Chevrolet Traverse 2012 — Reported problems

It sways left to right really bad.. but when it rains or even even the car detected that it's going to rain.. as soon as the car senses it is going to rain u can't even drive it.. it like hydro plains even before it starts to officially rain.. very dangerous plus I had to replace the two back tires because they seemed like they were being forced and drug that all u seen was wires coming out of the tread

The car feels like it’s bouncing everywhere on any kind of surface and now there is a loud very loud rattling noise coming from underneath the car and the car starts shaking excessively if you try to accelerate

White smoke was coming out the car and my car eventually sat on fire. I had to call the fire department.. fire department stated that it was a electrical issue

Shift Interlock Malfunction. Put the shifter in park. Car did not register in park but locked gear shifter. Car would not restart or return to park. Emergency Brake had to be deployed.

The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated while driving 80 MPH, the vehicle stopped abruptly. The check engine, traction control, stability control, and air conditioner warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, while driving 75 MPH, the vehicle unintendedly decelerated. The contact was concerned about driving the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who determined the failure was due to the throttle body. The vehicle was repaired. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The throttle body was previously replaced, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

After sliding into a ditch, my drivers side, curtain airbag deployed but, instead of covering the drivers side door window, it came out and went across my face, hitting me on the right side of my head, slamming my head into the drivers side window glass and pinning me between the airbag and the window glass, obviously putting my safety at risk. I am currently being treated for neck injuries as a result of this airbag malfunction. The problem has not been reproduced/confirmed by dealer/independent service center. The vehicle has not been inspected by anyone. Photos of the vehicle including the airbags have been sent to my insurance company (Allstate). There were no warnings or symptoms of the problem prior to the collision and no other vehicles were involved. Upon visual inspection, both the driver and passenger side curtain airbags are twisted around itself 4 or 5 times at the anchor point, located at the front of the door frame. The vehicle is currently in our shop at our residence.

When driving the vehicle it will lose power and flash service stabilitrack and low engine mode enabled without warning. This has happened many times since 2016. When the conditions cannot be replicated gm/chevrolet has not been concerned but to refer to dealership. The dealership replaced ECM due to warranty conditions. Issue with emissions and electrical modules continued to cause intermittent power loss. Corrosion was found in the internal fuse box due to poor sun roof drainage emptying into glovebox and onto internal fuse box. GM and Chevrolet describes this as a known issue but insists my VIN is not affected. The issues continued to persist leading to frequent battery replacement that was ultimately due to contamination of electrical components. Fuel system parts were all assumed faulty only to find it was ultimately the fuel control module, another electronic component listed faulty but GM/ Chevrolet assumes my VIN is not affected. This car was purchased to be a family vehicle, but had proven to be an unreliable death trap. The first incident that caused concern was 2/14/2017 on the highway with speeds up to 70mph. Thankfully, that day was full of heavy traffic that did not allow drivers to reach high speeds. If I had been going that fast when the engine lost power I can only imagine what that would have meant for me and my family. I know I am not the only owner of a Chevrolet traverse with these concerning issues. I find it irresponsible for GM/Chevrolet/Buick to mass produce vehicles with these issues and fail to acknowledge the hazard they represent. Knowing they have produced a lemon that cost the sticker price, repair cost, and potentially human lives and failing to remedy the issue astounds me. I urge you to please investigate this concern.

The air conditioning stopped working after working amazing, Traction Control Disabled light keeps coming on, The RPM's would rev up seems like it gets stuck then drops to normal. stabilitrak messages with the ABS warning light lit up, Power steering (or power control) goes limp (at the worse times pulling out in traffic) It’s on issue after the other. Once I get one fixed another goes, then we’re back to the first one that was replaced that is now not working again. I still have a car payment so I’m without my car more than I’m driving it. I have to save up to get it fixed, and I won’t drive it until I know for sure it’s good. I was almost killed way to many times in it so to all the issues that GM knows about.

1)The air conditioning unit line has caused a leak. It was determined this line needs to be replaced by an independent service center. This a/c line is located from under the front of the hood all the way to the rear of vehicle. This line constantly rubs and there is friction with other lines/hoses (power steering), and other components under the hood. No rubbing should occur. The rubbing and friction cause holes to form causing not only for it to leak out but also potentially leak on other components under the hood which could cause other issues such as breakdown of the vehicle or fire. It has affected us not only by not providing a/c under extreme heat, but also has caused hissing sounds and for white smoke vapors that has omitted from the vents inside the vehicle. It has also caused us to breathe in the vapors which are toxic. There was cold a/c felt through the vents and we were not aware of any issues until now (7/19/2024). This is a very costly repair, over $1500 and up for the average consumer to pay out. 2)Park assist & sound that are unable to hear & works intermittently. The radio display & speakers work intermittently. The park assist is connected to the speakers. When the speakers and radio/radio display do not work properly; it causes the park assist to not function correctly when backing up. This is a safety issue due to blind spots and areas one cannot see and depending on the park assist to aide them; something can get hit or run over. There is an issue with Engine fuse box wiring & terminals GM knows of. 3)Driver seat belt lap anchor pretentioner. Only special coverage adjustment which states dealers are to inspect & replace. They failed to send out the notice to me. I was told I have to pay the dealership a diagnostic fee to inspect it then fix from there. I shouldn’t have to pay the fee to have it replaced like it states in the documents. Nor worry about safety of seatbelt & components going to fail to protect in the event of a crash.

Traveling at 70 MPH on a highway Traction control/stabilitrac and engine turn on and acceleration stopped, car wont accelerate causing to cars behind me to start swirling around due to my car lost of acceleration, then pulled over to the shoulder thankfully with no accidents, then turn off car and turn on again and car worked normally for about 100 miles and it did it again.

The rear Sun/Moon Roof on my 2012 Chevrolet Traverse LTZ (FWD) exploded while driving on the highway in Houston, Texas on [XXX]. There were no known scratches, dents or damage to the window prior to it self-destructing. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

it is an ongoing daily issue. it has been occurring for over 2 years. The radio display does not work properly. It will show the display and then it won't. This display and speakers are connected via wiring. The speakers all do not work at the same intervals. The park assist function is connected to the speakers. When the radio display works; most of the speakers work and then one can hear the "beep" sounds the park assist makes. And when the speakers and radio display do not work then the park assist does not work. This can put others at risk since the park assist function does not work. A person might hit someone or something due to this issue.

The liftgate goes half up then back down multiple times I have gotten hit in the head because it does that

The head front left head light has had to be replaced 3 times in 3 months same for the left turn signal. Another issue I have is each time I put gas in, the car gets stuck trying to turn over Until I pump the gas.

We got sold a car without a catalytic converter. We’ve been talking to the dealership responsible, and they literally admitted over the phone that they sold us the car without it on “accident” which still makes it an illegal sale. They offered us half of what they owe due to this and we’ve had enough and want to take this further. As you can clearly see in the photo the flanges of the old catalytic converter were cut out and they welded in a straight pipe and it even has holes in it already. This is a huge problem. Also, I read that it’s a 25,000$ fine for a dealership selling a car in this condition and id like if that was enforced in this situation because they’ve done similar to others in the past. + our money back rightfully so…

Airbags deployed unexpectedly while I was driving on the freeway.

Airbags failed to deploy on drivers side and in the front after an impact of 35 MPH. My daughter and myself got severely hurt due to this malfunction. yes it has been inspected. no there were never any indicators for the airbags ever in the four years I have owned the car.

I got in the car to put the seatbelt on and it just snapped at the floor, the lap belt cable which runs down to the left of the drivers seat. That braided cable just snapped. Shoulder harness still works, but no lap belt.

I have not had any accidents.

Vehicle died while taking off from the intersection. Leaving us stranded on a busy highway. Engine had sized but oil has been changed every 5k miles with synthetic. No warning light just shut off and wpuld not restart. With 6 kids in the car

I was driving down the freeway at about 67 MPH when the message "Traction Control Disabled" came on my display & the car immediately went into "limp mode"! By some miracle I was able to muscle the car out of the slow lane, onto the shoulder as I lost my power steering once in limp mode. I waited a few minutes, car started up just fine, so I shrugged it off. Fast forward 1 week later & the same thing happened to me on my way home on a curvy mountain road. The power steering was again non-existent & luckily, there was no one behind me, nor did anyone come around the corner & hit my disabled car. Once again, it started up, no problem; however, this is when the harsh forward thrust started happening, & the transmission seemed to be slipping gears. The RPM's would rev to the 6000 range & immediately fall down to 1500. I took it to the dealer & sadly paid $3,400 for a new tranny on a 5-year-old car. (No warranty, of course). I started having the same issues about 2 years later, only this time the driver was not so lucky as they were mid-curve on the mountain road. Right as the roadway came out of the bend, the car went into limp mode, power steering lost & wheels stuck in a right turn position, car went off the roadway & into a telephone pole, broke that in half due to the angle of the pole in the mountainside & down the steep embankment about 40-50 feet. All airbags deployed & driver was able to walk away (hike away) but the car was a total loss. Driver was traveling 40-45 mph. There was no indication, no warning, just from travel to nothing.

crus traction control problem raking pinion. problems

I looked up 2012 Chevy Traverse recalls and 4 things came up. I was very happy to see that because I have all 4 problems recalled. So the next day I called Chevy to schedule the work. They informed me my car has no recalls. I told them I knew it did I looked it up and there are 4 in total. Then I said luckily for me it is recalled because I am experiencing exactly the same issues with same effects from the issues that was posted with the recall. Then the lady explained to me that you recalled 2012 chevy traverse on 4 items yes but none included my model. That is absolutely INSANE because my car is doing all the same things that was considered too dangerous to continue in all the other trims the car was made in but for some reason I'll never understand my trim was excluded.... Plz fix this the LS trim needs all the same recalls. I have every one of the 4 issues and I've been all over the 2012 LS Traverse forum to see I'm far from alone here.

First I already had to rebuild the transmission which is showing the beginning signs of failing again. Then around the same time I started having another issue that I find a lot scarier as the driver. It started giving me severely Reduced engine power, traction control off and stabilitrak messages with the ABS warning light lit up like a Christmas tree. This is by far the most dangerous of any issue I've ever experienced with all of my vehicles I've ever owned. It starts with a huge jump I cant stop or control to a car behind me it seems like I'm really getting on it and speeding up. But in a split second too quick for any human to process what is happening it just drops out big time. It then wont go above roughly 30 mph and the engine is revving very high to even get it to that. All the while it is heavily shuddering and jumping back and forth at a very fast rate and it does this with a high force to it. I have no control over it either. Before I could hit traction control off and it would all stop. However today it did this again for the first time in a long time and man was it 20 times worse than anything I had ever seen before. By the time I decided to turn back and go home (which I wasn't any further than a half mile into my drive to begin with) I made it maybe another quarter block and that is when the bottom fell out. It stopped moving at all at that point. Nothing we did to correct it that had totally controlled it in the past would help for the first time. In the end my husband hooked an o2 sensor to it and reset the codes and now it's back to driving beautifully. The reason I feel this needs recalled is it's a huge danger to myself and anyone else around me. When this starts you have no prior warning what so ever and then bam your all the sudden in a car that is jumping back and forth and its visible to other drivers then its starting like it's going to really go but it malfunctions so fast no one behind you would have time to react to such a sudden drop.

The airbag light is on for the passenger seat and the clips under the seat are loose

2012 chevy traverse. Feb 20 2020. Milage 127691 My valve cover gaskets failed causing the cabin to fill with smoke. Sept 11 2020 right front axel seal failed causing ptu to lose all the transfer case fluid and bearings. Transfer case replaced. Feb 22 2021 milage 141464 transmission slipping had new one installed. Jan 5 2022 milage 153350 had timing chains replaced. Check engine light came on. Back on june 29 2012 Chevrolet issued a bulletin No. 11340B special coverage adjustment timing chain wear. It is for 2007-2009 traverse acadia outlook enclave equipped with the same 3.6L Engine as my 2012 and other years. they extended warranty coverage for 10 years 120k miles. seeing this problem existed in 07-09 models this should be looked at and to include other years as well. I am a member of 2 facebook traverse groups and there are a lot of others with the same issue. The owners manual says to change engine oil every 5000 miles I have done that. Please look into adding additional years to this recall. Timing chains should not fail stretch or need replacing as much as I have seen others needing to. A vehicle should go well over 200k miles before needing replacing.

UNKNOWN, I first bought my Chevy Traverse Ltz in April of 2020, and about 2 weeks of driving it, I noticed that all(4)of my wheels/brakes instantly locked up while driving in traffic, almost causing a pile-up collision. The rotors and brakes releases alot of smoke as the wheels scrub and the suv doesn't move forward nor backward. I reported it to the car lot/dealership where i purchased it from and was told to take it to a certain auto shop. I arrived there, just to be told that he doesn't fix those type of problems. The dealership where i bought it from didn't look at it either. So, from that time til now in 2021, I have been dealing with the same exact problems being terrified with my children in the car, not knowing if/when the next time the wheels lock up for no reason, if it will be fatal for me and my children or other drivers. I've contacted GM about it, taken it to Chevy dealership a few times, even a couple of auto shops, and no one seems to know what the problem is. I recently had the transmission serviced to see if that was the issue and turns out, it wasn't. I don't know what to do, I am still financing it and the warranty only covers the transmission and engine, half the cost of the repair and the other half is my responsibility it states. I've been trying to prevent any fatal accidents best I can, sometimes by not driving it at all and having to ride with family members and friends. I was recently told by my warranty company that there is pretty much nothing they can do about it.

The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle took a long time to start-up. While driving approximately 20-40 MPH, the vehicle would not accelerate then shifted into limp mode. The ABS, check engine, traction control, and service air bags warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed that the wheel bearings were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 99,655.

I was driving to the store and my car dinged and a message saying something like service stabilitrack flashed. The car slowed and I pulled over and turned off the car. Eventually I turned the car on and it was back to normal speed but then it sputtered like it was out of gas. That was 2 months ago. I've had it in the shop 2 times and my husband has been trying to replace every part suggested by gm and any other mechanic. The car continues to misfire and turn of at times during driving. This feature makes this vehicle completely unsafe. Any vehicle that simply cuts power should not be on the road as it poses unnecessary risk. Please do something.

2012 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO DEFECTIVE CATALYTIC CONVERTER. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE SHUT DOWN WHILE IT WAS BEING DRIVEN WITH NO WARNING. THE CONSUMER REQUESTED TO BE REIMBURSED FOR THE REPAIR COSTS.

THE HATCH DOOR SLAMMED DOWN WITHOUT ANY WARNING WHEN I WAS UNLOADING GROCERY. AFTER THAT HAPPENED THE HATCH DOOR WILL NOT GO UP ALL THE WAY, BUT ASCENDS HALF WAY AN GOES BACK DOWN. I HAVE A VIDEO ON MY PHONE. BEFORE THIS INCIDENT, WE HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE HATCH GOING UP BUT COMING RIGHT BACK DOWN WITHOUT WARNING.

In an accident yesterday where the car was rear ended on the back passenger side while on the highway. The drivers seat reclined back during the crash. Pictures to be attached

The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the power steering assist failed and the vehicle became difficult to steer. The contact stated that the power steering pump was leaking. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with the power steering pump and the rack and pinion needing to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 127,305.

Power steering intermittently fails at low speed we have had near collisions and as a result my wife cannot drive the car she’s not strong enough to turn the wheel at low speeds I’m afraid somebody’s gonna get in a wreck with this or another car like it I’ve heard other complaints from traverse owners about the same thing

The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to three different independent mechanics and on all three occasions, it was diagnosed that the timing chain failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 95,000.

DASH IS THROWING DIFFERENT CODES SUCH AS SERVICE AND CHECK TRACTION CONTROL, STABILITRACK, AIR BAG, AND AT TIMES WHILE DRIVING IT WILL SAY REDUCED ENGINE POWER AND MY FOOT WOULD BE ON GAS NOT WANTING TO BARELY MOVE. ONE TIME I ALMOST GOT HIT. OTHER SEVERAL TIMES I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER AND WE WOULD HAVE TO DISCONNECT BATTERY WAIT A LITTLE AND CAR WOULD BE OK AGAIN. I HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WITH THIS CAR THAT IT MAKES ME NOT WANT TO DRIVE IT AND THANK GOD WE HAVE ANOTHER CAR. I AM ALSO EXPERIENCING CATALYTIC CONVERTER ISSUES FOR THE 4TH TIME. CAR FEELS AT TIMES LIKE IT IS BOGGING WHEN ON GAS PEDDLE AS IF SOMETHING HAD A CLOG IN IT AND STARTS PULSATING. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ALSO ON.

MY MECHANIC REPLACED MY A/C REFRIGERANT HOSE DUE TO A LEAK AND MY A/C CONDITIONING COMPRESSOR. HE SAID THAT HE HAS REPLACED THE SAME PARTS ON A NUMBER OF OTHER VEHICLES SIMILAR TO MY 2012 CHEVY TRAVERSE. HE SAID THE DAMAGE TO THE A/C REFRIGERANT HOSE WAS DUE TO A BAD DESIGN WHERE A BRACKET IS LOCATED TOO CLOSE TO THE A/C REFRIGERANT HOSE.

THIS CAR KEEPS SHUTTING OFF DUE TO A FAULTY ENGINE SWITCH IT IS UNSAFE AS THE CAR WILL JUST SHUT OFF WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY OR JUST DRIVING

THE AIRBAG CONNECTOR PIECE UNDER THE PASSENGER SEAT COMES APART TRIGGERING. AIRBAG LIGHT ON. DEALER CHARGES OVER $100 FOR A PROBLEM THAT KEEPS HAPPENING. THIS ISSUE IS ALSO LISTED ON EVERY FORUM SO T'S A COMMON ISSUE. WIPER FLUID DOESN'T EXTRACT CLOGGED NOZZLES.

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON HAD THE CODES CHECKED AND I HAD THE ENGINE TAKEN APART TWICE BECAUSE THE TIMING CHAIN HAD JUMPED CAUSING IT TO RUN ROUGH AND LIGHT CAME BACK HAD TO DO AGAIN AND IT WAS FINE FOR A FEW MONTHS BUT MECHANIC SAID THE ENGINE IS THE SAME AS THE ENCLAVE AND ACADIA WHICH BOTH HAVE HAD RECALLS ON THIS ISSUE. THIS HAPPENED THE FIRST TIME WHILE CAR WAS IN MOTION.