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Chevrolet · NHTSA safety record

2018 Chevrolet Traverse

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

454

Complaints

9

Crashes

2

Fires

7

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2018 Chevrolet Traverse have filed 454 safety complaints with NHTSA between October 2017 and August 2026. The most complained-about system is the power train, named in 191 of them (42%). The typical failure was reported at 32,000 miles, the median across the 186 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Complaints rose by half year on year: 93 in the twelve months to 2026-Q1, against 61 in the twelve before.

NHTSA has issued 2 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (2)

AIR BAGS:CRITICAL FASTENERS

21V246000 · April 8, 2021

The defect
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2010-2015, 2017 Buick Enclave, 2010-2019 Chevrolet Traverse, and 2011-2016 GMC Acadia vehicles. The side curtain air bags may not be properly attached.
The risk
Unsecured side curtain air bags may not perform as intended, increasing the risk of injury.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, realign or replace the weld nuts, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 24, 2021. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N202321200.

General Motors, LLC · up to 108 vehicles across all model years covered

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

20V668000 · October 29, 2020

The defect
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.
The risk
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.
The 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.

General Motors LLC · up to 194,105 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 454.

POWER TRAIN 191 42%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 102 22%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 100 22%
ENGINE 83 18%
SERVICE BRAKES 36 8%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 29 6%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 16 4%
STEERING 14 3%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 12 3%
SEAT BELTS 11 2%
STRUCTURE 11 2%
SUSPENSION 10 2%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2025 at 85.

2017 2025 2026
2017 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

5 injured

2018 Chevy Traverse purchased from Carvana caused carbon monoxide exposure to my family in military housing. Vehicle locked itself while running in the garage (garage door open), and CO entered the home where my children were standing near the interior door. Fire dept forced entry into the vehicle and cleared the home. All family members required oxygen at the hospital; all 3 children had elevated COHb levels. Mechanic confirmed catalytic converter failure and exhaust defect. Full Description: On 6/7/26, our Traverse turned on and locked itself while running in our garage (door open) as we were preparing to leave. Exhaust was blowing toward the interior door of our military home, and CO

NHTSA complaint 11745280, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed · 3,300 miles

MY WIFE HIT A TELEPHONE POLE HEAD ON, VEHICLE WAS A TOTAL LOSS. VEHICLE HAD 3000 MILES ON IT. MY WIFE HAD A SEAT BELT ON BUT WAS STILL INJURED. . ALSO ON STAR NEVER CAME ON. AN INVESTIGATOR FROM GM WAS HERE TODAY,AND SAID I SHOULD GET A COPY OF HIS REPORT.

NHTSA complaint 11091612. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

fire · crash

2018 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO AFTER GETTING INTO A MINOR ACCIDENT THE VEHICLE WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES. *AS *TR

NHTSA complaint 11174174. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

fire

I was driving and just passed a vehicle while accelerating when I heard a pop noise, saw a lot of white smoke through my rear view mirror, had the engine light go on and the vehicle stopped working. I slowly pulled over to the side of the road and placed the vehicle in park followed by turning off the car. A person driving by stopped and advised me my vehicle was on fire under the undercarriage. I popped the hood and the engine was also in flames. I was unable to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher and the local fire department and law enforcement agencies helped to put out the fire. The vehicle was a complete loss. If it were not for the passer by person telling me the undercarriage

NHTSA complaint 11580277, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
Car wouldn’t move in Reverse, I’d give it gas and it would just rev. It would drive forward but very sluggish. Brought to 2 different mechanics and they both said I need to replace the transmission. Car has 97,500 miles on it. This is a known issue with these vehicles. The transmission ship had another traverse and a GMC Acadia in it for the same exact issue.

NHTSA complaint 11755241. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
Transmission shuddering when gear changing as accelerate.

NHTSA complaint 11753379. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY
I work full time in an auto body repair shop and a fire chief. I am coming across more and more white GM vehicles where the paint is not stuck where the windshield is glued in. A couple real hard pushes and the windshield will about come completely out.

NHTSA complaint 11749614. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Front passenger tire was losing air, on the way to bring it to tire shop dashboard displayed tire pressure sensor, power steering system, TCM notification, Electronic brake control. Got it to the tire shop bought a new tire and they did a diagnostic test it showed TCM passed and failed, lost communication with power steering passed and failed, lost communication with inflatable restraint passed and failed. Once tire was replaced vehicle was jerking with TCM notification coming on and off like the vehicle was sliding.

NHTSA complaint 11749157. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
2 failed transmissions 2018 vehicle 2024 replacement of transmission 2026 needs another transmission

NHTSA complaint 11748831. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
the vehicle will not register that it is in park, when the engine is turned off a beeping notifcation reads "shift to park" - you have to start the engine and shut it off multiple times, or slam the shifter into place to get it register in park. this happens constantly and is starting to get old, and annoyoing.

NHTSA complaint 11748130. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Chevrolet Traverse

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2026 20 1 —
2025 171 0 —
2024 130 0 —
2023 85 2 —
2022 95 1 —
2021 86 3 —
2020 218 8 —
2019 401 3 —
2017 360 3 1
2016 291 5 1
2015 313 5 —
2014 547 7 —
2013 161 4 —
2012 354 5 —
2011 608 5 1
2010 668 5 —

Other 2018 Chevrolet models

Malibu 694 Silverado 1500 512 Equinox 397 Volt 220 Colorado 181 Cruze 109 Tahoe 101 Trax 100

Every Chevrolet on this site — 298 vehicles, 747 recall campaigns and 5 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst