Complaint volume
452 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2018 Chevrolet Traverse Complaints
452 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2018 Chevrolet Traverse, grouped by component category.
452 Total complaints
9 Crash reports
2 Fire reports
3 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are power train, unknown or other, electrical system. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 9 crash reports, 2 fire reports, 3 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 186 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 69,149 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to power train, unknown or other, electrical system?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2018 Chevrolet Traverse?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2018 Chevrolet Traverse
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2018 Chevrolet Traverse complaints?
9 Crash
2 Fire
3 Injury
0 Fatality
11 Towed
4 Medical attention
What are the most common 2018 Chevrolet Traverse complaint categories?
POWER TRAIN 114
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 56
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 22
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 21
ENGINE 20
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 15
SERVICE BRAKES 14
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 13
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 11
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 9
452 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2022 | POWER TRAIN | Even though the car was shifted to "park" there was an "action needed" message saying shift the car to park. The lights and radio stayed on as well as the Warning bells indicating something needed attention. Even after repeatedly restarting the car and aggressively shaking the shift mechanism, I couldn't get the car to turn off. I wasn't able to lock the car doors. I went inside the grocery store and shopped. The car was still "on" when I returned. I was afraid I would run the battery down as everything was still on. I drove home (9-10 miles) and parked in the garage. After switching off the ignition (yellow light still on), I still got the action needed message and the radio, lights were still on. I went inside and returned 20 minutes later and the car was off. This is the fourth time I've had this problem. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2021 | POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Electrical ground problem affecting transmission control is evident by a Shift to Park warning that displays on the driver information center and prevents vehicle from being turned off. GM has this problem so we’ll documented that a TSB exists and is on file with NHTSA. The inability to turn off the vehicle when this is encountered is a significant safety issue. We paid out of pocket to have the fix recommended in the TSB applied to our vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | When driving on a right hand curve with traffic in the opposite direction lane, the forward collision warning system flashed a large red warning flash on the instrument panel near the speedometer. This was alarming and caused me to put on the brakes immediately, although there was no impending crash. This cause the cars behind me to take evasive action and apply their brakes in an emergency fashion and almost cause several collisions. [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2021 | POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Shift to Park message displays on the Driver Information Center (DIC) when the vehicle has been shifted to Park and the ignition has been turned to the Off position. This causes alarm chimes to go off when door is opened and the battery to drain. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2021 | POWER TRAIN | Vehicle does not turn off...gives a "Shift To Park" notification even though the vehicle is in park. Play with the shifter and sometimes it will turn off. Restart engine and turn off again sometimes helps but usually has to be done multiple times. If left as is the issue will drain the battery. Cannot leave vehicle in this condition. Late for appointments. Reported issue to dealership on day the 36 mo. warranty was up and they said not in and diagnosed. This is a known issue from multiple Traverse owners yet the car was not in the shop and diagnosed. Issue began 2/27/21 and was reported to dealer 3/1/21 first available open time of dealership service department. The want $207.xx to fix the problem...if the fix helps. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | When the vehicle is in park the “shift to park” error comes up on the dash board and the car can not be turned off. This appears to be a common issue and a recall needs to happen. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2021 | POWER TRAIN | Car getting stuck in Shift to Park | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2021 | POWER TRAIN | The " Shift to Park" notification activates even though the car is placed in park. The car will not turn off and continually beeps. The dealership is aware of this common problem and will fix it at my own cost within next 24 to 48 hrs. There is a previous Service Bulletin #Bulletin No.: 18-NA-297, Date: December, 2018 that states this problem but I did not receive this notification as the only owner of this vehicle. Multiple complaints on-line re this problem. I am concerned that the vehicle may not be in park and could roll over someone or something | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The car does not recognize when the vehicle is in park. It will ding an error at you so you are unable to leave your vehicle. This error will continue to go off until you can find a trick to shut the car down. I work downtown and need to park in a garage. I was left sitting with an alarm going off for several days while I searched for tricks on my phone to get the error to turn off. I am a single female and I was put at risk because my car would not turn off. I had to sit in the garage alone until I could find a way to be able to leave my car. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2021 | SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | DUE TO THE EMS RECALL IT HAS CAUSED THE ABS TO MALFUNCTION WENT TO TWO DEALERSHIPS MORE THAN FOUR TIMES WAS TOLD TO PAY IN ORDER TO HAVE MY CAR FIXED DUE TO EMS RECALL SERVICE PROVIDER: DUE TO THE EMS RECALL IT HAS CAUSED THE ABS TO MALFUNCTION PER EMS RECALL THIS CAN BE FIXED FREE OF CHARGE. I AM BEING DENIED BY BOTH KILLEEN AND TEMPLE CHEVY DEALERSHIPS. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2021 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | Led tail lamp burned internally. There are no fuses in for any of these lamps in the owners manual. Dealership blamed the non functional light on water damage without having even investigated what was wrong. Chevy's own TSB states moisture normal(01-08-42-001L). I personally removed the lamp after the dealer asked over $900 to replace it, stating moisture damaged it. The dealer never inspected it. It's electronics are burnt! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | When the vehicle is in park the “shift to park” error comes up on the dash board and the car can not be turned off. This appears to be a common issue and a recall needs to happen. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | When my vehicle has been shifted into park (the transmission shifter shifted into P for Park) and the engine has been turned off a "shift into Park" warning message is displayed on the dashboard and a warning chime sounds. My vehicle's ignition remains ON and the audio system does not shut off. The transmission shifter shows the P (Park selection) P as red indicating the transmission is in park and the transmission shifter is locked in the park position. I must restart my vehicle and re-shift the transmission selector back into park multiple times before my vehicle turns the vehicle's ignition to OFF. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2021 | POWER TRAIN | When I put the car in Park sometimes I receive a message saying Shift to Park. It doesn’t happen every time but sometimes if I flick the shifter it will clear the message. I had to pick up my grandchild who was sick at school and it took me 10 minutes to get it to clear. It’s so annoying! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2021 | SERVICE BRAKES | The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that after leaving the dealer for maintenance work, there was an abnormal grinding noise coming from the brakes. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer twice where the failure was undetermined. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where they replaced the brakes however, the failure continued. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 95,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 95,000 |
| Aug 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | When shifting the vehicle to park, the vehicle system says to Shift to Park and the message does not turn off even if you turn off the engine. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2021 | POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | My vehicle will not always go in to park allowing the vehicle to move and not to be locked if it doesn’t roll when “parked”. GM knows this is an issue and refuses to do anything to correct the issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2021 | SERVICE BRAKES | Electric Park Brake Malfuctions frequently. Park brake will not set or release properly which is dangerous and could allow vehicle to roll out of park on a hill. This problem is well documented online from other owners of 2018 Chevy Traverse but Chevy had not formally addressed this problem. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | POWER TRAIN | 2018 Chevy Traverse with 39,145 miles. When placed in Drive, shifter did not connect and car would not move forward, instead went backwards. Also, when placed in Reverse, the opposite happened and car would not move in reverse, but went forward. Repeatedly get message stating SHIFT TO PARK when shifter is in PARK. Per GM, no recall. Issues have not been detrimental at this point, but definitely has to potential to be detrimental and a safety matter. Vehicle scheduled to go into Chevy dealership for assessment and repair, but told will have to pay $95 just to look at it and will not be covered by warranty. Upon research, MANY complaints noted with same issue. Despite being told that my vehicle has no recall, x2 service bulletins noted by NHTSA: bulletin #19-NA-206 September 2019 and 18-NA-297 December, 2018. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | ENGINE | On June 29, 2021 Unable to turn off vehicle/engine. Started approximately 1 week before on 2 occasions where I finally was able to shut off vehicle. I called dealership/service to get an appointment, but had to go in immediately because it would no longer turn off. Repair was not covered under warranty which was only 4 months past the 3 year warranty and mileage was only 27,637. It cost me just under $450 to repair this. Service advisor at Classic Chevy in Grapevine, TX commented that they had been seeing this problem which they diagnosed as INTERNAL SHIFTER FAULT. (A C/S SHIFT TO PARK MESSAGE COMES ON CLUSTER is noted on the repair invoice.) This was unnerving at the very least, and safety risk. Is this problem under any recall or potential recall? | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | SERVICE BRAKES | The vehicle randomly engages the electronic parking brake while driving. The only way to unlock the brake is to unplug the battery. Very dangerous when I'm high speed traffic. Please help. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | ENGINE | The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated while driving 2 mph and making a turn, the vehicle suddenly lost power and stalled. The contact stated that the vehicle then restarted on its own with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who determined that no issues were found however, the computer system was reset. The contact stated the failure reoccurred while making a left turn at a stoplight. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was 21,685. Consumer stated vehicle has been in the shop for 6 months and still in the shop. | Crash: No Fire: No | 21,685 |
| Jul 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Unk. Parking break will not engage and engine will not turn off. 30 mins riding around block and pulling in drive back and forth last night before it engaged. Four days now this has happened at store, Dr appt. This is unacceptable defect. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | After it rains water leaks from the headliner between the rear view mirror and headliner control panel (lighting, sunroof, collision controls etc..) It is available for inspection, the introduction of water in this area could affect the components in this area, camera, air bags, collision alert. Have not taken into a dealer to evaluate or inspected. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | When I put the vehicle in park I get a message that says (SHIFT TO PARK) even though the vehicle is in park. Then when I try to turn my vehicle off I can't. It takes several times messing with the gear shift to finally get it not to say (SHIFT TO PARK) then I can finally turn my vehicle off. I've contacted the dealership and they say they know of this issue, but there is no recall. I feel like this is a problem that needs to be addressed and GM needs to correct immediately. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |