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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
10,911 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2018 Toyota Corolla engine problems

engine problem

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2018 Toyota Corolla Owner Comments

problem #14

Mar 112024

Corolla

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I was driving down the highway and I heard a tapping noise thought it might have been a piece of trim loose on the car so I pulled over and stopped. Immediately the engine died would not restart. I looked under the hood and the radiator cap had blown off and all of the coolant was gone The engine had overheated when I put compression test was done there was water shooting out of the valve cover. It was diagnosed as a blown head gasket The car never gave any warning lights or the thermostat never showed any temperature problem at all. I was sitting on the side of the highway for 12 hours trying to figure out what to do with the car because I didn't have money for a tow truck. Fortunately nothing terribly bad happened as a result However had I not heard the trim loose and pulled over and the car had died in the highway it could have been way worse.

- Moody, TX, USA

problem #13

Jan 032024

Corolla

  • miles
corolla 2018, has 90k miles, reently, (3rd time already). driving o freeway car reduced speed, and wont go over 40mph, although rpm goes high all the way to 4,000. had to stop aside waitied 3 hours to see whats wrong, after engine was cold, dorove it home slowly on side streets, happened again wont go over 40mph, transmission became slippery and noisy, after couple of weeks, third time happened agintransmission noisy became very scary, called toyota and they wont do anything bout it saying not under warranty, no recalls no voluntary repairs is associated with this vin although all other model years were included. car is useless now. no money for transmission repairs. really bad. for a car considered mot reliable car in the world.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #12

Jun 042023

Corolla

  • miles
After vehicle is driven for approximately 15 mins or more and then comes to a long stop at a red light or drive thru line (while transmission is in drive and foot is on the brake), idle drops to 500rpm and car starts shaking as if it's about to die. Issue has been ongoing for years even before the fuel pump recall fix was performed but didn't start until around 25 thousand miles. Issue isn't the AC compressor cycling, it is not the secondary/auxillary cooling fans engaging, no check engine lights, no other symptoms. If it gets worse, it could cause the vehicle to completely stall in traffic posing a safety hazard. Shifting the transmission to neutral or park stops the issue. Shifting into neutral and then back to drive temporarily corrects the issue but then it re-occurs after at least 30 seconds or more. Many other 2017 and 2018 Corolla owners have reported this issue as well online and nobody has found the cause.

- Van Nuys, CA, USA

problem #11

Sep 022019

Corolla

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The car lost power completely and shut down. The first time this occurred was on the freeway 601 in traffic in September 2019. Took it to the dealer and nothing would show up as being defective. Dealer kept the vehicle for maybe a week and was about to return it back to us but a service manager decided to research the problem further because we told him that we did not feel safe as this could happen again in traffic. Service manager advised that the fuel pump would be replaced. A year later we read that a recall has been issued for a fuel pump issue, we called and were told that our VIN was not part of the recall. We were still concerned because we wanted to insure that the replacement fuel pump was not one being recalled. We contacted Toyota and a case # was issued. Nothing else could be done. The vehicle shut down again on July 2022 and Sept 2022 took it again to the dealer and nothing wrong shows on on their diagnostic machine. Vehicle shut down May 2023 and it is still not on a recall list. There are no warning lights alerting the car shut down is about to happen.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #10

Jul 102020

Corolla

  • 24,000 miles
The contact owned a 2018 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated that she received a recall notification under NHTSA campaign number: 20V012000 (fuel system, gasoline). The vehicle was taken to bev smith Toyota, 3350 us-1, fort pierce, fl 34982, where the repair was completed for the recall. The contact stated an hour later after she left the dealer, two miles down the road driving at 34 mph, the vehicle started to decelerated to 15-19 mph. The contact called back the dealer and was informed to bring back the vehicle. The vehicle then stalled and the contact was able to coast to the side of the road to wait for the dealer technician to pick up the vehicle. The contact stated that the technician had sprayed a substance on the engine in order to start the vehicle and taken it to the dealer but when attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle to ignite into flames. The contact stated that the vehicle was destroyed due to negligent from the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened a case. The failure mileage was approximately 24,000.

- Fort Pierce, FL, USA

problem #9

Jan 152020

Corolla

  • 11,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated while driving at low speeds the vehicle ran rough, vibrated and stalled without warning. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 20V012000 (fuel system, gasoline). The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The vehicle was taken to al hendrickson Toyota (5201 w, fl-834, coconut creek, fl 33073, (954) 972-1100) where it was confirmed that the part was not available. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. A loaner vehicle was provided. The manufacturer was contacted however no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 11,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- Coconut Creek, FL, USA

problem #8

Jan 152020

Corolla 4-cyl

  • 33,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated that the check engine warning light intermittently illuminated while driving. The vehicle was taken jim ellis Toyota of mcdonough (144 hwy 81, mcdonough, ga 30253), to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the fuel pressure pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired because the part needed for the repair was not available. The VIN was included in NHTSA campaign number: 20V012000 (fuel system, gasoline). The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 33,000.

- Mcdonough, GA, USA

problem #7

Jul 302019

Corolla 6-cyl

  • 24,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 mph the vehicle stalled with the malfunction-no power message displayed on the instrument panel. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to Toyota of greensburg (4964 us-30, greensburg, pa 15601) where the vehicle was diagnosed however, the mechanic was unable to retrieve a fault code. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 24,000. Consumer stated vehicle had a malfunction indicator when vehicle stalled.

- Greensburg, PA, USA

problem #6

Feb 112020

Corolla

  • miles
The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 55 mph, the vehicle shuddered and stalled. The contact stated that there was no warning lights illuminated. The contact pulled over to inspected the vehicle. The vehicle failed to start afterwards. The vehicle was towed to Toyota of Laredo located at (6324 bob bullock loop, Laredo, tx 78041) where the mechanic found no defect with the vehicle. The contact discovered that the vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 20V012000 (fuel system, gasoline) however, the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and acknowledged that parts were unavailable. The manufacturer at first declined to provide a loaner vehicle but after several additional failures, a loaner was provided. The vehicle remained in the possession of the dealer. The failure mileage was unknown. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- Laredo, TX, USA

problem #5

Sep 062019

Corolla

  • 10,264 miles
The car was in stationary mode on a city street and waiting for the red light to turn green. After a few minutes, the turned green and I accelerated a little as the car begin to move but out of nowhere the car turned off and all systems stopped, including the computer board, but before all went blank there was a message about system error with a triangle symbol, and I had to manually activate the parking lever as well as press the brakes. Thankfully everyone in their lanes noticed my Odyssey and made space for the other upcoming cars as I activated the emergency flashing lights. However, I turned the car fully off by turning the key and waited some minutes as I was adjusting to the situation. I then turned the car on again and worked. A few days after the incident, I took the car to the dealership and the staff member who assisted me said that the system's record showed that there as an error history but did not say which component part or where the malfunction was located that caused the car's safety risk in regards to the computer system and engine to stop without any notice. This response to what happened was not satisfactory to me because nothing was done and no paperwork or record was given to me about the system check or report. This incident and unknown response to the malfunction cause have made me worry about this happening again in the future under other unsafe circumstances and that it could cause me to have an accident.

- Sunrise, FL, USA

problem #4

Oct 082019

Corolla

  • 20,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My car was driving fine for months, then out of nowhere it had a funny smell inside so I pulled over and parked it. When I tried to start it up again I drove 1 minute down the street and shut off. I was told that my engine locked up by Toyota, but it was not their fault or mines. But that I have to pay to fix it. The car is 2018 less than 25,000 miles.

- Lawrenceville, GA, USA

problem #3

Mar 152019

Corolla

  • 6,600 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Corolla. While operating the vehicle, the check engine and power steering warning indicators illuminated. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer (stone mountain Toyota, 4400 stone mountain hwy, melbourne, ga) was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 6,600.

- Lithonia, GA, USA

problem #2

Mar 162019

Corolla

  • 17,890 miles
The 2018 Toyota Corolla cruise control is dangerous. When cruise control is on, going down a slight hill, the transmission downshifts but throttle does not reduce causing car to increase speed 10-15 mph with high rpms. At bottom of incline transmission goes to higher gear and brakes are applied very hard causing vehicle to suddenly and violently slowdown 15-20 mph. In this situation if cruise control is not disengaged the car will go well over the speed limit and to an unsafe speed for the roadway. The braking action is so sudden and violent it's difficult to control the vehicle and has several times in a couple of months caused me to very nearly get rear ended by a vehicle behind me which was not originally following too close. As the dangerous cruise control starts its increase in speed the vehicles behind may increase their speed and as they are increasing speed my car cruise control system jams on the brakes and cause the following car to come dangerously close to collision. As well the other driver has on at least one occasions became angry started road raging thinking I had purposely brake checked. The 2018 Toyota Corolla cruise control is dangerous, could certainly be deadly based on my experience and further is virtually unusable as a purchased feature on anything but a flat road. I've driven over 20 cars in my life and am very experienced with cruise controls in 6 different manufacturers cars. The cruise control on my 2018 Toyota Corolla could cause injury, lawsuit, road rage with personal injury or death. I've already had it to the dealer twice and am taking it back this week.

- Columbia, SC, USA

problem #1

Jan 112019

Corolla

  • 6,000 miles
The RPM of the car jumps upto 4000 when attempting to slow the car on down hills. Toyota dealerships are refusing to acknowledge the issue but there are cases many people got their car fixed or exchanged. This proves the issue when using cruise control. The ideal intent of using the cruise control is to save gas mileage and effort to drive the car for long distances. I have to travel long distances to work on daily basis. I feel very uncomfortable and unsafe driving the car on cruise. Toyota should acknowledge the problem to save the trust of the customers. This happens consistently. I am trying to contact Toyota for the issue. I hope to receive a positive response.

- Birmingham, AL, USA

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