Owner-reported complaints naming the steering system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the steering system — racks, columns, power-steering assist and steering linkage. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2018 Toyota Camry submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 61 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 61, in the owner's own words
The steering has become hard. There are no lights showing on my dashboard. The steering is hitching, catching, and hard to return to the center during slow and fast speeds. I feel it is very unsafe to drive. I have called the toyota service and they said there is an active warranty/recall for this specific issue (customer service program 22TE02) with other cars, but not my vin number.
The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Camry. The contact stated while driving, especially at slower speeds, the steering when is difficult to returned back to the center. The vehicle was taken to an independent, mechanic where it was not diagnosed or repaired; however, the steering shaft was sprayed with WD-40. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 95,000.
having problem with power steering. there is no place to add power steering fluid in my 2018 toyota camry. (this is my 4th toyota camry). steering rack and pinion probaly need to be replaced. i have read online that this is a known problem with toyota camrys
My steering was tight on my 2018 Toyota Camry. I started to have difficulty steering my car. After a day, I could not steer the car at all. I took it to my mechanic at Exxon, and when he ordered a new steering intermediate shaft assembly, he found a defect in the one Toyota sent him. I discovered that this serious and unsafe issue arose with other 2018 Toyota Camrys.
Nothing happened. YET. I cannot drive the car at all because the power steering is locked up and I cannot turn it at all.
My 2018 Toyota Camry (VIN [XXX] ) crashed and burned completely on Nov 16, 2025. while driving on the Freeway the vehicle stopped suddenly without any notice on dashboard all electrical turned off steering wheel locked and lost control hit left fwy barrier which caused car to spun couple times and when it came to a complete stop was not able to turn car or even turn emergency lights on and couple seconds later was rear ended by another vehicle which caused vehicle to catch on fire and vehicle was fully in flames after reviewing history of vehicle I never received notification of Toyota Recall 18V-200, which addresses defective pistons that can cause engine stalling, rough running, loss of power, or sudden failure. Based on VIN and production date, my car likely falls within the recall. Police and fire reports are available. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The power steering is very stiff and hard to turn. it is worse at slower speeds and while trying to turn
The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the power steering malfunctioned, causing the steering wheel to become very difficult to turn in either direction. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the steering linkage was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the Manufacturer’s extended coverage for the failure. The failure mileage was 63,500.
Brake malfunction on my 2018 Toyota Camry and steering wheel malfunctioned causing my vehicles to spend on the freeway hitting a barrel and landing the car into a ditch. The car is not available for inspection it’s still at the tow yard. The safety was at risk for me as the driver was tremendously overwhelming and fearful. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by anyone. There hasn’t been any inspection to the vehicle that I know of. Yes there was warning sign; power steering malfunction, secondary collision brake system malfunction, antilock brake system malfunction, ICS malfunction, pre collision system malfunction. They first appeared 12-01-2024.
Out of nowhere, the steering became very stiff and there was lots of difficulty with the wheel returning to center. This put myself and others at risk as it would be difficult to steer and in a moment where I would have to react fast to avoid an accident, my car would not be able to help. My car was initially inspected by a mechanic that ran diagnostics and nothing electrical showed up. My car is currently getting looked at by a Toyota Dealership. I was told there was a recall in 2022 for the intermediate shaft assembly being faulty. My car showed no signs on the dashboard of any issues. It was just random.
Driving down the road about 25 miles an hour, slowed further to take a left turn when the power sreering suddenly gave out. The steering wheel became extremly difficult to turn and resulted in me slowing to a crawl to safely make the turn. If cars were near there could have been a colision.
The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, he became aware that the electronic power steering was not functioning properly, requiring increased effort to maneuver the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Customer Support Program: 22TE02. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 50,000.
The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that extra effort was needed while turning the steering wheel, and for the steering wheel to return to center. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and a diagnostic test was performed. The dealer confirmed that the vehicle was outside the production date for a Customer Support Program. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The failure recurred several times. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 110,000.
I brought my car in for maintenance and while the vehicle was on the lift, the top mounting bracket of both front MacPherson struts failed and allowed the coil spring to decompress to the furthest extent allowed by the other suspension components. Both struts catastrophically failed within 10 minutes of each other, causing a loud violent bang, but not immediately when the tires were lifted off the pavement. By all measures, this is a design flaw that allowed moisture to be trapped in the top strut mount which greatly accelerated this component's failure. Every other visible portion of the strut and all other components on the under carriage look almost pristine, showing almost no corrosion. The maintenance and subsequent repair did not occur at a Toyota Dealership
Complaint Regarding Toyota 2018 Camry SE - Power steering went out while on the highway. - This is a known problem but not covered under warranty. I believe this would constitute a major safety issue for older drivers who may not have the strength to correct the car. - Toyota never notified anyone about this issue. Some research shows hundreds of customers have suffered this. - Repair cost 900 occurring on 12/5/23 – Steering shaft - Toyota repair center diagnosed in under a minute with explanation of issue [XXX] Cell: [XXX] Email: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Electric power system warning light comes on, indicates a malfunction in the EPS, why is Toyota ignoring this problem, this warning comes on at different times
Electric power steering warning light which indicates a malfunction in the EPS system comes on almost every other week. If there is a software update for this problem why Toyota does not fix it? Are they waiting for an accident to happen?
The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle, the steering wheel was firm and difficult to maneuver. The contact stated that he used excessive force to maneuver the vehicle. The message “Low Power Steering - See Dealer” was intermittently displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the electronic rack and pinion system failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not yet been repaired. An undisclosed dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was advised to contact the manufacturer for assistance. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact received no further assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.
my car has only 56 K on the odometer and suddenly last week my steering wheel starting to get stuck, at time it feels like it is locking, and then a second later is normal. i see there is a recall for power steering #22TE02, but when i search my vin #, this recall is not showing for my car
I bought the car 6/23/21 and since then The electrical power steering system light indicates a malfunction , I had it serviced three times and so far the warning sign still goes on, I called Toyota and they can't help me, I do not want to wait for an accident to happen before it is taken care of.
2018 Toyota Camry- Consumer has steering issue and submitted copy of complaint sent to NJ Office of Attorney General Division of Community Affairs- Consumers Comment Letter & Note of referral. Attached is the Invoice for repair and inspection report.
The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Camry. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the steering wheel was stiff. While driving at various speeds, the steering wheel was difficult to turn. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the steering shaft needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 42,000.
Steering wheel is becoming harder and harder to turn right or left
After continued usage steering becomes stiff and turning becomes very difficult. This then possess a safety risk to not only the driver but other drivers. The cause is failure of the intermediate steering shaft. Toyota has recalled 170,000+ 2018 Camrys because of this - https://www.tsbsearch.com/Toyota/22TE02, but it is clear as per my incident and other online forums, there are 2018 Carmys that have not been recalled where the intermediate steering shaft fails without notice. When the dealership was called, they said they were well aware of the problem and stated they would order the part even before my car was taken to the shop, even though the repair was not covered under my VIN. The dealership replaced the intermediate steering shaft at a cost to me. There were no warning lights or other symptoms prior to the failure. The failure first appeared around March 27th, 2023.
Steering wheel hard , to turn
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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