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2018 Chevrolet Traverse

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2018 Chevrolet Traverse do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 302.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

186 reports with mileage · 274 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Power Train. Review the 194 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 101 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine. Review the 84 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

9 crash reports2 fire reports3 injury reports

Electrical System complaints

101 reports
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Mileage unknown · Apr 25, 2024
Electrical System

Shift to park. Car won’t turn off and me and kids are stuck in car. 2nd vehicle this has happened to. This is very dangerous as my car is stuck on.

NHTSA ODI #11585173

Mileage unknown · Mar 12, 2024
Electrical SystemExterior LightingUnknown Or Other

My quarter panel taillight has stopped working due to moisture in the light (no visible breakage on light). This part is on continuous backorder with no ETA of coming back in stock. Dealer has ordered part but will not give a loaner car. GM acknowledged backorder but will not give rental reimbursement. I have three children I am…

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My quarter panel taillight has stopped working due to moisture in the light (no visible breakage on light). This part is on continuous backorder with no ETA of coming back in stock. Dealer has ordered part but will not give a loaner car. GM acknowledged backorder but will not give rental reimbursement. I have three children I am to put in this car that does not have a left turn signal or brake light. I feel unsafe driving this car as I may be rear ended but everyone I talk to says they can't do anything. What am I to do.

NHTSA ODI #11577025

Mileage unknown · Mar 6, 2024
Electrical SystemFuel/propulsion SystemPower Train

It has a leak and having electrical issues. Everything else unknown.

NHTSA ODI #11575898

Mileage unknown · Dec 21, 2023
Electrical SystemFuel/propulsion SystemSteering

I had just got gas and the vehicle took longer than usual to start/turn over. I was leaving the store and sitting at the stop sign that is on a small incline. When I proceeded to go, my truck shook a few times, cut off, and I had no control of the vehicle. The brake pedal would not push down and my vehicle began rolling backward…

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I had just got gas and the vehicle took longer than usual to start/turn over. I was leaving the store and sitting at the stop sign that is on a small incline. When I proceeded to go, my truck shook a few times, cut off, and I had no control of the vehicle. The brake pedal would not push down and my vehicle began rolling backwards. There was a car behind me that started honking his horn because I was going to run into him. I pushed the start/turn off ignition button and tried the brakes again and it worked. I had to sit there for about 5 minutes to get myself together because I was terrified to take off again. About a week later I was pulling out from my subdivision and the truck started alarming to service the StabiliTrak as I was pulling out. At the moment, the steering wheel became almost impossible to turn and the car didn't want to go! I had several cars coming my way and my vehicle was in the middle of the road. Thank goodness the cars slowed down and my vehicle decided to start working. About a month later it started sounding like a go-kart. I had the vehicle checked out by a mechanic and I was told I needed a new battery and my exhaust pipe had a hole. I bought the battery and the $1200 pipe and had it installed. Now a different exhaust pipe has a hole and the part is on back order because apparently this is a frequent reccuring issue but no recall. I never feel safe driving my truck and it is a 2018 and not yet at 100,000 miles, That is pretty sad! The vehicle is available for inspection.

NHTSA ODI #11561367

Mileage unknown · Dec 4, 2023
Electrical SystemPower Train

I was driving on the highway and without any warning, the acceleration did not work in my car. I coasted to the side of the highway and waited for over an hour for a tow truck to arrive. Chevrolet replaced the transmission. I was told Chevrolet would consider rebates if I go through a Chevrolet dealership to fix it. They charged…

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I was driving on the highway and without any warning, the acceleration did not work in my car. I coasted to the side of the highway and waited for over an hour for a tow truck to arrive. Chevrolet replaced the transmission. I was told Chevrolet would consider rebates if I go through a Chevrolet dealership to fix it. They charged $2,000 over other shops, but only offered $200 off. They also took over a month to repair my vehicle. I wish I did not use them for repairs. Also, during heavy rains, the car leaked water through the electrical components in the roof. We intervened several times, but water persistently came through. Finally, we purchased the car at under 30,000 miles and immediately needed to replace the exhaust and shift to park feature. The car would not recognize when I was in park and could not turn off.

NHTSA ODI #11558284

Mileage unknown · Sep 2, 2023
Electrical SystemPower Train

When I put my car into park and turn it off I’m Shift to park error code. So the car stays on and won’t turn off. I turn the car on and off shift the gear and nothing happens. I have to sit in the car a hope that it goes into park. See photo.

NHTSA ODI #11542274

Mileage unknown · Aug 29, 2023
Electrical System

Put vehicle into Park and push engine stop button. The engine does not shut off and shift to park light comes on along with alarm. You cannot shut off and lock the vehicle. This is a serious safety issue which GM has not issued a recall. They issued a Technical Service bulletin 19-NA-206 to dealer and requiring customer to pay…

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Put vehicle into Park and push engine stop button. The engine does not shut off and shift to park light comes on along with alarm. You cannot shut off and lock the vehicle. This is a serious safety issue which GM has not issued a recall. They issued a Technical Service bulletin 19-NA-206 to dealer and requiring customer to pay for the update. This should be a safety recall. There are many complaint on file from GM customers on various models. Can you investigate this and get them to correct this safety issue.

NHTSA ODI #11541335

Mileage unknown · Aug 19, 2023
Electrical SystemUnknown Or Other

SHIFT TO PARK error comes up when park to shut down. Does not allow shutdown of the car without beeping notices. Not allowing doors to lock or driver to exit. Must be fairly common as Google shows a lot of workarounds or how to fix a clip under the shifter knob down in the console.

NHTSA ODI #11539511

Mileage unknown · Jul 25, 2023
Electrical SystemLane Departure

Side Detection unavailable alert keeps coming and off on, when car is started. The alert comes and goes.

NHTSA ODI #11534303

52,000 miles · May 15, 2023
Electrical SystemPower Train

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that after turning off the vehicle, the interior and exterior lights remained illuminated. Additionally, the radio remained on, and the horn sounded off. The instrument panel displayed the words "Shift to Park," which, the contact performed; however, the failure pers…

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The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that after turning off the vehicle, the interior and exterior lights remained illuminated. Additionally, the radio remained on, and the horn sounded off. The instrument panel displayed the words "Shift to Park," which, the contact performed; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to be diagnosed; however, an appointment was scheduled. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 52,000.

NHTSA ODI #11522046

Official recalls

2

21V246000 · Air Bags:critical Fasteners

Apr 8, 2021

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2010-2015, 2017 Buick Enclave, 2010-2019 Chevrolet Traverse, and 2011-2016 GMC Acadia vehicles. The side curtain air bags may not be properly attached.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: 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.

20V668000 · Power Train:automatic Transmission

Oct 29, 2020

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Chevrolet Cruze and Buick LaCrosse, 2018-2020 Chevrolet Equinox, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Terrain, 2018 Chevrolet Malibu, 2019-2020 Buick Encore, Buick Enclave, Cadillac XT4, Chevrolet Blazer and GMC Acadia, and 2020 Cadillac XT6 vehicles. The start/stop accumulator endcap may have missing bolts.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Missing bolts on the start-stop accumulator endcap could result in a transmission oil leak and may progress to a loss of propulsion, increasing the risk of a crash. A transmission fluid leak in the presence of an ignition source may increase the risk of fire.

Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the start-stop transmission accumulator and replace it if any bolts are missing, free of charge. The recall began December 15, 2020. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-888-988-7267, Buick Customer service at 1-866-608-8080, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N202313440.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.