2016 Chevrolet Traverse: ABS light or ABS activating

Filed Sep 21, 2026 · Acceleration, Brakes · NJ

My 2016 Chevy Traverse LT with 108,750 miles had issues with the rear brake lights, and the Traction Control light would come on and the Traction Control turns off. A message appears on the dash that shows Service StabiliTrak. When I drive the vehicle to accelerate it shakes, jerks and shudders, and then it rides fine for a bit but the Traction Control is still off. I also noticed that the cruise control doesn't work either. I decided to wait a few more days hoping it would clear out, which it did for a day but the problem returned. I took the Traverse to AutoZone to use an OBD2 scanner and it showed that there is an issue with the braking switch (code C0161-00 ABS Brake Switch Circuit). A local mechanic replaced a fuse and the brake switch but the Traction Control/StabiliTrak issue hasn't been fixed. He's tried everything but the problem won't go away. Apparently this an ongoing problem with many Traverses.

Filed Jun 23, 2024 · Brakes, Driver assistance · CA · crash

2 issues: 1: Brakes did not stop car nor did the abs braking system kick in causing the car to not stop on full demand! 2 cars slammed on their brakes at a yellow light instead of going thru causing a small number kiss Was going 35mph and when braking, car didn’t fully stop and out brakes tho to the floor. Abs did not kick in. No lights on dash board. 2: The very Next morning, The traction control light came on saying service the stabilitrak, traction control. The car ins denied it was from car accident. When The traction control light comes on the dashboard, by itself) it causes the car to automatically brake when accelerating whenever it chooses to come on causing it to be unsafe in traffic. You cannot control the button to turn it off. This has been an issue coming on and off at random to current.

Filed Oct 14, 2023 · Brakes, Engine · WI

I have a 2016 Chevy Traverse. The “traction control off” light has been on for about 2 months now, along with the service stabilitrak light, and ABS light. When driving it seems is if though my ABS is kicking in when it should not be. Since those lights have been on, the left passenger brakes seem to also be affected. Anytime I first begin driving until I hit about 30mph, or anytime I press the brakes, it feels like my brakes are locking up…or a better way to describe it is when driving in the snow and your ABS kicks in and you can feel it in your brake pedal like the brakes are locked up, but there is no snow. Recently there were two times when I was coming to a stop light and nearly hit the stopped car in front of me because my brakes locked up and the pedal wouldn’t go down. Now, almost a week ago when trying to leave, my car will not start at all. The battery is new and the lights all work. The power of the car turns on but it doesn’t turn over to start or if it does it struggles to stay started and then dies right away. I have seen tons and tons of other videos or reviews of other traverse owners complaining of the same problem ranging from 2014-2017 traverse. Many people take theirs to a dealership and even they can’t figure out the problem or they say it’s a glitch in the system. There are far too many other chevy traverse vehicles having the same issue. The only difference with theirs is the lights come on every so often. Mine don’t turn off, they are always on. This is extremely dangerous, much more dangerous than the air bag recall. These vehicles should be recalled immediately before something very serious happens. I have been without a vehicle now for a week while I’ve had to miss work and my kids have had to miss school. I have had the problem checked by a professional mechanic but couldn’t figure it out either. No one else has looked at it as it is dead so I can’t take it anywhere. It is available upon request for inspection.

Filed Nov 25, 2021 · MO

Vehicle has had 3 separate occurrences - January, October and November of 2021 - the vehicle suddenly losing its "power" by not accelerating over 40 mph, hard shifting to where it jerked uncontrollably. The dash board message center would say "service stabilitrak" "service traction control" "traction control off". The orange traction control light was also Illuminated on the dashboard. No check engine light was presented, and no codes were stored in the computer. 1s occurrence dealership changed battery, 2nd occurrence could not find an issue, customer refused vehicle back so dealership cleaned ABS tone rings. On all occurrences the customer was close to being rear ended on the major interstate due to losing sudden power. Dealerships are only able to "guess" on repair, due to no codes being stored in the computer. Many complaints for the same issue can be found in a Traverse Facebook group, on Google, and many other personal Traverse owners. There needs to be an open recall and investigation with this issue. None of these fixes are covered under the warranties, and customers must pay out of pocket as the dealership has it coded under "maintenance".

Filed Sep 5, 2019 · Driver assistance · 64,000 miles · MI

While driving down the expressway the vehicles stabilitrak light came on, there was a loss of power - which could have caused an crash at high speeds. The stabilitrak light has come on several time now, then the ABS light, then the check engine light. Each time the traction control lights flash and then there is a loss of vehicle power. This could be a very dangerous issue, it is for this reason I am reporting it here.

Filed Jun 24, 2019 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · NM

While driving my 2016 traverse on the highway, the engine lost power and I received the stabilitrak warning, along with the ABS & check engine warning lights. I was on the interstate travelling across country when the car began to stutter, shake and with immediate loss of power, I struggled to steer of the main lanes and narrowly escaping a life-threatening crash.