2012 Chevrolet Traverse Engine Problems
- 82
- Owner complaint records in our dataset
Records are owner complaints, not a measured failure rate.
Owner complaint recordsComplaint records reflect reports in our dataset and do not measure how frequently the problem occurs across all vehicles.
Among these 82 stored complaint records:
- 1 indicate a crash
- 1 indicate injury
- 1 indicate fire
What owners report
- traction control · 34 records
- check engine · 24 records
- engine light · 21 records
- timing chain · 19 records
- engine power · 14 records
- control light · 11 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 60–100k mi | 29 |
| 100–150k mi | 26 |
| 30–60k mi | 9 |
| 1–30k mi | 6 |
| 150–400k mi | 3 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Engine · Power Train
The timing chain needs to be replaced and is a known problem with chevrolet even though they have not done a recall. Eats oil, ticks and my check engine light is on. My mechanic looked at it and said it was the timing chain. I don't have 3k to fix my car.
ODI 11306405
Electronic Stability Control · Engine
While driving at normal traffic and highway speeds, the vehicle will sometimes reduce speeds on its own and the transmission will drop to 2nd gear. The sevice engine light will flash and the dash will read traction control off. Sometimes the engine will also misfire. The vehicle will sometimes correct itself and return to normal driving or it has to be turned off to reset. Some forum users suggest replacing the…
ODI 11306407
Engine
My wife was driving on the highway when it lost significant power and started rattling violently. She was able to pull into a business parking lot. Stabilitrak system, traction control, check engine lights all came on. After sitting for about 10 minutes, it started back up with less violent shaking but still with reduced power, she was able to 'limp' to the pellegrino dealership in williamstown, nj. It had fault…
ODI 11289527
Electrical System · Engine
I was driving down the road going 45 miles an hour when the engine of the traverse just shut off while driving. I was extremely lucky that i was able to coast to a safe spot but there was no power steering. I was on a [redacted] that gets a lot of fast traffic and was barely able to get to safety.car would not start up again but electrical was still on.traction control light lit up briefly a week before the…
ODI 11279722
Electrical System · Electronic Stability Control · Engine
My husband and i went to the store with our two kids just to grab some groceries. We live less than 5 miles from the grocery store. On our way home the car started shaking while idling and acted like it was going to stall out on us. We were in the middle of the intersection when the car decided to start sputtering, shaking violently and then shut off. Thankfully enough we were able to pull into a parking lot to try…
ODI 11280545
Engine
Tl* the contact's husband owns a 2012 chevrolet traverse. While driving 25 mph, the check engine warning indicator illuminated and the vehicle lost power. The contact managed to veer to the shoulder of the road and placed the gear in neutral. The vehicle would not restart. The insurance company towed the vehicle to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the timing belt was fractured and needed to be replaced.…
ODI 11277512
Electronic Stability Control · Engine · Unknown Or Other
I will be driving down the road, either on highway or city street and all of a sudden a warning light comes on that says service stabilitrak/reduce engine power/traction control. The next day it will run fine.
ODI 11252389
Engine
Tl* the contact owned a 2012 chevrolet traverse. While the vehicle was parked at a grocery store, the engine caught on fire. The contact stated that the entire front end of the vehicle and the engine were badly burned. The fire department extinguished the fire. A fire report was not filed. The contact stated that he was not aware of any warning indicators being illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the contact's…
Fire reported
ODI 11231106
Engine
While accelerating to merge back onto the highway from the exit the suv stopped accelerating. The check engine light came on and it just shut off. It was coasted to the shoulder and tried restarting it but nothing happened. Checked the oil dipstick and it was reading empty. Two quarts of oil was added and it still wouldn't start. The suv had been driven about 4k miles since purchased with no oil change but at no…
ODI 11258774
Engine · Suspension · Unknown Or Other
My car has been very well taken care of and still is only at 70,000 miles. Prior to a [redacted] time with my husband and two children i went in for a regular maintenance and to prep for the trip. After getting back my struts went out, apparently a chevy defect. After paying upwards of $1,000.00 to replace and check everything we headed on the road. No less that 60 miles from home, while going 65 on the freeway, my…
ODI 11222393
Engine
My complaint is while i'm driving my car is it loses all power and shuts down and most cause me to wreck, luckly i was able to come to a complete stop before wrecking. We have seen this problem with alot of chevy traverse.
ODI 11218368
Engine
The check engine light came on showing codes p0018 and p0019, the vehicle will start to idle and the traction controls come on and the vehicle goes into safety mode not able to go above 30 miles/hour. Mechanic stated that it was indicating issues with timing belt, but that it was very common for this vehicle to have issues with timing belt tensioners going bad.
ODI 11220676
Engine
The vehicle began running rough on the highway and a display said service battery charging system. Pulled to the shoulder and turned off car. Attempted one restart but the engine sounded rough so shut it off immediately. Car towed to mechanic. Mechanic found 3 codes related to the timing chain and metal shavings in oil and filter. Engine needs to be replaced.
ODI 11217997
Engine · Traction Control System
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 chevrolet traverse. On three separate occasions, the traction control indicator illuminated and the vehicle decelerated. The vehicle lost power steering ability, but was able to coast over to the side of the road. In addition, on two occasions, the vehicle was restarted and able to drive normally. The vehicle was taken to yark chevrolet (located at [redacted], whitehouse, oh 43571,…
ODI 11210346
Engine
Email to jack danielson from constituent regarding her 2012 chevrolet traverse. *as *js *js
ODI 11204610
Engine
My traverse came to sudden stop in middle of road with no warning. I had it tow to a mechanic who found the engine had seized. No lights, no noise, onstar diagnostic check was clear. Traverse had 82k miles. With research and talking to multiple chevy dealership mechanics, this is a known problem happening with traverse. I was lucky not to be driving on the interstate, lucky i was driving on a side street going 25…
ODI 11221088
Electronic Stability Control · Engine
While driving on the highway at 55mph my vehicle seemed to suddenly drive rough and i thought i was going to lose control or a blown tire or something. I lost power and my vehicle began to slow down on its own. Things began to light up on my dash about the stabilitrak system needing servicing. This was terrifying since cars were flying by me and i was in the middle lane. This has happened more than once even on…
ODI 11202866
Electronic Stability Control · Engine · Fuel/Propulsion System
I was driving my traverse on an on ramp to the highway when the check engine light came on. The dash said service stabilitrac, engine power reduced... Just as i was about to merge into traffic. I lost acceleration and had to take the shoulder of the highway to avoid getting run over by a semi that was at highway speed! I can't believe there isn't a recall or something for this extremely dangerous issue!!
ODI 11193680
Electronic Stability Control · Engine · Steering
This has happened twice once with our kids in the car on the way home from the airport and once to my wife on her way home from work. Both on the freeway at 65+ mph. Driving fine then all of a sudden violent shaking, and loss of power. Cannot steer at 65 mph that is literally deadly. Service stabilitrak light comes on, traction control off light comes on, and reduced engine power light comes on. Extremely dangerous…
ODI 11196573
Engine
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 chevrolet traverse. While driving approximately 30 mph, the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to bob johnson chevrolet (located at 1271 w ridge rd, rochester, ny 14615, [redacted]) where it was diagnosed that the timing chain assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted. The approximate failure mileage was…
ODI 11194151
Electronic Stability Control · Engine · Service Brakes
Stabilitrak/ traction control turns off suddenly while driving without reason. Abs brakes light comes on in message center. Vehicle suddenly loses power and engine idles rough. Occurs suddenly without warning leaving driver/passengers stranded in dangerous roadways. Vehicle only has 70,000 miles and is serviced regularly. Vehicle was serviced two months ago for this problem, where an alignment temporarily fixed the…
ODI 11190451
Electronic Stability Control · Engine
Purchased car used in december '15. Numerous times car was driving and a warning was given on dash "reduce engine owr, service stablitrak". Car was takento marty feldman in livonia, mi (may 17)and per inspection stated needed new accelerator pedal which was not the problem. Problems persisted with said vehicle fast fwd to march 2019 car will not start at all. Victory chevy in milan, mi stated timing chain went out…
ODI 11186550
Engine
I noticed the car running a bit rougher than normal and advised my husband. Then the car took a couple attempts to start. My husband researched the issue with an oem reader and received error codes that indicated it might be the timing chain. We took it to our mechanic who agreed but advised us that gm had a tib which extended the warranty to 120,000 miles due to a problematic issue with their timing chains. We had…
ODI 11190601
Electronic Stability Control · Engine · Vehicle Speed Control
While driving the kids to school the dash dings and says traction control off, service stabilitrak, engine power is reduced. Then my car would not go over 15mph. I am now afraid to drive this car especially with the kids as it is unsafe.
ODI 11183391
Electronic Stability Control · Engine · Vehicle Speed Control
All of a sudden the vehicle displays service stabilitrak, traction control off, engine power reduced. Then the vehicle has very little power to accelerate or navigate hills. When it first happened to me, i pulled out of our driveway and it just wasn't running smoothly and i had very little power to drive forward.
ODI 11175872