2018 Chevrolet Traverse

On 08/15/26, I was at a traffic light waiting to make a left turn on a major roadway. Because the wait was on a hill, the park brake automatically engaged. When the traffic light turned green and as I attempted to accelerate, the electronic parking brake failed to release as it should and normally does. Since the vehicle would not move normally, I was unable to safely make my intended left turn so I had to continue straight in order to get out of the way of moving traffic. As I was driving to a parking lot of a business in the vicinity, my back tires were screeching and smoking as the park brake appeared to remain engaged. I was extremely concerned because I was in active traffic and could not operate the vehicle normally. I attempted to resolve the problem by turning the vehicle off, allowing it to sit for a few minutes and restarting it. After at least 20 tries, I could feel the pressure of the brakes release and I was finally able to move the vehicle normally. This was frightening and placed me and other motorists at risk. I was stopped at a major intersection on a hill when the vehicle failed to operate normally as traffic began moving. Had the parking brake remained engaged, I could have been stranded in moving traffic or potentially involved in a collision. I have experienced this parking-brake problem at least seven times, including this incident, since I have owned this vehicle since 2017. I have also experienced an abnormal condition involving the vehicle in which it would not allow me to shut off the engine when the park brake was engaged therefore wearing out the battery and I had to have it towed to the dealer. I am concerned that there may be an underlying electrical or electronic control-system defect. This greatly concerns me and it should be very alarming to the manufacturer. I have asked the dealer and called Chevrolet HQ to inquire about a recall or at least recoup some of the money I am constantly paying out of pocket.

The vacuum pump had a catastrophic failure. This led to failure of assisted breaking, and caused brake pedal to go rock hard while driving on the roadway. Metal shards from the vacuum pump broke off, and has now entered the engine. Chevy knows this vacuum pump is flawed, but did not include my model of vehicle in the recall. Even though it uses the same part. I received a “brake assist” message on the dash about 15 seconds prior to the loss of brakes. I had my wife and two kids with me, and this jeopardized their safety. Further research on the matter states this is a known issue at GM, but for some reason my year and model were not included.

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that the driveway was on a slope, and his wife was attempting to reenter the vehicle while it was in parked and the engine was running, and in the process the vehicle began to roll forward down the contacts driveway, the contacts wife was injured in the process receiving bruises to her left leg and right hip, medical attention was required for the contacts injuries. The vehicle was brought to a stop upon crashing into a lawn mower trailer and the contact's garage with the vehicle's front passenger side quarter panel. Property damage was reported. The vehicle was going 5 MPH at the time of the crash. The contact confirmed that after the incident, the vehicle was still in the parked position after the crash. The vehicle was not towed. No warning lights were illuminated. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was not destroyed. The local dealer was contacted, however the vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 107,000.

The E Brake engaged while driving our car, by the time we could safely stop our vehicle, less than a mile, the transmission fluid reached 175 degrees and our vehicle was smoking. We took the traverse to a local service center, they stated this has been a known issue with the make and model of our car. There is a service bulletin about this issue. The brake actuator is faulty, and allows water to seep into the actuator creating a short to ground the electric park brake actuator.

The issue is with the Traverse Stabilitrak system. The Stabilitrak system controls, includes traction control, emergency brakes, tire monitoring, etc. as I understand it. The Stabilitrak lights has been intermittently coming on for several months. I took the truck to the manufacture and was charged over $1,700.00 to fix the problem. After the repairs, I picked up the vehicle and within three miles of the dealership the issue manifested itself again. The Stabiltrak system light usually indicates as the vehicle waits at a traffic light, and just as I accelerate for the signal change. The vehicle frequently stalls at that point, creating a rear end hazard, and a dangerous situation for me and other commuters. Upon returning the vehicle to the dealership, they claimed not to be able to identify the issue, that they initially charged me over $1,700.00 to fix. The said they could not recreate the problem, although it is a persistent problem that occurs within minutes of the vehicle operation.

The emergency park brake engaged automatically, and the battery had to be disconnect to reset it. When the vehicle is shifted to park, the dash display says shift to park even though the vehicle has been shifted to park. Have to start and turn off engine, the shift lever back and forth for vehicle display message has been cleared. This has happened more than once