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.

The most repeated complaint on this model year is not mechanical. Screens go black, and the cameras, radio, navigation and rear climate controls go with them. 'Infotainment system broke, black screen, no ability to use back up or other cameras, or see navigation etc.' 'Driving down the interstate the main screen went out completely, GPS, radio, controls to temperature for the back. Back up camera works and [not much else].' 'The infotainment center went black. No sound in vehicle, no back up camera, no radio.' 'Radio screen went black and back up camera not working, no chimes or turn signal not making sound.' Related electrical reports sit alongside: 'My dashboard gave an alert battery saver active, then another alert stating to service charging system, vehicle may stall.' 'The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle unintendedly shut off.' 'Vehicle is not detecting key fob. Main battery was changed, now the vehicle is not detecting keys, both key fob batteries have been replaced.' A reliability channel describes the same pattern generation-wide: 'touchscreen freezing, Bluetooth connectivity drops, and app crashes. The MyLink system has seen multiple software updates, but issues persist due to wiring harness faults and outdated code.' No recall or GM programme in our data covers the head unit on this year. A losing rear camera is a legal problem as well as an inconvenience, so spend real time with the screen before you buy.

The 9T65 nine-speed produces fewer complaints here than on any earlier second-generation year, but the same ones. 'Bad torque converter.' 'The vehicle jerks and shifts harshly while decelerating and again when accelerating after slowing down.' 'The contact stated while attempting to accelerate, the vehicle experienced severe engine shutteri[ng].' 'Transmission shifts to a low gear and will not upshift causing the vehicle to only go about 10 mph at 4,000 rpm. Dealer says it is a solenoid.' 'It started when I put my car in reverse and it would delay and jerk back before reversing.' GM's service bulletin providing 'a procedure to correct a customer concern of Shudders or Shakes at Low Speeds' covers 2019 through 2024, and its internal 9T65 Automatic Transmission Replacement Pilot Program bulletin was republished with scopes reaching 2024, so this transmission is still on GM's list at the end of the generation. Separately and specific to this year, GM ran a Customer Support Program where 'various vehicle makes and models listed may have a condition in which the transmission case leaks fluid due to porosity around a mount bolt hole,' with dealers replacing the transmission case. A Customer Support Program, or CSP, is the industry's quiet extended-warranty coverage for a known defect; ask a dealer to check the VIN rather than assuming. What none of this includes is a recall for the shudder. A mechanic who reviewed the paperwork on this model puts it plainly: 'once the powertrain warranty for your Traverse is over, all TSBs that are not listed as recalls are purely for information, and they won't cover your costs.' A TSB is a Technical Service Bulletin, the repair instruction a manufacturer sends its dealers.

The generation-long exhaust bracket problem reaches this year too, and 2023 is the version of the bulletin that actually spells out what you get. Owners: 'The contact stated that while driving up a ramp at an undisclosed speed, the exhaust system deta[ched].' 'The exhaust bracket is broken.' 'Flex pipe issue.' 'The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormally loud soun[d].' GM's Special Coverage: 'certain vehicles listed above may have a condition that could cause the mounting bracket on the front exhaust pipe to separate from the pipe. If this condition occurs, a hole may develop in the exhaust pipe at the bracket location, and a rattling or increased exhaust noise may be heard.' Then the part that matters: 'This special coverage covers the condition described above for a period of 15 years or 150,000 miles (240,000 km), whichever occurs first, from the date the vehicle was originally placed in service, regardless of ownership,' with reimbursement available to owners who already paid for the repair, on repair orders dated on or after 10 June 2025. That is the most generous coverage anywhere in this model and it transfers with the car. It is still not a safety recall, which matters if the car has a branded title: an owner-mechanic on video was refused the free repair for exactly that reason and told 'GM would not cover the recall since it was not a safety recall.' He paid $175 for the pipe and fitted it himself rather than $380 at the dealer.

Single filings rather than clusters, but specific enough to check. Brakes: 'Car started making a load vibrational noise on the highway. When we got to the next stopping point, the right front brakes were extremely ho[t].' 'Front passenger caliper lock up.' 'While driving on the highway all of a sudden the vehicle started to vibrate and smell like metal burning.' One owner reports two separate brake events, in April and May 2025. Steering: 'We experienced power steering failure. Our steering wheel control was taken over while backing out of our driveway and while driving on a hi[ghway].' 'The steering assist becomes reduced while driving.' Also present: a driver's seat frame or track failure producing 'severe, high-fr[equency]' vibration, an exterior lighting complaint about the automatic headlamps not activating in low light, and one owner unable to buy a replacement alternator at all because 'GM does not make them for this model yet.' None of these has a recall or programme behind it in our data. A test drive that includes a firm stop from highway speed, a slow parking-lot lock-to-lock, and a walk around checking each wheel for heat covers most of them.

Two things to close on. First, the semiconductor-shortage Customer Support Programs that ran across 2022 and 2023 builds: heated and ventilated front seats and heated rear seats on cars built from 15 November 2021, seat cushion ventilation blowers from 30 March 2022, the heated steering wheel from 17 November 2021, and park assist from 2 December 2021. These are not defects; GM delivered cars with features that did not work and promised to fit them later, and its own wording is that owners 'should have been made aware of the condition at sale, and notified that once parts are available' the feature would be installed. Some cars were never brought back, so test every feature the advert claims. Second, the honest positive. This is the lowest complaint total of any Traverse year in our data, 84 against 452 on the 2018. The dense transmission-replacement cluster that defines the early second-generation years is down to single filings here. The Shift to Park wave that owns the 2022 file is largely absent. Neither of this year's recalls is open-ended; both had parts available in 2023. And the exhaust bracket, the one problem that runs the whole generation, arrives on this year with fifteen years and 150,000 miles of free coverage attached. What is left is a large, plain, comfortable three-row with a short and specific list.