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2018 Chevrolet Traverse: shudder or vibration when accelerating

17 of the 466 complaints about the 2018 Chevrolet Traverse describe shudder or vibration when accelerating.

owner complaints
17
of this car's complaints
4%
recalls
1
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall and 91 service bulletins for this area of the car. See below

Shudder or vibration when accelerating by model year

What owners say

Filed Sep 6, 2026 · Driver assistance, Electrical · AR

the vehicle will not register that it is in park, when the engine is turned off a beeping noise reads shift to park - you have to start the engine and shut it off multiple times, or slam the shifter into place to get it register in park. this happens constantly and is starting to get old, and annoying. it is listed as a known problem on the forum group. when the notice to shift into Park is stuck on, the beeping will not stop... Also there is a shudder while driving no matter the speed. They did a transmission service and messed with torque converters but has not done anything. Also will be driving down the road with cruise control and the cruise control with randomly jerk and shut off for no reason. Has happened on the interstate.

Filed Jul 28, 2026 · Transmission · TX

Transmission shuddering when gear changing as accelerate.

Filed Jun 23, 2026 · Transmission · TX

Vehicle shudders when driving between 18mph and 40mph. Brought into dealership, was told that the Torque Converter is coming apart, and that it would require an entire Transmission replacement. This vehicle has been immaculately maintained, and only has 34745 miles on it. There is no reason that a main component of a powertrain should fail at such a low milage. I was told that the Warranty only convers the part for 5 years regardless of the low milage. Was quoted $8500 (at a discount) for the repair required to make the vehicle road worthy. Just to be clear, this is a one owner, garage kept vehicle that averaged less than 5000 miles a year, with a flawless service record. This is 100% a manufacturing issue.

Filed May 6, 2026 · Engine, Fuel system · TX

The vehicle shudders and it very slow to shift from park to drive.

Filed Apr 28, 2026 · Transmission · LA

Our Traverse has the transmission shudder really bad. This started at about 20k miles. Dealership made some adjustments which helped. Now that it out of warranty, this has gotten soo much worse. This needs to recalled.

Filed Sep 25, 2025 · Transmission · KY

Each time I drive the vehicle, the transmission has a shudder to where it almost stops pulling. To me, this could cause an accident due to it failing when in heavy traffic. These transmission issues on these vehicles need to be recalled and corrected before someone gets hurt or possibly killed.

Filed Jul 6, 2025 · Transmission · VA

Transmission shudders at low speeds changing gears. Less than 79,000 miles and changed or flushed transmission 3 times at dealership. Vehicle has been at dealership over a month with no fix in sight.

Filed Nov 8, 2024 · Transmission · IL

After I purchased the vehicle in 2021 I noticed there was a shuddering feeling when accelerating at speeds below 40mph. I found the service bulletin and the dealership flushed the transmission fluid and reprogrammed the transmission. Issue seemed to be resolved, but on 11/4/24 I was pulling my car out of a parking lot after being parked 4 hours and when shifting from park to drive the car lurched forward and made a loud clunking sound. There were no lights on so I drove onto the highway and shortly after the check engine light came on and I could not accelerate above 50 mph. I limped the car to a nearby dealership and they indicated that the transmission was shot and needed to be rebuilt or replaced. It is currently in the shop waiting to be rebuilt. The total cost is around $5,500. Between both transmission incidents I also had an issue with the shift to park and service stabilitrak warning lights. That was fixed before warranty expired, but I am now out of warranty and need to pay out of pocket. Called Chevrolet corporate and was told they'd look into offering financial relief but still haven't heard back from them despite the case being escalated. This is a known issue and is a risk to driver safety. There should be a recall and all expenses should be reimbursed!

Filed Oct 1, 2024 · Transmission · CA

Experienced slipping and shuddering while driving and a sudden loss of power. The vehicle also would not accelerate while driving. The vehicle was towed to a Chevy dealer as it was not drivable. The Chevy service department found an evap leak, vehicle does not move in reverse, slips going into drive. Checked fluid level and condition found level ok.

Filed Oct 2, 2023 · Transmission · ND

Taken in for transmission shudder, dealer has known service bulletin for issue. Serviced and fixed issue. Few months later, same issue. Taken back for service, this time, no issues found. Transmission still shudders.

Filed Aug 25, 2023 · Transmission · WI

Vehicle had known service bulletin transmission shudder and told torque converter failure for vehicle with only 57000 miles. Vehicle already had TCM and transmission control and flush services at 9,000 and 15,000 miles. GM did 50/50 split of bill since 5 year power warranty was expired. GM should be paying these entire costs to customers for a known quality issue documented in numerous service bulletins for the Traverse.

Filed Jan 29, 2023 · Fuel system, Transmission · OK

On multiple occasions the vehicle slowed to a stop but engine was still running. This happened once on the interstate at the speed limit. I got warning that power brakes and steering were not working. Other times the car shudders and stops. I then have to turn engine off and restart. I then take to dealer and they check with a computer and can find nothing wrong. I also had “shift to park”. Message and was unable to turn off engine. $300ish to get this fixed. The dealer said common in that vehicle. I want to make clear that this shuddering and limp mode problems have happened at least five times. The date above is the most recent

Service bulletins that may apply

Related recalls

Power train: automatic transmissionReported October 29, 2020 · 194,105 vehicles affected
What is wrong
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Chevrolet Cruze and Buick LaCrosse, 2018-2020 Chevrolet Equinox, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Terrain, 2018 Chevrolet Malibu, 2019-2020 Buick Encore, Buick Enclave, Cadillac XT4, Chevrolet Blazer and GMC Acadia, and 2020 Cadillac XT6 vehicles. The start/stop accumulator endcap may have missing bolts.
Risk
Missing bolts on the start-stop accumulator endcap could result in a transmission oil leak and may progress to a loss of propulsion, increasing the risk of a crash. A transmission fluid leak in the presence of an ignition source may increase the risk of fire.
Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the start-stop transmission accumulator and replace it if any bolts are missing, free of charge. The recall began December 15, 2020. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1‑888‑988‑7267, Buick Customer service at 1‑866‑608‑8080, Chevrolet customer service at 1‑800‑222‑1020 or Cadillac customer service at 1‑800‑458‑8006. GM's number for this recall is N202313440.

Recall number 20V668000 · Recall details

Questions about the 2018 Chevrolet Traverse shudder

Is shudder or vibration when accelerating a common problem on the 2018 Chevrolet Traverse?

17 of 466 owner complaints about the 2018 Chevrolet Traverse (4%) mention shudder or vibration when accelerating. The model year with the most reports is 2018.

Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2018 Chevrolet Traverse?

There is 1 recall and 91 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.

Other symptoms on the 2018 Chevrolet Traverse

Check engine light 60Jerking 32Stalling 22Transmission failure 20Loss of power 18Slipping 15Grinding brakes 12Hesitation 11Battery drain 9Fuel smell 8Won't shift 8Power steering loss 6Engine failure 5Seat belt 5Sunroof shattered 5

All model years of the Chevrolet Traverse

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