Electric Park Brake Malfuctions frequently. Park brake will not set or release properly which is dangerous and could allow vehicle to roll out of park on a hill. This problem is well documented online from other owners of 2018 Chevy Traverse but Chevy had not formally addressed this problem.
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.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Traverse years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
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.
What owners actually said
460 reports2018 Chevy Traverse with 39,145 miles. When placed in Drive, shifter did not connect and car would not move forward, instead went backwards. Also, when placed in Reverse, the opposite happened and car would not move in reverse, but went forward. Repeatedly get message stating SHIFT TO PARK when shifter is in PARK. Per GM, no rec…
Read full complaint
2018 Chevy Traverse with 39,145 miles. When placed in Drive, shifter did not connect and car would not move forward, instead went backwards. Also, when placed in Reverse, the opposite happened and car would not move in reverse, but went forward. Repeatedly get message stating SHIFT TO PARK when shifter is in PARK. Per GM, no recall. Issues have not been detrimental at this point, but definitely has to potential to be detrimental and a safety matter. Vehicle scheduled to go into Chevy dealership for assessment and repair, but told will have to pay $95 just to look at it and will not be covered by warranty. Upon research, MANY complaints noted with same issue. Despite being told that my vehicle has no recall, x2 service bulletins noted by NHTSA: bulletin #19-NA-206 September 2019 and 18-NA-297 December, 2018.
On June 29, 2021 Unable to turn off vehicle/engine. Started approximately 1 week before on 2 occasions where I finally was able to shut off vehicle. I called dealership/service to get an appointment, but had to go in immediately because it would no longer turn off. Repair was not covered under warranty which was only 4 months pa…
Read full complaint
On June 29, 2021 Unable to turn off vehicle/engine. Started approximately 1 week before on 2 occasions where I finally was able to shut off vehicle. I called dealership/service to get an appointment, but had to go in immediately because it would no longer turn off. Repair was not covered under warranty which was only 4 months past the 3 year warranty and mileage was only 27,637. It cost me just under $450 to repair this. Service advisor at Classic Chevy in Grapevine, TX commented that they had been seeing this problem which they diagnosed as INTERNAL SHIFTER FAULT. (A C/S SHIFT TO PARK MESSAGE COMES ON CLUSTER is noted on the repair invoice.) This was unnerving at the very least, and safety risk. Is this problem under any recall or potential recall?
The vehicle randomly engages the electronic parking brake while driving. The only way to unlock the brake is to unplug the battery. Very dangerous when I'm high speed traffic. Please help.
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated while driving 2 mph and making a turn, the vehicle suddenly lost power and stalled. The contact stated that the vehicle then restarted on its own with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who determined that no issues were f…
Read full complaint
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated while driving 2 mph and making a turn, the vehicle suddenly lost power and stalled. The contact stated that the vehicle then restarted on its own with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who determined that no issues were found however, the computer system was reset. The contact stated the failure reoccurred while making a left turn at a stoplight. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was 21,685. Consumer stated vehicle has been in the shop for 6 months and still in the shop.
Unk. Parking break will not engage and engine will not turn off. 30 mins riding around block and pulling in drive back and forth last night before it engaged. Four days now this has happened at store, Dr appt. This is unacceptable defect.
After it rains water leaks from the headliner between the rear view mirror and headliner control panel (lighting, sunroof, collision controls etc..) It is available for inspection, the introduction of water in this area could affect the components in this area, camera, air bags, collision alert. Have not taken into a dealer to e…
Read full complaint
After it rains water leaks from the headliner between the rear view mirror and headliner control panel (lighting, sunroof, collision controls etc..) It is available for inspection, the introduction of water in this area could affect the components in this area, camera, air bags, collision alert. Have not taken into a dealer to evaluate or inspected.
When I put the vehicle in park I get a message that says (SHIFT TO PARK) even though the vehicle is in park. Then when I try to turn my vehicle off I can't. It takes several times messing with the gear shift to finally get it not to say (SHIFT TO PARK) then I can finally turn my vehicle off. I've contacted the dealership and the…
Read full complaint
When I put the vehicle in park I get a message that says (SHIFT TO PARK) even though the vehicle is in park. Then when I try to turn my vehicle off I can't. It takes several times messing with the gear shift to finally get it not to say (SHIFT TO PARK) then I can finally turn my vehicle off. I've contacted the dealership and they say they know of this issue, but there is no recall. I feel like this is a problem that needs to be addressed and GM needs to correct immediately.
WHEN SHIFTING INTO PARK AND ATTEMPTING TO TURN OFF THE CAR, 80% OF THE TIME THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT REGISTER THAT THE CAR WAS IN PARK AND ALLOW THE VEHICLE TO TURN OFF. IT WOULD ALARM & CHARM WITH A MESSAGE TO "SHIFT TO PARK". THIS IS A KNOWN MANUFACTURING ISSUES WITH THE CHEVROLET TRAVERSE, GMC ACADIAS, AND POSSIBLY OTHER MODELS…
Read full complaint
WHEN SHIFTING INTO PARK AND ATTEMPTING TO TURN OFF THE CAR, 80% OF THE TIME THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT REGISTER THAT THE CAR WAS IN PARK AND ALLOW THE VEHICLE TO TURN OFF. IT WOULD ALARM & CHARM WITH A MESSAGE TO "SHIFT TO PARK". THIS IS A KNOWN MANUFACTURING ISSUES WITH THE CHEVROLET TRAVERSE, GMC ACADIAS, AND POSSIBLY OTHER MODELS OF CHEVY/GMC. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY CONCERN AS THERE IS NO WAY TO KNOW IF THE VEHICLE IS TRULY IN PARK AND CAN LEAVE YOU IN SCARY SITUATIONS WHEN YOU CANNOT TURN OFF THE CAR. WE HAVE ALSO BEEN STRANDED WITH A DEAD BATTERY BECAUSE THE "SHIFT TO PARK" CHIME AND MESSAGE DRAINED THE BATTERY. CHEVROLET HAS PROVIDED THEIR DEALERSHIPS WITH BULLETINS IN HOW TO ADD A JUMPER HARNESS AND ADD/REPLACE A SWITCH IN THE GEAR SHIFT ASSEMBLY TO CORRECT THE ISSUE, BUT REFUSE TO TAKE ACCOUNTABILITY. I HAVE HAD MULTIPLE SERVICE ADVISORS ADMIT THEY HAVE HAD TO FIX NUMEROUS GEAR SHIFTERS AND THAT THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE. A RECALL NEEDS TO BE ISSUED ON THIS PROBLEM AS IT IS A SAFETY CONCERN FOR ANYONE AFFECTED. PLEASE ADDRESS! I AM INCLUDING MY RECEIPT ON THE SERVICE I HAD TO PAY FOR TO FIX THIS PROBLEM. ALSO AN EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THE TECHNICAL BULLETINS CHEVROLET HAS SENT THEIR SERVICE DEPARTMENT.
TODAY DRIVING AROUND 35 TO 40 MPH. CAR STARTED TO LOSE SPEED, ENGINE LIGHT ,PARK BRAKE LIGHT AND DASH READ ENGINE IN REDUCED SPEED. STILL NOT SAFE TO DRIVE. 3RD TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED AND HAS BEEN TO DEALERSHIP, SERVICE DEPT AFTER EACH OCCURANCE. NOT SAFE.
Official recalls
221V246000 · 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
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.
Illustration