Owner-reported complaints naming the steering system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the steering system — racks, columns, power-steering assist and steering linkage. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2016 Chevrolet Traverse submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 24 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
Power steering pump in the car had low pressure causing the steering wheel to barely turn or have a hard time turning the wheel. This put me and my family at risk while driving because when making turns it would feel like it was locking up which almost would cause accidents not being able to turn the wheel all the way to make the turn. I ended up having to pay 1309 to have a new power steering pump put in.
Rack and pinion steering is failing at 66,000 miles on a 2016 Chevy Traverse. This is low mileage for a vehicle to lose this function and a safety concern should the steering fail at speed and needs to be investigated. There are other complaints by Chevy owners for the same problem across several model years of this vehicle.
Replaced the transmission in 2018, transmission went out again in 2021. Power steering also had to be replaced in 2021. The initial transmission repair was covered under warranty but not the subsequent transmission nor the power steering were covered under warranty. There are less than 95,000 miles on the car.
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, an abnormal moaning sound was present coming from the steering wheel while turning in either direction. The steering wheel had become stiff while turning. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not yet notified. The contact indicated that the vehicle was previously serviced regarding a power steering failure. No further information was available. The failure mileage was 108,000.
The power steering pump went out on my 2016 Chevy Traverse which has 34,700 miles on it. At low RPMs the pump would intermittently fail and lock up the steering wheel. This means that when decelerating and attempting to avoid an accident my power steering could have failed causing me to be unable to avoid an otherwise avoidable accident. I was close to hitting another car in a parking lot when I was turning into a parking spot and the power steering failed, but I was able to slam on the brakes in time. I was able to bring it into a mechanic and get it fixed within two days. They were able to test the system and replicate the issues I was having. $1060.05 later I have a new OEM pump installed. The mechanic informed me that the pump he installed was a superseded part by GM. So GM knows it's a junk part and aren't using it anymore but don't care about the customers who bought the junk part originally. The bad pump has been disposed of by the mechanic. I paid for this out of pocket, and did not show this to the police, insurance, or manufacture. There were no warning lights or other indications that the steering was going out, I was simply driving home from work and noticed an intermittent lose of power steering on 6/2/21. I was able to get the vehicle home and fixed by the mechanic the next day 6/3/21.
THE POWER STEERING STARTED TO BECOME NON-EXISTENT AT VERY LOW SPEEDS. THE WHEEL IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO TURN WHEN COMING IN AND OUT OF PARKING SPACES OR TURNING AROUND PARKING LOTS OR TIGHT SPACES. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS AS THE ONLY TIME THE PS CAN WORK IS TO SPEED UP WHICH IS IMPOSSIBLE WHEN MANEUVERING AROUND PARKING GARAGES. IT IS NOW A PERMANENT PROBLEM WITH MY 2016 TRAVERSE AND I NEED IT FIXED ASAP BUT I DON'T SEE ANY RECALL FOR IT. I SEE SEVERAL OTHER SIMILAR COMPLAINTS ON THE SAME 2016 CHEVY TRAVERSE OR WITHIN THE SAME YEAR MODEL. GM SHOULD ISSUE A RECALL FOR THIS ISSUE NOW BEFORE ANY SERIOUS DAMAGE OR INJURY OCCURS!
MAKING LOUD SOUNDS WHEN TURNING WHEEL AND IN MOTION I'VE ONLY HAD THIS CAR FOR 4 MONTHS BOUGHT OF DEALERSHIP AND IT HAS MORE THAN 3 ISSUES RELATED TO THE POWER STEER
I WAS DRIVING IN A NEIGHBORHOOD ROAD AND CAME TO A STOP SIGN. I PROCEEDED TO MAKE A LEFT TURN AND THE POWER STEERING NO LONGER WORKED. MY TRAVERSE HAD 54K. I TOOK IT TO A LOCAL REPAIR SHOP AND THEY REPLACED THE POWER STEERING PUMP, HIGH PRESSURE LINE, FLUSHED THE POWER STEERING SYSTEM AND HAD TO REPLACE THE SERPENTINE BELT BECAUSE FLUID GOT ALL OVER THE BELT. I GOT THE SUV BACK AND IT STILL WASN'T RIGHT. THE REPLACEMENT PUMP WAS ALSO BAD.
I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN I COULDN'T TURN MY STEERING WHEEL. THE POWER STEERING JUST GAVE OUT AND MY CAR ONLY HAS 49K MILES. IT IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO PULL IN AND OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY AND OTHER PLACES THAT REQUIRE A LOW SPEED TURN.
NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS, APPROXIMATELY 73737 MILES DRIVEN, POWER STEERING SUDDENLY STOPPED WORKING, POWER STEERING FAILED... QUICKLY... NOT GRADUALLY... SUDDENLY... TURNING INTO A PARKING SPOT AND STEERING WHEEL LOST ALL POWER TO STEERING WHEEL, HAD TO USE BOTH HANDS...
POWER STEERING PERIODICALLY SEEMS TO GO OUT. IT IS WORSE AT LOW SPEEDS AND TRYING TO PARK. CHECKED POWER STEERING FLUID AND IT IS FINE. AT LOW RPMS IT IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO TURN THE WHEEL. WHEN TURNING FROM ONE STREET INTO ANOTHER AT LOW SPEED FEARFUL OF STEERING GOING OUT AND CAUSING A CRASH AS CAR WILL NOT TURN SHORT. HAVE SEEN NUMEROUS CONCERNS ON THIS ISSUE WITH THIS MODEL AND EARLIER MODELS THAT HAVE HAD RECALLS. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE.
POWER STEERING PUMP CONNECTION ISSUE. PUMP KICKS IN AND OUT CAUSE STEERING WHEEL TO SUDDENLY STIFFEN. CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS IF IN TRAFFIC. SOME RECALL NEEDS TO TAKE ACTION TO SAVE LIVES ON THIS SERIOUS MATTER. NO RECALLS AS OF NOW I WAS ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN I FELT A SUDDEN STIFFNESS IN THE STEERING WHEEL. GOT OFF AND CHECKED THE FLUID. IT WAS TOPPED OFF AND IT WAS EVEN HARDER TO MANEUVER WHEN VEHICLE IS STATIONED. *TR
CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AT 56K MILES. VEHICLE HAVING MISFIRE WHILE DRIVING, ROUGH IDLE WHILE SITTING AND SLUGGISH AT TIMES. MISFIRE AND ROUGH IDLE NOT HAPPENING ALL THE TIME. HAD GENERIC CODE CHECK DONE BEFORE I COULD GET INTO DEALERSHIP TO SEE WHAT I WAS LOOKING AT... MULTIPLE CODES WITH RUNNING LEAN AND 02 SENSOR. WAS ABLE TO GET INTO DEALER AFTER THE WEEKEND AND THEY DID DIAGNOSTIC. FOUND POWER STEERING GEAR INLET HOSE LEAKING ONTO O2 SENSOR (B1 S1) CAUSING THE WHOLE PROBLEM. NOT COVERED UNDER POWERTRAIN WARRANTY. I AM UNABLE TO AFFORD THE DEALERSHIP REPAIR COST AT THIS TIME AND HAVE BEEN SEEING WHERE OLDER MODELS HAVE HAD ISSUES WITH POWER STEERING PUMP FAILURE AND MORE RECENT MODELS HAVING LEAKS DUE TO HOSES BEING TOO CLOSE TO OTHER HOSES. SO I AM CONCERNED WITH REPLACING THE HOSE AND SENSOR AND HAVING THE SAME ISSUE OCCUR AGAIN. *TR
WHEN TURNING AT SPEED - YOU CAN FEEL NOTICEABLE PLAY/LAG AS YOUR HOLDING THE STEERING WHEEL. AT SLOWER SPEED, THE WHEEL BECOMES SLIGHTLY HEAVIER TO TURN BUT REVERTS BACK AT TURN FROM COMPLETE STOP - WHEEL RETURN TO CENTER IS EXTREMELY DELAYED IF NONE AT ALL REQUIRING YOU TO BRING IT BACK TO CENTER. WHEN PARKING - ALMOST IF NOT TOTAL LOSS OF POWERS STEERING.
I PURCHASED A 2016 CHEVY TRAVERSE LT NEW FROM THE DEALER. IT HAS APPROX. 80K MILES THAT ARE MOSTLY "HIGHWAY MILES". I BROUGHT MY TRAVERSE INTO THE DEALER ON 12-9-19 FOR A BRAKE SERVICE AND ASK THAT THEY CHECK THE POWER STEERING WHICH HAS BEEN MAKING "WINDING" NOISES DURING VARIOUS TURNING RADIUSES. I WAS INFORMED BY THE DEALERSHIP OF A TSB REGARDING THE POWERING STEERING PUMP/LINE. APPARENTLY DUE TO A DESIGN FLAW BY GM, THE POWER STEERING HOSE AND A/C TOUCH AND DURING THE NORMAL OPERATION OF THE VEHICLE, RUB EACH OTHER. THIS IS KNOWN TO PRODUCE A HOLE IN THE POWER STEERING LINE CAUSING THE POWER STEERING FLUID TO LEAK. THIS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO CAUSE THE POWER STEERING PUMP TO FAIL. BECAUSE OF THE DESIGN FLAW, SIMPLY REPLACING THE HOSE WON'T ULTIMATELY FIX THE ISSUE. FURTHERMORE. IF THE POWER STEERING PUMP FAILS WHILE A DRIVER IS MAKING STEERING INPUTS, IT CREATES A HIGH PROBABLY THAT A CRASH CAN OCCUR RESULTING IN SERIOUS BODILY HARM OR DEATH TO THE DRIVER AND OTHERS. I SPOKE TO GM CORP CUSTOMER SERVICE ON 12-9-19 AND WAS TOLD, THEY DO NOT SHOW TO HAVE A FIX AND BECAUSE THERE IS NO RECALL FOR THE ISSUE, THEY DO NOT PLAN TO ADDRESS IT. I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY LIVES IT TAKES TO INITIATE A RECALL, BUT I WOULD HOPE THAT AS A GOVERNING AGENCY, YOU WOULD NOT TAKE THIS ISSUE LIGHTLY. THANK YOU, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR
AFTER DRIVING FROM CHICAGO TO COLORADO, APPROX 1000 MILES OF EXTENDED HIGHWAY DRIVING, I SLOWED DOWN TO TURN INTO THE GAS STATION AND MY POWER STEERING WENT OUT. SPECIFICALLY I HAD NO POWER STEERING WHEN BRAKING OR AT LOW SPEEDS WHEN RPMS WERE LESS THAN 2000. IN ORDER FOR THE POWER STEERING TO SOMEWHAT WORK I WOULD NEED TO ACCELERATE AT LOW GEAR TO RAISE RPMS. I HAD MY FAMILY IN THE CAR AND COULD HAVE EASILY LOST CONTROL OF VEHICLE INJURING THE PASSENGERS IN THE CAR OR WORSE ANOTHER BYSTANDER OR DRIVER. THE CAR ONLY HAS 61000 MILES ON IT. GEARBOX FAILED , POWER STEERING PUMP FAILED, AND NEEDS HIGH PRESSURE STEERING HOSE. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE AND A RECALL NEEDS TO BE PLACED. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE THAT HAS PLAGUED GM CARS , SPECIFICALLY THIS MODEL IN PAST.
OUR 2016 CHEVY TRAVERSE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON THEN IT STARTED BLINKING, WE BROUGHT IT TOO A CHEVY DEALER AND THEY TOLD US THE POWER STEERING PUMP WAS LEAKING AND THE FLUID RAN DOWN THE LINE AND DRIPPED IN TO THE SENSOR BOX AND SHORTED OUT ALL THE SENSORS. COSTING US OUT OF POCKET $2115.04. THIS SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED. THERE WERE NO SIGNS OF LEAKS OR SPOTS ON OUR DRIVEWAY OR WHERE THE CAR IS PARKED DURING THE DAY. IF YOU LOOK UNDER THE HOOD OF THE TRAVERSE YOU SEE NOTHING. THERE WAS NO POSSIBLE WAY FOR ME TOO SEE THIS PROBLEM AND CATCH IT BEFORE THE DAMAGE WAS DONE. THERE FOR THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN COVERED UNDER WARRANTY AND CHEVY BASICALLY TOLD ME TO BAD NOT COVERED.
WHILE DRIVING MY 2016 TRAVERSE ON THE HIGHWAY, THE ENGINE LOST POWER AND I RECEIVED THE STABILITRAK WARNING, ALONG WITH THE ABS & CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHTS. I WAS ON THE INTERSTATE TRAVELLING ACROSS COUNTRY WHEN THE CAR BEGAN TO STUTTER, SHAKE AND WITH IMMEDIATE LOSS OF POWER, I STRUGGLED TO STEER OF THE MAIN LANES AND NARROWLY ESCAPING A LIFE-THREATENING CRASH.
WITH UNDER 30,000 MILES ON OUR VEHICLE, WE NEED A NEW POWER STEERING PUMP. THE POWER STEERING WILL STOP WORKING A VARIOUS TIMES. ALL UNDER THE SPEED FOR 20 MPH. THIS SEEMS SLIGHTLY HARMLESS BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF SPEED, BUT LET ME TELL YOU THE DANGERS. MY HUSBAND SEEMS TO HAVE NO ISSUES WHEN THE POWER STEER PUMP STOPS WORKING, BUT I HAVE ISSUES WITH IT. WHEN TRYING TO PARK I HAVE ALMOST HIT CAR PARKED BESIDE ME BECAUSE I CAN NOT CRANK ON THE WHEEL HARD ENOUGH. WHEN TRYING TO BACK OUT I ALMOST SIDE SWIPED CARS PARKED NEXT TO ME FOR THE SAME REASON. TODAY BECAUSE I COULD NOT CRANK THE STEERING WHEEL HARD ENOUGH. THIS CAUSED ME TO HIT THE CART CORAL AT OUR LOCAL MARKET. RESEARCHING WHAT THE ISSUE COULD BEEN, IN MANY FORUMS YOU SEE A CONSTANT FLOW OF POWER STEERING PUMP ISSUES IN MANY OF THE TRAVERSES WITH LESS THAN 30.000 MILES ON THEM. THIS IS SUCH A SAFETY ISSUE AND THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL. THERE HAS TO BE AN ISSUE WITH THE MANUFACTURED POWER STEERING PUMP.
THE POWER STEERING PUMP APPEARS TO INTERMITTENTLY FAIL AND CAUSES VERY DIFFICULT TURNING SITUATIONS. IT IS UNPREDICTABLE TO KNOW WHEN THIS WILL HAPPEN AND THERE ARE TIMES WHEN THE CAR IS COMPLETELY FINE AND DRIVES BEAUTIFULLY AND THEN THERE ARE TIMES WHEN IT TAKES EVERY EFFORT TO TURN THE WHEEL. THIS HAPPENED WITHOUT WARNING AND THERE WAS NOTHING ON THE DASH BOARD TO SIGNAL THAT A SYSTEM WAS FAILING. IT PRIMARILY HAPPENS AT SPEEDS LESS THAN 25 MPH.
WHILE IN MOTION, THE VEHICLE SLOWED AS THE CAR WAS TURNING RIGHT. THE NOISE THE CAR MADE WAS A GRINDING SOUND. IN ADDITION, THE CAR SEEMED AS IF I HAD MY FOOT ON THE GAS, WHICH I DID NOT. ONCE THE CAR WAS MOVING IN A STRAIGHT FORWARD DIRECTION AGAIN THE SOUND STOPPED. HOWEVER, AS SOON AS I TURNED INTO A SHARP LEFT CURVE THE VEHICLE PERFORMED THE SAME NOISE. ONCE I TOOK IT TO THE CHEVY DEALERSHIP THEY CONFIRMED IT WAS A POWER-STEERING FAILURE AND CALLED IN A "911" ISSUE. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS IS ONLY ONE OF MANY ISSUES WITH THE 2016 CHEVY TRAVERSE.
ON 10/23/18, ABOUT 1-2 MILES AFTER EXITING HIGHWAY, I WAS DRIVING WHEN MY TRACTION CONTROL ON APPEARED ON MY DASHBOARD WITH ENGINE LIGHT ON, MY VEHICLE STARTED TO SHAKE LIKE IT WAS ABOUT TO DIE AND I COULD NOT ACCELERATE ANY MORE. I WENT FROM 40MPH TO 10-15MPH. I WAS TURNING LEFT AT A LIGHT AND HAD TO PULL IN TO A PARKING LOT AND VEHICLE STARTED SHAKING SO MUCH. IT WAS DIFFICULT TO MANEUVER THE TURNS. THEN THE SHAKING JUST STOPPED. TURNED MY VEHICLE OFF AND BACK ON, TRACTION CONTROL AND ENGINE LIGHT DISAPPEARED LIKE NOTHING HAD HAPPENED. I DROVE BUT WOULD NOT ACCELERATE PAST 20 MPH. TURNED VEHICLE OFF FOR A WHILE AND EVERYTHING WAS BACK TO NORMAL. ON 10/30/18, VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION AGAIN, TRAVELING 40 MPH, THEN TRACTION CONTROL CAME BACK ON WITH ENGINE LIGHT, I SLOWED DOWN TO 20 MPH AGAIN AND WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER BEFORE ENGINE STARTED TO SHAKE AND OR TURN. TURNED OFF THE ENGINE AGAIN,POWERED BACK ON AND IT DROVE LIKE NORMAL AGAIN. THIS HAS HAPPENED TWICE TO ME WITH MY CHILDREN IN MY VEHICLE. INCIDENT HAPPENED WHEN PAVEMENT WAS DRY, NO DEBRIS ON ROAD , THIS IS AN SAFETY ISSUE, AND I AM GRATEFUL IT DID NOT OCCUR ON THE HIGHWAY WHILE I WAS TRAVELING 60 MPH IN MORNING TRAFFIC. CONTACTED GM WHERE AFTER EXPLAINING MY ISSUE TO SUE AND SHE EVEN STATED IT WAS A SAFETY ISSUE. DEALERSHIP STATED THAT THEY COULD RUN DIAGNOSTICS BUT IF NEITHER TRACTION CONTROL ON OR ENGINE LIGHT WAS ON, MAY NOT READ AS TO WHAT THE PROBLEM IS AND THEY COULD NOT GET ME IN UNTIL 11/2/18.
POWER STEERING PUMP FAILURE 32 MONTHS & 55,000 MILES AFTER NEW PURCHASE FROM DEALER. OUT OF WARRANTY DUE TO MILEAGE. COMPLETE POWER STEERING FAILURE OFTEN AT LOW SPEEDS OR WHEN STATIONARY. INTERMITTENT ISSUES DURING LARGER TURNS AT SPEED WHERE POWER STEERING WILL KICK IN HARDER OR NOT ENOUGH AT TIMES FELT MORE IN THE STEERING WHEEL THAN IN THE TURN ITSELF. INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS AND SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING SO SOON OR AT ALL. DIAGNOSED BY MAVIS AFTER ISSUES WERE NOTICED WHILE DRIVING.
IT WAS 70 DEGREES OUTSIDE AND RAINING. I WAS LEAVING A STORE, BACKED OUT OF MY PARKING SPOT AND DROVE TO THE END OF THE FIRST LANE, I STOPPED, THEN AS I STARTED TO MOVE FORWARD AND TURN RIGHT, MY POWER STEERING DID NOT WORK ANYMORE. I WAS VERY HARD TO TURN AND MADE GROWLING NOISE. I COULDN'T MAKE THE RIGHT TURN. I STOPPED QUICKLY, BACKED UP TO GET OUT OF LANE, AND STEERING BECAME VERY LOOSE IN REVERSE. I STOPPED, TRIED FORWARD AGAIN, AND IT DID IT AGAIN, VERY TIGHT STEERING, COULD NOT TURN ALL THE WAY TO MAKE THE TURN AND GROWLING. I BACKED UP AND PARKED AND TURNED OFF VEHICLE, THEN STARTED AGAIN, THEN IT WORKED FINE FOR THE TRIP HOME.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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