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2012 Chevrolet Traverse Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 354 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse, most often about the engine (33% of complaints, typically around 95,500 miles). It is 8th of 19 Traverse model years by number of complaints and has 5 recalls.
Most common 2012 Chevrolet Traverse problems
Engine
117 complaints · 33%Half of these problems showed up before 95,500 miles. Parts named most often: exhaust system.
We were driving the vehicle with two small infants in the car going 70 MPH on the highway when suddenly the vehicle went into limp mode and rapidly lost speed, causing US to swerve into the ditch and other cars behind US slamming on their brakes. The check engine light, traction control light, and stability control…
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Traverse. While driving 20 MPH, the brake pedal was difficult to depress and failed to respond. In addition, the steering wheel failed to move left or right and the vehicle lost power. As a result, the contact crashed into a bus terminal wall. Additionally, the key failed to release…
Stability control
84 complaints · 24%Half of these problems showed up before 96,000 miles.
I started my car and drove out my driveway as soon as I get to the corner to turn my sterling wheel locked up and then I had to hurry up to brake in order to not hit the sign and curb. Finally when it released I got to the main road and was driving about 20-25 MPH my vehicle radio started to switch from fm to cd on…
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Traverse. While driving 45 MPH, the traction and electronic stability control warning lights illuminated. The instrument panel failed and the vehicle failed to accelerate when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to a dealer…
Steering
62 complaints · 18%Half of these problems showed up before 70,000 miles.
While the vehicle was in motion. A high pitched squealing noise came from under the hood when turning. The power steering pump had the proper amount of fluid and the the noise got louder. The rack and pinion had total failure while traveling at 55 miles per hour on the highway at around 70,000 miles. We had the pump…
My chevy Traverse was hard to steer, almost impossible to drive. I had fluid on my garage floor, luckily I live a mile from the dealer. After checking the vehicle they followed the leak and stated that I needed a new rack and pinion, power steering pump and then an alignment. Total bill $ 2,600 and they were not sure…
Air bags
48 complaints · 14%Half of these problems showed up before 86,500 miles. Parts named most often: sensor.
"service air bag" is indicated on the driver information center. This happens, stopped, or while in motion. It comes and goes at no set time.
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Traverse. While driving at 55 MPH, the front passenger side air bag warning light illuminated without a passenger in the seat. In addition, after starting the vehicle, the front passenger side air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed…
Electrical
48 complaints · 14%Half of these problems showed up before 99,500 miles. Parts named most often: wiring.
I bought this car used in april 2016, within 72 hours I noticed it was making some horrible noises. My family mechanic said the idler belt tensioner was bad, multi motor issues, 2 fuses were blown, 2 bad window motors, AC was not super cold and the airbag recalls were all still present. I took it back to the dealer to…
I started my car and drove out my driveway as soon as I get to the corner to turn my sterling wheel locked up and then I had to hurry up to brake in order to not hit the sign and curb. Finally when it released I got to the main road and was driving about 20-25 MPH my vehicle radio started to switch from fm to cd on…
Transmission
46 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 87,000 miles.
I was driving my car on I-75. The door locks started locking and unlocking, the vehicle lost power and went from 65 MPH down too 25 MPH, and the traction control off and on kept switching. The vehicle would not gain speed, even while depressing the accelerator. No check engine lights or any other lights were on except…
Experienced an issue with reduced engine power/stabilitrak/traction off. This happened suddenly without warning while I was headed home work.engine reving unable to move at normal speed I took it to the dealership & was told it was 3 broken wires on the TCM. Got the truck back and all seemed ok, then less than 1 week…
Speed control
37 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 94,500 miles.
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Traverse. While driving 45 MPH, the traction and electronic stability control warning lights illuminated. The instrument panel failed and the vehicle failed to accelerate when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to a dealer…
We were driving the vehicle with two small infants in the car going 70 MPH on the highway when suddenly the vehicle went into limp mode and rapidly lost speed, causing US to swerve into the ditch and other cars behind US slamming on their brakes. The check engine light, traction control light, and stability control…
Other or unspecified
35 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 91,000 miles.
Ac does not work properly, freon leakingout in 2018. Serviced several times in 2018 ( a minimum of 3 times) for this problem (blowing hot air instead of cold) supposedly addressed but continues to be a problem in 2019. Seems to be a widespread problem across the board. Help
Whining and winding sound on acceleration at all speeds..rumbling noise from engine. Strut leaking and front suspension issues. This turned out to be transmission and torque converter. Along with pto pinion seal, crankshaft seal, water pump, harmonic balancer, struts, sway bar links, and drive belt.
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2012 Chevrolet Traverse recalls
Air bags: critical fasteners
Risk: Unsecured side curtain air bags may not perform as intended, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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.
Body and structure: hatchback/liftgate
Risk: If the open liftgate unexpectedly falls, it may strike a person, increasing their risk of injury.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the power liftgate actuator motor control unit so that the motor will prevent the rapid closing of the lift gate, free of charge. The recall began on november 15, 2016. Owners may contact buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, gmc customer service at 1-800-462-8782, and saturn customer service at 1-800-553-6000. Gm's number for this recall is 15240.
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2008-2012 buick enclave vehicles manufactured january 3, 2007, to february 29, 2012, 2009-2012 chevrolet traverse vehicles manufactured july 6, 2008, to march 9, 2012, 2007-2012 gmc acadia vehicles manufactured september 15, 2006, to february 29, 2012, and 2007-2010 saturn outlook vehicles manufactured august 17, 2006, to march 18, 2010. The affected vehicles, equipped with the power liftgate option, have gas struts that hold the power liftgate up when open. These struts may prematurely wear and the open liftgate may suddenly fall.
Seat belts
Risk: If the steel cable becomes fatigued and separates, the seatbelt may not properly restrain the seat occupant increasing the risk of an injury in a crash.
Fix: General motors will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, repair and replace the lap pretensioner, free of charge. Parts are not currently available. An interim notice will be mailed to owners in july 2014. A second notice will be mailed to owners once parts become available. The recall for the 2009-2010 model years began on july 11, 2014. The interim letter for the 2011-2014 model years were distributed on july 11, 2014. Owners may contact general motors at 1-800-222-1020 (chevrolet), 1-800-521-7300 (buick), 1-800-462-8782 (gmc), 1-800-553-6000 (saturn). General motors re
Full defect summary
General motors is recalling certain model year 2009-2014 buick enclave vehicles manufactured april 14, 2008, through may 14, 2014, chevrolet traverse vehicles manufactured june 6, 2008, through may 14, 2014, and gmc acadia vehicles manufactured april 9, 2008, through may 14, 2014, and 2009-2010 saturn outlook vehicles manufactured april 14, 2008, through march 18, 2010. In the affected vehicles, the flexible steel cable that connects the seatbelt to the front outboard seating positions may fatigue and separate over time.
Air bags: side/window
Risk: Failure of the side impact air bags and seat belt pretensioners to deploy in a crash increase the risk of injury to the driver and front seat occupant.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected harness connections with soldered connections, free of charge. The recall began on june 16, 2014. Buick owners may contact the owner center at 1-800-521-7300, chevrolet owners at 1-866-694-6546, saturn at 1-800-553-6000, and gmc owners at 1-866-996-9463. Gm's number for this recall is 14030. Note: vehicles repaired as part of customer satisfaction campaign 10085 and special coverage 10335 have already had the subject condition repaired and therefore are not included in the safety recall.
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2008-2013 buick enclave and gmc acadia and 2009-2013 chevrolet traverse and 2008-2010 saturn outlook vehicles. In the affected vehicles, increased resistance in the driver and passenger seat mounted side impact air bag (siab) wiring harnesses may result in the siab and seat belt pretensioners not deploying in the event of a crash.
Visibility and wipers: linkages
Risk: If this occurs, driver visibility could be reduced, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will tighten the wiper arm nuts, free of charge. The safety recall began on april 20, 2012.
Full defect summary
General motors (gm) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 chevrolet traverse, buick enclave, and gmc acadia vehicles currently registered in alaska, colorado, connecticut, delaware, idaho, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, montana, nebraska, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, north dakota, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, south dakota, utah, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin, wyoming and the district of columbia. Snow or ice buildup on the windshield or on the wiper may restrict the movement of the wiper arm, causing the wiper arm to loosen and cause the wiper to become inoperative.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Outboard front seat belt anchor cable failure
Summary
On august 31, 2020, the office of defects investigations (odi) opened engineering analysis (ea) ea20002, as an upgrade of recall query (rq) rq19003. This investigation, related to recall 14v-266, was opened to investigate instances of detachment of the flexible steel seat belt anchor cable attached to the outboard side of the front seats in vehicles manufactured by general motors (gm). The subject vehicles included model year (my) 2009 through 2014 gmc acadia, buick enclave, and chevrolet traverse suvs as well as my 2009 through 2010 saturn outlook suvs. These vehicles were previously repaired for this defect under recall 14v-266. The subject vehicle population is approximately 1.3 million v
Seat belt anchor cable failure
Summary
On may 19, 2014, general motors llc (gm) notified the office of defects investigation (odi) that it would conduct safety recall 14v266 to address fatigue and separation of the flexible steel cable that connects the front outboard seat belts to the seat-mounted belt pre-tensioner in 1.4 million model year (my) 2009-2010 saturn outlook, 2009-2014 buick enclave, gmc acadia and chevrolet traverse (lambda platform) vehicles.the remedy was to inspect for signs of damage and replace pre-tensioner anchor cables as needed. Re-work was conducted to relocate the pre-tensioner anchor cable out of the occupant entry path. Odi has subsequently received four (4) vehicle owners questionnaires (voq) reportin
Questions about the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse
- What are the most common problems with the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: engine (117 complaints, typically around 95,500 miles); stability control (84 complaints, typically around 96,000 miles); steering (62 complaints, typically around 70,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse have?
- 5 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from April 8, 2021 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2012 a bad year for the Chevrolet Traverse?
- It is 8th of 19 Traverse model years by number of complaints, with 354 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.