Chevrolet Traverse Air Bags Problems
Owners have filed 1,051 complaints with NHTSA about air bags problems on the Chevrolet Traverse across 17 model years. The 2017 model year has the most (263). The words owners use most often: “air bags contacted” (20% of reports).
- 1,051air bags complaints
- —median miles at failure
- 68mention a crash
- 56mention an injury
- 9related recalls
- $1,350typical repair cost reported by owners
- 41%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.
- Air bags contacted: mentioned in 214 of 1,051 complaints (20%)
How much does it cost to fix?
Owners who wrote down what they paid or were quoted put the typical air bags repair on the Chevrolet Traverse at $1,350, and half of them between $460 and $1,500.
Based on 15 NHTSA complaints about this problem alone that state a repair bill or quote (2013–2023), 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 air bags problems happen?
Based on 259 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 1,051 complaints, 68 mention a crash, 3 a fire, 56 an injury.
Chevrolet Traverse air bags complaints by model year
| Model year | Air Bags complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Traverse | 1 | 4% | — |
| 2025 Traverse | 2 | 1% | 13,000 |
| 2023 Traverse | 2 | 2% | 12,000 |
| 2022 Traverse | 2 | 2% | — |
| 2021 Traverse | 3 | 3% | — |
| 2020 Traverse | 6 | 3% | 44,100 |
| 2019 Traverse | 10 | 2% | 34,000 |
| 2018 Traverse | 5 | 1% | 30,462 |
| 2017 Traverse | 263 | 73% | 38,038 |
| 2016 Traverse | 163 | 56% | 89,000 |
| 2015 Traverse | 162 | 52% | 70,000 |
| 2014 Traverse | 258 | 47% | 66,000 |
| 2013 Traverse | 27 | 17% | 80,250 |
| 2012 Traverse | 48 | 14% | 86,552 |
| 2011 Traverse | 43 | 7% | 40,510 |
| 2010 Traverse | 30 | 4% | 72,500 |
| 2009 Traverse | 26 | 6% | 69,122 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (9)
Air bags:frontal:driver side:inflator module
Model years: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
Problem: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2014-2017 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, and GMC Acadia vehicles. The driver's air bag inflator may explode during deployment, due to a manufacturing defect.
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Dealers will replace the driver's air bag module, free of charge. GM began mailing final owner letters February 23, 2024 and will continue mailing through December 2025. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N232404980.
Air bags:frontal:driver side:inflator module
Model years: 2015
Problem: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia vehicles. The driver's air bag inflator may explode during deployment, due to a manufacturing defect.
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Dealers will replace the drivers air bag module, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 23, 2023. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300; Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N222366190.
Air bags:side/window:curtain
Model years: 2020, 2021, 2022
Problem: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Chevrolet Traverse and 2021-2022 Buick Enclave vehicles. The harness connector to the left or right side roof rail air bag may have incompatible electrical terminals, which could prevent the air bags from deploying in a crash.
Risk: Roof rail air bags that do not deploy as intended increase the risk of injury in a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the harness connector to the roof rail air bags, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on April 29, 2022. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N212352140.
Air bags:frontal:driver side:inflator module
Model years: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
Problem: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2008-2017 Buick Enclave and 2013-2017 Chevrolet Traverse vehicles. The driver's air bag inflator may explode during deployment, due to a manufacturing defect.
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Dealers will replace the driver's air bag module, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters were mailed on November 3, 2021. Owner notification letters were mailed on January 10, 2022. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N212349040.
Air bags:sensor:frontal impact
Model years: 2021
Problem: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave vehicles. During service by dealers, certain vehicles may have received incorrect air bag calibration software that may affect frontal airbag deployment.
Risk: Air bags that do not deploy as intended can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will update the air bag calibration software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 29, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 and Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300. GM's number for this recall is N212340220.
Air bags:critical fasteners
Model years: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Problem: 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.
Risk: Unsecured side curtain air bags may not perform as intended, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: 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. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N202321200.
Air bags:side/window:curtain:inflator
Model years: 2020
Problem: General Motors, LLC. (GM) is recalling certain 2020 Buick Enclave, Cadillac XT5 and XT6, Chevrolet Blazer, Silverado 1500, 2500 and 3500 and Traverse and GMC Acadia and Sierra 1500, 2500 and 3500 vehicles. The diffuser component of the Roof-Rail Air Bag (RRAB) inflator may not have been properly crimped to the inflator and could separate from the inflator during air bag deployment.
Risk: If the diffuser separates from the inflator during deployment, RRAB performance may be degraded, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the suspect RRAB modules, free of charge. The recall began September 3, 2020. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-630-2438, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-333-4223, or Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300. GM's number for this recall is N202305380.
Air bags: air bag/restraint control module
Model years: 2019
Problem: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2019 Buick Encore, Chevrolet Spark, Traverse, and Trax vehicles. The Sensing Diagnostic Module (SDM) on these vehicle may not have been turned off of "manufacturing mode," preventing the air bags from deploying in the event of a crash.
Risk: If the air bags do not deploy in the event of a crash, it can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the SDM module to the correct mode, free of charge. The recall began November 6, 2018. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 and Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 18365.
Air bags:side/window
Model years: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
Problem: 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 seat belt pretensioners not deploying in the event of a crash.
Risk: Failure of the side impact air bags and seat belt pretensioners to deploy in a crash increase the risk of injury to the driver and front seat occupant.
Fix: 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. Buick owners may contact the owner center at 1-800-521-7300, Chevrolet owners at 1-866-694-6546, Saturn at 1-800-553-6000, and GMC owners at 1-866-996-9463. GM's number for this recall is 14030. Note: Vehicles repaired as part of Customer Satisfaction Campaign 10085 and special coverage 10335 have already had the subject condition repaired and therefore are not included in the safety recall.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
driving at about 10:30 pm on 10-3-26 light rain and was on a katy rd. app 25-30 mph went to slow down and the sevrice saftey restaint system light came on and i looked at the message and then it went off the info center and the side curtain air bags deployed a loud pop i , the steering locked and i…
A scheduled airbag recall repair could not be completed because the dealership did not verify that the recall part was in stock before my appointment. I arrived for the recall service after confirming the appointment days in advance and was told the part was not available. I was told I would be…
Service Air Bag light is on and wonât go off. Car was never in an accident or anything done for this light to be on so Iâm a bit confused. Car has been inspected and looked over only issue is the service air bag light on the dash which came on after my battery completely died in my car. I…
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V334000 (Air Bags). The contact stated that four local dealers were contacted. The contact was informed that parts were on back order. The manufacturer was not contacted. The contact had not…
THERE is a recall for the year, make and model for driver side airbag, also to do with transmission slipping and both of those I'm currently having issues with on my vehicle but with my vin its not coming up for any of the recalls but I want to request a Investigation on if my vehicle or any other…
Frequently asked questions
Do all Chevrolet Traverses have air bags problems?
No. NHTSA has 1,051 owner complaints about air bags for the Chevrolet Traverse. Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the Chevrolet Traverse air bags?
Yes: 9 safety recalls list air bags. Check your VIN on NHTSA.gov to see whether the fix was done on your car.
How much does it cost to fix air bags problems on the Chevrolet Traverse?
Owners report a typical cost of $1,350 (half paid between $460 and $1,500), from 15 complaints that state a repair bill or quote, in 2026 dollars.
What do owners say about air bags problems on the Chevrolet Traverse?
The most frequent phrase is “air bags contacted”, in 214 of 1,051 complaints.
Other Chevrolet Traverse problems
See all Chevrolet Traverse problems.