2011 Chevrolet Traverse Driver assistance Problems

Components related to timing chain failed, and vehicle is currently available with plans to sell to a salvage yard by 10/25/24. My 9 year old and I were at risk of collision when the vehicle failed. I was driving approximately 70-75 mph when we started to lose power. At 65 mph, I managed to cross 2 lanes of highway traffic and stopped on the shoulder. I turned off my vehicle and waited several minutes, hoping it would help reset or cool off a component or something. I had to try a couple of times before it started, and I attempted to drive as safely as I could, made it to 60 mph before it stopped running completely. I had to pull hard on the steering wheel to get to the shoulder again, only this time, the shoulder was pinched off in front of us and around a small blind spot behind us. I had my daughter move to the side closer to the cement barrier while waiting for a tow truck. She became very nervous about how close some of the other vehicles got. Afterwards, the error codes indicated several components pointing to a timing chain problem. I had the timing chain repaired around April or May of 2023 by a certified mechanic. I watched the oil life percentage and oil temperature gauge consistently. Everything indicated as normal, but I had difficulty pulling out the dipstick to check the oil level. Since it was hard to get a good reading, I tried to add some oil and recheck. The oil cap was nearly impossible to open, so I decided to wait for an oil tech to do it. Around 40-50% oil life, I had planned to have the oil changed. In spite of my efforts to maintain proper oil quality, the oil cap had to be opened with a wrench. Smoke rose out and dried out oil residue lined the inner walls. It was about a quart low. I don’t drive hard on it and it had only been around 3,000 miles between oil changes. It had been one year since the timing chain was replaced. Error codes remain and the vehicle runs rough if it stays on long enough after much effort to start it.

NHTSA ID

11618746

Incident

Apr 27, 2023

My timing and my energy is going bad..I don’t know the problem.Im new on having my own car..And when I got it everything was great at first but Two trips going too Chicago it started going bad

NHTSA ID

11605410

Incident

Jan 16, 2024

MY ENGINE WENT OUT ON MY 2011 CHEVY TRAVERSE AND THIS IS PART OF OF THE RECALL THE DEALER DIDN'T DO NOTHING ABOUT IT AND NOW I AM WITHOUT A CAR

NHTSA ID

11384412

Incident

Dec 12, 2020

WHILE DRIVING DOWN HIGHWAY AT 55 MPH SUDDENLY HEAR A BEEP AND SEE A WARNING THAT TRACTION CONTROL IS OFF, THEN SERVICE STABILITRAK WARNING KEPT FLASHING AND CAR IN SKID IMAGE IS ON CONSTANTLY. ALSO AFTER THESE WARNINGS STARTED FLASHING THE SPEED CONTROL COULD NOT BE SET. LUCKILY I DID'T LOSE POWER THIS TIME AS SO MANY OTHERS HAVE REPORTED. AFTER ARRIVING HOME AND RESTARTING THE CAR LATER ALL THE WARNING LIGHTS WERE OFF. FOR SEVERAL WEEKS NOW WHEN RESUMING SPEED AFTER STOPPING THE CAR LUNGES WHILE GETTING BACK UP TO SPEED. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN VERY DANGEROUS HAD I LOST OR HAD REDUCED POWER LIKE HAS HAPPENED TO SO MANY. GM REALLY NEEDS TO ISSUE A RECALL AND FIX THIS PROBLEM BEFORE SOMEONE IS KILLED.

NHTSA ID

11383229

Incident

Dec 8, 2020

Mileage

968,000 mi

SITTING IN THE PARKING LOT WAITING FOR MY DAUGHTER TO GET OUT OF SCHOOL ALL OF A SUDDEN IT SMELLS HOT THEN START TO DRIVE OFF AND TRACTION CONTROL LIGHTS AND ABS GO WILD THEN I PULL OVER TURN OFF THE ENGINE OPEN THE HOOD AND THERE'S SMOKE LETTING IT COOL THE KEY WON'T REVERSE OUT OF THE IGNITION AND THERE'S NO POWER AT ALL

NHTSA ID

11278521

Incident

Nov 6, 2019

Mileage

167,000 mi

TIMES 2- AGAIN I GET THE STABILITRAK WARNING. CRUISE WILL NOT WORK, POWERS DOWN TRYING TO EXCELERATE. THE DEALERSHIP CAN NOT FIX THIS SENSE THERE IS NO CODE COMING UP FOR IT EVEN THOUGH THE WARNING LIGHT IS ON AND FLASHING ON MY DASH. TRYING TO ACCELERATE IT WILL POWER DOWN AT LIGHTS, ON INTERSTATE ETC.

NHTSA ID

11265538

Incident

Oct 1, 2019

Mileage

180,000 mi

2011 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE: WHILE DRIVING ALL THE LIGHTS START FLASHING AND THE VEHICLE TURNS OFF AND ON, NOT LETTING YOU ACCELERATE AND SLOWING THE CAR DOWN RAPIDLY. THEN THE TRACTION CONTROL TURNS OFF AND VEHICLE IDOLS ROUGH. IF I STEP ON THE ACCELERATOR THERE IS NO REPOSE FROM THE VEHICLE. WE DO NOT TREAT THE VEHICLE HASH OR DRIVE WILD. I DONT HAVE THE MONEY FOR A LOT OF REPAIRS. I CHANGE THE OIL WHEN IT'S TIME AND MAKE SURE ITS RUNNING SMOOTHLY. I HAVE LOOKED ONLINE AND HAVE SEEN MANY OTHER COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE SAME ISSUE AND GM HAS NOT DONE ANYTHING ABOUT IT. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE ESPECIALLY FOR SOMEONE DRIVING AT A HIGH SPEED. DEATH IS A MAJOR POSSIBILITY IF THIS WERE TO HAPPEN IN FRONT OF ANOTHER VEHICLE. THIS HAS HAPPENED ONCE BEFORE TODAY.

NHTSA ID

11241653

Incident

Aug 4, 2019

Mileage

86,000 mi

DRIVING MY CAR ON THE STREET AND HEARD 3 BEEPS GO OFF AND CAR WOULDN'T ACCELERATE. STABILITRAK WARNING, TRACTION CONTROL AND ABS LIGHTS. TRIED PUSHING ON PEDAL TO GO AND CAR COULDN'T PICK UP SPEED. TURN CAR OFF LET SIT TRIED AGAIN 30 SECONDS LATER SAME. HAD THE THROTTLE SWITCH WORKED COUPLE DAYS AND NOW ITS HAPPEN AGAIN

NHTSA ID

11221395

Incident

Jun 12, 2019

Mileage

120,000 mi

THE VEHICLES CONTROL PANEL DISPLAYS MULTIPLE ERRORS SUCH AS ENGINE POWER IS REDUCED, PARK ASSIST OFF, TRACTION CONTROL OFF, BRAKE (IN RED), ABS AND ALL THE GAGES GO UP AND DOWN, AUTOMATIC LOCKS-LOCK AND UNLOCK ALL WHILE DRIVING ON CITY STREET AND HIGHWAYS. ATTEMPTING TO PULL THE CAR OVER, THE TRANSMISSION WONT GO INTO PARK. MULTIPLE TIMES IT WON'T START AND SOMETIMES THE VEHICLE FAILS TO GAIN SPEED WHILE DRIVING.

NHTSA ID

11209010

Incident

May 20, 2019

Mileage

70,000 mi

SERVICE STABILITRAK/TRACTION CONTROL OFF LIGHT KEEPS COMING ON WHEN DRIVING AT NORMAL SPEED

NHTSA ID

11207040

Incident

May 11, 2019

Mileage

124,000 mi

TRAVERSE TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT AND BRAKE LIGHT COME ON AND OFF ALL THE TIME. MAKING THINK THAT CAR IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE. ALL OF THE TIME THAT THE LIGHTS COME ON WHEN WE ARR DRIVING IN A STRAIGHT LINE ON A FLAT SURFACE.

NHTSA ID

11186096

Incident

Mar 11, 2019

Mileage

100,000 mi

WHILE DRIVING MY 2011 CHEVY TRAVERSE LT ON HIGHWAY WITH 130,000 MILES ON IT WHEN MY TRAVERSE LOST ACCELERATION AND STALLED OUT WITH CARS FLYING UP ON ME AT 65-70 MPH,I FINALLY COSTED OVER TO THE EMERGENCY LANE, HAD IT TOWED TO DEALERSHIP AND TECHS COULDN'T FIGURE THIS OUT , AFTER A WEEK OF SERVICE TECHS COULDN'T FIND THE PROBLEM, I WAS FINALLY NOTIFIED BY DEALERSHIP THAT THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH MOTOR AND ELECTRICAL AND IT'S NOT WORTH FIXING. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT I CAN DO WITH THIS .

NHTSA ID

11180996

Incident

Jan 30, 2019

Mileage

130,000 mi

REDUCED POWER ON VECHILE WITH DASH LIGHTS INDICATING CHECK STABILE TRACK. SEE A LOT OF COMPLAINTS ON THIS. HAPPENED 3 TIMES FINALLY HAD TO REPLACE THROTTLE BODY AND HARNESS FOR $550. NO RECALLS? 110,000 MILES. VERY DANGEROUS TO HAVE CAR SLOW DOWN ON HIGHWAY DURING WINTER CONDITIONS.

NHTSA ID

11176445

Incident

Feb 10, 2019

Mileage

110,000 mi

WHILE THE VEHICLE IS STATIONARY OR BEING DRIVEN THE TRACTION CONTROL TURNS OFF, THE STABILIZER GOES OUT, AND THE ENGINE POWER REDUCES. I WAS ON THE HIGHWAY AND I LOST POWER GOING FROM 65 MPH DOWN TO 25-30 MPH. I HAD TO PULL OVER AND SHUT OFF THE CAR, WAITED FOR 15 MINUTES AND STARTED DRIVING AGAIN. I HADN'T GONE FAR AND ALL THE WARNINGS CAME UP AGAIN AND POWER WAS REDUCED. WHILE DRIVING IN TOWN THE SAME THING HAPPENS AND I CAN BE GOING 25 MPH AND THE POWER GOES DOWN TO 10 MPH. WARNING LIGHTS SAY TRACTION 'CONTROL OFF, STABILIZER OFF, ENGINE POWER REDUCED. ALL OF THIS HAPPENS WHILE THE VEHICLE IS STATIONARY OR BEING DRIVEN!!!

NHTSA ID

11173794

Incident

Oct 1, 2018

Mileage

100,000 mi

WHILE DRIVING NORMALLY ON A FREEWAY WHERE SPEED LIMITS ARE 65+ THE CAR SUDDENLY LOST ENGINE POWER AND ITS IMPOSSIBLE TO REACH SPEEDS ABOVE 15 MPH. SEVERAL CODES APPEAR "SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL" "REDUCED ENGINE POWER" "TRACTION CONTROL OFF". THE CAUSE IS A FAULTY THROTTLE BODY, WHICH IS NOT A SERVICEABLE PART IT JUST RANDOMLY FAILS. ONLINE FORUMS SHOW REPORTS OF THIS PROBLEM 100S AND 100S OF TIMES DATING BACK TO AT LEAST 2014, ON LOW MILEAGE VEHICLES NO LESS. DEALERS DENY KNOWING OF A PROBLEM. CHEVY HAS BEEN NOTIFIED MANY TIMES BY MANY CUSTOMERS YET NO RECALLS HAVE BEEN ISSUED AND DEALERSHIPS AREN'T AWARE OF THE PROBLEM IN ORDER TO FIX IT. A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER LIKE THIS COULD BE FATAL. IF YOUR FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO BE NEAR A DEALERSHIP YOU MIGHT FIND A REPAIR. OTHERWISE YOUR STUCK TRYING TO LIMP IT TO A SHOP, FIND THE PART AND RESET THE IDLE CODES. THIS IS TURNING INTO A VERY EXPENSIVE REPAIR.

NHTSA ID

11171923

Incident

Jan 20, 2019

Mileage

101,000 mi

MY TRAVERSE HAS BEEN LOOSING POWER TRACK CONTROL CUTS OFF AND WILL NOT COME BACK ON. AT TIMES IT DOESN'T SHIFT GEARS. WHEN THE TEMP GETS DOWN IN THE 30'S IT MESSES UP. CAN'T GO VERT FAR WITHOUT IT STOPPING. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON SINCE I'VE HAD THIS CAR.

NHTSA ID

11171313

Incident

Jan 3, 2019

Mileage

135,000 mi

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT FOR THROTTLE BOTTLE SENSOR WHICH CAUSES THE GAS PEDAL TO STICK WHEN TRYING TO ACCELERATE. SERVICE STABILITY TRACK AND TRACTION CONTROL OFF WHICH CAUSES THE CAR TO LOSE ENGINE POWER WHILE DRIVING

NHTSA ID

11170518

Incident

Jan 10, 2018

Mileage

109,100 mi

MY TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT CAME ON WHILE DRIVING ON A DRY PAVED ROAD THEN MY DASH FLASHED TRACTION CONTROL OFF, SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL, SERVICE STABILITRAK, ENGINE POWER IS REDUCED, AND THEN IT JUST SLOWED DOWN TO 10MPH AND I COULD NOT GO ANY FASTER. I PULLED OVER SHUT THE CAR OFF AND WAITED 5 MINUTES. IT STARTED AND RAN WELL TILL I GOT HOME. THE NEXT MORNING THE SAME EXACT THING HAPPENED. IT HAS NOW HAPPENED 6 TIMES IN A 72 HOUR PERIOD. PLEASE GO TO THIS VIDEO LINK TO SEE THAT I AM NOT THE ONLY PERSON HAVING THIS ISSUE WITH A TRAVERSE [XXX]. PARTS OF THIS DOCUMENT HAVE BEEN REDACTED TO PROTECT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

NHTSA ID

11170431

Incident

Jan 14, 2019

Mileage

106,000 mi

I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE IN JANUARY 2017 WITH ONE OWNER HAVING HAD IT. HERE IT IS NOW 2 YEARS LATER AND I HAVE NUMEROUS PROBLEMS WITH MY VEHICLE. SOME OTHER OWNERS HAVE HAD BUT IT STILL ISN'T PART OF A RECALL. THE PAST YEAR I HAVE ALREADY SPENT OVER $1000 TO FIX IT. ITEMS ALREADY REPLACED INCLUDE SEVERAL SENSORS, WHEEL BEARING, POWER STEERIG PUMP AND A BATTERY. WHAT STILL NEEDS REPLACING: RACK AND PINYON, SHOCKS AND STRUTS, AND I HAVE AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM. CURRENTLY, MY WINDOWS GO DOWN BUT WON'T GO UP BECAUSE THERE IS AN INTERMITTENT ELECTRICAL PROBLEM AND MY RADIO CUTS IN AND OUT. I AM STILL PAYING FOR THE CAR AND NO ONE IS HELPING. OTHER USERS HAVE REPORTED SOME OF THE SAME THING. IF I GO TO MY MECHANIC HE TELLS ME THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS. BUT WHEN I LOOK AT MY MAKE AND MODEL THERE IS ONLY 4 RECALLS AND IF I GO BY VIN SPECIFICALLY THERE IS NONE. THIS IS RIDICULOUS ! SOMEONE SHOULD HELP. WITH A CAR THAT ISN'T 'THAT OLD' I SHOULDN'T BE HAVING THIS MANY ISSUES. I HAVE 154,039 MILES ON IT. IT ISN'T SAFE. MY WINDOW IS STUCK RIGHT NOW I'M THE DOWN POSITION. I CAN MOVE IT DOWN MORE BUT NOT UP. I HAVE 3 KIDS. MY CAR SEEMS TO NOT WORK MORE THAN IT DOES. NOTHING LIKE SCREWING OVER THE LITTLE GUY...CHEVY NUMBER ONE ON SAFETY YA RIGHT

NHTSA ID

11164948

Incident

Jan 7, 2019

STABILITY TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM PROBLEMS. I HAVE A 2011 CHEVY TRAVERSE. PROBLEMS ERUPTED AFTER I FINISHED PAYING IT OFF. I HAD THIS CAR FOR 7 YEARS NOW AND 100K MILES NOW. FOR THE PAST YEAR THE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM HAS FAILED MULTIPLE TIMES. AT FIRST I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND SPENT OVER $3500 TO FIX IT. A FEW MONTHS AFTER THE PROBLEM CAME BACK. THE DEALER WAS ASKING FOR ALMOST $4000 STATING THAT IT WAS SOMETHING ELSE NOT FIXED BEFORE. EVEN A MECHANIC FROM THE DEALERSHIP TOLD ME TO GET RID OF IT BECAUSE LOTS OF PEOPLE WERE COMPLAINING WITH SAME ISSUES. AT FIRST THE "TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM OFF" COMES ON THE SCREEN EVERY TIME I DRIVE FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME. FOLLOWED BY "SERVICE STABILITY TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM". NOW AS SOON AS I TURN THE CAR ON THE SAME MESSAGES APPEAR. JUST A WEEK AGO I WAS IN THE HIGHWAY AND "POWER LOSS WARNING" CAME OUT IN THE SCREEN. I COULDN'T ACCELERATE, THANK GOD I WAS NEAR AN EXIT AND WAS ABLE TO GET OUT IN TIME BEFORE IT STOPPED COMPLETELY. TURNED OFF THE CAR AND WAITED A FEW MNTS. TURNED ON AGAIN AND DROVE OFF ON THE SERVICE ROAD. I WAS NOT ABLE TO GO FASTER THAN 10 MPH. NOW THE CAR IS IN MY DRIVEWAY AND I'M GETTING READY TO GET RID OF IT ASAP! BUT JUST NOTICED THAT I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH SUCH A PROBLEM. WE NEED A RECALL FAST. I BOUGHT THIS CAR FOR 47K THINKING THAT IT WAS GOING TO LAST JUST LIKE THE OLD CHEVYS. BUT THIS NEW TECH IS KILLING IT! WE NEED A RECALL ON THIS FAST!

NHTSA ID

11161291

Incident

Dec 8, 2018

Mileage

60 mi

TRACTION CONTROL WENT HAYWIRE WHILE GOING ABOUT 25 MILES AN HOUR, IT STARTED SHAKING UNCONTROLLABLY, "TRACTION CONTROL" LIGHT CAME ON AND WENT OFF ALMOST IMMEDIATELY. RPMS REVVED UP TO 5K. IT HAS DONE IT 4 TIME WITHIN A 24 HOUR PERIOD. MECHANIC HOOKED IT UP TO THE COMPUTER AND IT DETECTED NOTHING. ONLY THING THAT SHOWED UP WAS THAT IT LOST CONNECTION TO THE TRANSMISSION. WHEN THE ENGINE REVVED IT, IT SEEMED LIKE IT WENT OUT OF GEAR WHILE THE RPMS WENT HIGH, IT FELT AS IF I PUT IT IN NEUTRAL WHILE GOING AROUND 25 MPH.

NHTSA ID

11160595

Incident

Dec 9, 2018

Mileage

81,000 mi

BOUGHT A 2011 TRAVERSE A MONTH AGO WITH 93705 MILES ON IT. ON THE DRIVE HOME THE LIGHTS OF THE DASH CAME ON AND SAID TRACTION CONTROL OFF, SERVICE STABILITRAK, REDUCED ENGINE POWER. IT WOULDN'T GO PAST 20 MPH (MIND YOU I'M ON A BUSY STREET WITH MY FOUR KIDS). WAS ABLE TO GET IT HOME AND CALLED THE DEALERSHIP I GOT IT FROM AND AM WAITING FOR A CALL BACK.

NHTSA ID

11154485

Incident

Nov 27, 2018

Mileage

93,705 mi

STABILITRACK NEEDS SERVICED , ABS LIGHT ON , TRACTION CONTROL FAILURE . POWER LOSS . JUST DRIVING THROUGH TOWN APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH AND ALL ERRORS STARTED FLASHING . THIS IS A SAFETY CONCERN . I HAVE READ MULTIPLE COMPLAINTS ON THE SAME ISSUE WITH NO RESULTS

NHTSA ID

11144253

Incident

Oct 30, 2018

Mileage

109,000 mi

2011 TRAVERSE HAVING A SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER AND LOSS OF ACCELERATION FOLLOWED BY ERROR MESSAGES FOR BOTH THE TRACTION CONTROL AND STABILITRAK SYSTEMS AND MORE LIGHTS LIKE BRAKES AND AIR BAG AND ECT..

NHTSA ID

11143697

Incident

Jul 18, 2018

I WAS DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY AND MY CAR LOST POWER, IT SHOWED "TRACTION CONTROL OFF" AND THEN "SERVICE STABILATRACK" I WAS ABLE TO COAST OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND THE ENGINE SHUT OFF AND IT WILL NOT RESTART. HAD TO HAVE IT TOWED TO A REPAIR SHOP AND WAITING TO HESR FROM THEM.

NHTSA ID

11123185

Incident

Aug 28, 2018

Mileage

146,000 mi