Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2009 Chevrolet Traverse owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I bought the car in August of last year and drove it for about 3 days before it started giving me problems. First incident I was driving my children home from the hairdresser and the car completely went out us on the highway, after repeated attempts for a half hour or so I was able to start it and drive it back home very slowly..this happened twice I went to get it diagnosed and codes came up for crank shaft sensor and o2 sensor, before I could even get that fixed more problems came up, the steering wheel began to become stiff and almost impossible to turn, while picking my son up from school I was trying to pull away from the curb in the drop off spot and almost hit another car and a child because the steering wheel stiffened up on me!!! I was told I would need an entire steering rack!!! …
We have had multiple issues with the 09 Chevy Traverse. The check engine light came on so we ran test on it. The test came back that there were 4 sensors that went out. We went and purchased those 4 sensors and reset the computer and within an hour the check engine light was back on for those sensors. We then went and replaced the sensors once again and the same thing happened. The next thing that happened was the headlights went out while driving down the road. Changed both headlights and a month later they went out again. Only way to help this issue was to turn off daytime lights. About 2 months ago the ac unit just stopped working while driving down the highway. Thought the ac might need recharged so we recharged it and it worked again for about an hour. Now it will not even allow you to turn the ac on at all. …
Unsafe car to drive in with my kids. I have no traction control and very sporadic power loss! I was driving with my kids going about 30mph and spun out of control around a curve with my kids in the car. Thank the lord no one was hurt and neither was the vehicle. I try to take off from a light or stop sign and it'll either take off super fast and almost hit the car in front of me, or take off slow with no power and almost get rear ended. I bought this car used 6 months ago and the last 3 months have been very frustrating with issues of this vehicle. I've already put $300 into it and now it's saying to change the cat converter. I called the #1 local shop to get a quote and he actually said his number one supplier has stopped issuing this part to Chevy Traverse because of all the recalls! So what do I do now????? I am a medical courier and this Traverse is my source of income. …
Tl* the contact owned a 2009 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that various warning indicators illuminated. In addition, the warning indicators for the air bags, service engine, and low beam headlights shorted several times. The contact smelled a burning odor near the front of the vehicle several times. The vehicle was repaired several times by the dealer, but the failure recurred. While driving at an unknown speed, a deer crossed the vehicle's path and crashed into the front of the vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. The vehicle was towed to a dealer for diagnostic testing. The driver sustained minor bruising, but did not require medical treatment. A police report was not filed. The manufacturer provided no solution and the vehicle was traded in for a 2013 Chevrolet Traverse. The VIN and failure mileage were not available.
My 09' Traverse started to shudder intermittently on acceleration and then the service engine light (sel) came on. I had the car diagnosed and the code was a p0302 (misfire cyl). I had the car serviced and repaired by an ase certified mechanic. All coils and spark plugs were replaced along with fuel inj service, performance restore (oil, gaskets, etc). No discrepancies were noted with previous coils/plugs. The car appeared to be fixed. No problems were noted during an 800 mile roundtrip. Then the shuddering returned during normal day driving around town upon acceleration with the sel illuminating. I took the car back into the mechanic, and the code was the same (p0302). After further research by the mechanic, a GM technical bulletin was found (#pip5038b). I've contacted GM customer service and filed a complaint, case # 9-5063655170.
I keep getting multiple random engine misfires that there seems to be no solution to fix the problem. The vehicle has been to the dealership several times. Runs for a while and starts acting up again. Stalls out when attempt to take off after coming to a stop or just starts to move and goes real slow, also has trouble getting up hills due to loss of power. Keep getting told it's catiloc converters and have replaced 3 times in last year. Have also replaced spark plugs and coil overs as well as fuel pump, mas airflow sensor, map sensor, oxygen sensors, and a few other things. Seems there is a lot of people with the same issues but no fix....
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Traverse. While driving at an unknown speed, the power failure indicator illuminated and the vehicle shut off. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence and later towed to an independent mechanic who was unable to diagnose or repair the vehicle. The contact called mcelveen Buick GMC at [phone] (located at 117 farmington rd, summerville, sc 29483) and was informed that there was no recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.
While spouse was driving vehicle with kids on expressway, the vehicle shut off by itself. Spouse pulled over and waited about 10 minutes before vehicle started again. Couple of days later, vehicle would not start at all. Took to dealer a couple of weeks later as vehicle still would not start. Dealer found the electronic chassis module(ECM) was shorted. There is a known recall for this same vehicle and symptoms. Dealer and GM state this vehicle is not part of recall however same model and year across country has same issue.
The trunk door closed down on me and the sensor did not send a signal to make the door go back up. I was pinned down to the bottom of the car and had to pull myself out very quickly, but not without minor injury to the back of my left arm. The vehicle was turned on and in park, in a parking lot. I was unable to pop the trunk, when my husband pressed the button to make it automatically go up. That's when, after leaning inside the vehicle, it started to go back down and did not stop when the door touched me.
After opening the lift gate my wife was hit in the head when the lift gate came down and hit her . I ordered new struts thinking this was the problem . After replacing the struts , the lift gate still falls without warning , and has hit her and I on 4-6 occasions .received a letter from GM about the problem , but as of 09-08-2015 there is no solution to the problem. How many more times must we be hit ? The rear storage area cannot be used unless someone holds lift gate incase it falls.
Related recalls
Electrical system
GM is recalling certain model year 2006-2009 Buick, lucerne; Cadillac dts; Hummer h2; model year 2008-2009 Buick enclave; Cadillac cts; model year 2007-2009 Cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; Chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; GMC acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl; Saturn outlook; and model year 2009…
Remedy: Dealers will permanently disable and remove the heated washer fluid module. An updated page for the owner manual will be provided and inserted in the owner manual to document that the feature has been permanently…
Electrical complaints in other Traverse years
Frequently asked questions
How common are electrical problems on the 2009 Chevrolet Traverse?
NHTSA has 36 complaints about the electrical system of the 2009 Chevrolet Traverse, 8% of the model year's 448 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2009 Chevrolet Traverse electrical problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 10V-240 (electrical system, Jun 4, 2010). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2009 Chevrolet Traverse electrical problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 88,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 1 fire and 3 injuries to electrical system problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.