2018 Chevrolet Traverse Power Train
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
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.
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 transmission is slipping which caused the converter to go out in the transmission.
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.
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.
The vehicle would not shift into park. We were told by the dealer park switch sticking at times.
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.
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. The failure mileage was unknown.
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.
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. Given the number of complaints filed, I would urge NHTSA to force GM to issue a recall for this safety issue.
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.
My transmission failed and had to be replaced for 10,000. The car is a 2018 so this was totally unexpected
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that after his wife had parked the vehicle, the vehicle failed to turn off as intended. The contact also stated that the vehicle had failed to start while at a gas station. Additionally, the contact stated that upon shifting from reverse(R) to park(P), the vehicle failed to respond and continued reversing. The contact 's wife depressed the brake pedal, and the vehicle stopped. The vehicle was taken to Main Street Service Station, where the contact was informed that the failure could be related to the transmission shifter cable; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer. The dealer was contacted and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a related recall, and he had to pay for the repair. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 66,000.
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.
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.
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 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.
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Quick Summary
The 2018 Chevrolet Traverse has 103 Power Train complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.