10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
98,178 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2009 Chevrolet Traverse:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #21

May 232019

Traverse

  • 85,000 miles
Purchased from Honda of slidell, Louisiana around 1 1/2 year ago. Has had engine problems, electrical and ac problems since purchased. The engine has to be replaced. The car is crap! ac system has to be replaced.

- Gulfport, MS, USA

problem #20

May 092019

Traverse

  • 121,000 miles
Loss of power while driving.. traction control off warning indicator. Very dangerous when this happens at highway speeds and all of a sudden you go from 70 mph to 30 mph and almost get rear ended by other vehicles. See this for exactly what happens: Https://www.youtube.com/watch?V=hbvaoiixnxy

- Shawnee, KS, USA

problem #19

May 142019

Traverse

  • 150,000 miles
Stability trac, and traction control. Slowing down speed and car turning off. In motion on city street, passing by expressway.

- Rochester, NY, USA

problem #18

Mar 122019

Traverse

  • 10 miles
Seatbelts and the electrical system need to get fixed.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #17

Nov 012017

Traverse

  • 130,690 miles
I have been battling my check engine light all 2018 and now 2019. Not to mention the stabiliztrak and hard to turn steering wheel. I have been getting a misfire in all my coils. This issue has caused the vehicle to stutter, drink high volumes of gas and almost sent me broke. I have changed every coil, every plug, changed the stabilizer, tentioner, bearings, swaybar links and much more. I am completely done with Chevy. They know this make and midel is horrible and we as customers need to do a class action lawsuit. This vehicle sounds like a tin can when it starts. It rattles and stutters while driving and it shakes when stationary.

- District Heights, MD, USA

problem #16

Oct 012018

Traverse

  • 100,000 miles
The rear hatch would open and shut on you. I opened it and had it come down on me and it closed on my legs. The recall # 257343 was done for this but was doing it again. I would think since it's doing the same thing it would be covered again....it wasn't. I paid to have fixed.

- Longview, WA, USA

problem #15

Aug 082018

Traverse

  • 185,000 miles
Unsafe car to drive in with my kids. I have no traction control and very sporadic power loss! I was driving with my kids going about 30mph and spun out of control around a curve with my kids in the car. Thank the lord no one was hurt and neither was the vehicle. I try to take off from a light or stop sign and it'll either take off super fast and almost hit the car in front of me, or take off slow with no power and almost get rear ended. I bought this car used 6 months ago and the last 3 months have been very frustrating with issues of this vehicle. I've already put $300 into it and now it's saying to change the cat converter. I called the #1 local shop to get a quote and he actually said his number one supplier has stopped issuing this part to Chevy Traverse because of all the recalls! so what do I do now"???" I am a medical courier and this Traverse is my source of income. I've always loved Chevy and don't buy any other brand, but C'mon. I don't have $3000 to fix electrical issues!! especially when it is a manufacturers default and mistake!! very unsatisfied :(

- Springfield, MO, USA

problem #14

Oct 162018

Traverse

  • 140,000 miles
Stabilitrak light keeps coming on along with brake warning system, car power keeps cutting out, this will reset when I restart the vehicle, while vehicle is moving

- Lubbock, TX, USA

problem #13

Mar 012017

Traverse

  • 120,000 miles
The covers for the second row seatbelts seem to have strchech out of it caseing. Main issue the check engine when off and have been having issues with traction control, engine power reduced, misfire of different, oxygen sensor (after getting it replaced about 6 months ago, at Chevy dealer) over $5,000 in different repairs and update and everything seems to still be having issues. Recently the ABS has been going of and was unable to drive it, at least 3 times. Most happen on highway. The engine reduces power and the car feels like being pull back if the gas is release the ABS start going off.

- Hatboro, PA, USA

problem #12

Aug 152017

Traverse

  • 101,863 miles
I was coming back from dropping off my kids at school when I heard a beeping noise and then I realized that I had loss of power, I then looked at my dashboard and the traction control light and the brake light was on, I didn't think nothing of it since it only lasted for a few minutes but the next day it happened again:( I'm so scared to drive on the freeway because I have 4 kids from ages [xxx] to [xxx] months and I can't afford to risk getting into an accident if all of the sudden my truck does that and I get hit from the back. I been looking into this issue and I can't believe how many people have the same issue I can't afford to be paying unnecessary money for a problem that needs to be looked at more deeply please help. Parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- San Bernardino, CA, USA

problem #11

Aug 022017

Traverse

  • 223,444 miles
In motion on highway uphill the stability track, reduce engine power went on. Suddenly lost power from 70mph to barely 40 mph. Immediately had to pull over on highway emergency lane. Serviced 3 times and problem continues. Very unsafe as the engine looses power. I have had tmc replace, connector replaced, throttle body replace. Big issue everyone is having!! this problem has been going on for over 3 years. Problem gets "fixed" and months later it comes back. Fustrating and has cost lots of $$$$ we don't have to spare. Please view link. [xxx] parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Kyle, TX, USA

problem #10

Mar 162016

Traverse

  • 72,000 miles
I bought the car for my family and the first month there where no issues now the engine light stays on and it jerks and hesitates on a frequent basis. I bought the cat thinking it was a safe choice for my family I'm now rethinking that because even with the engine light on the problem can't be diagnosed.

- Magnolia, TX, USA

problem #9

Apr 052016

Traverse

  • miles
"takata recall" this car has been a nightmare from the day we bought it. It has had 4 rack and pinions, the struts replaced, a gear replaced in the steering column, a new power steering pump, a fuel injector, and timing chain repair. Now it is in the shop again for another round of timing chain gone bad and tensioners, as well as now the master brake cylinder is leaking back into the system which I was told will cause my brakes to just no longer work at any given moment. I drive my children in this car, I paid over $25,000 for it and I have put over $8,000 in repairs into it. I am now having to repair the brake issue or chance my family being killed in an accident. While my husband has lost his job in the oil and gas industry. I can't even sale the stupid car, because it is worhtless!!! I am disgusted and disappointed with this vehicle, the manufacturer for doing nothing for their buyers and the fact that there have been no recalls on the brake issue, when there are multitudes of pages on the web of complaints over the same issue.

- Tyler, TX, USA

problem #8

Feb 082016

Traverse

  • 121,000 miles
Numerous ac issues, dealer has never been able to repair.now we receive engine code stating the #4 cylinder misfireing. Before we can have it repaired the vehicle just quit. No power from engine, no brakes, all kinds of electrical sensors are giving alerts and car just turns off. Seems to also be affecting cooling fan and steering. Also ever since we purchased the vehicle has made a wierd noise in the front end. Dealer claims it was nothing and after warranty expired we took it in for ac again and was told the front struts were needing to be replaced along with all kinds of ac parts. How come this was never mentioned until warranty expired" I am so tired of getting ripped off with vehicles. Had issues with Ford, Dodge and now GM. Guess its time to try an import"

- Risharon, TX, USA

problem #7

Jan 022016

Traverse 6-cyl

  • 60,000 miles
This is the 13th issue we have had with this vehicle. Some covered under warranty, some as recall, some at our cost. Driving on the highway, alarms went off, messages appeared that stabilitrak was off. Told us to service braking system. As per manual we turned the car off to let system reset. Ok for about 1/2 hour driving time, did it again. Turned off, reset. Did it again but this time the stabilitrak will not come back on. Going to dealership on Thursday to address this issue. We also have a bulletin about transmission failure where we can lose 3rd, 5th & reverse. This is a serious safety issue which GM will not address until there is a problem. After 30 loyal years we are finished with GM. We are trading in this vehicle after repair & buying another brand. We feel that no one cares about the consumer until deaths happened. At this point our $35000 vehicle is unreliable & unsafe! thank you.

- Cape May, NJ, USA

problem #6

Oct 162015

Traverse

  • 92,000 miles
The wife complained about brakes sounding odd, a week after having new brakes installed. Took it in, they said they looked fine. Then all of a sudden her anti-lock break light and stabilitrak light go off while driving to work on a major surface street (50mph). Take it in to have it checked out, they find a sensor in the brake cylinder is bad, and the cylinder is gushing brake fluid. $800+ to fix. Plus our power steering is going bad. There is an internal leak in some boots that are not working properly. $1200 to fix. It's like they had a bunch of parts lying around, and they slapped them together to build a vehicle, even though none of the parts work together. The government should never have wasted the money to prop up a horribly inefficient company.

- Cliniton Twp., MI, USA

problem #5

Jul 172014

Traverse

  • 118,000 miles
We have had multiple issues with the 09 Chevy Traverse. The check engine light came on so we ran test on it. The test came back that there were 4 sensors that went out. We went and purchased those 4 sensors and reset the computer and within an hour the check engine light was back on for those sensors. We then went and replaced the sensors once again and the same thing happened. The next thing that happened was the headlights went out while driving down the road. Changed both headlights and a month later they went out again. Only way to help this issue was to turn off daytime lights. About 2 months ago the ac unit just stopped working while driving down the highway. Thought the ac might need recharged so we recharged it and it worked again for about an hour. Now it will not even allow you to turn the ac on at all. Just a couple of days ago I was driving down the interstate when the check engine light flashed and the car stated check engine soon then the traction control light came on and the car read that stabilitrak was off. All of these issues have occurred over the last year and I have only owned this car for 2 years and it only has about 128000 miles on it. I could expect theses issues if the car was a lot older but I do not feel safe driving this car because of all the issues that keep occurring. Very disappointed in the Traverse because I know I am not the only one with these issues but there is nothing that the dealerships will do to help except charge me a lot to fix the issues again only for them to keep messing up.

- Hubbard, TX, USA

problem #4

Aug 042015

Traverse

  • 93,000 miles
While driving down the highway, my 2009 Chevrolet Traverse suddenly lost power. I was unable to accelerate and had to pull over onto the shoulder. The traction control light came on and a message on the display read service stabilitrak. This has happened 3 times since the original incident. I have been researching online and this appears to be a pretty common problem among other Chevrolet Traverse owners. This is a serious safety issue that needs to be addressed with GM.

- Waxahachie, TX, USA

problem #3

Sep 122014

Traverse

  • miles
I was driving and several lights came on. Traction control, check stabilitrack, and engine power is reduced came on at once. A lot of people are having this problem and have to pay for it. There needs to be some type of recall. I use this car for my everyday use. Please help.

- Chadbourn, NC, USA

problem #2

Mar 262014

Traverse

  • 77,000 miles
Riding down the road and the stabilitrak/traction light comes on, car powers down and car behind me almost hit me causing an accident. Good thing kids were not in car. Dangerous and scary situation, getting a lawyer...

- Camden, SC, USA

Read the next 1 complaints »