2018 Toyota Corolla

Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues

Air bags is the leading concern among 134 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 22nd highest complaint count among 26 Corolla model years with reports.

Complaints by model year
  1. 134

Of the 2018 reports, 26 involved a crash and 5 involved a fire. 17 people were injured and 1 person died.

Primary concernAir bags36 reports · 27% of complaints
Owner complaints134Filed with NHTSA
Recall relationship3 safety recallsNHTSA campaign records

What owners report most often

  1. Air bags36
  2. Fuel/propulsion system23
  3. Other or unspecified18
  4. Engine15
  5. Fuel system15
  6. Gasoline15
  7. Electrical system12
  8. Power train12

Recalls and investigations

  1. Air bags, air bag/restraint control moduleJan 17, 2020

    Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2011-2019 Corolla, 2011-2013 Matrix, 2012-2018 Avalon, and 2013-2018 Avalon Hybrid vehicles. During certain crashes, the air bag electronic control unit (ECU) may malfunction, possibly disabling the deployment of the air bags and/or seat belt pretensioners.

    In the event of a crash, air bags and/or seat belt pretensioners that do not deploy as intended may increase the risk of injury.

    Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ECU and install a noise filter between the air bag control module and its wire harness, as necessary, free of charge. Owners were notified of the safety risk beginning March 2, 2020. A second letter notifying owners of the remedy repair will be mailed between March 16, 2020 and June 27, 2020. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 20TB03, 20TA03 and 20TA05.

    Campaign 20V024000 on NHTSA.gov

  2. Fuel system, gasoline, delivery, fuel pumpJan 13, 2020

    Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) recalled certain 2018-2019 4Runner, Highlander, Camry, Land Cruiser, Sequoia, Sienna, Tacoma and Tundra, and Lexus RC 300, RC 350, GS 350, GX 460, IS 300, LC 500, LS 500, LX 570, RX 350L, and 2019 Toyota Avalon and Corolla, and certain Lexus NX 300, and ES 350 vehicles on January 13, 2020. On March 4, 2020, Toyota expanded the recall to include certain 2014-2015 Toyota 4Runner and Land Cruiser, 2018 Avalon, Corolla, 2014 FJ Cruiser, 2017 Sienna and Lexus 2018 ES 350, 2018-2019 GS 300, 2013-2014 GS350, 2014-2015 GX 460, IS 350 and LX 570, 2014 IS F, 2018-2019 IS 350, LC 500H and LS 500H, 2013-2015 LS 460, 2015 NX 200T and RC350, 2017 RC 200T and RX 350. Toyota also removed the 2018-2019 Toyota 4Runner and Land Cruiser and 2018-2019 Lexus GX 460 and LX 570 and 2019 NX300 from inclusion in this recall. On March 19, 2020, Toyota expanded the recall to include 2015 Lexus GS350 vehicles. The low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.

    If the fuel pump fails, the engine can stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.

    Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump, free of charge. The recall began May 4, 2020. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371 or Lexus customer service at 1-800-255-3987. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 20TB02 and 20TA02 for Toyota vehicles and 20LB01 and 20LA01 for Lexus vehicles.

    Campaign 20V012000 on NHTSA.gov

  3. Equipment, other, labelsJun 28, 2019

    Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Toyota Camry, Corolla, Rav4, Sienna, and Yaris iA vehicles equipped with factory-installed floor mats. The load carrying capacity modification label may be incorrect. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."

    An incorrect label may lead to unintentionally overloading the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

    SET will notify owners and provide a corrected label for placement over the inaccurate label, free of charge. The recall began August 23, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. SET's number for this recall is SET19A.

    Campaign 19V503000 on NHTSA.gov

Representative owner complaints: power train

12 reports, newest first. Show all

  1. Power train, Jun 1, 2026

    CV axle making clicking noise when turning with all CV axle boots in good condition.

  2. Power train, Mar 10, 2026

    The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated that while driving 75 MPH, there was an abnormal whining sound coming from the vehicle, and the vehicle failed to accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that the tachometer was raised to high levels while exiting the highway. While at a stoplight, the vehicle hesitated while accelerating with the check engine warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. An OBD2 scanner was used to diagnose the vehicle, and DTC: P0741, P075B, P1604, P2757, P2820(X4) were retrieved, which were related to the torque converter. The contact was informed that the CVT transmission needed to be replaced, and the contact was provided with an estimate for the repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but denied any assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 76,099.

  3. Suspension, Power train, Vehicle speed control, Feb 11, 2026

    My 2018 Toyota Corolla has problems with acceleration and a very large noise in the front bar that guides the wheels. It also accelerates by itself, which is why I have had to change the brakes many times. It also shakes a lot at the bottom

  4. Power train, Engine, Mar 1, 2024

    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.

  5. Power train, Other or unspecified, Engine, Jun 4, 2023

    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.

  6. Power train, Fuel/propulsion system, Forward collision avoidance, Feb 8, 2022

    Had a recall on the fuel system causing the system to potentially stall the vehicle. Had the car service but still when doing cruise control its still doing the same thing by reving the engine to high on RPM to potentially stall the vehicle. Potential safety problem

  7. Power train, Structure, Other or unspecified, Nov 8, 2020, crash

    AIR BAGS DIDN'T DEPLOY WHEN I HAD AN ACCIDENT.*DT*DT*JB*JB

  8. Power train, Oct 4, 2020

    IT HAS BEEN MULTIPLE TIMES WHERE I AM SITTING AT A RED LIGHT AND THE CAR SURGES FORWARD UNEXPECTEDLY. IT FEELS AS IF SOMEONE JUST REAR-ENDED ME. ONCE THIS HAPPENS AND YOU PRESS ON THE ACCELERATOR IT TAKES LONGER TIME FOR THE CAR TO COME TO SPEED. IT'S AS IF THE ENGINE JUST "BOGS" UP FOR A COUPLE SECOND.

  9. Power train, Seat belts, Mar 11, 2020

    TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 TOYOTA COROLLA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT, THE VEHICLE SURGED FORWARD. NO WARNING INDICATORS WERE ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE SEAT BELT WAS VERY HARD TO UNBUCKLE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER FOR A DIAGNOSTIC. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND A CASE WAS OPENED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 30,000.

  10. Power train, Fuel/propulsion system, Jan 21, 2020

    TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 TOYOTA COROLLA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED IN THE GARAGE, THE ELECTRIC FUEL PUMP STARTED ITSELF WHILE THE ENGINE WAS OFF. THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE CONTACT CALLED THE PRESTIGE TOYOTA DEALER (844-838-7075, LOCATED AT 1096 NJ-17, RAMSEY, NJ 07446) AND WAS TOLD TO BRING THE VEHICLE TO THE SHOP. THE CONTAC INSTEAD SENT A VIDEO RECORDING OF THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT WAS TOLD TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO THE SHOP. THE CONTACT CALLED THE HALTERMAN'S TOYOTA DEALER (570-339-9129, LOCATED AT 1741 PARADISE TRAIL RTE 447, EAST STROUDSBURG, PA 18301) AND SCHEDULED AN APPOINTMENT FOR THE FOLLOWING DAY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND PROVIDED THE CONTACT WITH A CASE NUMBER: 2001171560. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 5,500.

  11. Power train, Vehicle speed control, Dec 8, 2019

    CAR RECENTLY IS NOT SHIFTING PROPERLY. DRIVES AT HIGH RPMS AND IF I ACCELERATE TOO QUICKLY SAY I GET UP TO 80 MPH ON HIGHWAY CAR WON'T SHIFT INTO NEXT GEAR THE RPMS SUDDENLY DROP ALL THE WAY DOWN TO UNDER 1000 AND QUITS ACCELERATING UNTIL IT JUMPS BACK INTO GEAR. HAVE TO LET FOOT OFF THE GAS FOR IT TO SHIFT AND CRUISE CONTROL HAS BEEN NOT FUNCTIONING PROPERLY EITHER.

  12. Power train, Vehicle speed control, Engine, Jan 11, 2019

    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.