Chevrolet Traverse

Published · Researched 2026-09-21

Chevrolet Traverse review

Verdict: the redesign is guilty until proven innocent — and the evidence so far is not going well. Buy the old V6, not the new 2.5T.

There is a special kind of dread that comes from reading an owner's group where prospective buyers announce they're walking away. In the 2024+ Traverse group, a shopper said the volume of issues scared them off — and honestly, reading the same threads, I understand. The third-generation Traverse (2024+) replaced the proven 3.6L V6 with a turbocharged 2.5L four making 328 hp and 326 lb-ft through an eight-speed automatic. More power on paper. In practice, the new truck has accumulated a problem list that reads like a warning label: an engine-stall investigation with no fix, an all-wheel-drive fault with only a reboot as remedy, infotainment screens that freeze solid, and build-quality complaints — all within its first two years.

Start with the scariest item, because GM's own paperwork does. Preliminary Information bulletin PIP6102, issued February 2026, covers 2024–2026 Traverse, Acadia, and Enclave models with the 2.5T: customers may experience an engine stall after remote start or warm-up, particularly in cold weather — sometimes right after the first shift into Drive or Reverse. The root cause is still under investigation. There is no repair procedure. No parts. The official guidance is to restart the vehicle and keep driving. Let that sink in: GM's current position on your three-row family crossover stalling is "turn it off and on again." The AWD fault bulletin is in the same genre — error code in the rear drive module, AWD apparently inactive, interim fix is a reboot while engineering keeps investigating. These are not recalls with remedies. They are investigations with shrugs.

The Facebook evidence is the human face of the paperwork. A 2026 RS owner — a $57,000 truck — reported the vehicle in service for two weeks at 143 miles, HVAC misbehaving, no ETA. One hundred and forty-three miles. The owner-survey data behind the Traverse's stripped Consumer Reports recommendation fills in the rest: transmission issues, body-hardware flaws, electronics glitches, noises and leaks. Jalopnik's CR-derived roundup adds infotainment screens that freeze so hard the fix is to stop the car, shut it off, and open the door — plus driver-assist failing to activate, radios disconnecting on their own, third-row headrests that collide with the second row due to a gear-mesh fault, and transmission leaks at the torque-converter housing from loose pump bolts (there's a TSB for that one, at least).

Now the part that stings: the old car was fine. The second-generation Traverse (2018–2023) with the 3.6L V6 and 9-speed matured into a reasonable reliability record, and the 2022–2023 models with full records are genuinely the value play — independent used-car analysis says exactly that. The redesign kept the name, the segment, and the mission, and swapped a proven powertrain for an unproven one in the heaviest vehicle it serves. The 2.5T may turn out fine. It hasn't yet, and "may" is not a powertrain strategy.

Pricing context matters because the 2026 RS AWD stickers at $57,400 — real money that invites cross-shopping against genuinely premium three-rows. The Traverse's build-quality complaints do not survive that comparison. The LT trims at $40,800–$42,800 are the rational entry point, but rational only applies to the old generation right now.

Who should skip it: anyone considering a 2024+ Traverse as a family hauler — the stall investigation alone is disqualifying until there's a real fix. Anyone who needs their three-row to simply work; the owner group's tone is not "minor teething issues." Anyone paying RS money; the quality doesn't match the price. And anyone who assumes "it's a Chevy, it'll be fine" — the 2.5T is a new engine doing minivan duty, and the data says wait.

Sweet spot: a 2022 or 2023 with the 3.6L V6 and full service records — mature powertrain, late-cycle calibrations, depreciated. Years to avoid: 2024–2026, the entire 2.5T era until the stall and AWD investigations produce actual repairs.

The Traverse used to be the safe, boring, correct answer in three-row crossovers. The redesign turned it into a question mark. Buy the answer, not the question.