Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (front, side and curtain air bags, sensors and inflators).
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).
After sliding into a ditch, my drivers side, curtain airbag deployed but, instead of covering the drivers side door window, it came out and went across my face, hitting me on the right side of my head, slamming my head into the drivers side window glass and pinning me between the airbag and the window glass, obviously putting my safety at risk. I am currently being treated for neck injuries as a result of this airbag malfunction. The problem has not been reproduced/confirmed by dealer/independent service center. The vehicle has not been inspected by anyone. Photos of the vehicle including the airbags have been sent to my insurance company (Allstate). There were no warnings or symptoms of the problem prior to the collision and no other vehicles were involved. …
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle took a long time to start-up. While driving approximately 20-40 MPH, the vehicle would not accelerate then shifted into limp mode. The ABS, check engine, traction control, and service air bags warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed that the wheel bearings were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 99,655.
Airbags failed to deploy on drivers side and in the front after an impact of 35 MPH. My daughter and myself got severely hurt due to this malfunction. yes it has been inspected. no there were never any indicators for the airbags ever in the four years I have owned the car.
I looked up 2012 Chevy Traverse recalls and 4 things came up. I was very happy to see that because I have all 4 problems recalled. So the next day I called Chevy to schedule the work. They informed me my car has no recalls. I told them I knew it did I looked it up and there are 4 in total. Then I said luckily for me it is recalled because I am experiencing exactly the same issues with same effects from the issues that was posted with the recall. Then the lady explained to me that you recalled 2012 chevy traverse on 4 items yes but none included my model. That is absolutely INSANE because my car is doing all the same things that was considered too dangerous to continue in all the other trims the car was made in but for some reason I'll never understand my trim was excluded.... Plz fix this the LS trim needs all the same recalls. …
First I already had to rebuild the transmission which is showing the beginning signs of failing again. Then around the same time I started having another issue that I find a lot scarier as the driver. It started giving me severely Reduced engine power, traction control off and stabilitrak messages with the ABS warning light lit up like a Christmas tree. This is by far the most dangerous of any issue I've ever experienced with all of my vehicles I've ever owned. It starts with a huge jump I cant stop or control to a car behind me it seems like I'm really getting on it and speeding up. But in a split second too quick for any human to process what is happening it just drops out big time. It then wont go above roughly 30 mph and the engine is revving very high to even get it to that. …
Traveling approximately 55mph we were hit on the rear passenger side damage to the rear passenger tire well and rear right side on the body with extensive damage underneath. No airbags deployed at anytime in the vehicle. It was taken to the dealer's collision and repair shop and after several weeks it was returned. Within a week of getting it back the service airbag light came on, we took it back to collision repair center thinking it was an issue with the accident but the collision repair sent it to the dealership saying it was a warranty issue. I've taken this vehicle back 4 times now for the same service airbag light. …
So basically like everyone else is stating all of the sudden when you are driving the light comes on and says traction control off/service strabila trac and the the check engine light comes on and you have reduced engine power. My mechanic has had me drive straight to him every time this happens because if I turn the car off the computer does not hold the codes. He was getting a reading of the ignition coils being bad. We have replaced all six ignition coils about two weeks ago. Today 06/04/18 it did it again. This has been going on for a while and nobody really seems to know what the problem is. I am seriously out of money to keep experimenting with repairs at this point. GM really needs to step up and do a recall. Also these cars had an airbag recall and I took it in and was told they fixed that recall. …
The middle seatbelts in the middle and back row lock up and will not release. First in the second row, the middle seatbelt locks up when the seat gets folded down. The seatbelt will then not release. Sometimes you can pull it out and let it go back a few times and it will eventually come out, but not every time. The middle seatbelt in the third row seat became wrapped around my child's neck and would not release. I had to pull over and the belt was locked so tight around his neck that I could not maneuver it to get it off of his neck. I was eventually able to get him to bend his neck far enough to get it our from behind him, but this could have been catastrophic if he did not or was not able to notify me when it happened. This happened while the car was moving. Passenger airbag light keeps coming on.
When I turn my air on and my speed limit hits 25 miles per hr my car shakes at a neighborhood street and it was really scary on the freeway cause I swerved to the right cause it was shaking so bad. Then when I let go of my gas for 5 seconds to stop the shaking it stalls and I have to push the gas pump at least 3 times to make it drive. It also smells like my gas is leaking and it is worse when I turn left or right. I'm afraid it might catch on fire. My headlights would go off for a couple of days sometimes for a week but would turn on all of a sudden and they are brand new headlights. My airbag light would go off and on every other week. Its just frustrating having this car cause there is always something different on the dash board saying something is wrong with the car.
"Takata recall" went to start my car and the check airbag light went on. I took my car in 3 times and finally the dealer informed me that I needed a new airbag. Since there has been many recalls pertaining to airbags I informed the dealer that it could be a possibility it was part of the recall. The dealer informed me that the year and make of my car was not part of the recall. The cost for the new air bag was over a thousand dollars there was no way that I was going to spend that kind money when there has been so many recalls. I feel since Takata went bankrupt I feel that GM should be responsible since they contracted Takata an outsource company.
Related recalls
Air bags › Critical fasteners
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2010-2015, 2017 Buick Enclave, 2010-2019 Chevrolet Traverse, and 2011-2016 GMC Acadia vehicles. The side curtain air bags may not be properly attached.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, realign or replace the weld nuts, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 24, 2021.
Air bags › Side/window
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2008-2013 Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia and 2009-2013 Chevrolet Traverse and 2008-2010 Saturn Outlook vehicles. In the affected vehicles, increased resistance in the driver and passenger seat mounted side impact air bag (SIAB) wiring harnesses may result in the SIAB and…
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected harness connections with soldered connections, free of charge. The recall began on June 16, 2014.
Airbag complaints in other Traverse years
Frequently asked questions
How common are airbag problems on the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse?
NHTSA has 48 complaints about the air bags of the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse, 14% of the model year's 354 complaints. The component named most often is sensor › occupant classification › status indicator lamp/light (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2012 Chevrolet Traverse airbag problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 21V-246 (critical fasteners, Apr 8, 2021); NHTSA recall 14V-118 (side/window, Mar 17, 2014). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2012 Chevrolet Traverse airbag problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 87,000 miles, and 16% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 4 crashes, 0 fires and 4 injuries to air bags 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.