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2020 Chevrolet Traverse

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2020 Chevrolet Traverse do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 302.

About this comparison →

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 55 of 226 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

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.

  • Engine. Review the 70 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 39 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 28 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

11 crash reports1 fire reports5 injury reports

What owners actually said

226 reports
Mileage unknown · Feb 14, 2025
Power TrainSteering

The car displayed a message on the board advising the following: "Steering assist is reduced, drive with care" right after the message popped out my steering wheel locked and I couldn't turn, and move the car to a safe place was very hard, almost had a crash. I was able to park, and turned the engine off. When turned back on the…

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The car displayed a message on the board advising the following: "Steering assist is reduced, drive with care" right after the message popped out my steering wheel locked and I couldn't turn, and move the car to a safe place was very hard, almost had a crash. I was able to park, and turned the engine off. When turned back on the message disappeared and turned on again. Next day, no message, the car was running fine and after 8 miles of drive did the same and it required towing.

NHTSA ODI #11642838

Mileage unknown · Feb 5, 2025
Power Train

See GMBulletin #19-NA-206 I am getting the "shift to park" warning which makes it difficult to turn off/safely park my vehicle. I know the NHTSA is aware of this as well as numerous lawsuits in progress against GM for significant safety issues. Will this go to recall status soon?

NHTSA ODI #11640822

Mileage unknown · Jan 27, 2025
Engine

Noise from under hood, took vehicle to dealer. Dealers inspection identified cracked exhaust PIPES before catalytic converter. Exhaust fumes get into car cabin causing health concerns not to mention a life threatening situation for the occupants. Vehicle was under 70k miles. Seems to be an emission issue/faulty workmanship with …

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Noise from under hood, took vehicle to dealer. Dealers inspection identified cracked exhaust PIPES before catalytic converter. Exhaust fumes get into car cabin causing health concerns not to mention a life threatening situation for the occupants. Vehicle was under 70k miles. Seems to be an emission issue/faulty workmanship with failure in QC in weld inspection causing harm to owners

NHTSA ODI #11638756

Mileage unknown · Jan 18, 2025
Power TrainSeat Belts

1 year after buying my car two of my seat belts stop working one was the back driver side the clip doesn't stay in sometimes and then the middle seat and middle belt got stick in the seat and I wasn't able to pull it out to use it. I bought my car in Dec of 2020 and in October of 2024 my whole transmission went out which I neve…

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1 year after buying my car two of my seat belts stop working one was the back driver side the clip doesn't stay in sometimes and then the middle seat and middle belt got stick in the seat and I wasn't able to pull it out to use it. I bought my car in Dec of 2020 and in October of 2024 my whole transmission went out which I never had any problems before not even a warning sign, I took it to a mechanic since it was only driving in first gear and they said it might be from the inside of the transmission when it was made they solenoids are bad.

NHTSA ODI #11636706

Mileage unknown · Jan 17, 2025
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemUnknown Or Other

The vehicle start stop feature is malfunctioning (I have a video) .When stopping or coming to a stop after driving through the city, at random times sometimes back to back when being stopped it goes down to 1 rpm then the auto stop feature kicks on and when it's time to depress the break to move again it malfunctions then sounds…

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The vehicle start stop feature is malfunctioning (I have a video) .When stopping or coming to a stop after driving through the city, at random times sometimes back to back when being stopped it goes down to 1 rpm then the auto stop feature kicks on and when it's time to depress the break to move again it malfunctions then sounds like a circular saw slicing through metal. At times you have put car in park hit engine ignition button to make it stop then wait a few seconds then start it back up. There's also a smell of strong fuel vapors coming in through the vents including defrost. Navigation stopped working ( turn by turn ) feature, also sounds as if the front end is knocking around going over speed bumps, the front right wheel has an odd rub sound that increases when accelerating. The gas also with a full tank depletes nearly within a day, and ait being a V6 should not guzzle $50 in fuel of 87 grade petrol. This thing is a rolling safety hazard. I have a wife and 6 children I transport daily. If something happens and we are injured I will sue your entire company General Motors.

NHTSA ODI #11636502

Mileage unknown · Jan 17, 2025
Engine

Front Flex pipe broken after failed weld. Issue is known by GM/Chevorlet and has been corrected on all years Except for the 2020 model year. Not sure why 2020 models were left out because they have the same condition.

NHTSA ODI #11636446

Mileage unknown · Jan 16, 2025
Unknown Or Other

My backup camera only works about 3% of the time. If the temp are too cold or too hot then the screen goes black with a red triangle. Frequently, this occurs when I'm in the process of backing up and I lose all visibility. I almost struck a pedestrian this morning. I've already had the cable repaired at the dealership once but i…

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My backup camera only works about 3% of the time. If the temp are too cold or too hot then the screen goes black with a red triangle. Frequently, this occurs when I'm in the process of backing up and I lose all visibility. I almost struck a pedestrian this morning. I've already had the cable repaired at the dealership once but it immediately began not working about 2 weeks later. I had taken it back to the dealership but they were unable to repair because the representative could not reproduce the error when he attempted to back up. I have videos of what is occurring.

NHTSA ODI #11636325

Mileage unknown · Jan 13, 2025
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemSuspension

Purchased the 2020 traverse on [XXX] from Basswood in Ft. Payne Alabama. Under the guise of the salesman I was assured that the vehicle was in great shape, with no issues at all, and a very clean Carfax. Well I'm new to purchasing a car via financing with a co-signer in which he was assured the vehicle was in great shape. Well u…

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Purchased the 2020 traverse on [XXX] from Basswood in Ft. Payne Alabama. Under the guise of the salesman I was assured that the vehicle was in great shape, with no issues at all, and a very clean Carfax. Well I'm new to purchasing a car via financing with a co-signer in which he was assured the vehicle was in great shape. Well unbeknownst to us my household the car was nothing of the sort. Within a few days the Start/Stop malfunctioned to the point it would not restart 98% of the time without sounding like a Demo Saw, it's a dangerous problem and there's times we smelled fuel once we were able to restart the vehicle. The front right wheel assembly looks as if it were on fire and if that's brake dust and it has a grinding whomp whomp sound when in motion,that's really not good no wonder it's hard to stop at times. The front end sounds like drums when going over bumps, speed bumps, road imperfections etc.. on morning start-up there's an absurd amount of exhaust coming into the cabin area, the codes [P3055 and P3056] are registered from the computer of vehicle. Now the smell of fuel is blowing through all vents whenever the defrost is running or all vents are used front and rear, with the truck in motion. It was so bad today that my entire family had to pull over to a gas station and get fresh air our eyes were burning and my [XXX] son nose started to bleed., so that's two parents and 6 children scrambling for safety. This is our only reliable vehicle other than an old 99 suburban that is hardly even road worthy anymore. I spoke with several people that have purchased vehicles and all agreed that the salesman and mostly the sales managers knew that the vehicle came from an auction and was never serviced nor inspected at the basswood dealership, which equates to them actively concealing major effects and problems with the vehicle in question. Just to make a one time commission on a fraudulent deal! They didn't provide any inspection papers to me! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA

NHTSA ODI #11635767

Mileage unknown · Dec 31, 2024
Power Train

The flywheel teeth broke off and became jammed in the starter, which apparently caused a short to the fuse block. The dealership hasn’t commented on exactly what the root cause was though for why that may have happened. I don’t have the original part(s) but the dealer might. I was in the car at the time with my entire family. …

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The flywheel teeth broke off and became jammed in the starter, which apparently caused a short to the fuse block. The dealership hasn’t commented on exactly what the root cause was though for why that may have happened. I don’t have the original part(s) but the dealer might. I was in the car at the time with my entire family. We were in the middle of driving everyone home from school. The power to the car stayed on but the engine completely died. Given we don’t know what happened with I’m terrified the starter may have tried to engage while driving which would have broken the teeth off. The problem was confirmed by the dealer only in the sense that the parts were broken, but they don’t have root cause. The vehicle was never inspected by insurance as it still fell under the 100k mile certified pre owned warranty. No warning prior to the incident but after there was one brief message that came up saying we needed to check engine system.

NHTSA ODI #11633283

Mileage unknown · Dec 24, 2024
Engine

The exhaust bracket on the front broke, and caused my catalytic converter to crack and have an exhaust leak. I’ve talked to different exhaust places and said it is common in the 2020 traverses. The car is running rough.

NHTSA ODI #11632286

Official recalls

8

22V210000 · Air Bags:side/window:curtain

Mar 31, 2022

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Chevrolet Traverse and 2021-2022 Buick Enclave vehicles. The harness connector to the left or right side roof rail air bag may have incompatible electrical terminals, which could prevent the air bags from deploying in a crash.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Roof rail air bags that do not deploy as intended increase the risk of injury in a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the harness connector to the roof rail air bags, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on April 29, 2022. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N212352140.

21V817000 · Power Train:automatic Transmission

Oct 18, 2021

Braun Corporation (Braun) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Chevrolet Traverse wheelchair accessible vehicles with Power In-floor Ramp conversion. The screw and clip that hold the inner wheel-well plastic shroud in place may chafe against the transmission case, possibly resulting in a transmission fluid leak.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A transmission fluid leak can cause a loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash. In addition, a leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the screw and clip, and inspect for signs of contact with the transmission, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 29, 2021. Owners may contact Braun customer service at 1-800-488-0359.

21V115000 · Tires

Feb 25, 2021

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020 Buick Enclave, Cadillac XT4, XT5, Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, Traverse, GMC Yukon, Yukon XL, 2018-2021 Chevrolet Express, GMC Savana, 2019-2020 Chevrolet Blazer, Silverado 1500, GMC Acadia, Sierra 1500, and certain Continental tires sold to the aftermarket for various model year 2018-2021 vehicles. The affected tires were cured for too long during production.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Over cured tires may develop a break in the sidewall resulting in sudden air loss or a belt edge separation which could lead to a tread/belt loss. Either condition can cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the tires, replacing them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began March 22, 2021. 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 N212329050.

20V684000 · Tires

Nov 5, 2020

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020 Buick Enclave, Cadillac XT5, GMC Acadia and Chevrolet Traverse vehicles and 2020-2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles. The vehicles may have been manufactured with Continental tires that were overcured.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Overcured tires may experience a carcass break in the sidewall resulting in a sudden air loss or could develop a belt edge separation which could lead to partial or full tread/belt loss. Either condition increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect vehicles and replace tires that have DOT number and production mold number combinations identified by Continental, free of charge. The recall began December 17, 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 N202319030.

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.

20V639000 · Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump

Oct 15, 2020

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020 Buick Enclave, Cadillac XT5, Cadillac XT6, Chevrolet Traverse, and GMC Acadia vehicles. The fuel pump's jet nozzle may have a plastic burr remaining from the manufacturing process, possibly causing a blocked nozzle and an insufficient fuel supply to the engine.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Insufficient fuel supply can result in an engine stall without warning, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump module. The recall began November 16, 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 N202314760.

20V446000 · Air Bags:side/window:curtain:inflator

Jul 30, 2020

General Motors, LLC. (GM) is recalling certain 2020 Buick Enclave, Cadillac XT5 and XT6, Chevrolet Blazer, Silverado 1500, 2500 and 3500 and Traverse and GMC Acadia and Sierra 1500, 2500 and 3500 vehicles. The diffuser component of the Roof-Rail Air Bag (RRAB) inflator may not have been properly crimped to the inflator and could separate from the inflator during air bag deployment.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the diffuser separates from the inflator during deployment, RRAB performance may be degraded, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.

Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the suspect RRAB modules, free of charge. The recall began September 3, 2020. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-630-2438, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-333-4223, or Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300. GM's number for this recall is N202305380.

19V643000 · Structure:frame And Members

Sep 6, 2019

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020 Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Traverse vehicles. The right-hand frame rail in the engine compartment may be cracked.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A crack in the frame rail may reduce crash performance, increasing the risk of an injury.

Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, replace the vehicle, free of charge. The recall began October 4, 2019. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-630-2438 or Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300. GM's number for this recall is N192268310.

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.