The short list
Where the money goes wrong — and where it doesn’t.
✕ Years to avoid
The loudest year in the model. 452 complaints, the most of any Traverse year, against just two recalls. The new nine-speed shudders from as early as 20,000 miles and gets replaced, sometimes twice. GM republished its internal 9T65 transmission replacement bulletin fifteen times and never issued a recall.
Same failures, later mileages. 398 complaints. Transmission replacements cluster at 105,000 to 136,000 miles rather than at 36,000, and Shift to Park is just as heavy. The upside is coverage: 2019 picks up free programmes for the exhaust pipe, a leaking axle seal and the purge valve.
Eight recalls, one of which replaces the car. 212 complaints but the heaviest recall list in the model, including a cracked right-hand frame rail whose remedy is to replace the vehicle. The shudder now arrives just past the warranty line: one owner at 64,925 miles, 4,925 miles too late.
The old car's last year, and its loudest. 359 complaints, the highest of the two six-speed years. One owner attached a dealer quote: $8,500 to replace the transmission at 107,000 miles. The timing chain job on this engine means dropping the engine and transmission out of the car.
✓ Years to hunt for
The quietest year in the model. 84 complaints, the lowest we have, and the last before the 2024 redesign. Two recalls, both powertrain, both fixed free with parts available since 2023. The exhaust Special Coverage lands on this year with 15 years and 150,000 miles of free repair attached.
One recall on the whole model year. 92 complaints and a single free connector recall. The catch is Shift to Park: about a third of the file, on a year GM's thirteen bulletins about that message never reached. One owner was quoted $800. Park it and switch it off ten times before you buy.
Where the numbers collapse. 86 complaints, under a fifth of 2018's, and no cluster owns the file. Three recalls, one of which only applies to wheelchair-accessible conversions. Watch the charging system: alternator failures at 40,000 and 60,000 miles are a real thread on this year.
Same year. Different engine.
One badge, several engines — the year’s verdict assumes the riskiest one. Yours might be the calm one.
Which engine is in the one you found?
Which engine you are looking at, and what GM has on file for eachThe engine in almost every Traverse. Codes LFX and LFY. On the 2016 and 2017 cars the risk is the timing chain, and mechanics are blunt about the labour: the correct repair drops the engine and transmission out of the car, and one mechanic no longer takes the job at all. On the 2018 cars GM ran Customer Support Program 18186 for a piston oil control ring damaged during installation, where the remedy, if the cylinder walls are scored, is a new engine. On 2019 cars a Special Coverage replaces an evaporative-emissions purge valve that will not close and makes the engine 'run rough, hesitate, or stall at idle speeds.' Watch the oil level on all of them.
The rare turbo four, 2018–2019 only. Fitted to a small share of cars in the first two years of the second generation. GM ran a voluntary emission recall on 2018 cars with this engine whose engine control module 'may not respond to test tools with the correct Calibration Verification Number,' which can fail an emissions inspection or stop a technician confirming the software. The remedy is a free reprogramming. That is the only engine-specific item anywhere in our sources for this engine, so it gets a row rather than a warning.
Partial split, and the important caveat: the failure that defines this model is not an engine at all. The nine-speed 9T65 automatic in every 2018-onward Traverse shudders and gets replaced regardless of which engine sits in front of it, and no recall covers it. Paste your VIN and we will tell you which engine row applies, plus the open recalls and Special Coverages on your exact car.
Decode my VIN — freeEvery year, rated
Each verdict links to the full report: known issues with real repair costs, open recalls, and the print-and-go inspection checklist.
The old six-speed Traverse, with the most recalls of any first-generation year and a driver air bag inflator campaign that GM was still mailing letters about at the end of 2025. The engine is durable if it was fed; the timing chain is the bill if it wasn't.
291 complaints · 5 recalls
Full report →The last of the old Traverse, and the loudest first-generation year we have at 359 complaints. Fewer recalls than 2016, but the same two air bag inflator campaigns and a six-speed with a documented shudder that no recall will ever pay to fix.
359 complaints · 3 recalls
Full report →The loudest year in the whole run at 452 complaints, and the launch of a nine-speed automatic that owners replace, replace again, and are never given a recall for. Only two recalls, and neither one touches the failure that dominates the file.
452 complaints · 2 recalls
Full report →The second year of the nine-speed, and the second loudest in the run at 398 complaints. The same shudder and the same Shift to Park message as 2018, but the failures land later and this is the year GM started handing out free coverage for the exhaust.
398 complaints · 3 recalls
Full report →Complaints nearly halve against 2019, but the recall list quadruples to eight, including a cracked frame rail whose remedy is to replace the vehicle. The nine-speed shudder is still here and now it arrives just past the warranty line.
212 complaints · 8 recalls
Full report →The year the numbers collapse: 86 complaints against 212 the year before and 452 in 2018. Three recalls, one of which only applies to wheelchair conversions. The nine-speed shudder is still in the file, just much quieter.
86 complaints · 3 recalls
Full report →92 complaints and a single recall, but a third of the recent file is one thing: a Shift to Park message on a model year GM's thirteen bulletins about it never reached. One owner was quoted $800 with no coverage.
92 complaints · 1 recalls
Full report →The lowest complaint total in the run at 84, and the last year before the 2024 redesign. Both recalls are powertrain, both can drop the car out of gear or let it roll away in park, and both have free fixes that were available years ago.
84 complaints · 2 recalls
Full report →None of the registered issues were proven to be a safety concern, so there are no proper recalls for torque converters or transmissions for the Traverse model with free repairs.
Shopping Traverse years? We’ll watch them for you.
New recalls, federal investigations, and quiet warranty-extension programs land months after you buy. Tell the canary which years you’re considering — it sings when something changes.
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