Print this page

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
30,503 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.

2016 Chevrolet Traverse engine problems

engine problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2016 Chevrolet Traverse:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2016 Chevrolet Traverse Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #29

Oct 052023

Traverse

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

2 issues: 1: Brakes did not stop car nor did the abs braking system kick in causing the car to not stop on full demand! 2 cars slammed on their brakes at a yellow light instead of going thru causing a small number kiss Was going 35mph and when braking, car didn-??t fully stop and out brakes tho to the floor. Abs did not kick in. No lights on dash board. 2: The very Next morning, The traction control light came on saying service the stabilitrak, traction control. The car ins denied it was from car accident. When The traction control light comes on the dashboard, by itself) it causes the car to automatically brake when accelerating whenever it chooses to come on causing it to be unsafe in traffic. You cannot control the button to turn it off. This has been an issue coming on and off at random to current.

- Fresno, CA, USA

problem #28

Dec 072023

Traverse

  • 130,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- Kalamazoo, MI, USA

problem #27

Oct 092023

Traverse

  • miles
I have a 2016 Chevy Traverse. The -??traction control off-?? light has been on for about 2 months now, along with the service stabilitrak light, and ABS light. When driving it seems is if though my ABS is kicking in when it should not be. Since those lights have been on, the left passenger brakes seem to also be affected. Anytime I first begin driving until I hit about 30mph, or anytime I press the brakes, it feels like my brakes are locking up-??or a better way to describe it is when driving in the snow and your ABS kicks in and you can feel it in your brake pedal like the brakes are locked up, but there is no snow. Recently there were two times when I was coming to a stop light and nearly hit the stopped car in front of me because my brakes locked up and the pedal wouldn-??t go down. Now, almost a week ago when trying to leave, my car will not start at all. The battery is new and the lights all work. The power of the car turns on but it doesn-??t turn over to start or if it does it struggles to stay started and then dies right away. I have seen tons and tons of other videos or reviews of other traverse owners complaining of the same problem ranging from 2014-2017 traverse. Many people take theirs to a dealership and even they can-??t figure out the problem or they say it-??s a glitch in the system. There are far too many other chevy traverse vehicles having the same issue. The only difference with theirs is the lights come on every so often. Mine don-??t turn off, they are always on. This is extremely dangerous, much more dangerous than the air bag recall. These vehicles should be recalled immediately before something very serious happens. I have been without a vehicle now for a week while I-??ve had to miss work and my kids have had to miss school. I have had the problem checked by a professional mechanic but couldn-??t figure it out either. No one else has looked at it as it is dead so I can-??t take it anywhere. It is available upon request for inspection.

- Hartford, WI, USA

problem #26

Aug 072023

Traverse

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The transmission blew while I was driving down the highway and my car dash was flashing transmission hot and My car would no longer move. It was smoking and leaked fluids everywhere. I was scared to death it was gonna catch fire but thankfully it didn-??t. I don-??t k it if the safety recall has anything to do with it but Larry Spacc has literally had my car at his shop waiting to be repaired since August!

- Sinclairville, NY, USA

problem #25

Feb 102023

Traverse

  • miles
Transmission failed and was replaced with a brand new one. Three weeks later the transmission started slipping again causing it to go back into the shop. It has now been in the shop for over three months with no idea as to what is causing the problem. Dealership confirmed it-??s the same problem that occurred last time.

- Cottonwood, CA, USA

problem #24

Apr 062023

Traverse

  • miles
While driving on highway, experienced sudden/acute loss of engine power. Depressed acceleration pedal, but no response from engine. No CEL. Pulled to the shoulder and vehicle couldn't start. Key starter clicks but won-??t turn over. No CEL. Still have some electrical power because radio, dash lights, and AC remain on. Could not jump start, batt indicated 12V. Car has been to repair shop 8 times since Nov 2020 (purchased April 2019 used 38k miles) for same issue. Mechanics find they cannot replicate the issue. Has caused accident by sudden deceleration in high speed traffic conditions (highway).

- New Freedom, PA, USA

problem #23

Apr 092023

Traverse

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While driving on a highway (65mph) the vehicle shuddered (as if running over rumble strips), the alert -??Service Stabilitrak-?? appeared simultaneously with -??Low engine pressure-?? message and simultaneously the Car entered limp mode. No CEL. Started car, car lunged a few feet and entered limp mode with no CEL. Would recommend alert that one is in reduced engine state.

- New Freedom, PA, USA

problem #22

Jul 092022

Traverse

  • miles
Vehicle stalled going down the road. Warranty covered for new engine replacement. Then it was found that the transmission was no good. Warranty paid for new transmission. Vehicle still acting like it wants to stall after new engine, transmission, and battery. Would like to know what caused the problem to begin with and would like a full repair of the vehicle.

- Eden, NC, USA

problem #21

Aug 012021

Traverse

  • miles
Replaced the transmission in 2018, transmission went out again in 2021. Power steering also had to be replaced in 2021. The initial transmission repair was covered under warranty but not the subsequent transmission nor the power steering were covered under warranty. There are less than 95,000 miles on the car.

- Lagrange, KY, USA

problem #20

Nov 012021

Traverse

  • miles
Transmission went out on my way to work the vehicle shut off after I was stopped at a red light when it came time to move forward it bucked and shut off I finally made it to work then had it towed for repair

- Jersey City, NJ, USA

problem #19

Apr 252019

Traverse

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The car started getting a traction off and stability tracker n it would not run properly I was On the freeway and it happened almost caused an accident. Also it happens at random times.

- Beaumont , CA, USA

problem #18

Mar 312021

Traverse

  • 73,846 miles
Battery keeps dying installed new battery same thing Chevy fourm says cable from batter to engine defective came out vehie been stationary to start dead same thing again had to have Chevy service jump start us first time an engine has loud ticking and sluggish at low heat vehicle was purchased certified pre owned have put 3500 mike's in it since purchase.

- Springfield, MO, USA

problem #17

Jun 012019

Traverse

  • 30,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated while driving at various speeds with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic on three separate occasions and diagnosed with a faulty evaporative emissions control unit. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred and persisted after each repair. The contact then called the manufacturer who informed her to take the vehicle to an authorized dealer for assistance. The vehicle was taken to bob johnson 390 Chevrolet Inc. (2780 lakeville rd, avon, NY 144140) where similar repairs were performed on the vehicle however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was then taken to hoselton Chevrolet (909 fairport rd, East rochester, NY 14445) where the check engine warning light was reset however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.

- Rochester, NY, USA

problem #16

Sep 262020

Traverse

  • 84,000 miles
Ac compressor locked up and locked motor

- St. Francisville, LA, USA

problem #15

May 112020

Traverse 6-cyl

  • 56,100 miles
Check engine light came on at 56K miles. Vehicle having misfire while driving, rough idle while sitting and sluggish at times. Misfire and rough idle not happening all the time. Had generic code check done before I could get into dealership to see what I was looking at... multiple codes with running lean and 02 sensor. Was able to get into dealer after the weekend and they did diagnostic. Found power steering gear inlet hose leaking onto O2 sensor (B1 S1) causing the whole problem. Not covered under powertrain warranty. I am unable to afford the dealership repair cost at this time and have been seeing where older models have had issues with power steering pump failure and more recent models having leaks due to hoses being too close to other hoses. So I am concerned with replacing the hose and sensor and having the same issue occur again.

- Fort Wayne, IN, USA

problem #14

Mar 042019

Traverse

  • 45,000 miles
Vehicle swaddles heavily after a certain speed to the point where my children have hit the sides of their heads with the windows/doors. Makes a loud noise in the front when driving and turning, you can feel the grinding noise vibrations on the bottom of feet.

- Chandler, AZ, USA

problem #13

Feb 222019

Traverse

  • 47,000 miles
While driving 75 on a freeway the service stabilitrak, service traction control, and check engine lights all came on. The engine power was reduced and I couldn't go over 40mph all at once. The vehicle was limped off the freeway without any incident with another vehicle, thank god and brought to a mechanic. He said that he has seen hundreds of the same issue over the past few years on the same vehicle and other Chevrolet vehicles. He told me that this will happen to diagnose a more general issue that could be wrong with the vehicle and that it could be a number of things that need to be tested without replacing hundreds or potentially thousands of dollars worth of parts. It could be even be one of a variety of sensors on the vehicle. My complaint is that with such a high tech computer on the vehicle, how is it that there is not a specific problem code or light to tell you or a mechanic what is actually wrong with the vehicle. Secondly that a general code coming up on a car should not be powering the engine down so drastically. That could have been very dangerous if there was someone right behind me. This is a hazard worth a recall before someone is injured or killed because of it.

- Cambridge, MN, USA

problem #12

Jan 292019

Traverse

  • 59,500 miles
While driving with no warning the check engine light comes in, the dash flashes service stabiltrak, traction control off and engine power reduced. The vehicle slows down to 25 mph and if you try to speed up it shutters and bucks. I have to pull over and return it off and then when turning it back on the check engine light stays on for about a day but other warning lights are gone. This has happened three times and I have almost been hit every time, because the vehicle just slows itself down to 25 mph with no warning while you are driving.

- North Conway, NH, USA

problem #11

May 092018

Traverse

  • 49,000 miles
I purchased this Traverse brand new in 2016. I now have 51xxx miles. I have had to refill the transmission 3 times since I've had it. But absolutey no leaks. Prior to that I was experiencing weird transmission slippage at ocwerd times. Another quirk is that sometimes when I put gas in my var, the hand does not move at all until I drive maybe 20 miles but it has me wondering. Keep in mind all this weird behavior with no check engine light. The vehicle rattles at 1000 RPM. Like it might be a timing chain. Doesnt always go in to gear. Shows faulty gas gauge. I have yet to hear clicking noises at speeds above 20mph (dont know what that could be)

- Inglewood, CA, USA

problem #10

Jan 012019

Traverse

  • 38,000 miles
We purchased our 2016 Chevy Traverse new and now have approx. 38K miles on it. After the 1st year, we began experiencing power loss issues and ended up having fuel injectors replaced in mid-2017. Since then, we've been experiencing the same issue that has already been reported to the NHTSA by other owners. Periodically, our "service stabilitrak" will appear on the dash and the "traction control off" will appear, along with the "check engine light". when this happens, the vehicle runs extremely rough and violently shakes back and forth. I've had the vehicle into autonation Chevy in both gilbert, AZ and mesa, AZ for a total of 5 times since mid-2017 for this issue. I just picked it up a few days ago after being in the shop for over 2 weeks. Unfortunately, no repairs were made as no codes were found/stored in the computer and the mechanic was unable to replicate the issue during the 2 week period. This is clearly a safety issue and I'm a bit surprised no resolution has been made given the complaints regarding this issue just in 2018. This has occurred while driving, while idling and while waiting to turn in a busy intersection and almost led to an accident. I will be taking the vehicle back to autonation once again today. GM/Chevy please review and offer guidance as to what's going on before fatalities occur. Thank you.

- Gilbert, AZ, USA

Read the next 9 complaints »

Not what you are looking for?