2009 Chevrolet Traverse Steering Problems

I bought the car in August of last year and drove it for about 3 days before it started giving me problems. First incident I was driving my children home from the hairdresser and the car completely went out us on the highway, after repeated attempts for a half hour or so I was able to start it and drive it back home very slowly..this happened twice I went to get it diagnosed and codes came up for crank shaft sensor and o2 sensor, before I could even get that fixed more problems came up, the steering wheel began to become stiff and almost impossible to turn, while picking my son up from school I was trying to pull away from the curb in the drop off spot and almost hit another car and a child because the steering wheel stiffened up on me!!! I was told I would need an entire steering rack!!! ...also the key has gotten stuck in the ignition and wouldn't start and I had to have it towed to a mechanic for that as well. Driving up hill one day I lost power that made it seem like it was stuck in low, then we lost reverse altogether as well as the ability to climb hills. I got the transmission repaired, barely made it home before it started doing the exact same thing, no reverse and won't go up hills, so I had to get it towed back to the shop to fix it once again, now I find out that the computer went bad as well and was causing the car to perform in neutral. This car has given me nothing but problems since I bought it! It is very dangerous to be on the road! I don't understand how they're even still in circulation!! This is by far the worst experience I've ever had with a vehicle! Upon doing research online I seen that there were HUNDREDS of people with these cars experiencing the same problems. Something has to be done!! I had the car almost a year and only got about a week's worth of use!!

NHTSA ID

11518764

Incident

Sep 3, 2022

A year a go the steering at low speed would act like the power steering just stop working, very hard to turn. but not all the time, but now it more often. when a kid ran out between two parked cars I went to turn and hit the brakes the steering went out. Luckily he stop in time, but after that I needed it repaired. Went to GM web site and was amazed of all the people with this, called chevy dealer about repairs and was told its my problem and it would be $ 2100.00 to replace a faulty power steering pump, how is this not a safety problem. Try turning in a parking space and the wheel locks up its hard not to hit the car beside you. WITH NO WARNING

NHTSA ID

11421838

Incident

Feb 3, 2021

VEHICLE IS HARD TO TURN AT LOW SPEEDS. (POWER STEERING) HIGHER SPEEDS IT STEERS NORMALLY. THEY APPARENTLY KNOW ABOUT THE ISSUE.

NHTSA ID

11402708

Incident

Mar 12, 2021

WAS DRIVING FINE AND ALL OF A SUDDEN WITH NO WARNING CAR WOULD NOT GO FASTER THAN 15 MPH. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON THEN TRACTION CONTROL WENT OFF. ACROSS THE DASH IT SAID "SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL, SERVICE STABILITRACK AND REDUCED ENGINE POWER" THE CAR STARTED SHIFTING BETWEEN 2 DIFFERENT GEARS MAKING IT EXTREMELY SCARY TO TRY DRIVING TO A SAFE SPOT WITH 3 YOUNG KIDS.

NHTSA ID

11397260

Incident

Feb 18, 2021

Mileage

163,000 mi

MY WIFE AND I OWN A 09 CHEVY TRAVERSE AND HAVE HAD FOR ABOUT 3 YEARS. WHEN WE FIRST BOUGHT IT IT DROVE LIKE BRAND NEW BUT OVER THE PERIOD OF A YEAR OR SO WE STARTED TO FEEL A SIDE TO SIDE SWAYING (SUCH AS ROCKING IN A BOAT) WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 60 MPH. SINCE WE'VE GOT 4 KIDS AND MY WIFE USES IT AS A DAY TO DAY VEHICLE I TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND HAD THEM TELL ME IT WAS STRUTS (WHICH I HAD REPLACED) AND AFTER BEING REPLACED IT STILL HAD THE SIDE TO SIDE MOVEMENT. IT HAS GOTTEN TO THE POINT I DON'T ALLOW HER TO DRIVE HER NOR THE KIDS BECAUSE OF THE DANGERS. I'VE HAD THE RACK N STEERING, FRONT UPPER AND LOWER CONTROL ARMS THE REAR UPPER CONTROL ARMS, STABILIZER BAR BUSHINGS ALONG WITH NUMEROUS OTHER BUSHINGS AND ALL 4 BRAND NEW TIRES. THE DEALERSHIP NOR OTHER INDEPENDENT SHOP KNOWS WHAT ELSE TO REPLACE.

NHTSA ID

11388567

Incident

Nov 28, 2018

Mileage

170,000 mi

POWER STEERING HAS FAILED AGAIN. POWER STEERING WAS FIXED UNDER A PREVIOUS RECALL, BUT THE POWER STEERING PUMP HAS FAILED AGAIN MAY 2020.

NHTSA ID

11350772

Incident

May 15, 2020

Mileage

100,000 mi

WHEN TURNING AT LOW SPEED, THE VEHICLE LOSES POWER STEERING. AT FIRST THIS ONLY HAPPENED OCCASIONALLY AND NOT IT IS HAPPENING MORE. IT ALSO GETS WORSE IF VEHICLES HAS BEEN DROVE ALONG THAT DAY. CHECK POWER STEERING FLUID AND IT IS FULL. THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN EVERY TIME I TURN BUT RANDOMLY WHEN TURNING AT LOW SPEED. TURNING ONTO A ROAD, AT STOPLIGHT OR INTO AND OUT OF PARKING SPOTS. HAPPENS WITH SPEEDS BETWEEN 5-20 MPH

NHTSA ID

11339172

Incident

May 30, 2020

Mileage

230,000 mi

MY 2009 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE WON'T GO INTO REVERSE AND ALSO WON'T SWITCH GEARS ON TIME WHILE DRIVING WITH THE STEERING SO STIFF

NHTSA ID

11194266

Incident

Apr 5, 2019

Mileage

163,096 mi

I HAVE BEEN BATTLING MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ALL 2018 AND NOW 2019. NOT TO MENTION THE STABILIZTRAK AND HARD TO TURN STEERING WHEEL. I HAVE BEEN GETTING A MISFIRE IN ALL MY COILS. THIS ISSUE HAS CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO STUTTER, DRINK HIGH VOLUMES OF GAS AND ALMOST SENT ME BROKE. I HAVE CHANGED EVERY COIL, EVERY PLUG, CHANGED THE STABILIZER, TENTIONER, BEARINGS, SWAYBAR LINKS AND MUCH MORE. I AM COMPLETELY DONE WITH CHEVY. THEY KNOW THIS MAKE AND MIDEL IS HORRIBLE AND WE AS CUSTOMERS NEED TO DO A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT. THIS VEHICLE SOUNDS LIKE A TIN CAN WHEN IT STARTS. IT RATTLES AND STUTTERS WHILE DRIVING AND IT SHAKES WHEN STATIONARY.

NHTSA ID

11191763

Incident

Nov 1, 2017

Mileage

130,690 mi

IT'S VERY HARD TO TURN THE WHEEL. WHEN TRYING TO TURN IN OR BACK UP IT'S EXTREMELY HARD TO TURN.

NHTSA ID

11161722

Incident

Nov 23, 2018

Mileage

100,023 mi

UNSAFE CAR TO DRIVE IN WITH MY KIDS. I HAVE NO TRACTION CONTROL AND VERY SPORADIC POWER LOSS! I WAS DRIVING WITH MY KIDS GOING ABOUT 30MPH AND SPUN OUT OF CONTROL AROUND A CURVE WITH MY KIDS IN THE CAR. THANK THE LORD NO ONE WAS HURT AND NEITHER WAS THE VEHICLE. I TRY TO TAKE OFF FROM A LIGHT OR STOP SIGN AND IT'LL EITHER TAKE OFF SUPER FAST AND ALMOST HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME, OR TAKE OFF SLOW WITH NO POWER AND ALMOST GET REAR ENDED. I BOUGHT THIS CAR USED 6 MONTHS AGO AND THE LAST 3 MONTHS HAVE BEEN VERY FRUSTRATING WITH ISSUES OF THIS VEHICLE. I'VE ALREADY PUT $300 INTO IT AND NOW IT'S SAYING TO CHANGE THE CAT CONVERTER. I CALLED THE #1 LOCAL SHOP TO GET A QUOTE AND HE ACTUALLY SAID HIS NUMBER ONE SUPPLIER HAS STOPPED ISSUING THIS PART TO CHEVY TRAVERSE BECAUSE OF ALL THE RECALLS! SO WHAT DO I DO NOW????? I AM A MEDICAL COURIER AND THIS TRAVERSE IS MY SOURCE OF INCOME. I'VE ALWAYS LOVED CHEVYS AND DON'T BUY ANY OTHER BRAND, BUT C'MON. I DON'T HAVE $3000 TO FIX ELECTRICAL ISSUES!! ESPECIALLY WHEN IT IS A MANUFACTURERS DEFAULT AND MISTAKE!! VERY UNSATISFIED :(

NHTSA ID

11154917

Incident

Aug 8, 2018

Mileage

185,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO MAKE A TURN, THE STEERING LOST POWER WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO BERGER CHEVROLET (616-949-5200, LOCATED AT 2525 28TH ST SE, GRAND RAPIDS, MI 49512) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE POWER STEERING NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE WARRANTY DID NOT COVER THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THERE WAS AN EXTENDED WARRANTY AND THEY WOULD CONTACT THE DEALER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 126,000.

NHTSA ID

11150067

Incident

Oct 31, 2018

Mileage

126,000 mi

POWER STEERING BECOMES HARD TO TURN WHEN TURNING A CORNER OR TRYING TO PARK IN A PARKING SPOT.NOT MAKING ANY NOISE BUT STEERING GETS REALLY STIFF

NHTSA ID

11124730

Incident

Jun 13, 2018

Mileage

136,000 mi

POWER STEERING FAILING WHILE TURNING AND IS DIFFICULT TO TURN.

NHTSA ID

11114272

Incident

Jul 27, 2018

Mileage

200,000 mi

WHEN I TURN FROM A STOP IT'S LIKE I DON'T HAVE ANY POWER STEERING AND IT'S DIFFICULT TO TURN THE WHEELS. IT'S HAPPENED OFTEN BUT GETTING WORSE

NHTSA ID

11103682

Incident

Jun 24, 2018

Mileage

75,000 mi

POWER STEERING IS VERY HARD TO TURN AT SLOW SPEEDS I HAVE CHECKED POWER STEERING FLUID AND IT'S FULL I'M VERY AFRAID THIS MAY CAUSE ME TO LOSE CONTROL IF IT WOULD HAPPEN GOING DOWN THE HWY PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT CAN I DO.

NHTSA ID

11098334

Incident

Apr 3, 2018

Mileage

140,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE. WHILE APPROACHING A STOP SIGN, THE STEERING WHEEL WAS DIFFICULT TO MANEUVER IN BOTH DIRECTIONS WHEN ATTEMPTING TO TURN. THE CONTACT PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND INSPECTED THE VEHICLE, BUT FOUND NOT VISIBLE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE RACK AND PINION MAY NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE CONTACT CALLED GERRY LANE BUICK GMC (6615 FLORIDA BLVD, BATON ROUGE, LA 70806, (225) 341-5413). THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED, BUT THE DEALER STATED THAT THERE WERE NO RECALLS ON THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 168,500.

NHTSA ID

11089127

Incident

Feb 16, 2018

Mileage

168,500 mi

POWER STEERING MAKES ODD, HIGH-PITCHED SQUEAKING NOISES, SOMETIMES CHATTERS AND HAS COMPLETELY FAILED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING SINCE WE PURCHASED THE CAR IN 2011 WITH ONLY ABOUT 12,000 MILES. I HAVE ASKED THE DEALERSHIP ABOUT THIS EVERY TIME THE CAR WAS SERVICED AND WAS TOLD THIS IS NORMAL. I DON'T SEE HOW IT'S NORMAL TO BE DRIVING A CAR AND SUDDENLY HAVE NO STEERING. I AM HONESTLY SCARED EVERY TIME I LEAVE MY DRIVEWAY THAT THIS WILL CAUSE AN ACCIDENT AND INJURE SOMEONE. NOW, THE DEALER FINALLY ADMITS THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG - NEEDS POWER STEERING PUMP AND RACK & PINION. BUT IT NOW HAS 94,000 MILES, SO THEY WON'T REPAIR IT.

NHTSA ID

11075058

Incident

Jan 1, 2011

TRAVERSE STOPPED AT A CITY INTERSECTION AND FAILED TO MOVE OR START AFTER THAT. TIMING CHAIN BROKE AT 158,000 CAUSING DAMAGE TO CATALYTIC CONVERTERS. FAILURE OF POWER STEERING WAS AN ONGOING PROBLEM FOR MONTHS THAT CAUSED WHEELS TO LOCK UP DURING TURNS AND THEN SUDDENLY RELEASE CAUSING MUCH OVER CORRECTION BECAUSE OF HAVING TO PULL SO HARD ON THE STEERING WHEEL WHEN IT WOULD GO OUT.

NHTSA ID

11061452

Incident

Nov 21, 2017

Mileage

158,000 mi

STABILITRAK/TRACTION CONTROL PROBLEMS I AM THE OWNER OF THIS VEHICLE THAT HAS 165,000+ MILES ON IT. WE HAVE REPAIRED/REPLACED ABOUT $6900: IN 2017 EVAP PURGE VALVE, IN 2017 UPPER COOLANT HOSE, 2016 WATER PUMP GASKET, TIMING CHAIN, 2014 CATALYTIC CONVERTER AND GASKETS, 2014 WATER PUMP AND FRONT MOTOR MOUNT, IN 2009 REVERSE CLUTCH PLATE. NOW THE STABILITY TRAC AND TRACTION LIGHTS BOTH CAME ON STATING TO SERVICE THE BRAKE SYSTEM WHEN YOU ARE IN MOTION AND COME TO A STOP. PLUS TODAY, THE AC DOES NOT COME NOW. ONE VEHICLE WITH ONE OWNER SHOULD NOT HAVE THIS MANY PROBLEMS. CHEVY HAS GOT TO ISSUE A RECALL ON THIS 2009 MODEL. CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT, SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE.

NHTSA ID

11046928

Incident

Nov 1, 2017

Mileage

160,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE HAD NO SPECIFIC FAILURES OTHER THAN FAILING AN INSPECTION. THE CONTACT CALLED A DEALER (LANNAN CHEVROLET, 40 WINN ST, WOBURN, MA 01801, (781) 897-0508) TO INSPECT AND DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER DID NOT SEND A NOTIFICATION OF ANY EXTENDED WARRANTY CAMPAIGNS; HOWEVER, THE VEHICLE WAS INCLUDED IN A WATER PUMP SEAL LEAK, POWER STEERING, TRANSMISSION, AND ADDITIONAL SERVICE CAMPAIGNS. AFTER THE DEALER'S REPAIRS, THE VEHICLE WAS RODE ROUGHLY AND THE ENGINE INDICATOR ILLUMINATED TWO DAYS LATER. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED BACK TO THE DEALER WHO INDICATED THAT FURTHER DIAGNOSTIC TESTING WAS REQUIRED. THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN AT THE DEALER FOR LONGER THAN TWO WEEKS WITH NO RESOLUTION. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND REFUSED TO PROVIDE A REMEDY FOR THE SEVERAL EXTENDED WARRANTY CAMPAIGNS, OF WHICH SOME WERE NOT COMPLETED, BUT THE DEALER SPECIFIED ON THE INVOICE THAT THE VEHICLE WAS SERVICED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED AND WAS UNABLE TO BE DRIVEN. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 113,000.

NHTSA ID

11031842

Incident

Mar 1, 2016

Mileage

113,000 mi

POWER STEERING JUST WENT OUT AS I WAS DRIVING. POWER STEERING FLUID FULL

NHTSA ID

11022645

Incident

Sep 8, 2017

Mileage

120,000 mi

I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE STREET I CAME TO A STOP. AS I BEGAN TO GO I TRIED TO TURN RIGHT AND I COULDN'T TURN THE WHEEL IT WAS SO HARD. REMINDED ME OF MY FIRST CAR I HAD WHEN I HAD A LEAK WITH MY STEERING FLUID. SO AT THAT POINT I TRY TO BRAKE AND MY BRAKES FAILED. I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED I BEGAN TO ROLL BACKWARDS AND THE FIRST THING I THOUGHT OF WAS TO PUSH DOWN AS HARD AS I COULD AND SLAMMED IT INTO PARK. WHILE ALL THIS WAS GOING ON NOT ONE SINGLE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON OR BRAKE LIGHT NOTHING. THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO WARNING. I TURNED THE CAR OFF THEN BACK ON AND IT WAS AS IF NOTHING HAD HAPPENED. LUCKILY IT WAS ON A VERY QUITE AND NON-BUSY STREET AND MY KIDS WEREN'T WITH ME.

NHTSA ID

11021255

Incident

Sep 3, 2017

ON THREE SEPARATE OCCASIONS WITHIN THE PAST YEAR, THE POWER STEERING HAS GONE OUT IN MY 2009 CHEVY TRAVERSE WHILE I AM DRIVING. ON TWO OCCASIONS, IT WAS RAINING AND MY POWER STEERING WENT OUT AS I WAS TURNING - BOTH INSTANCES ON A CITY STREET. THE THIRD INSTANCE WAS ON A CITY STREET (IN A NEIGHBORHOOD) AND THE POWER STEERING AGAIN WENT OUT AS I WAS GOING AROUND A TURN. THERE WAS A SMALL AMOUNT OF WATER ON THE ROAD BUT IT WAS NOT RAINING AT THE TIME. IN ALL THREE INSTANCES, THE VEHICLES WAS IN MOTION, TURNING, AND ON A CITY STREET. IT IS UNKNOWN TO ME WHAT THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM WAS, BUT QUITE SCARY WHEN THE POWER STEERING GOES OUT. THE LAST TWO INCIDENTS WERE CLOSE TOGETHER AND WITHIN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS (DURING JULY 2017).

NHTSA ID

11010348

Incident

Jul 11, 2017

Mileage

175,000 mi

THERE IS LOSS OF POWER STEERING ASSIST WHEN TRAVELING AT LOW SPEEDS. IT IS UNSAFE AS THE VEHICLE BECOMES HARD TO STEER WHEN TURNING LEFT OR RIGHT. THIS ISSUE IS KNOWN TO THE AUTO-MAKER AND THEY ONLY WANT TO REPLACE POWER STEERING PUMP AND FLUID. THE POWER STEERING GEAR IS LEAKING AND GM SHOULD RECALL THIS UNSAFE PART. THE STEERING FUNCTION OF AN AUTOMOBILE IS CRITICAL AS HUMAN LIVES ARE AT THE MERCY OF THIS COMPONENT OF THE VEHICLE TO OPERATE AS DESIGNED.

NHTSA ID

11006058

Incident

Jun 1, 2016

Mileage

65,000 mi