2011 Chevrolet Traverse problems, complaints & recalls

2011 Chevrolet Traverse recalls (5)

• Recall 21V246000Apr 8, 2021108 vehicles
  AIR BAGS:CRITICAL FASTENERS

  General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2010-2015, 2017 Buick Enclave, 2010-2019 Chevrolet Traverse, and 2011-2016 GMC Acadia vehicles. The side curtain air bags may not be properly attached.

  Risk: Unsecured side curtain air bags may not perform as intended, increasing the risk of injury.

  Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, realign or replace the weld nuts, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 24, 2021. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N202321200.

• Recall 15V415000Jun 30, 2015691,144 vehicles
  STRUCTURE:BODY:HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE

  General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2008-2012 Buick Enclave vehicles manufactured January 3, 2007, to February 29, 2012, 2009-2012 Chevrolet Traverse vehicles manufactured July 6, 2008, to March 9, 2012, 2007-2012 GMC Acadia vehicles manufactured September 15, 2006, to February 29, 2012, and 2007-2010 Saturn Outlook vehicles manufactured August 17, 2006, to March 18, 2010. The affected vehicles, equipped with the power liftgate option, have gas struts that hold the power liftgate up when open. These struts may prematurely wear and the open liftgate may suddenly fall.

  Risk: If the open liftgate unexpectedly falls, it may strike a person, increasing their risk of injury.

  Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the power liftgate actuator motor control unit so that the motor will prevent the rapid closing of the lift gate, free of charge. The recall began on November 15, 2016. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782, and Saturn customer service at 1-800-553-6000. GM's number for this recall is 15240.

• Recall 14V266000May 20, 20141,339,355 vehicles
  SEAT BELTS

  General Motors is recalling certain model year 2009-2014 Buick Enclave vehicles manufactured April 14, 2008, through May 14, 2014, Chevrolet Traverse vehicles manufactured June 6, 2008, through May 14, 2014, and GMC Acadia vehicles manufactured April 9, 2008, through May 14, 2014, and 2009-2010 Saturn Outlook vehicles manufactured April 14, 2008, through March 18, 2010. In the affected vehicles, the flexible steel cable that connects the seatbelt to the front outboard seating positions may fatigue and separate over time.

  Risk: If the steel cable becomes fatigued and separates, the seatbelt may not properly restrain the seat occupant increasing the risk of an injury in a crash.

  Remedy: General Motors will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, repair and replace the lap pretensioner, free of charge. Parts are not currently available. An interim notice will be mailed to owners in July 2014. A second notice will be mailed to owners once parts become available. The recall for the 2009-2010 model years began on July 11, 2014. The interim letter for the 2011-2014 model years were distributed on July 11, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-462-8782 (GMC), 1-800-553-6000 (Saturn). General Motors recall number for this campaign is 14187.

• Recall 14V118000Mar 17, 20141,176,407 vehicles
  AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW

  General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2008-2013 Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia and 2009-2013 Chevrolet Traverse and 2008-2010 Saturn Outlook vehicles. In the affected vehicles, increased resistance in the driver and passenger seat mounted side impact air bag (SIAB) wiring harnesses may result in the SIAB and seat belt pretensioners not deploying in the event of a crash.

  Risk: Failure of the side impact air bags and seat belt pretensioners to deploy in a crash increase the risk of injury to the driver and front seat occupant.

  Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected harness connections with soldered connections, free of charge. The recall began on June 16, 2014. Buick owners may contact the owner center at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet owners at 1-866-694-6546, Saturn at 1-800-553-6000, and GMC owners at 1-866-996-9463. GM's number for this recall is 14030. Note: Vehicles repaired as part of Customer Satisfaction Campaign 10085 and special coverage 10335 have already had the subject condition repaired and therefore are not included in the safety recall.

• Recall 12V151000Apr 9, 201247,846 vehicles
  VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER:LINKAGES

  General motors (gm) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 chevrolet traverse, buick enclave, and gmc acadia vehicles currently registered in alaska, colorado, connecticut, delaware, idaho, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, montana, nebraska, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, north dakota, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, south dakota, utah, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin, wyoming and the district of columbia. Snow or ice buildup on the windshield or on the wiper may restrict the movement of the wiper arm, causing the wiper arm to loosen and cause the wiper to become inoperative.

  Risk: If this occurs, driver visibility could be reduced, increasing the risk of a crash.

  Remedy: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will tighten the wiper arm nuts, free of charge. The safety recall began on april 20, 2012.

NHTSA defect investigations

• EA20002Opened Aug 31, 2020Closed Aug 30, 2024led to recall 21V245

  Outboard Front Seat Belt Anchor Cable Failure

  On August 31, 2020, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened Engineering Analysis (EA) EA20002, as an upgrade of Recall Query (RQ) RQ19003. This investigation, related to recall 14V-266, was opened to investigate instances of detachment of the flexible steel seat belt anchor cable attached to the outboard side of the front seats in vehicles manufactured by General Motors (GM). The subject vehicles included model year (MY) 2009 through 2014 GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave, and Chevrolet Traverse SUVs as well as MY 2009 through 2010 Saturn Outlook SUVs. These vehicles were previously repaired…

• RQ19003Opened May 28, 2019Closed Aug 31, 2020

  Seat Belt Anchor Cable Failure

  On May 19, 2014, General Motors LLC (GM) notified the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) that it would conduct Safety Recall 14V266 to address fatigue and separation of the flexible steel cable that connects the front outboard seat belts to the seat-mounted belt pre-tensioner in 1.4 million model year (MY) 2009-2010 Saturn Outlook, 2009-2014 Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Chevrolet Traverse (Lambda Platform) vehicles.The remedy was to inspect for signs of damage and replace pre-tensioner anchor cables as needed. Re-work was conducted to relocate the pre-tensioner anchor cable out of the occu…

Recent 2011 Chevrolet Traverse complaints

Excerpts of the newest owner complaints, lightly cleaned of personal details. Complaints are unverified owner reports.

1. Filed Oct 6, 2025TXWheels & Tires

   In summary, a business is selling unsafe "sidewall patched" used tire. On Sep 20, 2025 I purchased four used tires for my 2011 Chevy Traverse in this business. Mike's Tires Plano [XXX] ) [XXX] [XXX] Ten days later, one of the tires started to have a slow leak. On Oct 5, 2025, I visited a nearby National Tire & Battery store to have it checked. And was told that the tire is not repairable, since it already had a sidewall patch and the same patch had a leak again. After some…

   NHTSA complaint #11691695 · source
2. Filed Oct 8, 2024MIEngineAcceleration & Cruise ControlSteering

   Components related to timing chain failed, and vehicle is currently available with plans to sell to a salvage yard by 10/25/24. My 9 year old and I were at risk of collision when the vehicle failed. I was driving approximately 70-75 mph when we started to lose power. At 65 mph, I managed to cross 2 lanes of highway traffic and stopped on the shoulder. I turned off my vehicle and waited several minutes, hoping it would help reset or cool off a component or something. I had to…

   NHTSA complaint #11618746 · source
3. Filed Sep 18, 2024OHBrakesSteeringWheels & Tires

   As i am driving down the road the service stable trak light and abs lights pop on and the brakes sieze up so bad you cant get the car to stop and brake pedal to unlock as well as when you try to turn the steering wheel locks

   NHTSA complaint #11615149 · source
4. Filed Jul 30, 2024NDDriver Assistance & Safety TechEngine

   My timing and my energy is going bad..I don’t know the problem.Im new on having my own car..And when I got it everything was great at first but Two trips going too Chicago it started going bad

   NHTSA complaint #11605410 · source
5. Filed Apr 10, 2024TXAirbagsElectrical System

   This vehicle is notorious for multiple electrical failures. The alternator fried the battery fried, both of which were replaced. This vehicle still wouldn't start. The wiring harness to the PCM is notorious for having shorts. The pcm itself is notorious for going out really early. This vehicle is almost undrivable and it dies while you're in the middle of driving where you can't stop. I do not know how this vehicle has been kept on the market without being recalled. I do not…

   NHTSA complaint #11582047 · source
6. Filed Jul 10, 2023TXBody & Structure

   The contact's friend owns a 2011 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that the liftgate failed to function as designed. The contact stated that the liftgate would spontaneously slam shut. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V415000 (Structure). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

   NHTSA complaint #11531375 · source
7. Filed Jul 5, 2023MN1 injuredAirbags

   side curtain airbags deployed driving 70 mph on I94 outside of Monticello, MN after drifting onto the rumble strip. Upon turning back there was a loud bang from the side airbags deploying. The drivers side came down and hit my daughter in the side of the head, the passenger side didn't come down all the way missing my 86 year old Mom as she is 5 ft tall. My daugther by some miracle didn't panic and veer into other traffic lanes with other vehicles driving 70 mph. GM is…

   NHTSA complaint #11530461 · source
8. Filed Jun 28, 2023125,000 miILTowedEngine

   The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that while his wife was driving approximately 45 MPH, the RPM became elevated, and the check engine warning light illuminated before the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The vehicle could not be restarted. The vehicle was towed to the local mechanic. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure…

   NHTSA complaint #11529391 · source

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Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation public data, as of Oct 11, 2026. Complaints are submitted by owners and are not verified by NHTSA or by us; a complaint does not prove a defect exists. View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov Methodology