2021 Chevrolet Traverse problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Electrical System (16) · Power Train (14) · Service Brakes (8)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Chevrolet Traverse model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (3)
Air Bags:side/Window:curtain 2022-03-31 · campaign 22V210000 · 89 vehicles
Defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Chevrolet Traverse and 2021-2022 Buick Enclave vehicles. The harness connector to the left or right side roof rail air bag may have incompatible electrical terminals, which could prevent the air bags from deploying in a crash.
Risk: Roof rail air bags that do not deploy as intended increase the risk of injury in a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the harness connector to the roof rail air bags, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on April 29, 2022. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N212352140.
Power Train:automatic Transmission 2021-10-18 · campaign 21V817000 · 639 vehicles
Defect: Braun Corporation (Braun) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Chevrolet Traverse wheelchair accessible vehicles with Power In-floor Ramp conversion. The screw and clip that hold the inner wheel-well plastic shroud in place may chafe against the transmission case, possibly resulting in a transmission fluid leak.
Risk: A transmission fluid leak can cause a loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash. In addition, a leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will replace the screw and clip, and inspect for signs of contact with the transmission, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 29, 2021. Owners may contact Braun customer service at 1-800-488-0359.
Air Bags:sensor:frontal Impact 2021-06-24 · campaign 21V472000 · 6 vehicles
Defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave vehicles. During service by dealers, certain vehicles may have received incorrect air bag calibration software that may affect frontal airbag deployment.
Risk: Air bags that do not deploy as intended can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will update the air bag calibration software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 29, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 and Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300. GM's number for this recall is N212340220.
Service bulletins (666)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-26 · PIT5698F · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this pi provides diagnostics tips on how the lin bus works and how to diagnosis it.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-04 · PIP4902W · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email gds2 session logs into technical assistance.
Unknown Or Other 2026-08-20 · PIC6551C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communicates to dealer to perform a mec reset for wireless projection issues
Unknown Or Other 2026-07-21 · PIT5099J · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
pi to help diagnose a/c concern
Unknown Or Other 2026-06-23 · PIT5966F · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communicates an issue with an ota pending message still displayed after an ota event and how to reset/clear the message.
Unknown Or Other 2026-05-11 · PIC6423A · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
pi created to provide gm dealers with information on gathering information for projection issue
Showing the 6 most recent of 666 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-29 · Other/I Am Not Sure“in the upper right hand corner the plastic is starting to pull away. the seat belt is routed through this area. …”
2026-10-26 · Service Brakes · 96,000 mi“the contact owns a 2021 chevrolet traverse. the contact stated that while attempting to reverse out of the driveway and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle failed to respond. the contact stated that after several attempts, the vehicle finally stopped at the end of the driveway. the brake assist warning light was illuminated. a dealer was contac…”
2026-10-13 · Power Train“when i accelerate at a stoplight the car shuddered and slammed into gear then it shop the rpms up to 8000 and back down i was barely able to make it home and when i arrived at home i tried to park and it would not go into reverse tostraighten my vehicle. i had it towed to a shop the next morning and they informed me i needed a new transmission tha…”
2026-10-13 · Tires“i bought 4 new general grabber ht tires 255/65 r 18 i have only driven on them for 13,000 miles and the tires shake and have wear on them. the shaking through my car out of alignment, caused my rear suspension toe links to need replaced and my passenger front tie rod to fail. i had to pay johns tires of eaton ohio wanted to charge me over $500 to …”
2026-10-05 · Firerelated · 105,000 mi · 🔥 fire“the contact owned a 2021 chevrolet traverse. the contact stated that while the vehicle was parked on the driveway, the contact's sister-in-law became aware of a burning odor. the contact stated that while walking towards the vehicle, the contact became aware of smoke coming from underneath the hood. the contact unlatched the hood and became aware o…”
2026-09-08 · Power Train“i went in for service at chey 112 in medford, ny they advised me that my computer needed to be replaced they replaced the computer and i started having transmission issues. …”
2026-08-21 · Power Train“transmission shutters at lower gear going from 20-30 mph approximately and at the speed of 60-70 mph. when this happens it causes a delay in acceleration and for the whole car to shake. this was also noted by my mechanic even after changing transmission fluid and had concerns for the safety if it was to completely disrupt the transmission causing a…”
2026-08-18 · Engine“the welding that holds the exhaust together has failed. they offer a special warranty to cover only the passenger side, however it has failed and exhaust is super loud. also reading 4 codes from check engine alert. all are p0420 (cat convertor). the smell of exhaust and cat convertor is super disgusting…”
2026-07-08 · Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:oil/Lubrication · 72,400 mi“the contact owned a 2021 chevrolet traverse. the contact stated that the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for an inspection, where a leaking oil pan gasket was diagnosed. the contact stated that the failure had also occurred on a 2019 chevrolet traverse he owned. although the vehicle had been taken to the dealer two months prior, the de…”
2026-06-25 · Unknown Or Other“on [xxx] i purchased the vehicle from bakersfield hyundai within days i reported break failure and notified them about a noise that was coming from the suv that sounded like a mini motorcycle, they first said (xavier) that the noise would go away because it had just gotten serviced but they kept me there for four plus hours and said i had to take i…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.