Car Defect Radar
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Built from NHTSA complaints and recalls collected for this model, generated October 26, 2026. Totals reflect what has been collected, not every complaint ever filed.
Confirm 5 recalls before you buy.

Ask the seller for proof the repair was completed, or run the free VIN check. Recall repairs are done at no cost by a dealer.

Recalls

5 total · 5 to confirm

Safety issues the manufacturer must repair for free. A recall means confirm the fix was done, not walk away.

Airbags recall

Confirm it was repairedRecall 21V246000 · Apr 2021

Unsecured side curtain air bags may not perform as intended, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, realign or replace the weld nuts, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 24, 2021. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N202321200.
Status
Remedy available. Confirm by VIN that this repair was completed.
What to do
Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.

Structure recall

Confirm it was repairedRecall 15V415000 · Jun 2015

If the open liftgate unexpectedly falls, it may strike a person, increasing their risk of injury.

Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the power liftgate actuator motor control unit so that the motor will prevent the rapid closing of the lift gate, free of charge. The recall began on November 15, 2016. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782, and Saturn customer service at 1-800-553-6000. GM's number for this recall is 15240.
Status
Remedy available. Confirm by VIN that this repair was completed.
What to do
Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.

Seat belts recall

Confirm it was repairedRecall 14V266000 · May 2014

If the steel cable becomes fatigued and separates, the seatbelt may not properly restrain the seat occupant increasing the risk of an injury in a crash.

Remedy
General Motors will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, repair and replace the lap pretensioner, free of charge. Parts are not currently available. An interim notice will be mailed to owners in July 2014. A second notice will be mailed to owners once parts become available. The recall for the 2009-2010 model years began on July 11, 2014. The interim letter for the 2011-2014 model years were distributed on July 11, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-462-8782 (GMC), 1-800-553-6000 (Saturn). General Motors recall number for this campaign is 14187.
Status
Remedy available. Confirm by VIN that this repair was completed.
What to do
Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.

Airbags recall

Confirm it was repairedRecall 14V118000 · Mar 2014

Failure of the side impact air bags and seat belt pretensioners to deploy in a crash increase the risk of injury to the driver and front seat occupant.

Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected harness connections with soldered connections, free of charge. The recall began on June 16, 2014. Buick owners may contact the owner center at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet owners at 1-866-694-6546, Saturn at 1-800-553-6000, and GMC owners at 1-866-996-9463. GM's number for this recall is 14030. Note: Vehicles repaired as part of Customer Satisfaction Campaign 10085 and special coverage 10335 have already had the subject condition repaired and therefore are not included in the safety recall.
Status
Remedy available. Confirm by VIN that this repair was completed.
What to do
Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.

Seat belts recall

Confirm it was repairedRecall 10V375000 · Aug 2010

THE SAFETY BELT MAY NOT RESTRAIN THE OCCUPANT AS INTENDED DURING A CRASH, INCREASING THE RISK OF INJURY TO THE SEAT OCCUPANT.

Remedy
DEALERS WILL MODIFY THE SECOND ROW SEAT SIDE TRIM SHIELDS. IF A SAFETY BELT BUCKLE IS DAMAGED, DEALERS WILL REPLACE IT FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 18, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438, BUICK AT 1-866-608-8080, GMC AT 1-866-996-9463, AND SATURN AT 1-800-972-8876, OR AT THE OWNER CENTER AT WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM.
Status
Remedy available. Confirm by VIN that this repair was completed.
What to do
Enter the VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to confirm this car was repaired.

Owner complaints by system

669 total

Unverified reports owners filed with NHTSA, grouped by the part of the car. Useful for spotting patterns. Open a group to read recent examples.

Engine & powertrain

Worth reading
224

Most reports here involve sudden stalling.

sudden stalling 76premature wear 71
A recent report: My Traverse doors will lock, unlock, engine will race high then down shift now it will also shut off after it has done this while driving down the road. The safety issue is if it happens to stop…
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My Traverse doors will lock, unlock, engine will race high then down shift now it will also shut off after it has done this while driving down the road. The safety issue is if it happens to stop running while on the highway or any road with traffic. Right now I am not able to drive it as it won’t start back up after it dies unless you let it cool off. I had to call my insurance for roadside assistance to get it towed. A

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11540287 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

Electrical & infotainment

Worth reading
37

Most reports here involve software faults.

software faults 11sudden stalling 9electrical shorts 9
A recent report: The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that the vehicle intermittently failed to start and occasionally stalled while driving. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the…
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The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that the vehicle intermittently failed to start and occasionally stalled while driving. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road and restarted after a while. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with ignition switch failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure by phone, but no assistance was provided. The contact was transferred to a dealer for assistance, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11762195 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

Brakes

Worth reading
13

Most reports here involve loss of braking. Of these, 1 mention a crash.

loss of braking 5software faults 3unintended acceleration 2
A recent report: STABILITRAK CONTINUES TO POP UP AFFECTING SED ETC I HAVE ALREADY SPENT OVER $2000 REPLACING PARTS AND IT CONTINUES

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11233901 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

Steering, suspension & tires

Worth reading
321

Most reports here involve loss of steering. Of these, 6 mention a crash.

loss of steering 280fluid leaks 19
A recent report: No power steering at low speed . Makes it dangerous to turn sharp corners. Almost impossible to park in a parking spot if there’s other vehicles.so I park way out away from vehicles . I have had two…
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No power steering at low speed . Makes it dangerous to turn sharp corners. Almost impossible to park in a parking spot if there’s other vehicles.so I park way out away from vehicles . I have had two power steering pumps and lines replaced . And still have the same issue. .

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11590864 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

Airbags & seat belts

Worth reading
41

Most reports here involve airbags not deploying. Of these, 9 mention a crash, 10 mention an injury.

airbags not deploying 12software faults 5
A recent report: Side airbags deployed when we slid off the road. No impact not even a scratch or dent on the vehicle. We did not hit anything but only slid sideways off the road. The insurance company inspected the…
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Side airbags deployed when we slid off the road. No impact not even a scratch or dent on the vehicle. We did not hit anything but only slid sideways off the road. The insurance company inspected the vehicle nothing but the airbags were damaged. No other warnings.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11710876 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

Structure & body

Worth reading
8

Most reports here involve software faults. Of these, 1 mention an injury.

software faults 1
A recent report: MY HATCH/LIFTGATE DOESN'T STAY OPEN IT SHUTS AS SOON AS YOU LET GO. EVEN WHEN YOU USE THE AUTO LIFTGATE BUTTON IT DOES THE SAME THING IT OPENS AND THEN JUST SHUTS NOW THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY HAZARD…
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MY HATCH/LIFTGATE DOESN'T STAY OPEN IT SHUTS AS SOON AS YOU LET GO. EVEN WHEN YOU USE THE AUTO LIFTGATE BUTTON IT DOES THE SAME THING IT OPENS AND THEN JUST SHUTS NOW THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY HAZARD ESPECIALLY SINCE I HAVE TWO LITTLE BOYS. ALSO MY POWER STEERING PUMP IS NOT RUNNING.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11398027 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

Other systems

Worth reading
25

Most reports here involve fluid leaks. Of these, 1 mention a crash, 1 mention an injury.

fluid leaks 4unintended acceleration 3
A recent report: I KEEP HAVING TO GET THE AIR CONDITIONING FIXED. I HAD ALL OF THE ELECTRICAL WORK DONE AND REPLACED AND A FEW MONTHS LATER IT WENT BACK OUT. I REPLACED THE CONDENSOR. I HAD MORE FREON ADDED AND IT…
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I KEEP HAVING TO GET THE AIR CONDITIONING FIXED. I HAD ALL OF THE ELECTRICAL WORK DONE AND REPLACED AND A FEW MONTHS LATER IT WENT BACK OUT. I REPLACED THE CONDENSOR. I HAD MORE FREON ADDED AND IT STILL BLOWS OUT WARM AIR. THIS IS THE 3RD TIME THAT I HAVE HAD THE AIR TO NOT WORK. VERY FRUSTRATING! WHEN THE CAR IS IN MOTION, IT STILL DOES NOT WORK.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11403488 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

Is 669 complaints a lot? They were filed between 2010 and 2026, roughly 41 a year, which is more than the typical model in this dataset. We do not have sales figures for this model, so treat this as a rough volume, not a rate per car on the road. Popular, high-volume models naturally collect more complaints over time.

How does it compare with other years? The 2010 has 669 complaints on file, more than the 2011 (608). That is the most of the 17 model years of the Chevrolet Traverse we cover. Older model years have had longer to collect complaints.