During the first incident of this problem the car would stutter/hesitate/shift strange when going up a hill at higher speeds. The problem continued for about one year and then had a transmission failure with no shift from 2nd gear to 3rd, difficulty shifting from 5th to 6th, and no reverse.
2009 Chevrolet Traverse transmission complaints
Page 3 of 3: complaints 41 to 58 of 58, newest first, as owners wrote them.
My wife the driver was taking my son to school and the transmission was making a winning sound then the transmission failed. Thankfully there was no accident. Took the vehicle to the dealer and the customer rep said that the transmission will have to be replaced. They said it would cost $4850. I immediately called gm and they said that I was up by 5 months on warranty. It has a 100,000 mile or 5 year power train warranty. They will not help replace my transmission or give good will assistance. It really makes me mad that this is a known bulletin and problem that gm ignores to fix. The problem is bulletin no.: 09-07-30-012a which is a broken 35r clutch wave plate inside the transmission causing metal shavings in transmission an a total failure on the transmission. It's a $20 dollar part that comes off and it destroys the transmission. Thankfully my family is ok. I believe that gm should extend this issue under warranty and fix this problem before some gets hurt or killed. I would hate to think what would happen if she was in a metropolitan area and it went out in heavy traffic. Please do something about this!!!!!! Thanks
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet traverse. While driving approximately 20 MPH, the vehicle lost power and the battery was completely drained. All the lights on the instrument panel illuminated. Also, while the vehicle was parked, it started to roll away. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician stated that the vehicle was working up to standards. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was unknown. Updated 1/13/15*cn updated 9/6/2017
My 2009 traverse lost its power steering while we were driving it. We didn't get into an accident but almost did. That same day I received a letter from gm stating that my 2009 traverse may or may not have powersteering issues. After bringing it to the dealer they informed me that the rack and pinion was also leaking and the cost of the fix was 900 bucks with tax. Why was the rack and pinion not covered, it seems like it the cause of the powersteering issues.
Transmission felt like it was slipping in various gears, sometimes at start and others between higher gears. Onstar reported misfire.taken to dealership for diagnostics, codes p 0300,01,02,03,04,05,0011 & 0014. Advised engine oil was low enough, even though no leaks, causing cam actuators and solenoids to rattle and set up misfires. Was due for routine service anyway. This was said to cause what felt like the transmission slipping. Now, week of 10/13-18/2014, same symptoms only getting worse. Car taken to a respected transmission shop locally for diagnostics and being told transmission needs replaced. Transmission was serviced at 62,951 miles on 05/25/2012. Vehicle always serviced at dealership.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet traverse. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 70 MPH with the cruise control activated, the vehicle suddenly accelerated and the engine RPM's increased to 6000. The vehicle was restarted and the vehicle failed to accelerate over 20 MPH. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that metal particles were discovered inside the transmission fluid. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 110,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet traverse. The contact stated that the vehicle was in the drive but would not move to another gear after depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact turned the vehicle off and back on and the contact was able to drive but could not accelerate past 10 MPH. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the transmission was faulty and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the defect but no solution was offered. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 90,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet traverse. The contact stated that the vehicle was in drive but would not move after depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact turned the engine off and back on and the vehicle began to move but would not accelerate past 10 MPH. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the transmission was faulty and would need to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no solution was offered. The failure mileage was 90,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet traverse. The contact stated that while driving at low speeds, the vehicle stalled as the engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure and current mileage was 65,000.
I called to make an appt. For an air bag recall when it started slipping out of drive while driving. I could not get one for five days. I was told not to worry it would be fine. I barely made it to the dealership, reverse was gone and I had to drive slow and drop it into low, when it would slip out of gear I just prayed the guy behind me would not rear end me. They told me that this was also on recall and they would fix it for free. The next day they called and told me I would have to pay $6000.00 for a new transmission, when I told them I wasn't paying anything he said he would talk to gm again. Then he called and said it was $4000.00! I told him again I wasn't paying anything and he said he would talk to his general manager. Then he called and said the general manger would override gm and only charge me a $500.00 recall deductible. This is crazy!! This car has had numerous recalls, timing chain, air bags, faulty seat belts, heated washer fluid mechanism causing fires, and now this. The last recall I took it in for they informed me that the master cylinder is leaking into the power brake booster and want $600.00 to fix that. He told me to drive it until the brake light came on and fix it then! This model also rolls in the opposite direction of the gear it is in. I have been told it is a "feature" of this model. I have searched on line and found several complaints about this for other 2009 traverse's. Some state that it is a "characteristic" of this model. The truth is it is a flaw. It can't be fixed and they don't want to recall the vehicle. They gave me a loaner that is a 2013 traverse and it doesn't do it. I have to drive mine like it is a straight drive. I live in the mountains and if I stop on a hill I have to leave my foot on the brake and give it gas before I take my foot off or else I roll into the car behind me. This car is a lemon, something needs to be done.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet traverse. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH the transmission failed to operate with the illumination of the engine warning indicator. The rpms began to reduce and a popping noise also emitted from the transmission. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnosis. The transmission was replaced. The failure recurred nine times. Two days after the repair was performed the water pump was replaced by the dealer. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 9,982.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet traverse with hand-controlled mobility equipment. The contact stated that while driving approximately 10 MPH, the vehicle was hesitant to accelerate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis and also to the mobility equipment mechanic. Neither technician was able to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 35,000.
The vehicle always roll backs when you are stopped on a slope when you put the car in park. This happens to all the time. The slope is not very steep and other cars I have do not have this problem. I have taken it to several chevy dealers and they say that there is no problem and the vehicle is working normally. The problem has been happening from the day I bought the vehicle. Several times people have gotten out of the car and have gotten knocked over by the door when the vehicle rolls backwards on a slope.
1st. My wife was pulling out of a parking spot and had to stop quickly, then when she proceeded to leave again by letting off the brake - the car rolled forward on a slight incline and hit the car parked next to her. When she removed her foot to the gas - nothing she could do to prevent this incident. 2nd. While in the drive position on a hill at a stop sign or traffic signal, I removed my foot from the brake. The vehicle began to roll back almost hitting the vehicle behind me. We further tested the vehicle on various hills/inclines both in drive and reverse and it continued to roll in the opposite direction of the engaged gear. Apparently, this is a characteristic of the automatic transmission on this vehicle, the service consultant at courtesy chevrolet of orlando, said this is a flaw in the power train and theirs no known fix. He advised us not to drive it to the mountains if it were him. Since our SUV is for my vacations and primary use, we are very concerned for our safety. We can't afford another vehicle since we had saved up for the down payment for this car. I saw there are a lot of complains of the same case, it was mentioned until someone dies and/or the family files a lawsuit - no recall or action will be done to fix this! Please help in address this issue. I set up a facebook page to address this concern: http://www.facebook.com/chevytraversedeathtrap.
Vehicle seems to hesitate also stalling while at highway speed trying to accelerate to pass (feels like a miss in the engine) RPM drop about 500 - 700 rpms when this happens. It also feels like the torque converter lockup is engaging and disengaging not sure if the new transmissions have that anymore. Have taken the vehicle to the dealership and they were unable to find any problems. The dealership last month reprogrammed the transmission to eliminate the hard shifting problem with a bulletin issued from chevrolet .
On more then 5 occasions during normal driving with my new car on a slight (10 degree) incline at a stop sign or light will roll backwards intermittently as if the shifter was in neutral. From the time it take for me to move my right foot from the brake pedal to the accelerator pedal the car will roll back at least 4 feet until I either hit the brake again or accelerator to stop the roll. The car has 2,5 on it and this issue has gone on since I bought the car. The same problem occurs when in reverse the car will role forward on an incline.
On about 4 occasions in the 5 weeks I have had my car, the gears have been appearing to skip. I have been stopped at lights and when I go again and press the gas it jumps a gear and lunges the car forward. This week it happened for the 4th or 5th time and this time I hit someone because they ended up stopping in front of me but my car lunged forward like it was skipping gears. It has also on a couple of occasions downgraded quickly like it was dropping two shift speeds at once.
When my cruise is on and I have a steep incline to approach, once I am down the incline, the vehicle shifts from 6th gear down to 4th or 5th gear and stays there. My dealer has run diagnostics on this 4 times now, and still no answer. I have bulletin number #09-06-04-019 issued 3-23-09 and my vehicle is having all the problems listed. It is supposed to have the latest software, but it still has the problem. I have requested another vehicle as they have been working on the problem since it was 2 weeks old and it is now 6 weeks old. This happens everytime I have it on cruise on this type of incline. What other corrections have been made to repair this problem?
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