Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2012 Chevrolet Traverse owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I was driving down the freeway at about 67 MPH when the message "Traction Control Disabled" came on my display & the car immediately went into "limp mode"! By some miracle I was able to muscle the car out of the slow lane, onto the shoulder as I lost my power steering once in limp mode. I waited a few minutes, car started up just fine, so I shrugged it off. Fast forward 1 week later & the same thing happened to me on my way home on a curvy mountain road. The power steering was again non-existent & luckily, there was no one behind me, nor did anyone come around the corner & hit my disabled car. Once again, it started up, no problem; however, this is when the harsh forward thrust started happening, & the transmission seemed to be slipping gears. The RPM's would rev to the 6000 range & immediately fall down to 1500. …
The air conditioning stopped working after working amazing, Traction Control Disabled light keeps coming on, The RPM's would rev up seems like it gets stuck then drops to normal. stabilitrak messages with the ABS warning light lit up, Power steering (or power control) goes limp (at the worse times pulling out in traffic) It's on issue after the other. Once I get one fixed another goes, then we're back to the first one that was replaced that is now not working again. I still have a car payment so I'm without my car more than I'm driving it. I have to save up to get it fixed, and I won't drive it until I know for sure it's good. I was almost killed way to many times in it so to all the issues that GM knows about.
It sways left to right really bad.. but when it rains or even even the car detected that it's going to rain.. as soon as the car senses it is going to rain u can't even drive it.. it like hydro plains even before it starts to officially rain.. very dangerous plus I had to replace the two back tires because they seemed like they were being forced and drug that all u seen was wires coming out of the tread
I was driving 70mph on the interstate (with my 4 children in tow) my CEL, service stabilitrac and reduced engine power lights came on. My speed was reduced to around 45mph. I had two semis behind me, the one directly behind me had to get over very quickly to avoid rear ending me. I put on my hazards and took the next exit approximately 7 miles ahead. Once off the interstate I shut off my vehicle, waited two minutes then restarted, lights and messages still on. I proceeded to drive but could only go around 45mph while my vehicle was not wanting to go. I parked it at work then at lunch I drove it on city streets at 35mph. I parked it again at my work. When I got off I started the car and started driving, no lights or messages. I proceeded to drive to the interstate on my way home. When my vehicle hit 60mph the same thing happened, luckily no vehicles behind me. …
The first time I was in a restaurant drive thru but sitting idle. Then several codes flashed on my dash about traction control and stabilitrak and limp mode and it started to stink. We towed it to our mechanic and he could not tell what code was causing the issue so he cleared the codes and it ran fine after that. After a couple additional trips to the mechanic, we did have a couple issues seemingly related and he ended up replacing a coil and all the spark plugs. Now, a few months later, my wife was driving up the road to our house and just before turning into our driveway, the same error messages came up on the dash. She turned off the car and called me. When I got home I started the car and got the same results. We had the car towed to our mechanic again. This time when the tow truck arrived, the car did not start. …
I was driving on st [redacted] and it was raining I almost hydroplane and my traction light came on and my car started accelerating on it's own I had to pass two cars so I wouldn't hit them and luckily no one was coming towards me my car kept accelerating faster up to 100 MPH I slammed on my brakes but my car wouldn't slow down it took 5mins to slow.down to 20 MPH I had smoke all around me my car was revving up the rpms and my temperature gauge was hoti seen a road [redacted] and I turned and I put my vehicle in park and tried to shut it off and it wouldn't so I threw it back into drive and then park and shut my ignition off and tried to restart the engine and it wouldn't start after 10 mins of it off I tried the ignition and it started but my brakes had a air sound when I pushed on brake pads and my bf drove my car back home this car is dangerous I looked online and seen it happened to …
While driving the vehicle will shudder and lose power, occasionally the vehicle will stall almost like it is attempting to grab gears while down shifting and it will cause the whole vehicle to shake, it has happened so hard I have had to exit the interstate for worry of mine and my passengers safety. The vehicle upon entering will slam into gear and when driving in rural areas the transmission even feels like it is slipping and the car will jerk back and fourth until it grabs a higher gear. I purchased the vehicle in 2018 with just over 100,000 miles and even now the vehicle is only sitting at roughly 132,000 miles and has has regular services to maintain the vehicle. Upon further investigation, the Traverse has several complaints of this same issue including older and newer vehicles, and most have resulted in torque converter/transmission replacement. …
Recently I started having issues with shuddering while driving at certain speeds. First at 40mph and then more recently at higher speeds. Also today the stabiltrack warning light came on stating that it required service. RPM's and speedometer also would fluctuate while driving. There are many videos on youtube that point to the throttle body having oil blow by through the throttle body as there is no check valve to keep this from happening. I will be cleaning the throttle body to see if it fixes the problem. I've also seen that the brake position sensor could be the culprit as well. I replaced the ignition coils after seeing the engine fluctuations, but did not replace the sparks plugs as they were recently replaced under 6K miles ago. This seems to be a long standing and wide dispersed issue with this year, make and model of vehicle. …
The first occurrence happened 10/11/17 on I-40. My car started "jerking" and all of a sudden the car decelerated to approx 35 MPH. The ABS light came on. A ntfcn came on that all of my assists were off (parking, all wheel drive, traction control, stabilitrack). A ntc also appeared that said to service stabilitrak. When I go to press my brake there is a noise in the brake pedal and it "jumps" when I go to press it. We have taken it and had it put on the computer but no codes appear saying there is anything wrong with it. They say the sensors are fine. I have almost been rear-ended several times now. It happens every time I drive my car. I am too afraid to drive my car anymore. It is too dangerous. I can't afford to replace it. No dealer is going to take a faulty car and I can't afford to buy another one. …
While driving on a on a busy street vehicle- approx 30mph - unexpectedly and without warning this vehicle suddenly decelerated / downshifted to a crawl. We nearly lost control of the car and narrowly avoided several close calls of people behind us. Thankfully we were not on the highway as others have described. Also, door locks began locking and unlocking on their own. Once we got to a safe spot messages on the display began flashing, service stabiltrak; service traction control; park assist off; traction control on; traction control off. Towed this car to the dealer for an exorcism since it was no longer driveable. First thing they did was replace the battery. As they tell it a bad / funky battery might cause bad things to the electronic transmission module. $400 later issues persist. Now I am told I need to replace the transmission outright - $5500. This just can't be right. …
Acceleration complaints in other Traverse years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse?
NHTSA has 37 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse, 10% of the model year's 354 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2012 Chevrolet Traverse acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse, though it has 5 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2012 Chevrolet Traverse acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 96,000 miles, and 9% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 0 fires and 2 injuries to speed control & acceleration 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.