2018 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE Power Train Problems

My 2018 Traverse has had several issues the past few years such as the electrical components in the car turning on and off randomly, a shift to park message which has been fixed twice, and the most current problem is the transmission. I was out of town 160 miles away with my family of 6 and we were about to drive home when the engine started to sound forced while I was driving. It wouldn't go past 30 mph and I had to quickly and safely get off the road and look for a mechanic. Had we already gotten on the freeway my family would have been in much more danger. After driving cautiously to 2 mechanics they referred us to a transmission service location. We had to leave the car there for several hours and came to find out that the transmission needed to be replaced and it would...

Hello this particular vehicle often gives us a message stating that side detection is temporarily unavailable and the main issue is the transmission seems to have severe shufdering issues and sometimes gives a shift to park message ive read others having this same issue being recalled but my vin is not listed! The car is available upon request for any inspections necessary

Park to shift keeps popping up on dash while driving. Vehicle will not recognise when in park at times to allow vehicle to be shut off properly. The stability track warning pops up on dash now as well. The check emits comes on with codes for all going back to transmission control module system and when replaced spark plugs we found that the PCV (cam cvr to turbo) tube was cracked all the way through where the hard plastic meets metal on the part and had to replace it. This is all after multiple failed parts that had to be replaced dealing with the ac unit and it’s lines. Today is the second time in two weeks that the vehicle has been in operational mode in the middle of a foward motion driving at the time. Luckily this time I was in a housing area and not a major street...

Transmission issues since 85k miles, park to shift sensor error since owned, rear ideoendent suspension bolts were stripped needed alignment. Car has not performed since ownership.

My vehicle has had the issue of putting the car in park and it says it is not it park, have to wiggle the gear shift around for it to recognize that the car is fully in park. Now the transmission will not go in to reverse. The R on the dashboard is blinking. Yes, it is available for inspection.

Shift to park errors over multiple years, shutter when accelerating. Now pressure control solenoid code vehicle will not go in reverse or shift out of first gear. Transmission needs replacement. This is my family vehicle, i have 3 small children and it has turned off at stop lights etc. My families safety has been jeopardized many times driving this vehicle, especially the last time in particular. The vehicle stopped engaging in reverse and then in first would accelarate by itself on the way home from my 8 year olds baseball game.

i am getting a shift to park error code on dashboard. The shifter gear is in park but the vehicle will not turn off. I have called the dealer several times and they are told the problem but eventually they hang up on me. There seems to be a class action suit out for the issue but no recall. I would like to see recall because this is a serious safety issue. One if the vehicle does not completely turn off and you are not aware of the issue then your battery can run out. If you are in a urban/remote area which I am no dealerships for about 50 miles away can be a serious problem being stranded on the I 15 freeway. When you put the vehicle in park sometimes it pops out of gear too. There were no previous warnings prior to the shift to park dash...

Exhaust weld broken (several times) same as “special coverage adjustment n212356540 front exhaust pipe”. This is a well known problem but gm refuses to fix 2018s which has the same exact problem and components. Chevy “fixed” it once and the weld broke a month later. This problem has been happening on and off for years and I am finally writing to you so that the word gets out. Gm is taking advantage of people

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that while in park, there was an alarm beeping. The message “Shift to Park” was displayed. Additionally, the TPMS warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who was unable to duplicate the failure. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 121,000.

Vibrations/shaking when driving. Took vehicle to a mechanic and the entire transmission needs to be replaced. I researched online and this is a common issue for the 2018 model. There where several transmission related recalls but my vehicle was not included in any of the recalls.

For the past few months now my 2018 Chevy Traverse has had a weird shimmy when changing lower gears. Got it looked at and they said one of the 9 clutches are going out and needs to be replaced for a total of $6664.63. After doing my own research, this is a common problem with the 2018 Chevy Traverse after reading all the complaints on Social Media and a few Chevy enthusiasts websites. I’ve called the dealership and they refuse to help out at all with the pricing or do anything without a recall issued. If I’d had to calculate the amount of cars effected that already had work done and cars that haven’t had work done yet due to the insane cost, I’d say at least 30-40% of these vehicles have these issues right now that people know about or have already had fixed. The transmission place I sent...

I purchased a 2018 Chevy Traverse with 6 miles on it. I keep my vehicle in mint condition and maintenance as needed and required. Recently in the past few months my car has been bucking when shifting gear engages in an automatic transmission. I took to dealership, and they stated it was the torque converter, and my vehicle has exactly 20,270 miles only. Not even passed the 36,000 marks but over 36 months. I bought an extended warranty thru Dealership which now sending someone to dealership to verify that this is infact a torque problem which were found 2017 and 2019 but not 2018 is hard to believe. They will be keeping it for 7 days and already had a recall for 2017 and 2019 so are they stating it only occurred in those years, and they fix the 2017 but then it skipped 2018 and jumped to 2019. Why...

The vehicle was struggling to pick up the gears and stalled in the road. After having it checked at the Chevy dealer stated it was the Transmission that needed to be replaced. The vehicle is unable to reverse due the the transmission issue. Unable to drive. There is no active recall for this issue which is concerning, considering I've read multiple drivers have the same issue with the 2018 Chevy traverse.

My car has twice been fixed with this shift to park message and now it is in the shop once again to be fixed!! And this has also had the torque converter fixed twice now. And it is still doing the same issues. This needs to be something that Chevy is replacing. I am a single mother and can’t afford all these problems and yet I keep having to make a car payment and get these things fixed.

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that the "Shift to Park" message was displayed. The message was displayed after shifting into park(P). The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed; however, the dealer was unable to determine the cause of the failure. However, the dealer informed the contact that the issue was a known issue, requiring that the wiring harness and shifter needed to be replaced. There was no diagnostic code was detected on the OnStar App. The failure occurred intermittently, but during the most recent failure, the vehicle continued to roll after being shifted into park(P). The contact quickly shifted into reverse and engaged the parking brake, and the vehicle lost power without being turned off. The vehicle became inoperable and could not be unlocked. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for additional examination. The manufacturer was not informed about the failure....

MAF sensor went bad on my 18 to traverse. I was told not to change the sensor that it was the manifold. Two days later I'm being told that my transmission is bad. I am in process now if getting it rebuilt. Needless to say I'm out a lot of money.

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.

I’ve had this vehicle for about a year or less the car ran fine with minor problems that come with having a vehicle. Up until last week the car never showed any signs of a failing transmission, it went from running fine to shuttering and suddenly I wasn’t able to reverse. The check engine light never came on, I’ve did all my routine checks and more with the dealership I bought it from and was never told anything when the vehicle was brought in for inspections.

Vehicle displays Shift to Park message and audible tone after arriving at destination and attempting to turn off vehicle. Shifter indicates the vehicle is in Park and the transmission gears display on main screen also indicates the vehicle is in Park; however the warning message and audible continue to occur. Numerous attempts to move shifter through the different positions P-D1 are required to get the warning message to clear and the audible tone to stop. It has rapidly gotten worse in a matter of two weeks and I’m concerned that it will continue to get worse until I am no longer able to clear it leading to a dead battery, as well as other potential powertrain problems. A recent class action settlement unfortunately does not provide any relief to me for this known safety issue which already has a large number of NHTSA complaints filed pertaining to this powertrain issue....

When my car is shift into Park and I tried to turn it off it’s giving me a “Shift to Park” message and the car continue to idle when it is turned off. I changed gears to try and take it off Park and then put back into Park and the same message occurs and it would not turn off car. After multiple attempts it finally turned it off. This has become more and more frequent. I cannot leave the car if it is not properly in park, still running with the warning bell beeping.

The transmission is slipping which caused the converter to go out in the transmission.

Frequent symptom is an "Action Required: Shift to Park" message on the dashboard. Which is preventing my vehicle from shutting down properly, and causing the battery to drain, and hinder my car's ability to start in addition to getting trapped in the vehicle because the vehicles fail to shift to the ‘Park’ position preventing me from being able to exit the vehicle. This is a known issue affecting various GM models which one being my 2018 traverse by GM but not willing to make official recall of the issue. There is a class action settlement due to this issue that was not privileged to me as an owner of a used vehicle included in this notice and have.

When car is parked and tried to turn off it’s giving me a “shift to park” and it won’t turn off the car. I changed gears to try and take it off park and then put back in park and same message and it would not turn off car. After multiple attempts it finally turned it off.

My 2018 Chevrolet Traverse, has unresolved safety defects that endanger occupants and other road users. These include transmission failure with loss of acceleration, “Shift‑to‑Park” malfunctions preventing engine shut‑off, inoperative blind‑spot/cross‑traffic sensors, faulty tire pressure monitoring, and an active oil leak from the timing gasket cover. These issues occur unpredictably during normal driving and parking, creating an immediate risk of collision, roll‑away, or engine fire. All of these issued happened within a very short time frame. June 2025 and I took my car into Crews Chevy, they want over $15,000 to repair. All of these items I have mentioned have numerous class action lawsuits (that they have won) for the year of my vehicle. I have spoken with GM (and have a case number) however, they are unwilling to repair, at no cost to me. I have an [XXX] daughter and work 7 days a week. I have been with out...

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that while attempting to park the vehicle, the gear shift selector was shifted to park(P), and the message "Shift to Park" was displayed, and the contact was unable to turn off the vehicle. The contact stated that after shifting to park several times, the failure self-corrected. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The contact indicated that the vehicle had previously been repaired for the same failure. No further information was available. The failure mileage was 84,000.

The vehicle has a design flaw which causes a bracket which connects the 2 pipes which connect to the catalytic converter to fail. Once the bracket has failed, the rear catalytic converter is allowed to vibrate more than designed, adding extra stress to the catalytic converter. Over time, this additional stress causes the catalytic converter to fail, releasing harmful gases directly from the engine exhaust manifold with carbon monoxide and other harmful gases into the air and into the passenger compartment of the vehicle. This is a know issue that GM has recalled on the 2019 (recall N212356540) and 2021 (recall N222385510) model year Traverse. Other years may have also been recalled that I am not aware of. For some reason, GM has neglected to take ownership of this issue on the 2018 Traverse which shares the same design as both the 2019 and 2021 model years. I have gone...

My transmission failed and had to be replaced for 10,000. The car is a 2018 so this was totally unexpected

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted and jerked abnormally. There was no warning light illuminated. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.

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.

Constantly displays “shift to park” when vehicle is properly in park and shut off which keeps the electrical system operating. Warning beeping (which can’t be turned off), interior and exterior lights, stereo, etc. continue for anywhere from minutes to hours until it randomly shuts down. Exterior lights have to be shut off manually. Meanwhile the battery is being drained and alarm system can’t be armed while warning beep is alerting passersby that the vehicle is powered on while unoccupied and unprotected. Other than waiting it out, the only option to shut the vehicle off is to disconnect the battery.

Regarding the vehicle's functionality, the horn activated unexpectedly on or around May 2, 2025, sounding continuously for approximately 10-15 minutes while the vehicle was occupied. Subsequently, the horn has ceased to function. Furthermore, on or around May 10, 2025, the powertrain system indicator illuminated, leading to a diagnosis on May 18th that identified code P0455, indicating an EVAP system leak. Concurrently, the driver's side seat belt buckle has exhibited a tendency to detach and fall between the seat components, failing to remain in its intended position.

9t65 auto transmission failed at 115,000 miles. It won't change past 3rd gear, and engine has reduced power. Towed it to the Chevy dealership where we bought it in York SC. They told me it needed a new transmission and it was not covered by any warranty. I then took it to a transmission repair place and was told it needed a new transmission and the cost was estimated at $7300. I've read lots on the Internet about numerous people having the same issue. There was even a very short term trial program to repair or replace the transmission on some vehicles....had to be low miles and fairly new. Meanwhile, our traverse has been sitting for about a year while I continue to make monthly payments on it.

The vehicle would not shift into park. We were told by the dealer park switch sticking at times.

When I stopped and ready to park the car, I put transmission to 'P' park position and press button to stop the engine. Even it is in park (P) position, the display shows 'shift to P position' message. I have to restart the engine and change the transmission and put it again 'P' position. Sometimes I had to try few times. I searched the internet and this looks like a common problem, but no recalls on this model.

Every time I turn the vehicle off I get a warning “Shift to Park” but it IS in park. I’ve called the dealership and was told there is no recall or bulletin for my VIN but it is a known issue on other Chevy Traverse’s. The dealership is going to charge me to run diagnostics and repair but since this is a known issue it should be a recall.

I have 69k miles on my car and my mechanic is saying I need a new transmission.

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle, with the gear shift lever in park(P), the message "Shift to Park" was displayed. The contact shifted the gear shifter back and forth and then into park(P) before the proper gear was recognized. The contact stated that the vehicle had previously been repaired for the same failure, but the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the gear shifter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 45,800.

2018 Traverse. 70k miles. We purchased it brand new at the end of 2017. On [XXX], we were driving home from Michigan the car sputtered and would not accelerate. We were almost hit by a semi that was driving behind us. We were able to pull into a gas station and put the car in park. While sitting at gas station the car shut off and wouldn't restart. No warning lights came on prior to the vehicle shutting down. We had it towed to our mechanic (VIP Automotive- New Lenox, Illinois). The mechanic went through the car and advised that the engine had seized. All fluid levels were fine, no leaks, all scheduled maintenance completed on time. He found metal chunks- not just shavings- in the oil pan. He said he's never seen anything like this and that the catastrophic engine failure had to be due to a defect in...

Truck stuck in shift to park

I recently had my alternator fixed and the torque converter last year. I was having issues with the battery staying charged, car would jerk, radio, heat and air would shut off and come back on, car would go in reverse although I'm trying to go forward, shift to park warning message when car was in park and there are shortages out something that will connect and disconnect the Bluetooth when I'm on calls via Bluetooth. I picked my car up from Love Chevrolet 1/28/2025. Everything seemed fine but the car still jerked when I would take off at lights, make turns or go up hills. The shift to park message is still happening. When I park the car and turn it off the car makes a sound and the warning pops up. The car lights will not go off when this happens. I have to turn the car off and...

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle, the gear shifter was shifted into park(P); however, the “Shift to Park” message was displayed. The contact was unable to turn off the vehicle and left the vehicle running until the battery died. The vehicle needed to be jumpstarted the next day. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: PIT5616 (Vehicle Displays Shift to Park Message On DIC When In Park); however, the vehicle was not covered under the TSB. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 111,000.

Car will not accelerate fast up hills

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted and jerked abnormally. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was restarted. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 65,505.

I purchased this vehicle in 2022 of October after about a year. I started noticing the car beginning to jerk back. Also, I noticed that the shift the handle when I would put it into park. It would not stay in park. It kept giving me a beeping noise. It kept slipping. At the time it wasn’t doing is it as much but lately I’ve noticed that it’s been happening more frequently so I took it into a mechanic to have it checked and they said it is a defect on the transmission. when I searched it up under NHTSA website I seen that there was multiple defects for this 2018 Chevy traverse.

The vehicle will not shut off and vehicle information screen states Shift to park. When this happens we have 2 options. 1st to sit and wait for the vehicle to turn off(takes over an hour on average), 2nd Disconnect the negative battery connection. The vehicle shuts down nearly instantly. Then reconnect the battery before being able to use the vehicle again

Third instance of failure on this vehicle. Vehicle does not recognize that gear selector is in Park. "SHIFT TO PARK" warning is displayed when shift selector is firmly in Park.

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...

Transmission issues :hard shifts, shift delays , hesitation upon acceleration, trouble on reverse gear. Engine issues: grinding noises , ticking noises ,check engine light turning on, loss of power engine Vibrating in steering wheel when braking.

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated while parking the vehicle, the shift gear was shifted to park, however, the contact stated that the vehicle did not turn off as intended. The contact stated that when turning the engine off, a warning light illuminated indicating shift to park instead. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle did not turn off. The contact stated that the failure began a year ago, however the failure has become persistent. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline and report the failure. The failure mileage was 80,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in park(P), the message “Shift to Park” was displayed even thought the vehicle was in park(P). The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, and the contact was informed that the gear shifter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 54,900.