2024 Chevrolet Trax: fire, smoke or burning smell

Filed Oct 7, 2026 · Engine · 100,000 miles · PA · fire

The contact owns a 2024 Chevrolet Trax. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH there was a popping sound coming from the engine compartment and the message to shut off the vehicle was displayed. The vehicle was immediately parked, and there was smoke coming from under the hood. The contact opened the hood of the vehicle and discovered flames coming from the engine. The fire department was called to the scene and the fire was extinguished. A Police report was filed at the scene. The vehicle was deemed destroyed and was towed to a nearby storage facility. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was contact about the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

Filed Oct 1, 2026 · Engine · 20,000 miles · AZ

The contact owns a 2024 Chevrolet Trax. The contact stated that while driving 45 MPH, there was an abnormal sound and smoke coming from the front of the vehicle. The contact stated that there was oil leaking from the vehicle and the engine seized. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the road. The dealer was contacted by phone and made aware of the failure. The vehicle was towed to the dealer; however, the report from the diagnostic test was not provided. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted by phone, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.

Filed May 4, 2026 · Engine · ME · fire

Traveling up I-XXX in [XXX] with my [XXX] daughter, heard a loud bang, pulled over to the side of the road and vehicle caught on fire. Connecting rod broke and blew out the side of the engine block. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Mar 17, 2026 · Electrical, Engine · NH · fire

I was driving down the highway going with the flow of traffic and my car caught fire. I was told by the mechanic that “the turbo line combusted and put a hole in the engine” I’ve also been told “oil got on the turbo belt and caught fire” I’ve also been told “the software recall actually had nothing to do with the software and it was an issue with turbos and something was mechanically wrong with this car. I was in the car with my 9 month old daughter. In the middle lane in the highway. The car instantly stopped accelerating leaving us going very slow compared to others. We could’ve been killed! I had to figure out how to get over and then get my daughter out of the car safely and wait on the side of the highway with a baby for fire and police to come put the fire out. When I was driving it sounded like pressure popped under the car and then I could almost hear pieces flying out. And then the dash lights came on telling me to turn the engine off. It was extremely unsafe and now I’m afraid to even drive with my baby in any car.

Filed Jan 14, 2026 · Engine · 7,696 miles · TX · fire

The contact's father owns a 2024 Chevrolet Trax. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and making a left, she observed a noise emanating from under the vehicle that sounded like loose gravel, and she observed smoke outside of the "turn off ignition" message displayed. The contact stated that she observed white/grey smoke coming through the vents in the cabin of the vehicle. The vehicle was turned off, and when the contact exited the vehicle, she observed fire under the engine compartment, and the fire spread rapidly. The fire department distinguished the fire. The police reported the incident, but there was no report taken. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was deemed inoperable. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure was 7,696.

Filed Jan 7, 2026 · Engine · 66,000 miles · OK

The contact owns a 2024 Chevrolet Trax. The contact stated that while driving 50 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact was able to safely get the vehicle to the right side of the road and noticed smoke coming from the engine. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the turbocharger had failed and caused a leak coming from the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and the contact was informed that the warranty had expired, but offered no assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 66,000.

Filed Sep 9, 2025 · Electrical, Engine · 19,000 miles · MO

The contact owns a 2024 Chevrolet Trax. The contact stated that upon parking the vehicle on a downward angle, there was an abnormal popping sound coming from the engine. There was no warning light illuminated. In addition, the contact stated that the infotainment screen intermittently went blank while driving at various speeds. The contact stated that on one occasion, while driving 50 MPH and entering a highway, there was a banging sound coming from the vehicle, with white smoke coming from the engine. There was no warning light illuminated. Due to the failure, the contact immediately pulled over and had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and the vehicle was towed to a dealer. While at the dealer, the vehicle was diagnosed with engine failure. The contact was then informed that the engine was on backorder, and the vehicle remained with the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 19,000.

Filed Aug 13, 2025 · Engine · MI

Purchased the 2024 Trax in April 2024 and immediately received a critical engine and transmission notification the same day we took delivery. Returned the vehicle to the dealership and was told it was an faulty oil sensor issue, which they took care of. The car now has ~9,500 miles and the engine failed yesterday. While accelerating on the freeway, we heard a loud pop, saw smoke coming from the engine and tail pipe, the engine light and oil light came on, and a message on the dashboard said to turn off the engine immediately. The engine seized and began leaking all of the oil/fluid out onto the pavement. We had to pull onto the left shoulder of the freeway because the engine seized, which is extremely dangerous (the tow truck driver was nearly hit trying to load the vehicle onto the flatbed tow truck). The Trax had just been serviced at a local dealership for scheduled maintenance (oil and filter change, tire rotation and 27-point vehicle Inspection) on Friday, August 8th. The car was towed back to the same dealership, at which time we were informed that a rod was loose inside the engine and created a hole, which caused the engine to run on 2 cylinders and fail. The dealer claims the damage is unrelated to the recent oil change and confirmed that they did NOT inspect the engine during the scheduled maintenance appointment. We pay for OnStar and receive monthly vehicle health reports. Besides the critical engine and transmission notice we received when we first picked up the vehicle and a recall notice - which we had resolved - there have been no other messages or symptoms before yesterday's engine failure. The vehicle is still at the dealership and we are waiting to hear how this situation will be resolved.

Filed Nov 29, 2024 · Acceleration, Electrical · SC · fire

On Tues 11/19/24, my son left home about 10 mins prior headed back to school in our 2024 Chevy Trax purchased in 5/2023. On his way to school, he and his friend heard a loud pop sound, followed by all the lights on the instrument panel flickering like crazy, smoke coming from under the hood, and then the car slowing to a stop, still in the road. Luckily they were able to get out because all the doors, except the driver door, locked including the trunk. The smoke got worse until it caught on fire. Good Samaritans stopped to help my 17 yo son and his friend and there was an off duty responder that turned around to put out the fire with the extinguisher he had on him, ahead of the fire department arriving on scene. This could have been very detrimental and had a very different outcome and GM/Chevy need to make sure this doesn’t happen to another family. This car was serviced and had very low mileage of less than 12k in 1.5years.

Filed Jul 16, 2024 · MI · fire

On [XXX] our nearly brand new ICE Chevy Trax spontaneously caught on fire and was destroyed. The check engine light had come on on May 30 and we had, as the manual said we should, set an appointment with our dealer to check it out. It was not flashing and the car was running fine. My wife took two of our grandkids out on [XXX] and drove a few miles doing kid things. Then I took the car for an 8-mile round trip and came home, parking in our driveway. The only unusual thing I noticed was that when I set the parking brake I did not hear the usual sound that function makes. About 15 minutes later my wife screamed that her car was smoking. I ran out and tried to get the garden hose to water the engine compartment, which the smoke was coming from, and growing quickly. Water didn't go down below the hood well and the paint started smoking then blistering. I tried to get water into the engine compartment from under the car but could not, and nothing was burning under the car that I could see at that point. (I could not discern the under-hood source of the original fire.) Then flames appeared and I had to back off. We had called 911 at once, of course, and the Saline fire department arrived and put the fire out with their big hose. By that time the entire engine compartment was destroyed, the windshield smashed, and both front tires had exploded. Note that there was a 15-20 mph wind blowing from the rear to the front of the car. Otherwise a nice day. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Feb 23, 2024 · Engine · 6,455 miles · NV · fire

The contact owned a 2024 Chevrolet Trax. The contact stated that while her son was driving at approximately 45 MPH, he observed smoke emanating from the engine compartment. The contact stated that as her son attempted to steer the vehicle off of the highway, the vehicle caught fire. The fire department extinguished the fire. It is unknown if there was a police report taken at that time. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard where it was diagnosed as totaled. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 6,455.

Filed Oct 30, 2023 · MA · fire

Unknown. On October 23,2023, at approximately 1:10am, Car was parked and off, received notification that alarm was going off. When I check the vehicle, it was in flames. Boston fire dept extinguished the fire. Police report was made the following morning, October 24,2023. I've contacted GM and I am still awaiting response. Car was a brand new 2024 chevy trax. Geico insurance reported it to be total loss.