Your vehicle report

2009 Chevrolet Traverse

The problems owners report. The recalls to check. The evidence behind each.

NHTSA data through October 2026View original NHTSA data Change vehicle

Your vehicle at a glance

Complaint patterns and official recall records, kept distinct.

Owner complaints
448
Received Feb 2009 to Jan 2026
Official recalls listed
8
Naming this model year; check your VIN for applicability
BrakeNews flagged problems
0
Statistical signals, not official defect findings or recalls

Owner reports

Most reported problems

  1. 1
    Power steering cuts out while driving68 complaints · 15% of this vehicle’s complaints
  2. 2
    Steering wanders or pulls at highway speed55 complaints · 12% of this vehicle’s complaints
  3. 3
    Steering wheel seizes or locks suddenly41 complaints · 9.2% of this vehicle’s complaints
See all reported problems

Official NHTSA records

Recalls to check

  • Recall #15V415000General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2008-2012 Buick Enclave vehicles manufactured January 3, 2007, to February 29, 2012, 2009-2012 Chevrolet Traverse vehicles manufactured July 6, 2008, to March 9, 2012, 2007-2012 GMC Acadia vehicles manufactured September 15, 2006, to February 29, 2012, and 2007-2010 Saturn Outlook vehicles manufactured August 17, 2006, to March 18, 2010. The affected vehicles, equipped with the power liftgate option, have gas struts that hold the power liftgate up when open. These struts may prematurely wear and the open liftgate may suddenly fall.
  • Recall #14V266000General Motors is recalling certain model year 2009-2014 Buick Enclave vehicles manufactured April 14, 2008, through May 14, 2014, Chevrolet Traverse vehicles manufactured June 6, 2008, through May 14, 2014, and GMC Acadia vehicles manufactured April 9, 2008, through May 14, 2014, and 2009-2010 Saturn Outlook vehicles manufactured April 14, 2008, through March 18, 2010. In the affected vehicles, the flexible steel cable that connects the seatbelt to the front outboard seating positions may fatigue and separate over time.
View recall details

BrakeNews signals

Flagged complaint patterns

Unusual complaint patterns with no matched recall yet. A flag does not mean a recall will happen.

No problems currently meet BrakeNews’s flagging criteria. This is not a safety rating.

How flags are identified

Complaint counts reflect reports submitted to NHTSA, not failure rates or a reliability ranking. Reported in these complaints: 17 crashes, 2 fires, 16 people injured, 0 deaths.

Explore by system

Where do owners report problems?

Choose an area on the car or a system below to explore the reported problems.

Schematic car with five system shortcutsGeneric side view, with the front on the left. Numbered links explore engine, brakes, steering, electrical, and body complaints. Text controls below provide the same choices.12345FRONTSCHEMATIC VIEW

Illustrative only; not this vehicle’s exact design. Areas represent complaint categories, not confirmed defective parts.

View selected problems

Showing all 20 listed problems by system.

Engine & powertrain

5 more problems

Brakes

No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.

Electrical & lights

Airbags, belts & seats

Steering, suspension & tires

3 more problems

Body, doors & glass

Driver assistance

No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.

Other

No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.

Complaint history

When NHTSA received these reports. Changes in reporting alone do not establish a change in failure rates.

Complaints received about the 2009 Chevrolet Traverse
130
Show as a table
YearComplaints
20097
20107
201117
201222
201356
2014130
201564
201632
201728
201830
201929
20209
202111
20222
20232
20241
20250
2026 (to Oct 2026)1
Total448

Problems owners report

Listed groups have at least 3 complaints. The page includes the 20 largest groups plus any additional flagged groups; some complaints are not assigned to a group.

ProblemComplaintsShareShare ratioStatus
Power steering cuts out while driving6815%–
Steering wanders or pulls at highway speed5512%–
Steering wheel seizes or locks suddenly419.2%–
Power steering rack leaks fluid255.6%–
Steering wheel clunks or clicks when turning204.5%–
Chevrolet Silverado loses power and hesitates143.1%–
Unintended acceleration despite braking143.1%–
Automatic transmission shifts unexpectedly or slips112.5%–
Seat belt fails to latch or retract102.2%–NHTSA recall #08V615000, #10V375000, #14V266000
Transmission fails or loses power while driving102.2%–
Airbag warning light stays on92.0%–NHTSA recall #14V118000
Timing chain fails and destroys engine92.0%–
Transmission will not engage reverse gear92.0%–
Check engine light comes on repeatedly81.8%–
Airbags fail to deploy in crashes71.6%–NHTSA recall #14V118000
Glass shatters or cracks without impact61.3%–
Tailgate or trunk latch fails61.3%–NHTSA recall #15V415000
Headlights dim or fail at night51.1%–
Engine suddenly shuts off while driving51.1%–
Tires blow out or tread separates40.9%–

AI groups complaints by meaning; the groups are approximate. Share ratio compares the problem’s share of this vehicle’s complaints with its share on other vehicles over the last 24 months (shown from 3 recent complaints). A 2× ratio means twice the complaint share, not twice the failure risk. Flags mark unusual shares or recent surges after an AI review of the complaint content. “First signal” does not mean the pattern has persisted continuously.How recall estimates are calculated.

Recalls

  • NHTSA recall #15V415000June 30, 2015691,144 vehicles affected

    structure: body: hatchback/liftgate

    General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2008-2012 Buick Enclave vehicles manufactured January 3, 2007, to February 29, 2012, 2009-2012 Chevrolet Traverse vehicles manufactured July 6, 2008, to March 9, 2012, 2007-2012 GMC Acadia vehicles manufactured September 15, 2006, to February 29, 2012, and 2007-2010 Saturn Outlook vehicles manufactured August 17, 2006, to March 18, 2010. The affected vehicles, equipped with the power liftgate option, have gas struts that hold the power liftgate up when open. These struts may prematurely wear and the open liftgate may suddenly fall.

    If the open liftgate unexpectedly falls, it may strike a person, increasing their risk of injury.

    Remedy

    GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the power liftgate actuator motor control unit so that the motor will prevent the rapid closing of the lift gate, free of charge. The recall began on November 15, 2016. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782, and Saturn customer service at 1-800-553-6000. GM's number for this recall is 15240.

  • NHTSA recall #14V266000May 20, 20141,339,355 vehicles affected

    seat belts

    General Motors is recalling certain model year 2009-2014 Buick Enclave vehicles manufactured April 14, 2008, through May 14, 2014, Chevrolet Traverse vehicles manufactured June 6, 2008, through May 14, 2014, and GMC Acadia vehicles manufactured April 9, 2008, through May 14, 2014, and 2009-2010 Saturn Outlook vehicles manufactured April 14, 2008, through March 18, 2010. In the affected vehicles, the flexible steel cable that connects the seatbelt to the front outboard seating positions may fatigue and separate over time.

    If the steel cable becomes fatigued and separates, the seatbelt may not properly restrain the seat occupant increasing the risk of an injury in a crash.

    Remedy

    General Motors will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, repair and replace the lap pretensioner, free of charge. Parts are not currently available. An interim notice will be mailed to owners in July 2014. A second notice will be mailed to owners once parts become available. The recall for the 2009-2010 model years began on July 11, 2014. The interim letter for the 2011-2014 model years were distributed on July 11, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-462-8782 (GMC), 1-800-553-6000 (Saturn). General Motors recall number for this campaign is 14187.

  • NHTSA recall #14V118000March 17, 20141,176,407 vehicles affected

    air bags: side/window

    General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2008-2013 Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia and 2009-2013 Chevrolet Traverse and 2008-2010 Saturn Outlook vehicles. In the affected vehicles, increased resistance in the driver and passenger seat mounted side impact air bag (SIAB) wiring harnesses may result in the SIAB and seat belt pretensioners not deploying in the event of a crash.

    Failure of the side impact air bags and seat belt pretensioners to deploy in a crash increase the risk of injury to the driver and front seat occupant.

    Remedy

    GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected harness connections with soldered connections, free of charge. The recall began on June 16, 2014. Buick owners may contact the owner center at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet owners at 1-866-694-6546, Saturn at 1-800-553-6000, and GMC owners at 1-866-996-9463. GM's number for this recall is 14030. Note: Vehicles repaired as part of Customer Satisfaction Campaign 10085 and special coverage 10335 have already had the subject condition repaired and therefore are not included in the safety recall.

  • NHTSA recall #10V375000August 12, 2010207,210 vehicles affected

    seat belts

    General motors is recalling certain model year 2009-2010 Chevrolet Traverse, Buick enclave, Gmc acadia, and saturn outlook vehicles. The second row seat side trim shield restricts the upward rotation of the safety belt buckle when the seat back is returned to a seating position after being folded flat. If the buckle contacts the seat frame, additional effort is required to return the seat to a seating position. If sufficient force is applied, the buckle cover could be pushed down the strap, exposing and partially depressing the red release button.

    The safety belt may not restrain the occupant as intended during a crash, increasing the risk of injury to the seat occupant.

    Remedy

    Dealers will modify the second row seat side trim shields. If a safety belt buckle is damaged, dealers will replace it free of charge. The safety recall began on august 18, 2010. Owners may contact Chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, Buick at 1-866-608-8080, Gmc at 1-866-996-9463, and saturn at 1-800-972-8876, or at the owner center at www.gmownercenter.com.

  • NHTSA recall #10V240000June 4, 20101,365,070 vehicles affected

    electrical system

    Gm is recalling certain model year 2006-2009 Buick, lucerne; Cadillac dts; Hummer H2; model year 2008-2009 Buick enclave; Cadillac cts; model year 2007-2009 Cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; Chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; Gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl; saturn outlook; and model year 2009 Chevrolet Traverse vehicles equipped with a heated washer fluid system (hwfs). A recall was implemented in 2008 to add a fuse to the control circuit harness to address the potential consequences of a printed circuit board (pcb) electrical short. However, there have been new reports of thermal incidents on hwfs modules after this improvement was installed. These incidents resulted from a new failure mode attributed to the device's thermal protection feature. The significance varies from minor distortion to considerable melting of the plastic around the hwfs fluid chamber.

    It is possible for the heated washer module to ignite and a fire may occur.

    Remedy

    Dealers will permanently disable and remove the heated washer fluid module. An updated page for the owner manual will be provided and inserted in the owner manual to document that the feature has been permanently disabled and removed from the vehicle. The safety recall began on june 11, 2010. Owners may contact Buick at 1-866-608-8080, Cadillac at 1-866-982-2339, Chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, saturn at 1-800-972-8876, Gmc at 1-866-996-9463 and Hummer at 1-800-732-5493 or at the owner center at www.gmownercenter.com.

  • NHTSA recall #09V153000May 6, 200915,393 vehicles affected

    parking brake

    Gm is recalling 15,393 my 2009 Chevrolet Traverse vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 135, "passenger car brake systems." these vehicles may have a park brake cable link (connector) that is not to specification. This connector may fracture when the park brake pedal is depressed.

    If the transmission shift lever is in the park position, there will be no unintended vehicle movement. However, if the keys are left in the ignition, the transmission shift lever is in any position other than park, and the vehicle is parked on a sufficient slope, it could result in unintended vehicle movement. This could result in a crash without prior warning.

    Remedy

    Dealers are to replace the park brake cable link (connector) free of charge. Gm anticipates that the dealer bulletin will be sent may 5, 2009 and owner letters will be mailed in june 2009. Owners may contact Chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, or at www.gmownercenter.com.

  • NHTSA recall #09V073000March 6, 2009276,729 vehicles affected

    power train: automatic transmission: lever and linkage: column shift

    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".

    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.

  • NHTSA recall #08V615000November 24, 200816,667 vehicles affected

    seat belts: rear/other: buckle assembly

    Gm is recalling 16,667 my 2009 Buick enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, Gmc acadia, and saturn outlook vehicles for failing to conform with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 209, 'seat belt assemblies.' these vehicles may have been built with a safety belt buckle in the second or third row that is missing a rivet.

    In a vehicle crash, if the rivet is missing, the buckle may separate from the mounting strap, increasing the risk of injury to the passenger.

    Remedy

    Dealers will inspect the safety belt buckles in the second and third rows, and replace them if necessary. The recall began on november 26, 2008. Owners may contact Buick at 1-866-608-8080; Chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438; Gmc at 1-866-996-9463; saturn at 1-800-972-8876; or through their website at <a href=http://www.gmownercenter.com>http://www.gmownercenter.com</a> .

Other model years

About this data

NHTSA complaints and recalls through October 2026. Complaints are counted once each, however many components they name. Original complaints are on NHTSA's page for the 2009 Chevrolet Traverse.

Problem groups are formed by AI and may be approximate. BrakeNews flags unusual complaint patterns; they are not official defect findings. Investigation reports are written and checked by AI, with no human review. Owner reports do not establish that a defect exists.

Read the methodology and track record · Check current recalls by VIN