2012 Chevrolet Traverse Airbags Problems

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.

NHTSA ID

11638369

Incident

Jan 10, 2025

Airbags deployed unexpectedly while I was driving on the freeway.

NHTSA ID

11541921

Incident

Aug 20, 2023

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.

NHTSA ID

11521019

Incident

May 6, 2023

I looked up 2012 Chevy Traverse recalls and 4 things came up. I was very happy to see that because I have all 4 problems recalled. So the next day I called Chevy to schedule the work. They informed me my car has no recalls. I told them I knew it did I looked it up and there are 4 in total. Then I said luckily for me it is recalled because I am experiencing exactly the same issues with same effects from the issues that was posted with the recall. Then the lady explained to me that you recalled 2012 chevy traverse on 4 items yes but none included my model. That is absolutely INSANE because my car is doing all the same things that was considered too dangerous to continue in all the other trims the car was made in but for some reason I'll never understand my trim was excluded.... Plz fix this the LS trim needs all the same recalls. I have every one of the 4 issues and I've been all over the 2012 LS Traverse forum to see I'm far from alone here.

NHTSA ID

11464741

Incident

May 8, 2022

First I already had to rebuild the transmission which is showing the beginning signs of failing again. Then around the same time I started having another issue that I find a lot scarier as the driver. It started giving me severely Reduced engine power, traction control off and stabilitrak messages with the ABS warning light lit up like a Christmas tree. This is by far the most dangerous of any issue I've ever experienced with all of my vehicles I've ever owned. It starts with a huge jump I cant stop or control to a car behind me it seems like I'm really getting on it and speeding up. But in a split second too quick for any human to process what is happening it just drops out big time. It then wont go above roughly 30 mph and the engine is revving very high to even get it to that. All the while it is heavily shuddering and jumping back and forth at a very fast rate and it does this with a high force to it. I have no control over it either. Before I could hit traction control off and it would all stop. However today it did this again for the first time in a long time and man was it 20 times worse than anything I had ever seen before. By the time I decided to turn back and go home (which I wasn't any further than a half mile into my drive to begin with) I made it maybe another quarter block and that is when the bottom fell out. It stopped moving at all at that point. Nothing we did to correct it that had totally controlled it in the past would help for the first time. In the end my husband hooked an o2 sensor to it and reset the codes and now it's back to driving beautifully. The reason I feel this needs recalled is it's a huge danger to myself and anyone else around me. When this starts you have no prior warning what so ever and then bam your all the sudden in a car that is jumping back and forth and its visible to other drivers then its starting like it's going to really go but it malfunctions so fast no one behind you would have time to react to such a sudden drop.

NHTSA ID

11464738

Incident

May 15, 2022

The airbag light is on for the passenger seat and the clips under the seat are loose

NHTSA ID

11458663

Incident

Jan 30, 2021

The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle took a long time to start-up. While driving approximately 20-40 MPH, the vehicle would not accelerate then shifted into limp mode. The ABS, check engine, traction control, and service air bags warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed that the wheel bearings were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 99,655.

NHTSA ID

11430335

Incident

May 1, 2021

Mileage

99,655 mi

THE AIRBAG CONNECTOR PIECE UNDER THE PASSENGER SEAT COMES APART TRIGGERING. AIRBAG LIGHT ON. DEALER CHARGES OVER $100 FOR A PROBLEM THAT KEEPS HAPPENING. THIS ISSUE IS ALSO LISTED ON EVERY FORUM SO T'S A COMMON ISSUE. WIPER FLUID DOESN'T EXTRACT CLOGGED NOZZLES.

NHTSA ID

11408320

Incident

Apr 8, 2020

Mileage

153,000 mi

AFTER REPLACING EVERY CODE THROWN AT ME ON MY 2012 TRAVERSE, IT CONTINUES TO SIT IN MY DRIVEWAY UN-WORKING. LAST TIME I HAD IT "REPAIRED", WHILE DRIVING HOME FROM THE MECHANIC, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, THE VEHICLE STARTED LOSING POWER WITH LIGHTS VISIBLY DIMMING. I PULLED OFF THE FREEWAY AND PULLED OVER AND CHECKED THE BATTERY CABLES. IT WAS WORKING FINE. I GET BACK IN THE VEHICLE TO DRIVE THE REST OF THE WAY HOME AND THE TRACTION CONTROL STARTED TOGGLING ON AND OFF AND A CHECK AIR BACK MESSAGE CAME UP. JUST THEN I STARTED FEELING LIKE I WAS BEING SHOCKED BY MY DRIVER SEAT!!! SINCE THE DEALERSHIP OR PRIVATEECHAMICS CAN NOT FIGURE OUT WHAT IS WRONG WITH IT, I HAD A FRIEND GET ME ALL THE INFORMATION ON THIS VEHICLE. THERE IS ZERO RECALLS ON MY VEHICLE BUT I FOUND A RECALL FOR THE WIRE HARNESS UNDER THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER SEATS AND ALSO UNDER THE DASH, CALLING TO REPLACE AND SPLICE THOSE WIRES. MY VEHICLE HAS THE YELLOW HARNESS THAT WAS RECALLED BUY THE DEALERSHIP SAYS MY VIN IS NOT INCLUDED. IT'S BEEN 2 YEARSSINCE ALL THIS HAS BEGUN AND THAT I HAVE BEEN WITHOUT A RELIABLE VEHICLE. (MY EX WHO CO-SIGNED BUT DID NOY PAY FOR IT, REFUSES TO SIGN THE TITLE OVER). JUST SAVE YOURSELF THE HEADACHE AND BUY NON GM. YOU WOULD THINK THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO FIX SOMETHING THAT IS SO UNSAFE TO IT'S CUSTOMERS. ELECTRICAL FAULTS, ENGINE FAULTS CAUSING FAILURE WHILE DRIVING FULL SPEED (WITH MY DAUGHTER IN THE VEHICLE), AND FUEL PRESSURE ISSUES LEAVING ME STRANDED ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS WHICH EVEN HELPED LEAD TO A JOB LOSS. THIS VEHICLE HAS PUT OUR SAFETY AND LIVELIHOOD IN JEOPARDY ONE TOO MANY TIMES.

NHTSA ID

11399114

Incident

Feb 27, 2021

Mileage

130,000 mi

WHILE DRIVING ON THE PARKWAY WITH MY 2 YOUNG CHILDREN THE POWER WENT INTO REDUCE ENGINE MODE AND THE ERROR MESSAGE STABILITY TREK AND TRACTION CONTROL KEPT BLINKING THIS HAS HAPPENED ON 4 OCCASIONS NOW I FEEL UNSAFE DRIVING MY CHILDREN. I HAVE GOTTEN IT LOOKED AT NOW THE 4TH TIME IT HAS COST ME OVER 2 GRAND SO FAR NOW MY MECHANIC SAYING IT'S MY FUEL PUMP AND FUEL SENSOR THIS IS COSTING ME ANOTHER GRAND. IF I COULD AFFORD ANOTHER VEHICLE I WOULD TRADE THIS TRUCK IN. VERY UNHAPPY AND SCARED WHILE DRIVING MY 2012 CHEVY TRAVERSE LTZ

NHTSA ID

11363018

Incident

Sep 30, 2020

Mileage

116,000 mi

2012 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE WITH ABOUT 38,000 MILES OWNED SINCE PURCHASED NEW. "SERVICE AIR BAG" MESSAGE AND WARNING LIGHT ARE CONSTANTLY BEING DISPLAYED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL WHETHER THE VEHICLE IS PARKED OR IN MOTION. THE PROBLEM STARTED AFTER GETTING OIL CHANGE AT THE DEALER. DEALER NOW WANTS $100 JUST TO DIAGNOSE.

NHTSA ID

11300551

Incident

Oct 5, 2019

Mileage

38,000 mi

AIRBAG LIGHT IS ON. WENT IN FOR AIRBAG RECALL AND LIGHT IS STILL ON. JERRY'S CHEVROLET SAID IT WOULD COST $300 TO FIX. BOB BELL SAID THE SAME. CHEVROLET OFFERS NO ASSISTANCE EITHER.

NHTSA ID

11254263

Incident

Sep 28, 2016

ONE DAY JUST STARTING MY CAR NOTICED SERVICE AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON AND NEVER WENT OFF. MY VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT WHERE ANY AIRBAGS WERE DEPLOYED. I HAVE ALSO NOTICED MINI COMPLAINTS ONLINE ABOUT THE SAME PROBLEM. I ALSO NOTICED A RECALL FOR MY MODEL FOR AIRBAG ISSUES BUT DEALERSHIP SAYS MY VIN NUMBER WAS NOT INCLUDED. MY WINDSHIELD WIPER FLUID WILL NOT DISPERSE AS WELL WIPER ARM HAND WAS REPLACED LINES WERE CHECKED AND FLUID IN THE RESERVOIR AND STILL NO FLUID AVAILABLE WHICH AFFECTS VISIBILITY WHEN ANYTHING SPLASHING ON THE WINDSHIELD.

NHTSA ID

11243859

Incident

May 1, 2019

Mileage

126,000 mi

WHEN I TURN MY AIR ON AND MY SPEED LIMIT HITS 25 MILES PER HR MY CAR SHAKES AT A NEIGHBORHOOD STREET AND IT WAS REALLY SCARY ON THE FREEWAY CAUSE I SWERVED TO THE RIGHT CAUSE IT WAS SHAKING SO BAD. THEN WHEN I LET GO OF MY GAS FOR 5 SECONDS TO STOP THE SHAKING IT STALLS AND I HAVE TO PUSH THE GAS PUMP AT LEAST 3 TIMES TO MAKE IT DRIVE. IT ALSO SMELLS LIKE MY GAS IS LEAKING AND IT IS WORSE WHEN I TURN LEFT OR RIGHT. I'M AFRAID IT MIGHT CATCH ON FIRE. MY HEADLIGHTS WOULD GO OFF FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS SOMETIMES FOR A WEEK BUT WOULD TURN ON ALL OF A SUDDEN AND THEY ARE BRAND NEW HEADLIGHTS. MY AIRBAG LIGHT WOULD GO OFF AND ON EVERY OTHER WEEK. ITS JUST FRUSTRATING HAVING THIS CAR CAUSE THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING DIFFERENT ON THE DASH BOARD SAYING SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THE CAR.

NHTSA ID

11209902

Incident

Feb 14, 2019

Mileage

158,000 mi

THE SRS LIGHT INDICATOR ON DASH BOARD CONTINUES TO COME ON/OFF WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE. SOMETIMES THE SRS LIGHT STAYS ON FOR A WHILE AND THEN TURNS OFF.

NHTSA ID

11209076

Incident

May 20, 2019

Mileage

107,000 mi

RECENTLY, THE SERVICE AIR BAG COMES ON THE DASH BOARD AND FLASH IN THE DISPLAY WHEN I START THE ENGINE. IT COMES ON WHEN I'M SITTING AT THE LIGHT AND WHILE DRIVING. THIS IS RANDOM AND IT HAVEN'T DONE THIS IN THE PAST. I DO HAVE A VIDEO OF ME SITING AT THE LIGHT AND THE SERVICE AIR BAGS POPS UP.THIS NEEDS TO BE HANDLE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. AS WE ALL KNOW HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR AIRBAGS.

NHTSA ID

11205550

Incident

Apr 25, 2019

SERVICE AIR BAG LIGHT IS INTERMITTENT AS AN ICON ALSO IN TEXT OF DRIVERS DISPLAY. I HAVE ONLY OWNED THIS CAR FOR FOUR MONTHS AND HAVE HAD IT TO A GM SERVICE DEALER TWICE. FIRST TRIP COSTED $254.15 FOR AN IMPACT SENSOR AND DIAGNOSIS. TWO DAYS LATER LIGHTS ONE AGAIN THIS TIME TENSIONER KIT WAS REPLACED. IT'S BEEN ABOUT FOUR WEEKS AND THE LIGHTS ARE BACK ON AGAIN. IT HAPPENS ANYTIME, DRIVING OR BEING STARTED, NO ROUGH TERRAIN JUST CRUISING AND LIGHTS WILL COME ON.

NHTSA ID

11185438

Incident

Dec 12, 2018

Mileage

94,000 mi

"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.

NHTSA ID

11127929

Incident

Aug 20, 2018

Mileage

86,552 mi

BOUGHT THE CAR A YEAR AND HALF AGO AND SEVICE AIR BAG LIGHT WAS ON SO DEALERSHIP FIXED PROBLEB BECAUSE ITS A SAFETY ISSUE THE LIGHT CAME BACK ON 4 MONTHS LATER.

NHTSA ID

11105042

Incident

Aug 6, 2017

Mileage

82,000 mi

SO BASICALLY LIKE EVERYONE ELSE IS STATING ALL OF THE SUDDEN WHEN YOU ARE DRIVING THE LIGHT COMES ON AND SAYS TRACTION CONTROL OFF/SERVICE STRABILA TRAC AND THE THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON AND YOU HAVE REDUCED ENGINE POWER. MY MECHANIC HAS HAD ME DRIVE STRAIGHT TO HIM EVERY TIME THIS HAPPENS BECAUSE IF I TURN THE CAR OFF THE COMPUTER DOES NOT HOLD THE CODES. HE WAS GETTING A READING OF THE IGNITION COILS BEING BAD. WE HAVE REPLACED ALL SIX IGNITION COILS ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO. TODAY 06/04/18 IT DID IT AGAIN. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR A WHILE AND NOBODY REALLY SEEMS TO KNOW WHAT THE PROBLEM IS. I AM SERIOUSLY OUT OF MONEY TO KEEP EXPERIMENTING WITH REPAIRS AT THIS POINT. GM REALLY NEEDS TO STEP UP AND DO A RECALL. ALSO THESE CARS HAD AN AIRBAG RECALL AND I TOOK IT IN AND WAS TOLD THEY FIXED THAT RECALL. MY AIRBAG LIGHT REMAINS ON AND THEY TELL ME I HAVE TO REPLACE THE AIRBAG AT MY COST! WHY? SERIOUSLY LOOSING FAITH IN GM PRODUCTS.

NHTSA ID

11099827

Incident

Jun 4, 2018

Mileage

135,000 mi

MY AIRBAG LIGHT WENT ON AND AFTER 2 SERVICE CALL THE DEALER DETERMINE THAT I WOULD NEED A NEW AIRBAG INSTALLED.

NHTSA ID

11092536

Incident

Mar 12, 2018

Mileage

98,021 mi

"TAKATA RECALL" WENT TO START MY CAR AND THE CHECK AIRBAG LIGHT WENT ON. I TOOK MY CAR IN 3 TIMES AND FINALLY THE DEALER INFORMED ME THAT I NEEDED A NEW AIRBAG. SINCE THERE HAS BEEN MANY RECALLS PERTAINING TO AIRBAGS I INFORMED THE DEALER THAT IT COULD BE A POSSIBILITY IT WAS PART OF THE RECALL. THE DEALER INFORMED ME THAT THE YEAR AND MAKE OF MY CAR WAS NOT PART OF THE RECALL. THE COST FOR THE NEW AIR BAG WAS OVER A THOUSAND DOLLARS THERE WAS NO WAY THAT I WAS GOING TO SPEND THAT KIND MONEY WHEN THERE HAS BEEN SO MANY RECALLS. I FEEL SINCE TAKATA WENT BANKRUPT I FEEL THAT GM SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE SINCE THEY CONTRACTED TAKATA AN OUTSOURCE COMPANY.

NHTSA ID

11080138

Incident

Nov 1, 2017

Mileage

98,021 mi

I DO NOT KNOW IF THIS IS A TAKATA PROBLEM BECAUSE I WAS INFORMED THAT TAKATA WENT BANKRUPT. ON NOVEMBER 1, 2017 I TOOK MY SUV INTO GEORGE NAHAS CHEVROLET DEALER DUE TO MY PROBLEM . I INFORMED THEM THAT MY AIRBAG LIGHT WENT ON AND OFF. I THOUGHT IT WAS AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM BECAUSE I CAN REACH UNDER MY SEAT AND MOVE THE WIRES AND THE LIGHT WOULD GO OFF. THEY CHARGE ME $199.90 FOR A DIAG AND LATER INFORMED ME THAT IT WAS A POOR CONNECTION. I DROVE THE CAR AND A FEW DAYS LATER THE LIGHT WENT ON AGAIN. I TOOK MY CAR IN AGAIN AND I THOUGHT THEY FIXED IT THIS TIME BUT AGAIN A FEW DAYS LATER THE LIGHT WENT ON AGAIN. BACK AGAIN TO NAHAS CHEVROLET AND THIS TIME AFTER WAITING HOURS THEY TOLD ME THAT I NEEDED TO REPLACE THE AIRBAG AND IT WILL COST ME $1,037.90. I WAS NOT A HAPPY CAMPER. I DECIDED NOT TO PAY $1,037.90 BECAUSE THE CAR WAS A 2012. I ASKED THE MANAGER TO REFUND MY $199.90 BECAUSE AFTER THE FIRST REPAIR IT WASN'T FIX AND THEN AFTER THE SECOND ATTEMPT I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. AFTER THE 3RD TIME I MET WITH THE SERVICE MANAGER, MY CONVERSATION WITH HIM WAS SINCE NATAKA WENT BANKRUPT NO OTHER NOTIFICATIONS WOULD BE GIVEN. IN MY OPINION NOW CHEVY OR THE DEALER NOW CARRIES THE RESPONSIBILITY TO REPAIR THE AIRBAG PROBLEM. I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND MY PROBLEM AND AGREE WITH ME THAT THE DEALER HAS TO FIX MY PROBLEM.

NHTSA ID

11058249

Incident

Nov 1, 2017

HAVE ONLY HAD THIS VEHICLE SINCE LATE JANUARY 2017. WITHIN 2 DAYS OF HAVING IT, THE SERVICE STABILITRAK, SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL AND REDUCE ENGINE POWER ALARMS CAME UP. THERE WAS ALSO GAS FUMES FILLING MY CAR. HAD SERVICE COMPLETED, ALL THAT WAS FOUND WAS A FOULED OUT SPARK PLUG. CAR HAS HAD THESE SAME ALARMS COME UP MAYBE A DOZEN TIMES OVER THE PAST 6 MONTHS. THE FIRST TIME THESE CAME UP, VEHICLE WAS IDLING. OTHER TIMES. I WAS DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE. HAVE ALSO HAD THE SERVICE AIRBAG LIGHT COME UP AS WELL. THE MIDDLE SEATBELT IN THE CENTER OF THE CAR, DOESN'T COME OUT AT ALL.

NHTSA ID

11004362

Incident

Jan 24, 2017

Mileage

115,000 mi

RECEIVED SIDE IMPACT AIR BAG WIRING HARNESS RECALL NUMBER 14030 NOTICE MAY 2014. HAD RECALL REPAIR PERFORMED 15 AUG 14 BY DEALER WHERE TRAVERSE PURCHASED. AT APPROXIMATELY 100,350 MILES ON 16 JAN 17 "SERVICE AIR BAG" LIGHT CAME ON AND STAYED ON. I HAVE REPORTED THIS TO CHEVROLET CUSTOMER SERVICE WHO STATED THAT THE RECALL REPAIR WAS ONLY WARRANTED FOR 90 DAYS. AMAZING THAT CHEVROLET CAM GET AWAY WITH THIS ON A CRITICAL SAFETY REPAIR ON AN AIR BAG SYSTEM. VEHICLE IS AT THE SAME DEALER WHO MADE REPAIR NOW, TODAY FOR DIAGNOSIS AND REPAIR.

NHTSA ID

10947252

Incident

Jan 16, 2017

Mileage

100,350 mi