CarComplaints.com Notes: There are serious power steering concerns for the Traverse. Data shows that owners are having a difficult time with their power steering quitting, particularly at low speeds.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
6 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
69,540 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
While traveling at low speed steering quits working causing car not to turn. At one point my wife almost hit a retaining wall with our kids. Sometimes it makes it hard to park and hard to turn in a parking lot.
The Traverse has a serious problem with the steering, as in it does not turn(at all) at low speeds. The power steering will not work 90% of the time when turning at 10mph or lower. Getting out of a parking place is almost impossible if you are required to only pull out one way. The scariest instance for us was when we tried to pull into a turn lane across a five lane highway and the car wouldn't turn to straighten up in the turn lane. Luckily the other drivers stopped but that would have been a serious accident had they not. We have taken it in before to have it looked at and nothing was found. We are taking it to someone new next week.
Power steering suddenly stopped working for couple of seconds. It's still keep continuing. I approached Chevrolet authorized service center and requested for service. They never found any issues on power steering and charged me $180 for diagnosing. Problem still happening while my car turning slowly, suddenly power steering will loose it's power and very hard to turn. It's really dangerous while turning can't turn the wheels..definitely it's going to hits some innocent people.
- Elkins Park, PA, USA
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The power steering stops working when slowing down and going into turns. The issue is more noticeable when turning into parking spaces, backing out of parking spaces. It occurs when the air conditioner is on. The dealership said it was the ac compressor and charged us $1200 to change it. The problem still exists. This is very dangerous because I start to turn into somewhere and the power steering stops working making it difficult to turn the wheel. Avoiding an accident would be impossible as the car steering is not responsive. Seems to occur more on hot days or after driving the car for a while. Dealership has of yet been able to fix the issue. Checking forums for the Traverse this seems to be a car defect that dealerships are having a hard time fixing.
The first incident occurred in late May. When turning a corner the steering became difficult to turn, and was even more difficult to return. I took the vehicle to the dealer in June. They had the car for eleven hours that day and performed some routine maintenance, but were unable to duplicate the issue. As we continued to drive the vehicle, the issue became more dangerous. The steering was becoming much more difficult to return to the straight position. I took the vehicle back to the dealer Aug 13. They informed me that the power steering pump was failing under load, and replaced it.
Whenever I pull in or out of a parking lot my steering is just like it has no power steering fluid this happens at a low speeds also turning a corner so that's why it is noticeable when I'm parking or at a corner.
This car started having problems with making turns at slow speeds about a year ago. Has been getting worse, despite adding power steering fluid. Fluid not leaking. Have found many reports about this problem from others online. Have also found a class action lawsuit that has been started appx 1 year ago. I noticed that GM has recalled the Chevy Malibu for power steering problems, but not the Traverse. This is a very dangerous problem. I must have it fixed, but do not have the money to do it. Should be covered by GM. Is a defect with the design.
We have owned our 2010 Traverse for a few years now. The steering problem has gotten horrible for the past 6 months. We now live in spain and as a military member I can't just go out and buy a brand new car. Chevrolet owners and board members need to come together and get this problem fixed. I think it will have to take a person to die in a car accident for them to ever give a [xxx] about this issue that they have with one of their top selling cars. I love my Traverse but I have tired of pouring money into this common problem I am starting to notice that everyone has. I started to do research and on every online site people are having horrible problems with the steering. I really need someone to take a deep look into this problem and their CEO's and board members need to do a major recall on the Traverse platform and have this problem looked at. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
While switching lanes, the power steering suddenly became hard to use. It was scary but luckily it reengaged a short time later. It's happened many times since then and it doesn't seem to follow a set a pattern. I'm afraid it will fail when I really need it.
We bought our 2010 Chevy Traverse lt with approx. 62,000 miles. At approx. 67,000 miles we experienced a zipper type sound with the steering, this sound can be intermittent and at all speeds. At about the same time we experienced that the steering to be very hard and almost impossible to turn at speeds between 5 and 35 mph. The steering is almost impossible to turn when pulling into and out of a parking space. The steering is just as impossible to turn when having to quickly turn at speeds as high as 35 mph. This usually happens when changing lanes or onto another road. Another time that the steering becomes unsafe is when stopped at a stop sign and trying to turn from a stopped position. This has put my family at risk at numerous times. We love the Traverse and were impressed with the steering response when we first bought the vehicle. This is a major concern as it is a safety concern, and research shows that this is not a isolated to our vehicle. We have talked to other people with the same GM platform, and web forums also, show that this is a problem wider spread then just a few vehicles. There should be no reason the steering fails in a quality made vehicle, especially at below 100,000 miles.
I was driving home from Florida back to Indiana when I pulled off the interstate to realize my power steering was not working. The steering was so difficult I didn't think I could make the turn. My family of five had a very scary ride home. We paid a big price for this Chevy and didn't expect major problems at only 60,000 miles. This may be our last Chevy purchase.
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that the power steering failed while the steering wheel was being turned. The dealer stated that the power steering fluid needed to be flushed. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 40,000.
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that the steering wheel became difficult to turn to the left and right. The failure made it difficult to park the vehicle in reverse. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 77,000.
Strayed hearing a humming noise from the steering column that changed as acceleration changed, then started having trouble steering in a turn at slow speeds, could feel a tightness in the steering column. Took to the dealer who stated it is a leak in the rack & pinion apparatus and will cost $1900 to repair. They reported that it is commonly needed at 60-80,000 miles (my vehicle has 70,000). I am hoping this will fix the problem but after reading others complaints, I am worried it will still be unsafe to drive. I do feel GM should respond to these common issues and repair their faulty vehicles before someone gets hurt.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Las Vegas, NV, USA