is it normal for Exhaust Cam gears to go bad in18,000 miles?

No. 18,000 miles your vehicle is still under warranty being a 2011. The manufacturer has to pay for repairs parts and labor under warranty. And they dont like doing so I can gaurantee that. Either it has been abused or a defective part caused such a problem.

Who told you the cam gears are bad?

I have had the check engine light on for the last 2 months ...The dealer has twice reset the computer or whatever and now they tell me the issue is the Exhaust Cam gear needs to be replaced. I can not believe that would be the case in a car with 18,000 miles on it? Wonder what goes wrong next!!

Let them replace it. its at no cost to you. if it dosent fix the problem then take it back.

Sounds like you have a balance shaft problem. Gear on that shaft wears pre-maturely causes the right exhaust camshaft to become too retarded. (Like kbro's reply :)) It's an approximately a 24 hour repair. I enjoy them as it takes me 12-14 hours to do.

Yeah telling him to take it to dealer is real dumb

Warranty bro