Problems · by component
2011 Chevrolet Traverse electrical system problems
67 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2011 Chevrolet Traverse cite electrical system, 11% of all 608 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
67
11% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
2
Reported by owners
Injuries
1
Reported by owners
What owners say about the electrical system
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“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 know how more people haven't been in accidents because of it. And even worse, it's notorious for the airbags messing up. I think I would be more understanding if it weren't for the fact that this vehicle has been well maintained. It has regular maintenance. It's never overdue for an oil change or a fluid top up. I have children that ride in this vehicle and now I have to worry about their safety.”
“The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that after turning off the vehicle, the engine was still running independently. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that water was entering the hood of the vehicle causing the vehicle to have electrical issues and the fuse box needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 132,000.”
“THE WHOLE VEHICLE SHAKES WHILE DRIVING IT SEEMS LIKE THE BATTERY IS GOING DEAD OR IT DOESN'T WANT O TO GO ANYWHERE. TIMING CHANGE THE GAS GUAGE NOT READING RIGHT IT HORRIBLE GAS MILEAGE”
“AS DESCRIBED BY HUNDREDS, IF NOT THOUSANDS, OF OTHER OWNERS...OBDII CODES P0008 AND P0017, IN CONJUNCTION WITH "SERVICE STABILITRACK, AWD DISABLED, TRACTION CONTROL OFF". WE HAVE REPLACED MULTIPLE SENSORS, REPLACED THROTTLE BODY(AND SENSOR), REPLACED DRIVER FRONT WHEEL HUB ASSEMBLY (MAGNET THAT HAS TO DO WITH SENSOR CAME OFF). THE ABOVE TWO CODES PERSIST. PURCHASED USED VEHICLE WITH 118XXX MILES AND WITHIN A YEAR THESE CODES APPEARED. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER, WHO INSISTED IT WAS TIMING CHAIN, WITH ESTIMATE OF $2300. HOWEVER, SECOND AND THIRD OPINIONS DISAGREED...SUGGESTING SENSOR ISSUES, THROTTLE BODY ISSUES, ETC. WHY HAS THE TIMING CHAIN OR TENSIONER NOT BEEN RECALLED, IF THIS IS THE ISSUE? FORTUNATELY, OUR VEHICLE DOES NOT GO INTO LIMP MODE...HOWEVER, WE'VE BEEN TOLD THIS COULD HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE. WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE IT IF THE NHTSA WOULD DO A DEEPER DIVE AND GENERATE A RECALL. GOING TO ADDRESS CAMSHAFT BANK SENSORS NEXT BEFORE POSSIBLY REPLACING TIMING CHAIN AND/OR TENSIONER. ADDITIONALLY, PROBLEMS WITH MOISTURE ISSUE OF UNKNOWN LOCATION THAT CAUSES THE STEREO SPEAKERS TO NOT WORK. ON SUNNY, WARM DAYS, STEREO SPEAKERS WORK FINE...ANY MOISTURE, NO SPEAKERS.”
“DRIVERS INFORMATION CENTER DOES NOT WORK IN DAYLIGHT. I HAVE TRIED EVERYTHING AND NOTHING IS WORKING. SO IF SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH MY CAR I WON'T KNOW TILL AT NIGHT.”
“SO FAR I HAVE HAD NOTHING BUT ISSUES WITH MY SUV, BOUGHT A 2009 FOR 6,000 AND HAD TO PT 7,200 IN IT TO GET IT RUNNING RIGHT. I TRADED IT IN AT THE DEALERSHIP IT WAS BEING DIAGNOSED AT THANKFULLY. NOW I HAVE A 2011 AND STARTING TO HAVE MANY ISSUES UNFORTUNATELY. FIRST IT STARTED 3700 MILES AFTER I GOT MY 2011 BY LEAVING ME WITH NO POWER STEERING WHILE TRYING TO MAKE A TURN AND ALMOST WRECKED 3 TIMES GOING TO THE HOSPITAL. I WAS ABLE TO PUT POWER STEERING FLUID IN AND GOT MY POWER STEERING BACK BUT IMMEDIATELY TOOK IT BACK TO THE DEALER. THEY SAID IF I CAME IN AT 3500 MILES THEY WOULD HAVE REPLACED THE PUMP AND WHOLE RACK UNDER WARRENTY, BUT THEY DIDNT. SO I GOTTA TOP IT OFF EVERY FEW MONTHS, NO BIG DEAL. SUSPENSION HAS BEEN REPLACED TWICE, ROUGH IDLE, TUNED UP 3 TIMES IN 42,373 MILES. A/C ONLY BLOWS COLD ON DRIVER SIDE NOW, IT MAKES A DIFFERENT NOISE EVERY DAY AND THE DEALERSHIP SAYS I NEED TO HAVE THE ENGINE DROPPED AND TIMING CHAIN REPLACED. I CANT DROP 2400 BUCKS ON SOMETHING THAT DOESNT FIX THE PROBLEM! WAY TOO MANY NEGATIVE OUTCOMES THAT I'VE READ ON THE TIMING CHAIN ISSUE. PEOPLE THAT HAVE HAD THE ENGINE REPLACED HAD BETTER LUCK THAN A REBUILD. THIS IS…”
Showing 6 of 67 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 9, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.