check engine lights or other vehicle maintenance lights on. Reading complaints from other Toyota, CHR owners with similar issues, and stating they’ve had costly transmission failure brings a great deal of concern for my safety and those on the road.

The issue is the bearing in my CVT transmission. I've been advised by three different shops/dealerships that this is the problem while being quoted $10k plus to replace the transmission. Through research, this is a known issue with the 2018-2022 Toyota CHRs. Thus making this vehicle heavily UNSAFE to drive and Toyota is not taking any accountability with this problem. There have been no warning lights of this issue. Only an intense grinding noise in the front end of the vehicle and "jumping/hopping" at times and brief moments where the vehicle will not move. It seems to only occur when the warranty is expired but something needs to be done about this as I know I am not the only person experiencing this problem. This not only is a severe safety issue but also should never have happened if Toyota took responsibility for putting faulty CVT transmissions in this vehicle. They need to cover the costs and make this right!!