Autofocus not working. (18-55mm lens)

[marcosochoa]

Hello,

The autofocus on my Canon 18-55mm is malfunctioning and I'm afraid it may be broken.

All the internet research I've done points to issues electronic, but I believe this to be mechanical simply because of the noise it makes. With the lens set to AF, it does nothing, but makes a slight whirring sounds as if the camera is trying to, but can't focus the lens. In MF, turning the focus ring makes soft clicking sounds.

The autofocus works fine on the other lens I have.

The lens has not been dropped. I take really, REALY good care of my stuff!  Any other recommendations or bits of advice are much appreciated!

[Waddizzle]

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@quadshooter wrote:

My focus ring just turns and the lens doesn't move, neither auto or manual mode.

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Your issue sounds like it could be more severe than the issue this thread tries to address.  I suggest contact Canon Support for professional guidance.  Most of the 18-55mm lenses that are included in many Rebel Camera Kits are relatively inexpensive, and most will usually cost more to repair than to replace. 

But, not all 18-55mm lenses are created equally, as there have been new and improved versions of the lens released over the years.  Again, contacting Canon Support at 1-800-OK-CANON is your best course of action.

[nursesrockit]

Julius!!!!!! Genious! You just saved me $$$$$ too!!!! Fixed it!

[Swiftcl]

The clicking I hear is the flash.

[Waddizzle]

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@Swiftcl wrote:
The clicking I hear is the flash.

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Remove the lens from the camera, and then shake it. 

[Blocksmith]

What a relief! Thank you for the advice. The fix took a matter of 30 seconds and saved me time, effort and money! Thank you!

[A11]

@Julius

Thank you! Fixed my problem immediately.

[heathershaven]

Hello,

I've had my Canon Rebel t3i about 3 1/2 years now.  I do a lot of traveling abroad.  I use the autofocus a lot with both of my lenses.  This last trip the autofocus would work intermittently with both lenses then all of a sudden not work.  When it did work I could hear it try to focus and see the difference.  When it didn't work it didn't do anything.   No noise or anything.  It did it off and on with both lenses so I don't think the lenses are the problem.  Does anyone have any idea what might be going on?

[RobertTheFat]

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@heathershaven wrote:

Hello,

I've had my Canon Rebel t3i about 3 1/2 years now.  I do a lot of traveling abroad.  I use the autofocus a lot with both of my lenses.  This last trip the autofocus would work intermittently with both lenses then all of a sudden not work.  When it did work I could hear it try to focus and see the difference.  When it didn't work it didn't do anything.   No noise or anything.  It did it off and on with both lenses so I don't think the lenses are the problem.  Does anyone have any idea what might be going on?

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The usual explanation is that somebody had tried to manually focus the lens while it was in autofocus mode. Many Canon lenses are OK with that action, but on most or all versions of the 18-55 it tends to jam the autofocus mechanism. Sometimes the lens can be unjammed without significant damage by manhandling it in a prescribed manner (recorded in detail at least once in this forum) and sometimes not. If it doesn't work, your only recourse is to try to have it fixed; but many people think that paying to have such a cheap lens fixed is a waste of money.

[Canongirl11]

I just want to say thank you sooooooo much for the tip on pulling out the focusing ring.  It worked for me to!!!!!

[feedrail]

I have a t2i, the 18-55mm autofocus wont work, but if I put my 100-400L lens on t2i, the autofcus works. I can put the 18-55 on my t7i and the autofocus works fine. Is this maybe a problem with one of my contact pins on the t2i. Any ideas on which pin it would be?

Also, could this be a focus screen problem - I've went through several with the t2i - almost a million on shutter count