2012 Chevrolet Traverse
The Verdict
The 2012 Chevrolet Traverse has 354 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. The most reported issues are body (129 complaints) and engine (128 complaints). With a Klunk Score of 39/100, it earns a "Check Engine" rating. If you're shopping for a Chevrolet Traverse, consider the 2023 model year which has 76% fewer complaints.
Safe Bet
The 2023 has 76% fewer complaints
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Klunk Score: Check Engine
More complaints than most vehicles. Known issues exist — budget for potential repairs.
How is this calculated?
The Klunk Score ranks this vehicle year against all others in our database based on total owner complaints filed with NHTSA. 100 = fewest complaints (top tier), 0 = most complained-about. Scores above 60 are better than average; below 40 means more problems than most.
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Under the Hood
Each number is a complaint. Darker = bigger problem.
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Complaints
It sways left to right really bad.. but when it rains or even even the car detected that it's going to rain.. as soon as the car senses it is going to rain u can't even drive it.. it like hydro plains even before it starts to officially rain.. very dangerous plus I had to replace the two back tires because they seemed like they were being forced and drug that all u seen was wires coming out of the tread
The car feels like it’s bouncing everywhere on any kind of surface and now there is a loud very loud rattling noise coming from underneath the car and the car starts shaking excessively if you try to accelerate
White smoke was coming out the car and my car eventually sat on fire. I had to call the fire department.. fire department stated that it was a electrical issue
Shift Interlock Malfunction. Put the shifter in park. Car did not register in park but locked gear shifter. Car would not restart or return to park. Emergency Brake had to be deployed.
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated while driving 80 MPH, the vehicle stopped abruptly. The check engine, traction control, stability control, and air conditioner warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, while driving 75 MPH, the vehicle unintendedly decelerated. The contact was concerned about driving the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who determined the failure was due to the throttle body. The vehicle was repaired. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The throttle body was previously replaced, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.
After sliding into a ditch, my drivers side, curtain airbag deployed but, instead of covering the drivers side door window, it came out and went across my face, hitting me on the right side of my head, slamming my head into the drivers side window glass and pinning me between the airbag and the window glass, obviously putting my safety at risk. I am currently being treated for neck injuries as a result of this airbag malfunction. The problem has not been reproduced/confirmed by dealer/independent service center. The vehicle has not been inspected by anyone. Photos of the vehicle including the airbags have been sent to my insurance company (Allstate). There were no warnings or symptoms of the problem prior to the collision and no other vehicles were involved. Upon visual inspection, both the driver and passenger side curtain airbags are twisted around itself 4 or 5 times at the anchor point, located at the front of the door frame. The vehicle is currently in our shop at our residence.
When driving the vehicle it will lose power and flash service stabilitrack and low engine mode enabled without warning. This has happened many times since 2016. When the conditions cannot be replicated gm/chevrolet has not been concerned but to refer to dealership. The dealership replaced ECM due to warranty conditions. Issue with emissions and electrical modules continued to cause intermittent power loss. Corrosion was found in the internal fuse box due to poor sun roof drainage emptying into glovebox and onto internal fuse box. GM and Chevrolet describes this as a known issue but insists my VIN is not affected. The issues continued to persist leading to frequent battery replacement that was ultimately due to contamination of electrical components. Fuel system parts were all assumed faulty only to find it was ultimately the fuel control module, another electronic component listed faulty but GM/ Chevrolet assumes my VIN is not affected. This car was purchased to be a family vehicle, but had proven to be an unreliable death trap. The first incident that caused concern was 2/14/2017 on the highway with speeds up to 70mph. Thankfully, that day was full of heavy traffic that did not allow drivers to reach high speeds. If I had been going that fast when the engine lost power I can only imagine what that would have meant for me and my family. I know I am not the only owner of a Chevrolet traverse with these concerning issues. I find it irresponsible for GM/Chevrolet/Buick to mass produce vehicles with these issues and fail to acknowledge the hazard they represent. Knowing they have produced a lemon that cost the sticker price, repair cost, and potentially human lives and failing to remedy the issue astounds me. I urge you to please investigate this concern.
The air conditioning stopped working after working amazing, Traction Control Disabled light keeps coming on, The RPM's would rev up seems like it gets stuck then drops to normal. stabilitrak messages with the ABS warning light lit up, Power steering (or power control) goes limp (at the worse times pulling out in traffic) It’s on issue after the other. Once I get one fixed another goes, then we’re back to the first one that was replaced that is now not working again. I still have a car payment so I’m without my car more than I’m driving it. I have to save up to get it fixed, and I won’t drive it until I know for sure it’s good. I was almost killed way to many times in it so to all the issues that GM knows about.
1)The air conditioning unit line has caused a leak. It was determined this line needs to be replaced by an independent service center. This a/c line is located from under the front of the hood all the way to the rear of vehicle. This line constantly rubs and there is friction with other lines/hoses (power steering), and other components under the hood. No rubbing should occur. The rubbing and friction cause holes to form causing not only for it to leak out but also potentially leak on other components under the hood which could cause other issues such as breakdown of the vehicle or fire. It has affected us not only by not providing a/c under extreme heat, but also has caused hissing sounds and for white smoke vapors that has omitted from the vents inside the vehicle. It has also caused us to breathe in the vapors which are toxic. There was cold a/c felt through the vents and we were not aware of any issues until now (7/19/2024). This is a very costly repair, over $1500 and up for the average consumer to pay out. 2)Park assist & sound that are unable to hear & works intermittently. The radio display & speakers work intermittently. The park assist is connected to the speakers. When the speakers and radio/radio display do not work properly; it causes the park assist to not function correctly when backing up. This is a safety issue due to blind spots and areas one cannot see and depending on the park assist to aide them; something can get hit or run over. There is an issue with Engine fuse box wiring & terminals GM knows of. 3)Driver seat belt lap anchor pretentioner. Only special coverage adjustment which states dealers are to inspect & replace. They failed to send out the notice to me. I was told I have to pay the dealership a diagnostic fee to inspect it then fix from there. I shouldn’t have to pay the fee to have it replaced like it states in the documents. Nor worry about safety of seatbelt & components going to fail to protect in the event of a crash.
Traveling at 70 MPH on a highway Traction control/stabilitrac and engine turn on and acceleration stopped, car wont accelerate causing to cars behind me to start swirling around due to my car lost of acceleration, then pulled over to the shoulder thankfully with no accidents, then turn off car and turn on again and car worked normally for about 100 miles and it did it again.
The rear Sun/Moon Roof on my 2012 Chevrolet Traverse LTZ (FWD) exploded while driving on the highway in Houston, Texas on [XXX]. There were no known scratches, dents or damage to the window prior to it self-destructing. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
it is an ongoing daily issue. it has been occurring for over 2 years. The radio display does not work properly. It will show the display and then it won't. This display and speakers are connected via wiring. The speakers all do not work at the same intervals. The park assist function is connected to the speakers. When the radio display works; most of the speakers work and then one can hear the "beep" sounds the park assist makes. And when the speakers and radio display do not work then the park assist does not work. This can put others at risk since the park assist function does not work. A person might hit someone or something due to this issue.
The liftgate goes half up then back down multiple times I have gotten hit in the head because it does that
The head front left head light has had to be replaced 3 times in 3 months same for the left turn signal. Another issue I have is each time I put gas in, the car gets stuck trying to turn over Until I pump the gas.
We got sold a car without a catalytic converter. We’ve been talking to the dealership responsible, and they literally admitted over the phone that they sold us the car without it on “accident” which still makes it an illegal sale. They offered us half of what they owe due to this and we’ve had enough and want to take this further. As you can clearly see in the photo the flanges of the old catalytic converter were cut out and they welded in a straight pipe and it even has holes in it already. This is a huge problem. Also, I read that it’s a 25,000$ fine for a dealership selling a car in this condition and id like if that was enforced in this situation because they’ve done similar to others in the past. + our money back rightfully so…
Airbags deployed unexpectedly while I was driving on the freeway.
Airbags failed to deploy on drivers side and in the front after an impact of 35 MPH. My daughter and myself got severely hurt due to this malfunction. yes it has been inspected. no there were never any indicators for the airbags ever in the four years I have owned the car.
I got in the car to put the seatbelt on and it just snapped at the floor, the lap belt cable which runs down to the left of the drivers seat. That braided cable just snapped. Shoulder harness still works, but no lap belt.
I have not had any accidents.
Vehicle died while taking off from the intersection. Leaving us stranded on a busy highway. Engine had sized but oil has been changed every 5k miles with synthetic. No warning light just shut off and wpuld not restart. With 6 kids in the car
354 total