2012 Chevrolet Traverse Steering Problems
Owners have filed 62 complaints with NHTSA about steering problems on the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse, 18% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 70,000 miles. The words owners use most often: “steering pump” (29% of reports).
- 62steering complaints
- 70,000median miles at failure
- 3mention a crash
- 1mention an injury
- 0related recalls
- $3,450typical repair cost reported by owners
- 15%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Steering pump: mentioned in 18 of 62 complaints (29%)
- Rack pinion: mentioned in 10 of 62 complaints (16%)
- Traction control: mentioned in 6 of 62 complaints (10%)
How much does it cost to fix?
Owners who wrote down what they paid or were quoted put the typical steering repair on the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse at $3,450, and half of them between $2,600 and $4,050.
Based on 6 NHTSA complaints about this problem alone that state a repair bill or quote (2015–2018), converted to 2026 dollars with the U.S. consumer price index. These are owners' own figures, not a quote: they include dealer quotes, and owners who file complaints often faced larger repairs, so they can run higher than typical shop prices. Prices vary by shop, region and warranty coverage. How we calculate this.
At what mileage do steering problems happen?
Based on 51 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 62 complaints, 3 mention a crash, 1 a fire, 1 an injury.
Chevrolet Traverse steering complaints by model year
| Model year | Steering complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Traverse | 1 | 4% | — |
| 2025 Traverse | 4 | 2% | 913 |
| 2024 Traverse | 5 | 4% | — |
| 2023 Traverse | 3 | 3% | — |
| 2022 Traverse | 2 | 2% | — |
| 2021 Traverse | 4 | 4% | — |
| 2020 Traverse | 7 | 3% | 2,000 |
| 2019 Traverse | 19 | 5% | 1,319 |
| 2018 Traverse | 14 | 3% | 4,631 |
| 2017 Traverse | 11 | 3% | 40,000 |
| 2016 Traverse | 24 | 8% | 55,000 |
| 2015 Traverse | 27 | 9% | 59,000 |
| 2014 Traverse | 27 | 5% | 45,342 |
| 2013 Traverse | 18 | 11% | 71,000 |
| 2012 Traverse | 62 | 18% | 70,000 |
| 2011 Traverse | 165 | 27% | 66,500 |
| 2010 Traverse | 331 | 49% | 69,500 |
| 2009 Traverse | 231 | 52% | 76,000 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (0)
No safety recall lists steering for the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse. A pattern of complaints does not always lead to a recall.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
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…
White smoke was coming out the car and my car eventually sat on fire. I had to call the fire department.. fire department stated that it was a electrical issue
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…
Frequently asked questions
Do all 2012 Chevrolet Traverses have steering problems?
No. NHTSA has 62 owner complaints about steering for the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse (18% of the 354 complaints for this model year). Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse steering?
No recall currently lists steering for this vehicle.
At what mileage do steering problems start?
The median reported mileage is 70,000 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.
How much does it cost to fix steering problems on the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse?
Owners report a typical cost of $3,450 (half paid between $2,600 and $4,050), from 6 complaints that state a repair bill or quote, in 2026 dollars.
What do owners say about steering problems on the 2012 Chevrolet Traverse?
The most frequent phrase is “steering pump”, in 18 of 62 complaints, followed by “rack pinion” (10).
Other 2012 Chevrolet Traverse problems
See all 2012 Chevrolet Traverse problems or steering problems across all Traverse years.