2016 Chevrolet Traverse Airbag Problems

Which parts fail

• Frontal › Driver side › Inflator module
  1

Components named in complaints (front, side and curtain air bags, sensors and inflators).

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  338%
• 25k–50k
  00%
• 50k–75k
  113%
• 75k–100k
  113%
• 100k–150k
  225%
• 150k+
  113%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2016 Chevrolet Traverse owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

The contact's mother owns a 2016 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that as the vehicle was making a left turn at approximately 10 MPH, and entering a side street, the vehicle was crashed into by an ambulance that was not on call. The vehicle was struck on the passenger side door. From the force of the impact, the vehicle was spun to the left, and into a utility pole, and crashed the rear end. The side passenger door and the rear end were crushed from the impact. The passenger door damage had been rated by the police report as a "7" and the damage to the rear was rated as a "2". The ambulance went off of the roadway down a ditch and into a large pond. Both vehicles were undrivable and had to be towed from the scene. The contact's mother and her stepfather were transported by ambulance to a hospital. …

Takata recall. The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact received notification of the NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. Additionally, the contact stated that the service air bag warning light intermittently illuminated. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. VIN tool confirms parts not available. The failure mileage was approximately 89,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the "Service Air Bags" message was displayed. The local dealer was contacted and charged a diagnostic fee. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 105,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was occasionally illuminated but had since remained illuminated. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 180,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

The car was broadsided on Interstate 40 Westbound outside of Knoxville, TN on 3-12-22 by a Tractor Trailer and totaled. The airbags did not deploy allowing the driver to hit her head on the window of the vehicle causing her head trauma. In Oct of 2021 The same vehicle hit a 200 pound dear head on at 65mph and destroyed the front end and the air bags did not deploy then either.

In these vehicles, the front-driver airbag inflator may contain a supplier manufacturing defect that may result in inflator rupture during deployment. Safety Risk An in ator rupture may cause metal fragments to pass through the airbag and into the vehicle interior, which may result in injury or death to vehicle occupants. I reached out to GM to see what options I had/if it's safe for me to drive the car and the rep I spoke with told me the car is NOT safe to drive and if the airbag deploys it could cause death. I asked when would a fix be available and she said there isn't a fix and we don't know when one will be available. I called my local dealerships to see if they had any ideas as to what I should do and they said they don't have any suggestions it could be 6 months or more until they have parts in to fix your car. …

I received a safety recall letter today for this vehicle stating that if not repaired, it could result in the death of the vehicle occupants... my wife and 3 daughters use this car daily for transportation and after contacting Chevrolet customer service and waiting on the phone for over 40min and speaking with multiple people, all they could tell me is they don't know when they'll be able to repair the vehicle and they have no other remedies available (replacement, reimbursement, rental, etc...). This is incredibly concerning as we don't have another option right now, so according to GM, my only options are to risk the lives of my entire family every day for some indeterminate amount of time or I need to pay for a new vehicle until or unless GM eventually fixes the issue, or I just need to go without a vehicle now... This is completely unacceptable and needs attention immediately. …

Air bag recall- stated(Direct Quote from notice): "An inflator rupture may cause metal fragments to pass through the airbag and into the vehicle interior, which may result in injury or death to vehicle occupants" With such recall the safety and lives of myself and passengers are at risk every time the vehicle is driven. Safety recall letter/notice has a date of June 2023, sent in a first class mail envelope with no postmark date. This letter was not received until until Saturday July 1st 2023. During the time from recall issue (May 10,2023) my family and I were at risk of death or serious injury everyday. This recall has been confirmed for our VIN number by GM, our dealership, and this website. There is no remedy(repair part) at this time and there is no timeline for it. GM is not providing a safe option for my family to be able to do our daily tasks. …

There is an open recall on my 2016 Chevrolet Traverse that I have been trying to get resolved for almost 2 years. I finally opened a case with GM (#{[redacted]]) back on February 15, 2026 in an effort to escalate the repair. I received a call from a GM rep who has been less than helpful telling me the recall was completed in February of 2024 at a dealership in South Carolina. I explained to him that my vehicle is housed in Florida and has never been to South Carolina. It is clear he is not interested in finding a resolution to my issue. He calls once a week to inform me he's working on it and will get back to me next week. This has been going on for a month. My grandchildren are often passengers in this vehicle and I have major concerns for their safety. It should not take 2 years to get this issue resolved.

Related recalls

Airbag complaints in other Traverse years