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I hate my Traverse

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Comments

  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    Hello jmainville,

    I am sorry you feel this way based on your current situation. I understand your frustration and concern after being in the shop so many times. We do not want you to feel unsafe in your car. Please reach out to us via email at socialmedia(at)gm.com so we can further discuss your issues. Include your contact information, VIN, current mileage and the name and location of the dealer you are working with. We look forward to hearing from you.

    Sincerely,

    Laura M.
    GM Customer Care
  • alloyd1alloyd1 Member Posts: 1
    I bought my traverse in April of 2011. All was fine for the first several months until I starting hearing a whining noise every time I made a turn. It progressively got worse. When I took it into the dealership they told me it was low on transmission fluid (??) and they filled it up and it would be fine. I asked how it could be low on transmission fluid as it's non-consumable and they looked at me crazy. They gave me some excuse that it takes some cars longer to get all the fluid in all the cracks and crevices. Next the battery died - for no reason. After several jumps within several weeks - we replaced the battery. Shortly after this, the steering wheel starts to make a slight whining noise again - but no where near as bad as previously. (Again the dealership told me there was nothing wrong with it). Next while coming to a light, my car stalled. It started okay and I took it home and made an appointment to take in back into the dealership. On my way to the dealership, my car stalled in the middle of a major highway during rush hour traffic! They ultimately ended up replacing the engine (on a car with less than 50K miles!). The said there was a problem with the crank shaft which in turn damaged the engine beyond repair. Then less then 3 months later my AC stops working. I take it into the shop and they tell me there is no freon. When asked if there was a leak - I was told no. Again, freon doesn't just get used up! There has to be a leak somewhere but I'm told there is not.

    All of this and I've had my car just over 2 years! I will never buy a Chevy again! If I could find a way out of this car now, I would in a heart beat. Unfortunately, I still owe on the loan for another 3 years.
  • wkrpincincywkrpincincy Member Posts: 1
    I bought my 2010 Chevrolet Traverse LT in November of 2009. My only complaint at the time was the rough ride and terrible traction with the Goodyear Fortera tires..by the time I reached 20k miles I wanted to buy new tires. They lasted to 48k miles and I replaced them with a Cooper Tires. However, about 56k my other troubles began. I began to notice a loud whine while driving, after taking it to the dealer, it was found that the transfer gear on the transmission needed to be replaced. They also found that the steering rack was bad and needed replaced. At 57k, I had problems with the traction control and a sensor had to be replaced. At 65k, I had to have a timing chain repaced. At 75k, the water pump had to be replaced. I have replaced the tires again, this time with the Bridgestone Dueler...great tire, have always had a preference to Bridgestone. These were the major issues along with minor things such as warped rotors, lose seats, lose trim, etc. All these items were covered under the warranty at no cost to me other than the inconvience of trips to the dealership.

    However, at just under 100k miles the AC Compressor went out. I carried the GMPP warranty but by the time I was able to get it into the dealer, I was at 100,374 miles. ( I drive the vehicle for work and put 30k miles a year on it so this was only a matter of two days after noticing the AC issue in mid APRIL). The dealer was nice enough to give me a discount on the part and they asked GM to offer some sort of allowance since they would not cover the part under warranty. The repair cost me 1153.00 and I got a letter from GM with a 150.00 service voucher. The letter attached to the voucher made it sound like they were really going out of their way to make this offer.

    Now the big one...at 115k miles, the transmission started slipping in 2nd gear and reverse. After dealership inspection, it is determined that a new transmission is not needed. ( $4000.00 ).

    I have driven Chevrolets for many years. I usually am ready to get a new one after 4 years or about 100k miles. My first new car was the 87 Monte, then a 92 Lumina, 96 cutlass, 2001 Monte, 2005 Monte, 2007 Monte, 2010 Traverse.

    I like my traverse but have NEVER had this many major issues with a vehicle, I would like to get another Traverse in 2014 but not if these issues are a result of a poorly built model. I would like to think that I just got a bad vehicle and it is not an issue that plagues the Traverse line.

    Would like to hear from other owners who may have had similar issues.
  • wxpartyof5wxpartyof5 Member Posts: 1
    I hate posting this under this forum, but I'm getting close to the 'hate' phase in this relationship and I need some answers.

    Own a 2011 Traverse LTZ, purchased 2/11. Always have had it serviced (regularly) at the dealer. Have worked with two dealers due to a cross country move, but we are now back at the dealership where we purchased the vehicle.

    No real problems until 4/13, with 26,943 miles. Just like MANY other owners, I heard a noise in the right front when turning. Dealership told me they were replacing my "entire rack & pinion". "We've had problems with those", they said. Overnight at the shop, all fixed.

    8/13, 31694 miles. Went in for service and let them know there was a small leak of some kind. Didn't know what it was. Apparently the case cover gasket wasn't sealing and they found a transmission leak at left bottom case cover casket. Replaced that and replaced axle seal due to axle removal. Replaced speed sensor, which was also leaking. Also, there was a recall for the Water Pump Shaft Seal, which they completed.

    10/22, 33959 miles. Noise from 4/13 has reappeared, and they cannot duplicate. To be fair, when we drove the car together I couldn't hear it either, but told the mechanic that it only did it when the vehicle was cold. He put it on the rack and while he didn't find the cause of the noise, he found that the water pump was leaking. Replaced the water pump.

    Meanwhile, they did a "complimentary" multi-point inspection and told me that my steering fluid was dirty and needed replaced. They told me the same thing about my transmission fluid. I know enough about cars to ask questions, but not enough to already know the answers. However, common sense tells me that if they were in the steering, and in the transmission, wouldn't they have flushed the systems during repair, and if they didn't, isn't this the reason why the fluid was dirty and don't they OWE me this service? SA told me I should leave the car overnight so it could be driven cold by the ST in the a.m. Unfortunately, they said, they could not provide a loaner because the repair for the water pump wasn't more than 2 hours. BUT, if I agreed to flush the trans & steering (at my expense), they could go ahead and give me the loaner overnight.

    We are coming close to the end of the 3/36,000. I'm FED UP with this car and worried that at 37K, the thing is going to blow up and we'll be left holding the bag. I'm furious to have spent $40K on this car; it has less than 35K miles, and has had some pretty major work done to it already - this does not bode well for the future.

    Upon leaving the dealer last week without the steering or trans flush, I asked to speak to the Service Manager, who was "out in meetings for the next couple of days". I asked who was left holding the bag for him while he was gone and I got a blank stare. Called him this morning and left a message, no return call. Called this afternoon and got vmail again. Called the main number and they said, "He is around, but he has been in a meeting..."

    Would appreciate some feedback about whether my "common sense" thoughts about the flushes on the steering and trans are correct, as well as my suspicions that the water pump probably began leaking AFTER the work was done in August on the recall for the water pump. I'm assuming the SM will call at some point...

    Thanks -
  • jdelgadillojdelgadillo Member Posts: 1
    edited October 2013
    I have a 2009 Traverse LT with 80k I been having problems since i hit 50k. Dealer never finds the problem no codes. When going up hill and I have 5 or more passengers the truck pulls itself like it wants to shift when im going 70 mph. So I have to go 65 or 75. Dealer wanted to open the transmission and change me for labor if there was nothing wrong with the transmission. I had called GM and there was nothing GM could do because I dont have bumber to bumper. Why do I need to pay just because they dont know how to trouble shoot. My gas mileage when from 25 on the highway to 16. The dealer said I had carbon build up on the intake because of poor design and wanted to change me to clean it and I said I will take it some where else. When I picked up the truck it had a traction control light on. So I had to leave it, the called me and said they were going to replace the intake for free. Now I get better gas mileage. I get about 21 on the highway. I got this to save gas and it worse than my Yukon. I also have a loud clunking noise when pulling out of a parking space. Sounds like the steering column I notice it at 35k didnt pay much attention since it was to loud, but now is really loud.
  • jpfjpf Member Posts: 496
    The Traverse is similar to the GMC Acadia. The 3.6 liter powertrain is used throughout GM's lineup now as GM has abandoned their tried and true OHV V6 engines. The results speak for themselves. Acadia: engine and transmission problems; Cadillac CTS: engine and transmission problems; etc. I would stay away from any GM product that uses the 3.6 or 2.4 liter engines. You just have to check out these forums to see all the problems. The only new GM vehicles that I would remotely consider are the full-size trucks (e.g. Silverado) or compacts (e.g. Sonic or Cruze) because these vehicles do not use the 2.4 or 3.6 liter engines. Good luck.
  • ashleyrose0306ashleyrose0306 Member Posts: 1
    I own a 2009 Traverse LT. Purchased in 2011, currently has 90k miles on it. I love all the features on this vehicle, it is perfect for our family and lifestyle, but I have had nothing but issues with the car.

    The major issue thus for has been the steering rack and pinion. Steering rack got a leak and had to be completely replaced ($1200 fix). GM had nothing to say accept, "There isn't a current recall on this."

    I was driving it for a move a couple months back and all he sudden the engine light came on and it stopped accelerating. Had to stop and stay over in the middle of no where on my drive with two kids to get a burn out coil replaced.

    Just last week I was having brake issues and had to have those worked on.

    Currently the vehicle is gear hunting and it scares me half to death every day I drive it because I don't know if it is going to accelerate when I need it to. I have two kids, one on the way and I don't feel safe in this car. However, we are close to paying it off and trading it in for something else would really set us back financially. I am not sure what to do, if there is a fix for this gear problem, and now that I have spent thousands of dollars in fixes if there is just going to be more in the future.

    Any help or advice offered is appreciated.

    Thanks
  • jpfjpf Member Posts: 496
    Check out the GMC Acadia forum regarding transmission problems as the Acadia uses the same powertrain as the Traverse. You'll see that there has been numerous complaints regarding the wave plate that fails and leads to a total transmission failure. You would be better off trading in the Traverse rather than waiting for it to fail. Good luck.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited December 2013
    Here's the link:

    GMC Acadia Transmission Problems
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited January 2014

    If you are a parent of young children (at least one under 12 years old) who owns a 2013-14 Chevy Traverse, a reporter would like for you to fill out a survey for use in a print publication. Please email PR@edmunds.com no later than Wednesday, January 8, 2014, for a copy of the survey.

  • jlesterswimjlesterswim Member Posts: 1

    Unfortunately we own a 2009 Traverse 2LT that we bought off the lot March of 2009. I won't get into details about all the trouble that we had from the dealership that we purchased it from but I will tell you that at some point we had the salesmen chasing us through the lobby yelling "Liars!! You are both Liars!!" all because we wouldn't verify the lies they had told the bank. I know that should have been a sign - lol. Needless to say that we don't take our car to the dealership that is less than 5 minutes away but instead drive to the outskirts of town just so we don't have to deal with those idiots anymore.

    So like many people, we have had a multitude of problems like fuel pump issues, loud steering problems and we still have a seat-belt that is apparently irreparable (so our vehicle seats 7 not 8 like it is supposed to). Sept 2012, I was driving to go pick up my children from school when all of a sudden I had several lights flashing and bells dinging from the dashboard. I looked down trying to figure out what was going on only to see that temperature was showing 260 degrees (max) so I pulled off immediately. I popped open the hood and discovered my car had nearly caught on fire, I noticed the charred remains of what was left of the wiring harness. I posted a picture on FB and then heard there had been several other people that had had the same or similar problems with their cars catching fire. Thank goodness our car insurance helped cover some of the costs.

    We are currently renting a car once again because our Traverse is back in the shop.....this time it died on the freeway as we were coming home from our short Christmas trip - only 4 hours away. Now to be honest we stopped driving this thing out of town and started renting cars a while back but since we had just had all three catalytic converters switched out in November and spent over $2000 on repairs....we thought we would chance it. We found ourselves stranded 65 miles from home when we contacted the nearest dealership and asked if they could send a tow truck ($125). The service manager started telling us that the Traverse was a wonderful vehicle...never had any problems with them. I told him straight up that he was about to finally see one. I was not surprised when he came back to tell us that the timing chain had jumped and they couldn't tell how much damage was done until they pulled it apart. We were most likely looking at having to rebuild the entire engine.....this dealership said it would take them a month before they could get to it so we had it towed back to our normal place (another $200). They have had it for over a week and finally got around to looking at it, we were told today the catalytic converters that are bad. They have to be changed out before we can figure out for sure if it is the timing chain is bad but we have to pay for the catalytic converters again because they were done at another shop. The shop is refusing to stand by their warranty because something is wrong on the car that caused the converters to go out.....I wanted to tell them "YES!! The exact same thing that caused it the first time and you didn't fix it!"

    I have no plans to ever buy another GM product after all the mess we have had with this Traverse. The whole reason for buying a new car was to have something reliable that we could take trips with our kids....now I have a piece of junk that I wish someone would just come steal so I could file an insurance claim and be done.

  • boulder40mmaboulder40mma Member Posts: 3
    Bought a 2011 traverse in august of 2013. It had just under 28k on it. I got the remainder of the bumper to bumper warranty, as well as the dealership offers lifetime engine and drivetrain as long as you get it serviced through a certified gm dealership. I drive it about 20 miles a day round trip for work, and have taken it on a few 500 plus mile trips. It has 35+k on it now and I gotta be honest, I haven't had an issue yet! I have a tendency to be a heavy accelerator and haven't had any issues with this "gear searching" I have even let other family and friends drive and not one has said anything about it other that it's comfortableness and smooth ride. My only complaint has nothing to do with the performance of the vehicle but rather the sound system and the not being able to push the button to talk directly instead of having to go though a few commands. But that has to do with my base model. Sorry you guys are having problems but it's all good here! Hopefully it'll stay that way bc having a newborn me and the wife can't afford costly repairs.
  • scottmar73scottmar73 Member Posts: 1
    Have a Traverse less than 4 years only less than 80000km and Vickar Chevy Winnipeg took me for $4k all new struts front and rear, gearing on the steering, when does a manufacture standby a warranty? Sorry what warranty, go to the dealership because think they will give you a true service, not take me for a ride because they have call backs that they need to fix, way to go GM your TV Ads of 160000km warranty and tested in the harshest conditions smell of BS!!!! How to win customer and influence people, Really!!!!.
  • smashlingsmashling Member Posts: 2

    Bought this car in April 2010. First ever brand new car. First car that wasn't a Toyota. I was impressed by the commercials, the print ads and the consumer reports recommendation. Got a LT2 Travelers Edition with Navigation, bluetooth, remote start and other niceties. Loved the drive, loved the design, loved the space.

    It had 53,000 as of today.

    Have had issues from very early on. All the usual, Steering Rack, Actuator, Water Pump, had to replace both the front and rear brakes and rotors, transmission slipped a couple of times on the highway, new tires at 40,000, Air Compressor, rust on the wheels, paint came off some of the instrument buttons, rubber seal came loose on the trunk etc etc. I had it dealer maintained to the correct schedule. Some of these items were fixed under warranty, some of these items cost me a lot of money. There has been several recalls that I have had to bring it in for.

    I could not take it anymore. I was afraid to own it once the five years was up. The water pump failed two weeks when we were on vacation, that was the last straw.

    We just bought a Toyota Highlander, older, more miles ... and we paid more than our Traverse was worth. I am not writing this to be a hater, I wanted to own and enjoy this car for 10+ years.

  • friedchixfriedchix Member Posts: 3

    COMPLETE, NO WARNING ENTIRE LOSS OF ENGINE POWER

    Yesterday, I was nearly killed when my 2014 Chevy Traverse LOST All Engine power. No warnings, no sounds, lights went off for "tracktion control" while the engine lost power. I nearly escaped an accident on a busy NJ highway. I am in shock. Isn't this what happened with these GM cars and congressional inquiry? Scary.

    My Traverse was purchased in January. After I drove it off the lot, we had the light go off for "Traction control." They "repaired" the matter, claiming it was a computer chip error. I should have returned it back then.

    I was almost killed yesterday when my 2014 Chevy Traverse lost engine power. I was almost hit trying to veer 2014 Traverse off highway. The car is now at a Chevy dealer. I will not put my young children back in this death trap. I want my money back. I am very angry. I work hard for my money and drove a car for 10 years without one incident. My new traverse, almost killed me and my spouse yesterday. I filed a complaint with the National highway safety board. Everyone file a complaint. This is a death trap. Go to www.safercar.gov Thanks for this forum!

  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252

    Our sincerest apologies to learn that you've experienced this concern while driving. I can certainly understand your displeasure! The safety of you and your family is of the utmost importance to us at General Motors. If you'd like to discuss this further, we're happy to investigate this further and document this for internal review. You may reach out to us via email at socialmedia@gm.com attn:Andraya. Please be sure to include your full contact information, last 8-digits of your VIN, username, mileage and dealership name.

    Best,

    Andraya
    GM Customer Care

  • andyusmc1andyusmc1 Member Posts: 4
    The same thing happened to us last week in our 2014 Equinox.on 275 Tampa loosing power,dash says loss of engine power,holy crow going 70 on a 4 lane highway thank God we were in the left lane where there was a breakdown lane,avoided a rear end crash by a hair got into the breakdown lane car was dead. I suffered with the oil problems of the 2010 Equinox why were we so foolish to buy another. We also want to be rid of this car but will be loosing a lot of money also don't want to be in this death trap.Scared to drive it.
  • smgosh01smgosh01 Member Posts: 1
    I recently reached out to customer service at GM and am awaiting a reply. I own a 2010 Chevrolet Traverse and am having quite a bit of trouble with it. It currently is sitting in our driveway and will not start. Since we picked it up from the dealership - bought used - we have had starting problems galore. Battery and starter replaced from the start. Also, after several non-start occurrences we took it to our mechanic ( not a chevrolet certified one ) and in wisdom, were told to have it diagnosed by the Chevrolet computers. We had the vehicle towed to the nearest Chevrolet mechanic. Point one was to have the aftermarket remote starter removed. We had that done. It ran okay for about a month or two but began with the same non-starting issue again. We had it towed back to the dealer who suggested we have the control module replaced. Had that done, and drove fine for about a month and now still having the same issue. There are an endless list of possible fixes. But none seem to be working. At what point do we cut our losses? We have paid over $1000 on repairs and still haven't fixed the issues. Anyone else have success in fixing a similar problem? Thanks you so much.
  • kerryvakerryva Member Posts: 2
    edited October 2016
    We also had 2 situations when our safety was jeopardized in our 2011 Traverse -- engine blew while driving up a mountainous highway and engine blew again a little more than a month later while our 18-year-old was driving on a windy country road. Yes the engine really blew both times. First time we had a complete top-end rebuild. Got the car back, two weeks later, the bottom half of the engine failed with the entire engine needing replacement. About $17000 has been poured into this car over the past summer, and we're not done yet. Now both catalytic converters are shot (probably from bad exhaust, fuel etc. from blown engines). We were fortunate that warranty covered most of first 2 events. Now we get to go through all of this again and praying warranty covers this as well.
    We've had use of our car for about 8 of the past 20 weeks. this is insane.
  • kerryvakerryva Member Posts: 2
    Warranty so far not covering our $2500 repair of a car that we no longer feel safe driving. A well titled thread.
  • 1978adelung1978adelung Member Posts: 2
    I had contacted Chevy Corporate on the steering issue on my car while it was still under warranty. Needless to say there were no help. I went to the dealership many times because of the steering alone. Since then I have other issues with my 2011 Traverse. Now the car shuts while driving! It sounds like a lot of GM owners of different vehicles are having the same issue! I guess there will not be a recall until someone dies over this!

    Some of the issues included all 4 struts were bad under 100,000 miles, rack and pinion going up, steering issues, leaking from the steering column, 3 times the ac actuator has gone up, issues with the lift gate failing, life gate one time injured my father-in-law!, timing chain failing prematurely, and now the stabilitrak and traction control is going off. The vehicle shuts up while driving! My wife got stuck on a bridge and was put in danger due to this. Now the Traverse sits in the driveway.

    My wife said a warning was displayed about reducing engine power. The Traverse went down to 20MPG and then shut off on a bridge. This is very unsafe and needs to be investigated!
  • nj_petrol_headnj_petrol_head Member Posts: 1
    I've got 4K miles on my 2017 Traverse and I regret the purchase. The Infotainment system is terrible - it gets confused, locks up, and reboots - usually when I plug a phone in, but it's also occurred when shifting to reverse and the backup camera engages. The Sat Nav doesn't include traffic or weather (this is a Sirius XM add on with a monthly fee). My Toyota includes Traffic and Weather at no additional charge...to be honest I thought they all did. The fuel economy is poor; driving mainly local I get about 13 MPG. Lastly, the Onstar module failed, no connection or SOS. It actually failed several months ago, but without a warning light or notification I had no way to know that it failed...glad I didn't have wreck where I needed it. I would love to turn back the clock and get the Highlander that I had considered at the time of purchase....Toyota's are 100% worth the price premium over this Chevy.
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