2018 Toyota Camry Hybrid Owner Complaints

The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Camry Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving 35 MPH, there was an abnormal beeping sound coming from the vehicle. The message "Low Braking Power - See dealer" was displayed. The contact stated that the beeping sound continued, and several messages were displayed. The contact stated that the messages were displayed while the vehicle was being driven or when the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V890000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 286,000.

NHTSA ID

11667139

Incident

Jun 13, 2025

Mileage

286,000 mi

The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Camry Hybrid. The contact stated that the plastic trim on the steering wheel would reflect a glare while driving. The contact stated that the glare would obstruct his vision while driving. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed him that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ID

11448794

Incident

Jun 1, 2021

Mileage

36,000 mi

THE STEERING STIFFENS UP TREMENDOUSLY AND THEN LOOSEN. TOOK CAR TO TOYOTA FOR SERVICE AND WAS TOLD A STEERING SHAFT (BELIEVE THAT WAS WHAT HE CALLED IT) IS THE PROBLEM AND IT IS GOING TO BE $770. THE GENTLEMAN AT THE DEALERSHIP ALSO INFORMED ME THAT I AM THE 3RD PERSON IN A MONTH WITH A 2018 CAMRY TO COME IN WITH THIS ISSUE.

NHTSA ID

11311857

Incident

Feb 23, 2020

Mileage

41,500 mi

SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR IN AUGUST 2018 UNTIL NOW, I HAVE BEEN DRIVEN IT IN NORMAL CONDITION, BUT HAVE NEVER GOTTEN FUEL CONSUMPTION ABOVE 41 MPG. THE STICKER ADVERTISED AT 48 MPG OR HIGHER FOR HWY/LOCAL. TOYOTA DEALER HAS RAN DIAGNOSTIC ON THE VEHICLE BUT REFUSE TO ADMIT THE FALSE ADVERTISEMENT. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF OTHER OWNERS HAVE SIMILAR PROBLEM. PLEASE HELP ME GET THIS PROBLEM INVESTIGATED.

NHTSA ID

11299407

Incident

Aug 31, 2018

VEHICLE IN MOTION GETTING ONTO FREEWAY. PRESSING GAS PEDAL TO ACCELERATE CAR NOT ACCELERATING BEYOND 40MPH AND FELT LIKE IT WAS BEING FORCED TO ACCELERATE LIKE THERE WAS DRAG AND PULL. CAR JERKED FORWARD A FEW TIMES AS IF IT WAS BEING CHOKED ON GAS. THE HYBRID DIAL WAS BOUNCING ERRATICALLY AS IF IT WAS CONFUSED AND CAR WAS NOT ACCELERATING BEYOND 40 MPH. TOOK IT TO DEALER 1X THEY COULD NOT REPLICATE ISSUE, CALLED TOYOTA CARE AND WAS TOLD ERROR NEEDED DUPLICATING TO BE ADDRESSED. BOTH INCIDENCES HAVE OCCURED WHILE GETTING ONTO A FREEWAY AND PRESSING GAS PEDAL TO MERGE ONTO THE FREEWAY. THE TEMPERATURE OUTSIDE BOTH TIMES WAS ABOVE 90 DEGREES AND THE CAR HAD BEEN AT REST FOR AT LEAST AN HOUR. I TURNED OFF THE A/C TO REDUCE AMOUNT OF POWER CAR WAS USING UP IN ORDER TO HELP WITH ACCELERATION. THE FIRST TIME THIS HAPPENED IN SEPTEMBER OF 2019. I WAS ABLE TO GET THE CAR TO 50 MPH AFTER ABOUT 15-20 MINUTES AND WAS DRIVING WITH HAZARDS ALL THE WAY TO THE DEALERSHIP. THE SECOND TIME WHEN GETTING ON THE FREEWAY IT WAS NOT BUSY AND WAS TRYING TO ACCELERATE TO 65 MPH, GOT IT UP TO 40 MPH FOR ABOUT 20 MINUTES THEN HIT TRAFFIC AND WAS GOING ABOUT 17 MPH THEN EXITED THE FREEWAY AND TOOK THE STREETS.

NHTSA ID

11269250

Incident

Oct 17, 2019

Mileage

20,600 mi

FOR FIRST MINUTE OR TWO AFTER STARTING VEHICLE, THE BRAKES PREVENT SMOOTH OPERATION CAUSING "LURCHING" ESPECIALLY DURING SLOW SPEED BACKING. TOYOTA DECLARES "NORMAL" BEHAVIOR OF THE BRAKES.

NHTSA ID

11256223

Incident

Sep 17, 2019

Mileage

30,000 mi

I CONTACTED TOYOTA REGARDING A PROBLEM WITH MY SCOUTLINK GPS. I WAS DRIVING TO NEW YORK AND THE GPS SUDDENLY STOPPED WORKING.THE DISPLAY SHOWED THE CAR TO THE RIGHT OF THE PATH THEN TO THE LEFT THEN BACK AGAIN, THEN TOLD ME TO MAKE A TURN. I WAS GOING AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED AS YOU DO ON THE TURNPIKES AND PARKWAYS. THERE WAS NO WAY FOR ME TO SAFELY STOP TO TROUBLESHOOT THE SCOUTLINK. IT TAKES A GREAT DEAL OF COORDINATION TO EVEN HOOK IT UP, BUT THEN FOR IT TO STOP WORKING WHEN YOU ARE IN CONGESTED HI SPEED TRAFFIC IS A SAFETY ISSUE FOR ME AND MY FAMILY AS WELL AS OTHERS ON THE HIGHWAY. LUCKILY THE PASSENGER WAS ABLE TO GET GOOGLE MAPS ON THE PHONE TO SAFELY GUIDE US TO OUR DESTINATION.WHEN I REPORTED THE ISSUE TO TOYOTA THEY SUGGESTED I GO TO THE DEALERSHIP. THE DEALERSHIP AGREED THERE WAS A PROBLEM, AND IF I HAD AN APPLE PHONE, THEY HAD A SOLUTION. BUT ALAS I HAVE AN ANDROID, SO THEY TRIED TO GET ME TO TRADE IN MY CAR WITH A 2019, THAT HAS A DIFFERENT SYSTEM IN IT..... A WORKING GPS I HOPE! THEY WANTED ME TO PAY AN ADDITIONAL $14,000. NOT A SAFETY ISSUE, BUT CERTAINLY NOT ETHICAL FROM MY VIEWPOINT. I THEN REPORTED THE ISSUE TO TELENAV, THEY PRODUCE THE SCOUTLINK GPS. THEY TOLD ME I NEEDED TO TALK WITH TOYOTA. I EXPLAINED I WAS THERE ALREADY, MY SOFTWARE WAS UP-TO-DATE AND THEY COULD NOT FIGURE OUT THE PROBLEM AND THE ONLY SOLUTION WAS TO PURCHASE A NEW CAR OR AT MY EXPENSE INSTALL AN AFTER MARKET SYSTEM.. TELENAV TOLD ME HE COULD NOT HELP AND HAS CLOSED THE CASE FILE. I JUST THINK SOMEONE SHOULD BE AWARE OF THE SAFETY ISSUE INVOLVED HERE AND HOW TOYOTA IS NOT STANDING BEHIND ITS PRODUCT OR ITS CUSTOMER. I PURCHASED A GARMIN. I WAS UNABLE TO ATTACH MP4 VIDEOS.

NHTSA ID

11230588

Incident

Jun 9, 2019

Mileage

16,000 mi

ISSUE #1 RADIO/BLUETOOTH FAILS TO SYNC WITH PHONE FORCING ME TO HAND HOLD THE PHONE IN VIOLATION OF STATE LAW. ISSUE #2 RADIO/BLUETOOTH/MICROPHONE HAS SO MUCH BACKGROUND NOISE THAT IT'S DIFFICULT FOR PEOPLE TO HEAR/UNDERSTAND ME. THIS IS AN ISSUE IN THE CASE OF AN ACCIDENT OR OTHER SITUATION WHEN HANDS FREE COMMUNICATION IS REQUIRED.

NHTSA ID

11220859

Incident

Jun 18, 2019

Mileage

35,842 mi

THE VEHICLE DID NOT RESPOND PROPERLY TO THE DRIVER PRESSING THE ACCELERATOR. WHEN THE DRIVER ATTEMPTED TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE AFTER IT HAD BEEN PARKED FOR A FEW HOURS, WITH NO PROBLEMS PREVIOUSLY, THE VEHICLE WOULD BARELY ACCELERATE. THE VEHICLE FELT VERY SLUGGISH AND EVEN WITH THE ACCELERATOR FULLY PRESSED IT WOULD NOT EXCEED 25 MPH. THE DRIVER PULLED THE VEHICLE OVER AND TURNED OFF THE VEHICLE AND TURNED IT BACK ON BUT THIS DID NOT IMMEDIATELY RESOLVED THE ISSUE. THE DRIVER DROVE THE VEHICLE FOR A FEW BLOCKS TO A SAFER PARKING LOCATION AND TURNED OFF THE VEHICLE AGAIN TO BETTER INSPECT THE VEHICLE. THERE WERE NO WARNINGS ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL AND NO OBVIOUS SIGNS OF MECHANICAL ISSUES. THE DRIVER RESTARTED THE VEHICLE AND ATTEMPTED TO DRIVE IT AGAIN THE ISSUE DID NOT RE-APPEAR. THIS VEHICLE HAD NOT YET BEEN INSPECTED BY THE DEALERSHIP SINCE THE INCIDENT BUT COULD HAVE RESULTED IN A TRAGIC COLLISION AND NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED.

NHTSA ID

11204494

Incident

Apr 27, 2019

Mileage

25,000 mi

2018 TOYOTA CAMRY HYBRID HAS ALIGNMENT PROBLEMS SINCE NEW. HAD IT ALIGNED FROM TOYOTA 2 TIMES AND STILL WEARING OUT THE TIRES.

NHTSA ID

11195676

Incident

Nov 28, 2018

Mileage

14,000 mi

BRAKES PERIODICALLY GRAB SEVERELY WHEN FIRST DRIVING THE CAR. USUAL OCCURRENCE IS WHEN FIRST BACKING FROM GARAGE OR PARKING SPACE AND TRYING TO EASE THE BRAKE PEDAL. BRAKES GRAB AND PREVENT SLOWING THE CAR SMOOTHLY. AFTER DRIVING FOR A DOZEN OR SO YARDS, PROBLEM DOESN'T REOCCUR--UNTIL IS AGAIN PARKED FOR SOME TIME. THIS PROBLEM DOESN'T SEEM TO BE RELATED TO OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE/HUMIDITY BUT HAS EXISTED OVER THE PAST YEAR SINCE CAR WAS NEW. NOW HAS 5000 MILES. RETURNED TO DEALER TWICE BUT ALL TESTS REPORTED OK AND "COULD NOT DUPLICATE" PROBLEM.

NHTSA ID

11165230

Incident

Feb 20, 2018

Mileage

500 mi

RODENTS CHEWED ELECTRICAL WIRING WHILE PARKED IN DRIVEWAY OF OUR HOME. TOYOTA DEALERSHIP WANTS TO REPLACE ENGINE HARNESS WIRING, BUT INSURANCE COMPANY REFUSES AND INSISTS ON REPAIRS ONLY. TOYOTA DOES NOT WANT TO DO REPAIRS.

NHTSA ID

11165702

Incident

Dec 24, 2018

Mileage

5,900 mi

SINCE WE BOUGHT THE VEHICLE NEW,THERE IS SEVERE BREAK GRAB AT LOW SPEED'S ESPECIALLY IN BUMPER-TO-BUMPER TRAFFIC HAVE BROUGHT INTO THE DEALERSHIP MORE THAN ONE IT'S STILL NOT FIGURED OUT.

NHTSA ID

11128290

Incident

Nov 25, 2017

Mileage

250 mi

WHEN I COME TO A FULL STOP AND ATTEMPT TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE SORT OF "STALLS" THEN EVENTUALLY THE GEARS CATCH AND IT STARTS TO DRIVE. THIS CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS WHEN TRYING TO PICK UP SPEED IN A HIGHWAY OR SOMETHING. THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED I WAS AT A STOP SIGN. UPON DEPRESSING THE BRAKE, THE VEHICLE DID NOT PICK UP SPEED, IT SLOWLY ROLLED FORWARD. AFTER ABOUT 5-10 SECONDS, THE VEHICLE THEN SEEMED TO "CATCH GEARS" AND PICKED UP SPEED. I ALSO NOTICED THE HYBRID BATTERY WASN'T CHARGING VERY WELL AND SEEMED TO BE HOT AS THE BATTERY FANS WERE CONSTANTLY ON.

NHTSA ID

11120742

Incident

Aug 17, 2018

Mileage

29,550 mi

THE BRAKES ARE VERY GRABBY AT LOW SPEED (SUCH AS MANEUVERING IN A PARKING SPACE ON A SLIGHT INCLINE). THE BRAKES SUDDENLY BECOME MORE EFFECTIVE (WITH THE SAME PEDAL PRESSURE) AT CITY-STREET SPEEDS AS WELL AS HIGHWAY SPEEDS. THIS HAS OCCASIONALLY CAUSED THE ABS TO ENGAGE, WITH THE CAR LOSING TRACTION BRIEFLY IN A STRAIGHT LINE ON A DRY ROAD WHEN THE BRAKES SUDDENLY BECOME MORE EFFECTIVE. THIS IS A CONTINUING PROBLEM SINCE HE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED IN OCTOBER 2017, WHICH THE DEALER HAS REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE TWICE, SAYING THIS IS A NEW REGENERATIVE BRAKING SYSTEM (SPECIFICALLY DIFFERENT FROM THE PRIUS, WHICH I CITED AS NOT HAVING THIS PROBLEM).

NHTSA ID

11118282

Incident

Sep 23, 2017

VEHICLE BRAKES ARE BEST DESCRIBED AS GRABBY AT LOW SPEEDS, E.G., COMING TO STOP SIGN OR PULLING INTO GARAGE. THE PROBLEM LEADS TO JERKY STOP/GO/STOP/GO/STOP SITUATIONS. VEHICLE ALSO HAS A TENDENCY TO BOLT FORWARD OR BACKWARD WHEN RELEASING BRAKES WHICH HAS LED TO RUNNING INTO GARAGE WHILE BACKING UP.

NHTSA ID

11114312

Incident

Mar 20, 2018

Mileage

6,000 mi

BOTH SIDE WINDOWS IN THE FRONT HAVE VISIBLE DARK AND LIGHT SPOTS, AND PATTERNS. REAR WINDOWS HAVE A LOT OF RIPPLING DARK PATTERNS. PATTERNS CAN BE SEEN WHEN WE LOOK THROUGH POLARIZED SUNGLASSES. IT IS ALSO VISIBLE WITH BARE EYES FROM AN ANGLE. WHAT IS THE STANDARD OF THE TEMPERED GLASS ON A VEHICLE ? WE THINK THIS SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENED WHETHER OR NOT POLARIZED SUNGLASSES ARE USED WHEN DRIVING. WE ARE NOT SURE IF OUR WINDOWS ARE CONSIDERED AS ABNORMAL OR DEFECT AT THIS LEVEL (SEE PICTURES), THE PATTERNS ON BOTH SIDES (FRONT) WINDOWS ARE DISTRACTING WHEN IT TURNS DARK UNDER THE BRIGHT SUN. WINDOWS IN THE MIDDLE ARE FINE. BESIDES, WE DON'T HAVE THIS PROBLEM WITH OUR OTHER 3 CARS AT HOME (2 ARE DIFFERENT BRAND) WHEN WE USED OUR POLARIZED SUNGLASSES IN THE PAST YEARS.

NHTSA ID

11112499

Incident

Jul 1, 2018

SINCE THE CAR WAS DELIVERED FROM THE DEALER, THE BRAKES HAVE CONTINUED TO SEVERELY GRAB AT LOW SPEEDS AS IF A CHILD IS JAMMING DOWN ON THE BRAKE PEDDLE. IT IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO EASE THE CAR INTO A PARKING SPACE WITHOUT THE BRAKES BUCKING SEVERAL TIMES. BACKING UP CAUSES THE SAME BUCKING PROBLEM. THE BUCKING IS SOMEWHAT INTERMITTENT AND THE SLOWER ONE IS MOVING THE WORSE IT SEEMS TO BE. THE CAR HAS 8500 MILES AND THE PROBLEM CONTINUES.

NHTSA ID

11112240

Incident

Dec 1, 2017

BRAKES ARE VERY 'GRABBY'. AT SLOW SPEEDS IN TRAFFIC (<5MPH) WHEN YOU APPLY YOUR FOOT TO THE BREAK YOU COME TO AN IMMEDIATE STOP (SIMILAR TO SLAMMING ON THE BRAKE). AT HIGH SPEEDS ON THE HIGHWAY (>60MPH) WHEN YOU APPLY THE BREAK THE CAR WILL ALSO SLOW DOWN AS IF YOU ARE PUSHING DOWN HARD ON THE BREAK PEDAL. DRIVING IN THE SNOW / ICE THIS WINTER WAS DANGEROUS AS THE BREAKS LOCKED UP ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS RESULTING IN SKIDDING/SLIDING. THERE IS NO MIDDLE GROUND, LIGHTLY APPLYING THE BREAKS, OR 'SLOW BREAKING'. YOU LIGHTLY APPLY THE BREAK AND THE CAR IS SLOWING DOWN IMMEDIATELY AS IF YOUR TRYING TO AVOID A COLLISION.

NHTSA ID

11110862

Incident

Jan 1, 2018

MY DRIVER REAR TIRE STARTED WOBBLING AND I HAD A COMPLETE BLOW OUT WITHIN 3 SECONDS. I WAS DRIVING AT 65 MPH ON THE HIGHWAY. MY CAR HAS APPROXIMATELY 7500 MILES. THE VEERED LEFT AND HAD TO REDIRECT IT RIGHT TO GET OFF FREEWAY.

NHTSA ID

11102240

Incident

Jun 17, 2018

Mileage

7,600 mi

I PARKED MY CAMRY AND LET MY WIFE OUT OF THE CAR. I HAD LEFT THE SHIFT LEVER IN DRIVE AND TURNED OFF THE CAR. ALTHOUGH THE DASH WARNING SAID FOR ME TO SHIFT INTO PARK I DID NOT DO IT THAT INSTANCE. I TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE BRAKE AND THE VEHICLE STARTED MOVING WITH THE ENGINE OFF. THERE WAS NO INCLINE OR HILL. I TRIED THIS SEVERAL TIMES, AND EVEN WITH THE VEHICLE IN REVERSE, ENGINE OFF, FOOT OFF THE BRAKE, THE VEHCILE STARTED MOVING IN REVERSE, EVEN STARTING TO GAIN SPEED. MY WIFE HAS MY OLD 2015 CAMRY HYBRID AND TRIED THIS EXPERIMENT. THAT TOYOTA DID NOT DO WHAT THE 2018 DID.

NHTSA ID

11101081

Incident

Jun 9, 2018

Mileage

5,316 mi

VEHICLE WAS TRAVELING IN TRAFFIC ON I-526 IN CHARLESTON COUNTY, SC. THE TRUCK IN FRONT OF ME PUT ON BREAKS DUE TO A TRUCK MERGING IN FRONT OF HIS VEHICLE. THE BRAKING SYSTEM IN MY CAR, BRAKED, THEN THE CAR LUNGED FORWARD AS BRAKES WERE APPLIED. IN ADDITION A VERY LOUD NOISE OCCURRED INSIDE THE VEHICLE WHICH WAS VERY STARTLING. MY VEHICLE ENDED UP UNDER THE TRUCK IN FRONT OF ME. THE FACT THAT THE VEHICLE LUNGED FORWARD AFTER THE AUTOMATIC BRAKING SYSTEM CAME ON AND THE LOUD ALARM IN THE INTERIOR WAS NOT WHAT HAD HAPPENED WITH THE SYSTEM BEFORE. ONE TIME BEFORE THE BRAKING SYSTEM APPLIED ITSELF AND THE DASHBOARD LIGHT CAME ON AND I SEEM TO RECALL THERE WAS A BEEP OR SOME SOUND THAT WAS VERY BRIEF.

NHTSA ID

11098813

Incident

May 11, 2018

Mileage

10,000 mi

HANKOOK TIRE SIDEWALL SPLIT WHILE DRIVING - 30 MPH, CAUSING FLAT TIRE. ONLY 1836 MILES. HANKOOK MODEL 235/45R18 94V, DOT 5MN9 1BH 5117. UNSAFE AND UNRELIABLE

NHTSA ID

11093353

Incident

May 10, 2018

Mileage

1,836 mi

BRAKES ON TOYOTA CAMRY HYBRID 2018 MODELS GRAB ABRUPTLY WHEN GENTLE PRESSURE IS APPLIED ON BRAKE PEDAL. THE BRAKES CANNOT BE SMOOTHLY CONTROLLED LIKE ON NON-HYBRID MODELS OF THE SAME YEAR.

NHTSA ID

11092595

Incident

May 5, 2018

Mileage

11 mi

WHILE DRIVING ON ROADS/HIGHWAYS, AT ANY SPEED, THE DRIVER'S SIDE (L) BLIND SPOT MONITOR INTERMITTENTLY FAILS TO FUNCTION PROPERLY, OFTEN FALSELY INDICATING OTHER VEHICLES IN THE BLIND SPOT, WHILE IN REALITY, NO OTHER VEHICLES ARE PRESENT, OR BY NOT SIGNALING WHILE OTHER VEHICLES ARE PRESENT. RECENTLY, WHILE DRIVING ON AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY, THE MONITOR ILLUMINATED (SIGNALING A VEHICLE IN THE BLIND SPOT) AND STAYED LIT FOR OVER 20 MILES BEFORE GOING OUT. THE PROBLEM OCCURS RANDOMLY, REGARDLESS OF WEATHER, TIME OF DAY, SPEED, AND PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF METALLIC OBJECTS AROUND MY VEHICLE.

NHTSA ID

11092509

Incident

Jan 5, 2018

Mileage

500 mi