2012 Chevrolet Traverse problems
NHTSA has received 587 complaints about the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse, and 20% of them involve engine. Next are stability control (14%) and steering (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 587 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 20% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 16 and 4
- Injuries and deaths
- 20 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 88,000 miles 467 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 40 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 34 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 52 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 65 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 94 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 79 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 51 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 28 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 14 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 9 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 467 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 88,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 96,000 miles (98 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 16 complaints mention a crash; 4 complaints mention a fire; 20 injuries reported. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 81% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2012 ranks 8th most-complained-about out of 18 model years of the Chevrolet Traverse with enough data (265 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 5 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl* 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 from the ignition. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed.
Opened the lift gate with the key fob, made a loud noise when fully extended and immediately started shutting while I was getting something out of the back. Don't know if the door would have bounced back up if it hit me and would have started coming back down again since it doesn't stay up. Used manual mode and door does not stay up. Googled it and apparently there have been problems since 2007 with the power lift gate in the saturn outlook, acadia, traverse, enclave, and equinox.
The power steering locks and becomes almost uncontrollable in wet conditions. It appears earlier model years have been recalled or covered under warranty but not 2012.