IllustrationDue to exhaust bracket failure where converter with muffler and side down pipe needs replaced. This was diagnosed at the Chevy dealer and appointment for repair is made. The exhaust suddenly became very loud so I took it to the dealership. There were no messages or warning lamps.
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 →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
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 reportsWhen I put my car in park and turn it off I get an error message that I need to "Shift to Park". It shows in the dash that it is in park but my radio, and lights stay on. I have to restart my car and put it in park, reverse, or neutral and try to put it in park again. I takes several try's to make the error message go away.
The car has 45,000 and started burning oil. The car is in brand new condition and well under mileage for an issue of such to be occurring. Took to car dealership where purchased and was told $8,500 fix!
A few months ago I was driving and without any warning the steering wheel would lock up and I couldn’t turn it at all. I had to use my strength to wiggle it to unlock it. It happened several times on busy roads and highways. It’s currently at the dealership for the past 2 months because there is a short and the steering gear box…
Read full complaint
A few months ago I was driving and without any warning the steering wheel would lock up and I couldn’t turn it at all. I had to use my strength to wiggle it to unlock it. It happened several times on busy roads and highways. It’s currently at the dealership for the past 2 months because there is a short and the steering gear box needs to be replaced but the part is on back order with no date of when it’ll become available. I obviously can’t drive it due to the steering locking up and that it’s a danger to not only myself and my family but other drivers on the road. Anyone could have been seriously injured or killed had it locked up and caused an accident. It would happen no matter what speed I was going.
Receiving a persistent “Shift to Park” message, after the car has been placed in Park. This causes an inability to turn off my engine completely and is draining my battery. As a temp fix, I've had to wiggle the shifter many times, turn the car on and off, place the car from park into drive many times to get the car to realize …
Read full complaint
Receiving a persistent “Shift to Park” message, after the car has been placed in Park. This causes an inability to turn off my engine completely and is draining my battery. As a temp fix, I've had to wiggle the shifter many times, turn the car on and off, place the car from park into drive many times to get the car to realize it's in Park. Scheduled with the dealership and referenced the TSB that was issued for this specific safety issue (in writing). Brought the car in for the repair and the technician and intake person were both aware of this major problem and have seen other Chevy's with the same issue. Repair is $809.00 for a shifter assembly. [XXX] - [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
19 Sep 2025. The headlights turn off at night while driving. With the switch in the "auto" position, I turned the switch to "off" then back to "auto" and they came back on for a short period of time. They turned off again, I turned them to "on", they came back on for a brief period. I had to keep switching the headlight swit…
Read full complaint
19 Sep 2025. The headlights turn off at night while driving. With the switch in the "auto" position, I turned the switch to "off" then back to "auto" and they came back on for a short period of time. They turned off again, I turned them to "on", they came back on for a brief period. I had to keep switching the headlight switch from "on" to "off" and back to "on" every 20 to 30 seconds (estimated) to keep driving. The dealership could not schedule a diagnosis until 8 Oct 2025. This is a potentially fatal issue.
Exhaust started to rattle, now it is a loud clangy exhaust. Clearly a part has separated or there are holes in it. Dealership told me my car has a repair out for that for years 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023 but NOT my year, 2020.
Rattling noise when starting vehicle started occurring a year ago. Dealership diagnosed a broken bracket weld that holds the exhaust pipes in place. Dealership cut off bracket. A year later there is a hole in one of the exhaust pipes because of the broken bracket and a check engine light comes on. There is a recall for the 2018-…
Read full complaint
Rattling noise when starting vehicle started occurring a year ago. Dealership diagnosed a broken bracket weld that holds the exhaust pipes in place. Dealership cut off bracket. A year later there is a hole in one of the exhaust pipes because of the broken bracket and a check engine light comes on. There is a recall for the 2018-2023 Traverse models EXCEPT the 2020 year for the exact same issue. Why is every other covered but not the 2020? Why do I have to pay for a known GM issue that causes a hole in the exhaust pipes from their crappy bracket welds? This is an emissions issue yet we are being denied by our dealership.
I own two 2020 Chevrolete Traverse. I am currently dealing with my second one that has an exhaust leak at the forward joining exhaust bracket. This is a poor design for a hanging exhaust and is a known issue for the 2019 and 2021 models, but not the 2020. These other years have a special coverage to repair the forward exhaust bu…
Read full complaint
I own two 2020 Chevrolete Traverse. I am currently dealing with my second one that has an exhaust leak at the forward joining exhaust bracket. This is a poor design for a hanging exhaust and is a known issue for the 2019 and 2021 models, but not the 2020. These other years have a special coverage to repair the forward exhaust but not the 2020 traverse because there have not been enough reports on it. I already paid out of pocket to repair my other 2020 traverse with this known problem and I refuse to do it again because of a design flaw. This needs to be addressed by Chevrolete immediately.
Slipping in low gears of transmission. Shaking of vehicle. Potential to break down.
Official recalls
822V210000 · 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
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.