2025 Chevrolet Traverse: What to check before buying

A group of brake warnings comes on at once: ABS, traction control, forward collision and parking brake lights, plus Service ESC and Service Brake Assist messages. Dealers usually trace it to a failed brake master cylinder, often on cars with only a few thousand miles. Some cars have under 300 miles. The pedal can turn spongy, soft or very hard, sometimes with a front-end clunk or leaking fluid. Two complaints describe crashes after a hard pedal failed to stop the car. Replacement parts are on national backorder, so cars sit at dealers for weeks.

Many of these complaints repeat the master cylinder and ABS failure, with messages such as "Brake Assist failure. Press hard to brake. Speed Limited" and pedals that need full force. Other reports describe a dead OnStar or telematics module. It takes GPS, connected services, software updates and adaptive cruise down with it, and parts are backordered. Some owners also report an instrument cluster that goes blank, a dead battery, and a false liftgate-open alarm that disables the rear wiper. One crash complaint with an injury says the front and side curtain air bags did not deploy in a side impact.

The transmission leaks fluid, sometimes heavily, and then fails. Cars lose power at highway speed, the RPM shoots toward the red zone, and the car will not engage drive or reverse. Several cars are towed. Other complaints describe slipping, jerky or erratic shifts, and hesitation when accelerating. Most failures come early, between 500 and 4k miles. One owner cites a GM service bulletin for a fluid leak near the torque converter. A backordered valve body and repairs lasting weeks are common. Sudden power loss in highway traffic creates real collision risk.

The roof-mounted shark fin antenna cover comes loose and flies off, sometimes on the highway and sometimes in a touch-free car wash. That turns it into debris for traffic behind. Owners describe weak or broken mounting clips, and one dealer refused warranty coverage because the car went through automatic car washes. Smaller complaints cover door panels that vibrate hard at 60 mph with the rear windows down and a door latch that stuck until the door would not open.

These complaints describe the same brake system fault filed under another category. The brake, ABS, forward collision and traction control lights come on together with Service ESC and Service Brake Assist messages. Brakes go soft and the car can slow itself, showing "brake assist fail, press hard to brake, speed reduced." Restarting may clear it for a while before it returns. Dealers point to the master cylinder, and parts are on nationwide backorder. One car was down 8 weeks after a new cylinder would not program.

The car brakes on its own at low speed, vibrates the driver's seat and shows a "Pedestrian Nearby" alert with no pedestrian present. That report came a week after the telematics control module was replaced. Another complaint says Super Cruise stopped working. A third involves a master brake cylinder failure after 4K miles, with a wait of 4-6 weeks for parts.

The wheel goes loose or stiff at the same time as ESC, ABS and forward collision warnings come on. One car showed "Do Not Drive the Vehicle over 62 MPH," and the dealer found the brake plunger motor temperature too high. Another car felt unbalanced, with excessive play in the wheel, past 10,000 miles. A separate report describes hands-free driving that changed lanes, then signaled back toward a car alongside, and the driver had to grab the wheel.

Two of the three complaints here are actually transmission failures, at 7100 and about 9,500 miles. One of those cars has been in the shop close to 3 months. The third describes a fuel injector failure on cylinder 4 at 120 miles. It caused a rough idle, a check engine light and code P0300, and the dealer quoted up to 10 days for parts.