Shuttering 9 speed transmission at low speeds and stop and go traffic. Whining noise when accelerating
Chevrolet Traverse whining noise problems
65 of the 5,528 owner complaints about the Chevrolet Traverse describe whining or grinding noise, most of them for the 2011 model year.
- owner complaints
- 65
- worst model year
- 2011
- typical repair cost reported
- $1,500
- typical mileage
- 55,000
Is there a fix? There are 6 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
Power steering loss 11Steering noise 7Grinding brakes 6Check engine light 3Steering lock-up 2Seat belt 2Loss of power 2Brake failure 2
What owners say
This started around may 2020... I was at about 2k miles in. I was told it was due to weather. And that they had other chevy with same issue- "so it's normal". I bought the 2020 chevy traverse brand new right off lot. After we packed up and visited family I noticed it had sounds. The sounds were like whining noises just loud and seriously obnoxious. It only happened we were turning vehicle at first. So we get home and it started being louder. I then noticed as I was driving and after I slowed down to like 20 heading for a stop sign the car suddenly has this burst of energy and speeds up to like 33 causing me to hit breaks. I told my husband and he was like I don't know maybe it is expunging gas. After I slow down? Isn't that dangerous. I ignored it but it continues ever so often and this is on regular streets -speed limit is 35. Then the whining noise from wheel had me terrified. So we went to dealer. That was comical. Dude was like "it's a characteristics of the car". I'm like what? Why would they make a car with an annoying sound - its distracting. I don't want to die because of my wheel. I read online other people had problems so we went to another dealer and another. The guy at last dealer was like this is not normal. They created carfax report and switched part out. I could go on. So that loud noise never went away- at first it was low and now louder. I called chevy again and they are like a dealer has to access situation and call us. This is not safe. Also the other problems are seatbelt locks. The middle seat design is terrible. My daughter was sitting there when it went back in between seat and locked it wouldn't let up no matter what. Had to take seat apart to fix seat belt. My seat in front locks and its relentless. So uncomfortable and it chokes me because I'm short. Terrible design because it can't adjust like the gm version. I have video proof/receipts.
Whining and winding sound on acceleration at all speeds..rumbling noise from engine. Strut leaking and front suspension issues. This turned out to be transmission and torque converter. Along with pto pinion seal, crankshaft seal, water pump, harmonic balancer, struts, sway bar links, and drive belt.
12/23/19 while driving my car it began making slight whine noises which increased during turning, tires seemed a bit loose with driving, then when parking it was as if no power steering at all- checked ps fluid tiny bit low, added small amount. 12/24/19 same problem still occurring only extremely more difficult to turn, 12/26/19 had car checked by mechanic our power steering pump has gone out at 81k miles and in all probability our rack and pinion, this is a known issue for traverses, there has been a special service coverage extension thru 100k mikes for traverses 2009-2011, though when I spoke to representative she said 2007 - 2011 years, and the parts that need replacing are the exact same part numbers thru 2015 traverses. The 'reason' I was given is because 'it is for vehicles produced in 'specific- undisclosable locations' which are in 'specific years and VIN numbers' and yet the part is the exact same part that is being utilized in the entire span of at least the years '2009-2015'. This is a huge safety concern as well since it causes problems with your steering as well as tire functionality. Why are the years past 2011 being dismissed? I was informed by both our local dealership and the online customer service for gm that our VIN is not included. This is not an isolated event. How can this special coverage be extended to cover additional years since all of the parts required to be replaced are exact ones utilized in each year? Thank you.
Today I started to develop a whining noise and the steering has started to become increasingly harder to turn in the past week. It is hard to turn at low speeds. There have been various times where I have been unable to maneuver the vehicle when trying to park due to the steering becoming very stiff. I've also had a close call getting into an accident while making a u-turn due to the steering being nearly impossible to turn today. This is very unsafe. I was try to turn left into a parking drive way with oncoming traffic and cars behind me. Luckily they stopped. I couldnt make the turn at once. The wheel was too tight and I didnt have the strength to turn the wheel enough to the left to complete the turn. I had to go back and try again. I hit the sidewalk curb. And to go back and forth to get the car in a position enough to turn into the drive. I had a car shop check to power steering fluis and there was enough. They advised I come back because they were going to close so they could check further under the vehicle.
When turning the steering wheel, there is a low whining sound. The dealer says this is "normal". The steering column should not make any noise. Noises coming from a steering column usually indicate trouble.
Takata recall 2013 chevy traverse ltz, 109k miles, I'm on my 3rd power steering pump. Bought used in july 2018, replaced the pump back in may 2019, I provided the pump and took it to the dealership where I bought it, they replaced it and charged me $600 for labor and the next day it out out again (turns out it was actually a bad pump, brand new but bad ) so the dealership said they'd swap it out for the cost of labor, I didn't have another $600 to throw away so I replaced it with some help and it worked perfectly, we used the dext. Iv fluid as suggested and it's been running great, no more whine and steers like a dream. Well it's now july 2019 and the pump is out again. No visible leaks and the fluid level is good and fluid still red. If I get rid of this I'm going back to ford for a vehicle, this is my first chevrolet and also my last. If the pump went out on the highway that would be incredibly dangerous. I drive all highway and it's my daily driver. I can still drive the vehicle, but when the rpms are low it's like manual steering, forget going through a drive through or parking up front anywhere!
I heard a whine noise when turning to the right took it to the dealer they said it was hard to find but the power steering hose was defective and needed to be replaced at 47000 miles. The noise actually started around 37000 miles but the dealership said it was just my imagination they could not find the problem. Now I do some research and find it's a known problem with traverses and the dealer still acts like they have never seen it happen before. Just need to get it on record in case the power steering goes out all together like some others have. A known problem I would say.
Just bought 2010 traverse w/204xxx miles. Power steering pump started leaking at 205xxx. Vehicle was operating fine. No leaks, no noises or vibrations or anything. Drive 15 miles from home 1 day and after exiting highway, I noticed stiff steering and whining/groaning when turning steering wheel. Problem came on so quickly. Vehicle didn't want to turn and almost went into the ditch while I was attempting to make a turn. I quickly pulled over and checked under hood and under vehicle and noticed I was suddenly leaking steering fluid very quickly from pump. Took to local mechanic and was told I have a bad steering pump. They recommended I report this issue as they noticed that this pump had been replaced before and there have been many issues relating to my model year and similar models regarding faulty steering systems. Upon my research, I have seen numerous blogs and posts from other owners verifying this issue. Mileage on other models was 8xxx and up. With kids in my vehicle all the time, this makes me very nervous about current safety regulations and recalls. This is a major safety issue and I seem to be among numerous owners having this issue regardless of vehicle mileage
Purchased a 2015 chevy traverse the power steering went out and it's leaking. This vehicle is only 3.5yrs old this should not be happening! It's extremely dangerous when you have two children in the vehicle!! The noise was grinding and whining, you could not turn the vehicle if you were reversing. And trying to drive forward and turning onto another road was very hard. This is not normal and this needs to be a recall!!
Related recalls
Power train: automatic transmission
- What is wrong
- General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2023 Cadillac XT6, GMC Acadia, Chevrolet Blazer, Traverse, and 2022-2023 Cadillac XT5 vehicles. The transmission may have been built with an incorrect sun gear, which can result in the driver-side half-shaft disengaging from the transmission.
- Risk
- A half-shaft disengaging from the transmission can result in a loss of drive power or vehicle rollaway when the vehicle is placed in park. Either of these scenarios can increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the sun gears, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 27, 2023. The remedy is expected to become available August 31, 2023. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1‑800‑458‑8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1‑800‑222‑1020, or GMC customer service at 1‑800‑462‑8782. GMC's number for this recall is N222389310.
Recall number 23V172000 · Recall details
Power train: driveline: driveshaft
- What is wrong
- General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2023 Chevrolet Blazer and Traverse vehicles. The left-side half-shaft assemblies may be missing a retaining ring.
- Risk
- A missing retaining ring on the half-shaft can cause half-shaft inner joint separation, resulting in a loss of drive power or vehicle rollaway when the vehicle is placed in park. Either of these scenarios can increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the left-side half-shaft assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 23, 2023. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1‑800‑222‑1020. GM's number for this recall is N222390180.
Recall number 23V042000 · Recall details
Power train: automatic transmission
- What is wrong
- Braun Corporation (Braun) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Chevrolet Traverse wheelchair accessible vehicles with Power In-floor Ramp conversion. The screw and clip that hold the inner wheel-well plastic shroud in place may chafe against the transmission case, possibly resulting in a transmission fluid leak.
- Risk
- A transmission fluid leak can cause a loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash. In addition, a leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the screw and clip, and inspect for signs of contact with the transmission, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 29, 2021. Owners may contact Braun customer service at 1‑800‑488‑0359.
Recall number 21V817000 · Recall details
Power train: automatic transmission
- 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
Power train: automatic transmission
- What is wrong
- General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014 Buick Regal, LaCrosse, Verano, and Enclave, and Chevrolet Impala, Malibu, Cruze, and Traverse, and GMC Acadia vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions. In the affected vehicles, the transmission shift cable adjuster may disengage from the transmission shift lever. As such, these vehicles do not conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 102, "Transmission Shift Lever Sequence, Starter Interlock, and Transmission Braking Effect." They also fail to conform to FMVSS number 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."
- Risk
- If a vehicle's shift cable disengages from the transmission shift lever, a driver may be unable to shift gear positions and the indicated shift position may not represent the gear position the vehicle is in. Should a disengagement occur while the vehicle is being driven, when the driver goes to stop and park the vehicle, the driver may be able to shift the lever to the "PARK" position, but the vehicle transmission may not be in the "PARK" gear position. If the vehicle is not in the "PARK" position there is a risk the vehicle will roll away as the driver and other occupants exit the vehicle or anytime thereafter. A vehicle rollaway increases the risk of injury to exiting occupants and bystanders.
- Remedy
- General Motors will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace any affected transmission shift cable adjusters, free of charge. The recall began on April 10, 2014. Chevrolet owners may contact General Motors at 1‑800‑222‑1020, Buick owners at 1‑800‑521‑7300, and GMC owners at 1‑800‑462‑8782. General Motors' number associated with this recall is 14048.
Recall number 14V092000 · Recall details
Power train: automatic transmission: lever and linkage: column shift
- What is wrong
- General motors is recalling 276,729 my 2009 buick enclave, chevrolet cobalt, hhr, malibu, traverse, gmc acadia, pontiac g5, g6 and saturn aura and outlook passenger vehicles. These vehicles fail to comply with federal motor vehicles safety standard 102, "transmission shift position sequence, starter interlock, and transmission braking effect", and fmvss 114, "theft protection and rollaway prevention". On some of these vehicles, the transmission shift cable adjustment clip may not be fully engaged. If the clip is not fully engaged, the shift lever and the actual position of the transmission gear may not match. With this condition, the drive could move the shifter to "park" and remove the ignition key, but the transmission gear may not be in "park".
- Risk
- The driver may not be able to restart the vehicle and the vehicle could roll away after the driver has exited the vehicle, resulting in a possible crash without prior warning.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and ensure that the shift cable adjustment clip is fully engaged. In the event that the clip does not engage, the shift cable will be replaced free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on or before march 24, 2009. Owners may contact buick at 1‑866‑608‑8080, chevrolet at 1‑800‑630‑2438, gmc at 1‑866‑996‑9463, pontiac at 1‑800‑620‑7668 and saturn at 1‑800‑972‑8876 or at www.gmownercenter.com.
Recall number 09V073000 · Recall details
Questions about the Chevrolet Traverse whining noise
Which Chevrolet Traverse years have whining or grinding noise problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2011 (24 complaints), 2010 (16 complaints) and 2009 (12 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix whining or grinding noise on the Chevrolet Traverse?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $1,500 (median of 25 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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