2021 Chevy Traverse went out in September, it would shutter causing take off to jerk so hard and cause traffic to stall, hurting passengers necks, and almost causing accidents
2021 Chevrolet Traverse
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Fewer warning signs than most model years
Owner complaints for the 2021 Chevrolet Traverse are lower than 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: 15 of 89 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.
- Electrical System. Review the 22 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 15 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine. Review the 11 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
89 reportsI bought this 2021 Chevrolet Traverse on January 4th 2021. Since owning this vehicle the transmission has always skipped and sputtered. We have done regular maintenance on it. But at 115,000 miles it seems to get worse and really shift hard or skip while trying to go into each gear. There is no information on maintenance for the…
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I bought this 2021 Chevrolet Traverse on January 4th 2021. Since owning this vehicle the transmission has always skipped and sputtered. We have done regular maintenance on it. But at 115,000 miles it seems to get worse and really shift hard or skip while trying to go into each gear. There is no information on maintenance for the transmission other than taking it to the dealership, which is really bizarre and unreasonable because dealerships take to long and some can be without. We have also noticed on a couple different occasions that the reverse lights were on when it was in park. The parking brake also likes to set when someone opens or closes a door. We are not sure what the problem is. But would like this transmission to be fixed.
When leaving work last night, a warning appeared saying 'Service Charging System Vehicle May Stall' and shortly after another showed "Battery Saver Active" so I went to my local auto parts store and had the battery replaced for $300. The gentleman also ran a test on the alternator and it came back with a failure on the voltage r…
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When leaving work last night, a warning appeared saying 'Service Charging System Vehicle May Stall' and shortly after another showed "Battery Saver Active" so I went to my local auto parts store and had the battery replaced for $300. The gentleman also ran a test on the alternator and it came back with a failure on the voltage regulator but all others were good. I drove home hoping drive cycles would clear it out. I drove to work this morning getting the same errors and voltage not going above 12.0, dipping all the way to 11.5. So now, I have to replace the alternator, praying it does not shut off on the highway and I get hit and killed. I have seen numerus incidents online of the exact same issue. I bought this car brand new (my 1st ever) in 2021, I only have 25,000 miles on it, she is garage kept and very well taken care of, this should not be happening on a practically new car. Please do something before more get injured or even killed.
I was hit by another car who ran the red light. No airbag deployment at all, in serious crash. Whole front end hit without airbags going off. The engine was smoking and the brake would not work after inpact to keep it from rolling
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the exhaust pipe. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer; however, the vehicle was not yet diagnosed. The contact related the failure to…
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The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the exhaust pipe. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer; however, the vehicle was not yet diagnosed. The contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: PIP5681C (Exhaust leak, Lean Codes, Rattle Noise, or Catalytic Converter Failure Codes); however, the vehicle was not included. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 33,000. The VIN was not available.
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, she heard an abnormal rattling sound emanating from underneath the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the catalytic converter. Addition…
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The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, she heard an abnormal rattling sound emanating from underneath the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the catalytic converter. Additionally, the contact was informed that the exhaust system needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the exhaust had previously failed and was replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Special Coverage: N222385510. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 61,000.
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The driver was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. The service battery warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a…
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The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The driver was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. The service battery warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the alternator. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 43,000.
The rear sway bar linkage broke which lead to unsafe handling/ control of vehicle. I was driving and anytime I made a right turn there was a loud clunk in rear of vehicle. Concerned it will wear other parts out by this specific part not working/broke
Warning on dash to check charging system. Driving on highway, all lights on dash started lighting up and going crazy and then everything on dash completely shut off while I was driving. Car eventually stalled. Car has less than 40k miles and only 3 years old. Brought it to dealership and they said it needs new alternator and bat…
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Warning on dash to check charging system. Driving on highway, all lights on dash started lighting up and going crazy and then everything on dash completely shut off while I was driving. Car eventually stalled. Car has less than 40k miles and only 3 years old. Brought it to dealership and they said it needs new alternator and battery.
I bought my 2021 Chevy Traverse brand new. Now it has about 44,000 miles on it and is just under 2 months of purchase date. I noticed that my battery light turned on yesterday while I was driving. Within seconds my vehicle stalled out and I was just coasting along in traffic, unable to restart my car. I was able to coast to the …
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I bought my 2021 Chevy Traverse brand new. Now it has about 44,000 miles on it and is just under 2 months of purchase date. I noticed that my battery light turned on yesterday while I was driving. Within seconds my vehicle stalled out and I was just coasting along in traffic, unable to restart my car. I was able to coast to the side of the freeway and jump my car. After doing so it started again so I proceeded to drive away. After about 4 more minutes my vehicle shut off again as I was driving in traffic. I was unable to get the car started again and was just a sitting duck in heavy traffic. I had the vehicle towed and a new battery was put in. My vehicle starts but the new battery is already loosing voltage. After a diagnostic test was done by the mechanics at the auto shop it looks like the alternator needs to be replaced. This is not only unheard of that such a new vehicle would already need a brand new alternator, but it was also a huge safety risk with how it all happened so quickly with VERY minimal warning and the vehicle completely shut off while I was driving in heavy traffic. So many people could have been harmed due to this malfunction.
Official recalls
322V210000 · 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.
21V472000 · Air Bags:sensor:frontal Impact
Jun 24, 2021
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave vehicles. During service by dealers, certain vehicles may have received incorrect air bag calibration software that may affect frontal airbag deployment.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Air bags that do not deploy as intended can increase the risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will update the air bag calibration software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 29, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 and Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300. GM's number for this recall is N212340220.
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.
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