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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

Power Train complaints

194 reports
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Mileage unknown · Apr 17, 2024
Power Train

Shift to Park error occurs everytime I put my car into park. It does not turn off and the vehicle remains on until I jiggle the shifter. This has been "repaired" 2x under warranty. Now that it is out of warranty the manufacturer refuses to cover any of the expenses on this known issue with a bulletin per your website (18-NA-297)…

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Shift to Park error occurs everytime I put my car into park. It does not turn off and the vehicle remains on until I jiggle the shifter. This has been "repaired" 2x under warranty. Now that it is out of warranty the manufacturer refuses to cover any of the expenses on this known issue with a bulletin per your website (18-NA-297).

NHTSA ODI #11583523

Mileage unknown · Apr 17, 2024
Power TrainService Brakes

Shift assembly has failed twice - April 2021 and April 2024. For both occurrences, the vehicle spontaneosly stops registering when I shift into park. When I shift, the vehicle sends a warning to shift into park. There is a safety concern because I cannot determine whether or not the vehicle is actually in park. The GM dealer …

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Shift assembly has failed twice - April 2021 and April 2024. For both occurrences, the vehicle spontaneosly stops registering when I shift into park. When I shift, the vehicle sends a warning to shift into park. There is a safety concern because I cannot determine whether or not the vehicle is actually in park. The GM dealer determined that the issue is a faulty shifter switch and harness and a faulty shift knob. Both were replaced. In April 2021 transmission shifter (part #84698649) and jumper harness (part #84733196) were replaced.

NHTSA ODI #11583463

Mileage unknown · Apr 9, 2024
Power TrainVehicle Speed Control

The transmission on my 2018 Chevy Traverse went out per the mechanic that recently inspected it. It was just purchased from a Chevy dealership not even 8 months ago. I first noticed the problem a couple weeks ago when my car hit about 25mph getting on the highway then wouldn’t go any faster as I would try to accelerate speed, th…

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The transmission on my 2018 Chevy Traverse went out per the mechanic that recently inspected it. It was just purchased from a Chevy dealership not even 8 months ago. I first noticed the problem a couple weeks ago when my car hit about 25mph getting on the highway then wouldn’t go any faster as I would try to accelerate speed, then it was jerking and was harshly engaging from time to time. Then it finally felt like someone crashed into the back of my car it jerked so hard and then accelerated but only went up to 40mph and wouldn’t go any faster. It would hit 40 mph and then idol at the speed when you would hit the gas to accelerate. No engine light came on or anything at that time. Then a couple days later the shifter would be put into reverse and then not go in reverse when you hit the gas to go. Having two young kids, my husband told me it wasn’t safe to be driving it at all. We had it towed to a mechanic shop to be inspected since we depend on a car for our job. The mechanic inspected it with a diagnostic code reader as well as looking at the transmission. The overall condition is that the transmission is not working anymore. I have done research and for this specific make, model and year there are tons of recalls for the transmission.

NHTSA ODI #11582031

Mileage unknown · Mar 29, 2024
Power Train

The transmission on this year/make/model has a bad track record as shown by numerous Technical Service Bulletins. Car will repeatedly not shift throughout 9 speed transmission TSB: PIP5546C 17-NA-317 PIP5621D 04-07-30-013E 20-NA-138 06-00-89-031 21-NA-201 PIP5697E 18-NA-298

NHTSA ODI #11580182

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 · Feb 18, 2024
Power Train

EROR MESSAGE SHIFT TO PARK AND TRANSMISSION SHUTTER ABOVE 70 MILES PER HOUR.

NHTSA ODI #11572634

Mileage unknown · Jan 22, 2024
Power Train

My car just stopped working is related with the transmission

NHTSA ODI #11567134

Mileage unknown · Dec 8, 2023
Power Train

The car shifter doesn't detect that it's parked and keeps displaying "Shift to Park" message not allowing you to turn off the car completely. This problem happened before and was only fixed by replacing the shifter but it happens again after about the same time driving the original shifter.

NHTSA ODI #11559162

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 · Oct 4, 2023
EnginePower Train

N222385510, the exhaust system separated from the car. There are current recalls from GM for 2019-Current Traverse models with the exact same issue. Our 2018 has the exact same problem and our local GM dealer verified it, but they will not cover this expense. We were quoted $2,000 + for the fix, GM Customer Care has been no help…

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N222385510, the exhaust system separated from the car. There are current recalls from GM for 2019-Current Traverse models with the exact same issue. Our 2018 has the exact same problem and our local GM dealer verified it, but they will not cover this expense. We were quoted $2,000 + for the fix, GM Customer Care has been no help.

NHTSA ODI #11548260

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.