CarComplaints.com Notes: There are a fair-number of power steering related complaints which is a continuation of problems from the previous model year. Considering the problem tends to happen beyond the standard warranty (73k+) it's best to avoid this vehicle or at least be prepared for the $1,300+ repair.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
66,166 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
I turn off removed the key. The car on(running) no stop, the dealer only for test and diagnose, $800 I can believe.. only 48000 miles the second owner.. 2011 Chevy Traverse please no, buy any Chevy
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that while driving 60 mph, the vehicle shifted out of gear and began to lose power. The engine stalled with out warning. The vehicle failed to restart. The failure occurred twice. The contact also mentioned that the key was stuck in the ignition. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Driving down the interstate at 70 mph, the dic display error reads stabilitrak needs servicing, traction control off, and reduced engine power. It slowed me down from 70 mph to 25 mph in less than 20 seconds. I had to get over 3 lanes of heavy traffic onto the shoulder. This vehicle almost caused a major accident. I know there have been many complaints with GM vehicles regarding this issue. Just how many people have to die before a recall is issued?
Takata recall. The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Traverse. While driving approximately 45 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The vehicle was to be taken to the dealer for inspection and diagnostic testing. The vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign numbers: 14V266000 (seat belts) and 14V118000 (air bags), but the contact was not notified of the two recall repairs. The manufacturer was to be notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 75,000. Parts distribution disconnect.
Just like other complaints I have read on this car year and model, the air conditioner on the front seat passenger side blew hot air out when air was on, then it blew hot air out both before it broke completely. I agree with other customers, that this should not happen in a 4 year old car. They want 1500 to fix. Also, the two pumps went out that pump out the washer fluid, they said it was an electrical issue, this is a four year old vehicle, it should not be having so many electrical issues happening. They want another $500 to fix it. Both this are hudge concerns given it is a 4 year old car and there are many similar complaints. It is definitely a safety concern.
- Palatine, IL, USA
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My car never cooled well. There would be bursts of cool air and then warmer. It was never as cold as other cars I rode in. We began noticing a strange noise on acceleration. I took it in a couple times and they had a mechanic just come listen, but never had a reason to send it in for servicing. I took it in to the dealership in formally on 6-25-13 to the dealership in Missouri who fixed the car after it was hit by a distracted driver and curtain airbags failed! nothing was found, although the bodyshop man wrote up the work order wrong as a surging. It was a strange surging clicking on acceleration, but sounded like it was under the dash. We then would notice the air would warm significantly for a few minutes. I also took it into hamilton where I bought the vehicle, they found nothing. Now, 4 years old the air-conditioned has continued to make the sound, bt much louder and more like a compressor, and when breaking and accelerating. Now, they find the issue isa computer module. 4 year old cars should not have an air-conditioner go out!
While driving home from my mother's house, my 2011 Chevy Traverse suddenly, and without warning lost power. The warning "engine power reduced" came up. This made my car go from 45mph to 25 mph at an extremely alarming rate while on a busy highway. This is not the first instance of this happening with this particular year model. I have read many forums today, all filled with people having the same problem. Apparently GM is doing nothing to correct the problem. It seems they are waiting for multiple injuries or god forbid deaths before they react. I just bought this car 2 months ago, and have put a little over 10,000 miles on it. Have had the oil changed, and yet, just from reading some of the other complaints listed on the forums I have read I feel like I may be at a loss on this vehicle. I implore you to do something about this. Too many hard working people have spent too much money on these vehicles to allow GM to get away with this. I feel I may be stuck making payments for a car that can't be driven. Sincerely, [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).'
All of a sudden or vehicle is only blowing hot air into the passenger seat. It was found that it was the "blend door actuator". this is a $1200 dollar repair. After searching the internet I found that this a very common issue with this model. It is ridiculous that GM has done nothing.
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that while driving at 60 mph, the alarm activated independently. In addition, the service traction and the power reduced warning lights illuminated. The failure occurred multiple times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the throttle body needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000.
Twice within the last month, my daughter and then my son-in-law were driving their 2011 Traverse on the freeway, when suddenly its speed uncontrollably dropped from 70 to 30 miles per hour. My granddaughters, both less than 2 years old were in the car. My daughter panicked and barely escaped being hit by another vehicle when she attempted to exit the freeway. After my son-in-law experienced the problem a second time, the dealership agreed that there was cause for concern and eventually determined that an electrical malfunction in the throttle body was the cause of the problem. As a result of speaking to others about the incidents, my daughter and her husband became aware of the fact that others have experienced the same problem.
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Traverse. While the vehicle was parked, the ignition switch was turned to the off position and the engine continued to run. In addition, the engine was making an abnormal noise and discovered that the battery fractured. The contact also stated that the engine warning light illuminated. The contact replaced the battery. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that there was a leak behind the glove department that leaked onto the fuse, which caused a wire shortage. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000.
The first time this happened, I was driving a hilly back road from school the service stabilitrac and traction control warning lights came on then the engine power is being reduced warning light came on and the car immediately slowed to a crawl with very little steering control. I was able to drive it on the shoulder to my mechanic at no more than 20 mph and he said that 4 of the 6 coils needed to be replaced. A $700 repair. Second time it happened (12/3/14) I was driving on I-95 doing 65 and all the same lights came on again but this time the car instantly reduced the speed and I was crawling at 10mph. I had several near misses with other cars as we were all traveling at the posted speed in rush hour traffic. I struggled to get the car to the shoulder. I stopped the car and restarted and everything reset and I was able to drive for about a mile or two and it recurred. I happened 8 times before I was able to get it to the Chevy dealer. The dealer took 3 days to try and diagnose it and said it was probably the throttle control. They replaced it $493! and told me they did not know if it would fix the problem - it may last 1,000 miles or 20,000 miles. If it happens again I will have to bring it back and they would have to take apart the engine which would cost me $5000!!! this car is unsafe! I/my family could be injured or killed if it happens again! recall it! codes shown in diagnostic were P0300, P0305, P0221, P0121.
Use remote starter. After a few minutes of warming up unlocked and entered vehicle. Once key turned to on doors started to lock and unlock. Put car in reverse barely moved. Tried drive and would not move? check engine light, stability track lights are on. Not good when you need to get to work.
2011 Chevy Traverse is having fuel gauge issues. GM has a recall out on 2014 models, however my 2011 is experiencing the exact same problem but no recall for that year. Per GM this can result in the vehicle unexpectedly running out of fuel and stalling, increasing the risk of a crash.
While backing up at a very low speed the vehicle steering wheel locked up, I then realized the engine had shut off. I noted the key was still in the on position and the back up camera was still on. Restarted vehicle and no further problems were noticed. When attempting to duplicate this issue the only time I could get the steering wheel to lock up was if the key was removed from the ignition. Also back up camera would only stay on if the car was running and in reverse so it is unclear why the steering wheel locked up with the key in the on position. This could be a serious safety issue if it happened under different circumstances.
Serpentine belt shredded, water pump, battery and power steering failed twice, once in 2012 and once in 2013. Serpentine belt replaced again in 2013 because it was damaged by a stone. Currently have lawsuit against GM to replace the car for safety reasons. They are dragging their feet. Lawsuit going on over a year.
On Friday, July 25, 2014, my 2011 Chevy Traverse stalled/shutdown while driving. I pulled out of a local gas station and immediately noticed that there was a noise coming from the engine. Almost simultaneously the car began to stall/shutdown. I pulled over to the shoulder (fortunately there was one). I turned the ac unit and radio off. I started the car without any noise. I drove approximately 1 mile, turned the ac back on and the car stalled/shutdown once again, this time as the car was going approximately 35 mph. To say the least, I was extremely distraught as the car lost power and steering. Fortunately, (for my family and Chevy), there were no children in the car and there was no accident. The service manager told me that the problem was related to the ac unit and wants to charge me almost $2,000 to fix! the ac unit was "fixed" back in June 2013 while car was under warranty. It is no longer covered by warranty. My issue is that the car stalled/shut down. A car shutting down at any speed is a clear and present danger. Traveling at 35 mph creates an even more dangerous situation. If the ac unit can stall a vehicle then this has to be an inherent design/production issue. There is no acceptable way that an ac unit can fail and thus cause the vehicle to shut down putting people's lives in danger. Hopefully, my incident report will prevent any future problems like this from occurring, and most importantly, protect people's lives.
There has been a leak in my Chevy Traverse 2011 for a long time but we had no idea because it was under the foam in the carpets. We found water in our battery compartment behind the seat. We had to remove the seats in the car and found black mold under the carpets. We have been so sick for awhile(daughter diagnosed with autism) Chevy/GM wants to charge us 1400+ to fix the problem that has probably been going on since we purchased the car brand new in 2011. I am so saddened that our families safety is not Chevy's priority. It has 48000 miles on it so it is out of the warranty window. No help from Chevy to take the responsibility to fix this issue. Have I mentioned they have had my car for over a week and still cannot figure out where the water is coming from"?" oh and they didn't have a loner for us either.....
Traveling at 45 mph or greater, warning message comes across dash "traction control off"' with in 2 minutes warning message changes to "service stabilitrak system" within 2 minutes warning message changes to "reduced engine power". within 2 minutes of this message the engine loses most of its power immediately and car lurches to less than 5 mph.
I was driving home from san diego to AZ with my 3 kids when all of the sudden all my warning dash lights started flashing, the radio lost power and I lost power steering. This went on for about 1 min and then everything went away and the radio turned back on and the car seemed to be fine. Five mins later the same thing happened so I exited the freeway in alpine ca, and drove to the only mechanic in the entire town. After an hour the mechanic came and told me my key was bad and that the computer wasn't responding at all to it. Luckily for me I had the spare and he tried that key and it too wouldn't start the car. At this point the mechanic said I'd have to leave the car with him for further diagnosing. I then rented a car and headed to AZ for the weekend. The day after they had my car they called me and said the car started up with no problem and now they were going to try to recreate the problem. After 2 days and $438 they found nothing wrong with my car. I came and picked up my car and everything seemed fine for a few weeks then I went to start it one day and no power, the vehicle wasn't recognizing my keys at all. I popped the trunk and looked around the tried to restart the vehicle and it started fine. Now a month later I drive to go pick up my daughter at a friends house at night and turn the car off for 10 mins and it won't start again. The car has power because all the dash warn lights are going off again but it won't start. I ended up leaving my car and walking home with my 3 kids again at night. I'm sure tomorrow it will start just fine but I need to take it to the dealership but can't afford for them to not fix it again and just hand me a bill for the time spent on it! any ideas"???" please help I don't have money to throw away, this is a new car basically and this is crazy!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Whittier, CA, USA