2018 Chevrolet Traverse Problems

Car wouldn’t move in Reverse, I’d give it gas and it would just rev. It would drive forward but very sluggish. Brought to 2 different mechanics and they both said I need to replace the transmission. Car has 97,500 miles on it. This is a known issue with these vehicles. The transmission ship had another traverse and a GMC Acadia in it for the same exact issue.

Transmission shuddering when gear changing as accelerate.

Front passenger tire was losing air, on the way to bring it to tire shop dashboard displayed tire pressure sensor, power steering system, TCM notification, Electronic brake control. Got it to the tire shop bought a new tire and they did a diagnostic test it showed TCM passed and failed, lost communication with power steering passed and failed, lost communication with inflatable restraint passed and failed. Once tire was replaced vehicle was jerking with TCM notification coming on and off like the vehicle was sliding.

2018 Chevy Traverse purchased from Carvana caused carbon monoxide exposure to my family in military housing. Vehicle locked itself while running in the garage (garage door open), and CO entered the home where my children were standing near the interior door. Fire dept forced entry into the vehicle and cleared the home. All family members required oxygen at the hospital; all 3 children had elevated COHb levels. Mechanic confirmed catalytic converter failure and exhaust defect. Full Description: On 6/7/26, our Traverse turned on and locked itself while running in our garage (door open) as we were preparing to leave. Exhaust was blowing toward the interior door of our military home, and CO entered the house. My children were inside near that door and became exposed. We could not unlock or shut off the vehicle. Fire dept forced entry, confirmed high CO levels, and cleared the home. At the hospital, all of us required oxygen; all 3 children had elevated COHb. A mechanic later confirmed catalytic converter failure, exhaust defect, P0171, and incomplete catalyst monitor—stating this can cause ongoing CO exposure. A Build Verification sheet found in the glove box (not disclosed at sale) showed pre‑existing issues: exhaust rattle, check engine light, and multiple mechanical reworks. Carvana refuses to assist. This vehicle is unsafe to drive or idle.

Corrosion of the exhaust pipes lead to an exhaust leak.

Engine light came on. Car started shaking and making noise when shifting. Speed would not increase while driving. When shifting into park the car does not recognize that’s it’s in park and had to jiggle the gear shift. Took it to an independent mechanic and they said it’s probably the transmission. Have to take it to a transmission shop.

Special coverage programs for the 2018 Chevy Traverse front exhaust pipe mounting bracket failure. GM has focused on coverage specifically on 2019-2021 models, but 2018 models are affected as well. I'm being forced to pay for a new exhaust when 2018 models should have been included for the Specific special coverage (e.g., N212356540, N222385510) exists for 2019–2021 vehicles, offering repairs (sometimes for 15 years or 150,000 miles) when the front mounting bracket breaks.

The vehicle shudders and it very slow to shift from park to drive.

The vacuum pump had a catastrophic failure. This led to failure of assisted breaking, and caused brake pedal to go rock hard while driving on the roadway. Metal shards from the vacuum pump broke off, and has now entered the engine. Chevy knows this vacuum pump is flawed, but did not include my model of vehicle in the recall. Even though it uses the same part. I received a “brake assist” message on the dash about 15 seconds prior to the loss of brakes. I had my wife and two kids with me, and this jeopardized their safety. Further research on the matter states this is a known issue at GM, but for some reason my year and model were not included.

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that the driveway was on a slope, and his wife was attempting to reenter the vehicle while it was in parked and the engine was running, and in the process the vehicle began to roll forward down the contacts driveway, the contacts wife was injured in the process receiving bruises to her left leg and right hip, medical attention was required for the contacts injuries. The vehicle was brought to a stop upon crashing into a lawn mower trailer and the contact's garage with the vehicle's front passenger side quarter panel. Property damage was reported. The vehicle was going 5 MPH at the time of the crash. The contact confirmed that after the incident, the vehicle was still in the parked position after the crash. The vehicle was not towed. No warning lights were illuminated. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was not destroyed. The local dealer was contacted, however the vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 107,000.

Hello this particular vehicle often gives us a message stating that side detection is temporarily unavailable and the main issue is the transmission seems to have severe shufdering issues and sometimes gives a shift to park message ive read others having this same issue being recalled but my vin is not listed! The car is available upon request for any inspections necessary

I purchased a 2018 Chevy Traverse with 6 miles on it. I keep my vehicle in mint condition and maintenance as needed and required. Recently in the past few months my car has been bucking when shifting gear engages in an automatic transmission. I took to dealership, and they stated it was the torque converter, and my vehicle has exactly 20,270 miles only. Not even passed the 36,000 marks but over 36 months. I bought an extended warranty thru Dealership which now sending someone to dealership to verify that this is infact a torque problem which were found 2017 and 2019 but not 2018 is hard to believe. They will be keeping it for 7 days and already had a recall for 2017 and 2019 so are they stating it only occurred in those years, and they fix the 2017 but then it skipped 2018 and jumped to 2019. Why have I not received any recalls since I buy most of the GMC vehicles and lived in the same home for 35 years. Its awfully strange that I never receive any recalls when I owned Silverado truck, Savana High Top Van with special needs lift, Pontiac Torrent, Chevy Traverse. The warning lane change or the blindspot warning shut off too. Was told to wash the window on the front and on the camera back and did not clear the sensors. Was told to check transmission fluid and it was fine and I do oil changes since my dad taught us every 2500 -3000 depending on driving and if only little mileage check it anyway monthly with the dip stick. Like I stated I keep my car in mint condition and safety is number one issue in family due to the special needs son riding in it.

While driving going home to Deming,NM together with my daughter and son on [XXX] . I was driving over a bridge over path on [XXX] and without warning my electrical power steering gave out on the traverse I could not turn my steering wheel left or right I thought I was going to be in an accident because there was semi trucks going 80 miles an hour behind me we almost got hit by semi’s. Thank God I forced my steering wheel to the right with all my strength. I had to call the towing company we waited 3 hours until he got there even he said we could of had an accident. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The power steering shut off suddenly while driving and I could not move my steering wheel.

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated while his daughter driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to stop at a traffic light, the vehicle lost automotive power. No warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that a dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the hazard lights were also inoperable. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and opened a case. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 108,316.

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that the driver’s side taillight was blown due to water entering the taillight assembly. While driving approximately 40-45 MPH, the battery failure warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the following day while driving approximately 40-45 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. The battery warning light remained illuminated along with the check engine warning light. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 45,700.

I work full time in an auto body repair shop and a fire chief. I am coming across more and more white GM vehicles where the paint is not stuck where the windshield is glued in. A couple real hard pushes and the windshield will about come completely out.

Had my traverse for two years, second owner. When I received the car, it had to immediately go into the shop as they couldn’t figure out why all sorts of dash lights where coming on. My car was at the dealership for three weeks and ultimately they replaced the chip, stating that was the issue. Two months down the road, I get the shift to park error message starting. Fast forward to 4 months ago when the stability error message starts to intermittently come on and off. 30 days ago I got the first of the service charging system message and the battery saver mode. My car shut itself down while I was doing 55 miles per hour on a back country road. Every lthing locked up and I had to force a turn to get out of traffic. It was determined my battery was good but alternator was bad. Checked fuses just to be safe all were good. Replaced the alternator with a new one. As of today, I am not able to drive my vehicle because of this same issue. This time I went ahead and replaced the battery and nothing has changed. They are saying it’s my alternator AGAIN. How is this possible that all of us 2018 traverse drivers are experiencing the exact same malfunctions in order and now we have to repeatedly replace the alternator? There is no way 1000s more of traverse owners are all buying “bad” alternators. Something is going on with this and these vehicles are not safe to drive. I can’t even trade mine in because my credit is shot. I pay way too much for this car to not be able to reliably and safely transport my kids to and from school.

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that while attempting to use the second-row middle seat buckle, the contact became aware that the buckle was inoperable. The contact stated that the failure was related to Customer Satisfaction Program: N192223110-01. There were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was contacted, and the vehicle was diagnosed, and it was determined that the buckle needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and confirmed there was no coverage on the vehicle and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.

Regarding the vehicle's functionality, the horn activated unexpectedly on or around May 2, 2025, sounding continuously for approximately 10-15 minutes while the vehicle was occupied. Subsequently, the horn has ceased to function. Furthermore, on or around May 10, 2025, the powertrain system indicator illuminated, leading to a diagnosis on May 18th that identified code P0455, indicating an EVAP system leak. Concurrently, the driver's side seat belt buckle has exhibited a tendency to detach and fall between the seat components, failing to remain in its intended position.

While driving going home to Deming,NM together with my daughter and son on [XXX] . I was driving over a bridge over path on [XXX] and without warning my electrical power steering gave out on the traverse I could not turn my steering wheel left or right I thought I was going to be in an accident because there was semi trucks going 80 miles an hour behind me we almost got hit by semi’s. Thank God I forced my steering wheel to the right with all my strength. I had to call the towing company we waited 3 hours until he got there even he said we could of had an accident. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

For the past few months now my 2018 Chevy Traverse has had a weird shimmy when changing lower gears. Got it looked at and they said one of the 9 clutches are going out and needs to be replaced for a total of $6664.63. After doing my own research, this is a common problem with the 2018 Chevy Traverse after reading all the complaints on Social Media and a few Chevy enthusiasts websites. I’ve called the dealership and they refuse to help out at all with the pricing or do anything without a recall issued. If I’d had to calculate the amount of cars effected that already had work done and cars that haven’t had work done yet due to the insane cost, I’d say at least 30-40% of these vehicles have these issues right now that people know about or have already had fixed. The transmission place I sent our vehicle to said he does work on all these Chevys constantly with the same issue. I tried to call corporate and they gave me this site to go ahead and log a safety concern about this problem because it truly is a safety concern. The constant shim and rough feel when switching between lower gears makes it difficult when needing to pull out into traffic unless your lucky enough to get no traffic in your lane. I’ve also noted the start stop problem when it starts back up at a red light it sometimes has issues shifting in between 2nd, 3rd, & 4th gear like it doesn’t want to do it in that order. Feels more like it wants to skip 2nd and 3rd gear which may be fine but it definitely has a shimmy/ grinding feeling. Not sure if the transmission clutch can cause all these problems but after witnessing these issues, I’m definitely rethinking purchasing Silverado 2500’s for my family owned plumbing business. Thank you and hopefully this helps.

I have had this car seat a little over a year and the chest buckle randomly stopped magnetizing. It will appear magnetized but will pop apart. This is absolutely unsafe and these seats need pulled from the consumers.

My 2018 Chevrolet Traverse, has unresolved safety defects that endanger occupants and other road users. These include transmission failure with loss of acceleration, “Shift‑to‑Park” malfunctions preventing engine shut‑off, inoperative blind‑spot/cross‑traffic sensors, faulty tire pressure monitoring, and an active oil leak from the timing gasket cover. These issues occur unpredictably during normal driving and parking, creating an immediate risk of collision, roll‑away, or engine fire. All of these issued happened within a very short time frame. June 2025 and I took my car into Crews Chevy, they want over $15,000 to repair. All of these items I have mentioned have numerous class action lawsuits (that they have won) for the year of my vehicle. I have spoken with GM (and have a case number) however, they are unwilling to repair, at no cost to me. I have an [XXX] daughter and work 7 days a week. I have been with out a car since [XXX] due to these issues. I do have the estimate for the repairs if needed. I do not have an actual repair invoice, as I wasn't able to afford the over $15,000 repairs. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that after his wife had parked the vehicle, the vehicle failed to turn off as intended. The contact also stated that the vehicle had failed to start while at a gas station. Additionally, the contact stated that upon shifting from reverse(R) to park(P), the vehicle failed to respond and continued reversing. The contact 's wife depressed the brake pedal, and the vehicle stopped. The vehicle was taken to Main Street Service Station, where the contact was informed that the failure could be related to the transmission shifter cable; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer. The dealer was contacted and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a related recall, and he had to pay for the repair. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 66,000.

When in park, a warning alerts “shift to park” and doesn’t stop.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2018 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 5 MPH, THE CONTACT WAS STRUCK ON THE DRIVER SIDE OF THE VEHICLE AND WAS TOTALED; UPON IMPACT NO AIR BAGS WERE DEPLOYED AND ONSTAR DID NOT FUNCTION. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO BILLY BECK TOWING AND RECOVERY (2455 HIGHWAY 70 MOREHEAD CITY NC 28557 252-728-2571). A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE CONTACT WAS TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL FOR MEDICAL ATTENTION. THE MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN INFORMED OF FAILURE AND THE CONTACT WAS AWAITING A RESPONSE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 71,887. *LN*JB

ON 9/16, I WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT WHICH LEAD TO MY CAR BEING TOTALED FROM APPX $30,000 IN DAMAGE. TRAFFIC CAME TO A STOP ON THE INTERSTATE AND I ENDED UP REAR ENDING A CAR WHICH CAUSED THE FOLLOWING DAMAGE: ENGINE WAS RIPPED FROM MOTOR MOUNTS AND SHOVED INTO FIREWALL, CRACKED ENGINE BLOCK, WHOLE FRONT END OF CAR WAS DAMAGED INCLUDING SIDE FENDERS AND DRIVERS DOOR UNABLE TO OPEN SMOOTHLY, CRUSHED A/C COMPRESSOR, AND MANY OTHER ITEMS UNDER THE HOOD. (I HAVE MORE PICTURES FROM THE COLLISION CENTER UPON REQUEST). WITH THE SEVERITY OF THE DAMAGE, THERE IS NO DOUBT THE AIRBAGS SHOULD HAVE DEPLOYED. HOWEVER, NOT A SINGLE AIRBAG WENT OFF IN THIS VEHICLE. I CAN PROVIDE ESTIMATES FROM THE COLLISION CENTER WITH ALL ITEMS DAMAGED ALONG WITH PICTURES. I WOULD HAVE ATTACHED BUT SIZE LIMITS PREVENT ME. I'M LUCKY I WAS NOT INJURED BUT SOMEONE ELSE MIGHT NOT BE AS FORTUNATE AS MYSELF.

1. WINDSHIELD WIPERS STOPPED WORKING WHILE RAINING AND 2. NOW, THE SHIFTER IS NOT WORKING PROPERLY, WHEN YOU SHIFT INTO PARK YOU GET AN ERROR MESSAGE THAT THE CAR IS NOT IN PARK AND CAR WILL NOT TURN OFF UNTIL YOU JIGGLE THE SHIFTER

PURCHASED A YEAR AGO IN FL. MY WINDSHIELD CAME LOOSE TWICE ALREADY WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE PADDING IN THE DASHBOARD AREA AGAIN. THE TIRE ON DRIVER SIDE HAS TO HAVE AIR IN IT SEVERAL TIMES AFTER DRIVING ABOUT 20 MINS. PRESSURE KEEPS READING AT 26 AND ALARM GOING OFF WITH THE PROBLEM. HUSBAND REFILLS AND THREE DAYS LATER I MOVE THE VEHICLE AND IT HAPPENS AGAIN. WINDSHIELD YOU CAN HEAR AIR LEAKING FROM IT. SEVERAL TIMES WHEN I STARTED MY CAR IT HAD A WEIRD ENGINE NOISE LOUD ACCELERATION EVEN WHEN SITTING IN MY DRIVEWAY. I READ NO RECALLS BUT POSSIBLE CLASS ACTION PENDING IF YOU REFUSE TO FIX THE VEHICLES. I WILL BE OVER 36 MONTHS BEFORE MY CAR REACHES 30K MILES. I DRIVE TO AND FROM DOCTORS, GROCERY SHOPPING. CASUAL DRIVING.

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that while in park, there was an alarm beeping. The message “Shift to Park” was displayed. Additionally, the TPMS warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who was unable to duplicate the failure. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 121,000.

I purchased these Carseats after I was in an accident and needed to replace the 2 that I had, The tethers attached to the carseat were not effective at all, I could not get them anywhere near close to actually securing the Carseats. So I opted to use my vehicles seatbelts, with the seatbelts pulled as far as I could get them and locked the Carseats still moved more than an inch. I had to have my husband help me push the carseat as far down into my seat that I could to get the least amount of movement as possible. One of the Carseats even tipped over while I was driving after all of this. Needless to say that I will be replacing these seats as I do not feel they would keep my children safe in the event of an accident, I feel as though these seats endanger my children because they aren't keeping them secure enough not to become projectiles in the event of an accident.