Problems · by component

2012 Chevrolet Traverse steering problems

62 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse cite steering, 18% of all 354 complaints for this model year.

Complaints
62
18% of all complaints
Crashes
3
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
3
Reported by owners
01 —Owner reports

What owners say about the steering

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“It sways left to right really bad.. but when it rains or even even the car detected that it's going to rain.. as soon as the car senses it is going to rain u can't even drive it.. it like hydro plains even before it starts to officially rain.. very dangerous plus I had to replace the two back tires because they seemed like they were being forced and drug that all u seen was wires coming out of the tread”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 11, 2025Steering, Electrical system, Vehicle speed controlODI 11698713
“I was driving down the freeway at about 67 MPH when the message "Traction Control Disabled" came on my display & the car immediately went into "limp mode"! By some miracle I was able to muscle the car out of the slow lane, onto the shoulder as I lost my power steering once in limp mode. I waited a few minutes, car started up just fine, so I shrugged it off. Fast forward 1 week later & the same thing happened to me on my way home on a curvy mountain road. The power steering was again non-existent & luckily, there was no one behind me, nor did anyone come around the corner & hit my disabled car. Once again, it started up, no problem; however, this is when the harsh forward thrust started happening, & the transmission seemed to be slipping gears. The RPM's would rev to the 6000 range & immediately fall down to 1500. I took it to the dealer & sadly paid $3,400 for a new tranny on a 5-year-old car. (No warranty, of course). I started having the same issues about 2 years later, only this time the driver was not so lucky as they were mid-curve on the mountain road. Right as the roadway came out of the bend, the car went into limp mode, power steering lost & wheels…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 14, 2022Steering, Vehicle speed control, EngineCrash reportedODI 11484533
“The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the power steering assist failed and the vehicle became difficult to steer. The contact stated that the power steering pump was leaking. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with the power steering pump and the rack and pinion needing to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 127,305.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 4, 2021SteeringODI 11419645
“Power steering intermittently fails at low speed we have had near collisions and as a result my wife cannot drive the car she’s not strong enough to turn the wheel at low speeds I’m afraid somebody’s gonna get in a wreck with this or another car like it I’ve heard other complaints from traverse owners about the same thing”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 1, 2021SteeringODI 11419250
“KNOCKING ENGINE, RUNNING LIKE A OLD TRACTOR. ENGINE STALLED!! HAD TO REPLACE MOTOR. NO POWER FOUND TRANNY WENT BAD ON THE MIDDLE OF BUSY INTERSECTION. HAD TO REPLACE TRANNY. NOW POWER STEERING PUMP WENT COULDN'T TURN THE WHEELS ON THE HIGHWAY. HAD TO REPLACE. ALL REPAIRS PAID OUT OF MY POCKET. WHERES THE RECALLS?? SO MANY PEOPLE WITH THIS SAME YEAR VEHICLE SAME PROBLEMS. ALL OF THESE HAVE COSTED ME SEVERAL THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OUT OF MY POCKET. ALSO HAD TO PAY DEALERSHIP FOR THE BRAKES THAT WERE BAD. 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020 ALL THE YEARS HAPPENED. WIPERS WERE THE 1ST TO FALL OFF GOT REPLACED.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Feb 9, 2021Steering, Power train, EngineODI 11395440
“POWER STEERING DOES NOT WORK AT LOW SPEEDS 90% OF THE TIME, MY WIFE CAN'T DRIVE THE CAR ( VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION ). PARKING HAS NO POWER STEERING AT ALL, AT 10 MPH STEERING CONTROL COMES BACK.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Dec 10, 2020SteeringODI 11382888

Showing 6 of 62 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 4, 2026NHTSA vehicle page

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.