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!

[dry]

I experienced the same problem with the AF not working. I tried the careful fixes like cleaning and the multiple steps Julius suggested. None worked, so I decided to try Crystal's "pop" method. It worked! What did I have to lose? I did lose a day at Mackinaw, but making up for it today!

[Steria]

I'm having this exact same issue with my kit lens as well (EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS).

In MF mode i turn the focus to close-up. Then, when I switch to AF and focus to something further away it works, but when I try and focus on something closer again it won't focus/move.

Hoping that someone knows the reason why this is, helping me troubleshoot what the problem could be.

[Stephen]

Hi Steria!

Check out the suggestion from Julius on page three HERE.

If that doesn't work, you'll want to reach out to support for options at 1-800-OK-CANON (800-652-2666). 

[Steria]

Hi Stephen,

I did try some of the suggestions in this thread before creating a post, but unfortunately they did not work for me. I also tried one more time after your suggestion here, but it still did not do anything for me. I've seen that some others in this thread have a problem where their autofocus does not work at all, but as stated above (and in the reply on page 2 by Martmcin as well) my autofocus works 50% (works one way but not the other).

Could it still be that the focusing motor has to be put back into its proper place in my case here?

[Stephen]

Hi Steria!

It could be that the focusing motor needs to be re-aligned (usually the steps provided do that trick), or it could be that the focusing assembly has been damaged. If the assembly is damaged, it's time to look into repair or replacement of the lens. 

[Beetlemike]

Hi,

I have read through this thread and the fix worked for me. Excellent solution and a real relief.  I had a partial AF fault and was frequently switching to MF mode to try to reset the AF but getting some out of focus pics.

Just a thought,  I use a EW-60C lens hood which I often  move between lenses.  I suspect that if I detach the lens hood when the lens is set to AF mode it will be similar to manually focusing in AF mode. 

I think I'll buy a lens hood for each lens and leave it attached in future.

Many thanks,

Beetlemike

[Waddizzle]

---

@Beetlemike wrote:

Hi,

I have read through this thread and the fix worked for me. Excellent solution and a real relief.  I had a partial AF fault and was frequently switching to MF mode to try to reset the AF but getting some out of focus pics.

Just a thought,  I use a EW-60C lens hood which I often  move between lenses.  I suspect that if I detach the lens hood when the lens is set to AF mode it will be similar to manually focusing in AF mode. 

I think I'll buy a lens hood for each lens and leave it attached in future.

Many thanks,

Beetlemike

---

No, just learn to be more careful.  Did you know that you can remove the hood, and mount it in aa reversed orientation for storage?

[Beetlemike]

Thank you. Will try that. Have set lenses to MF as the default now when in the camera bag.

[Justina93]

Thank you thank you!!!
I tried this and it SOLVED the problem!!!
Thank you so so much!!!!

[YDuck]

That click was scary, but it worked for me!

Thanks so much for the suggestion.

No need for a new lens, YAY!