2010 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE Complaints

I AM WRITING YOU THIS LETTER TO FILE AN OFFICIAL COMPLAINT AGAINST GENERAL MOTORS REGARDING MY 2010 CHEVY TRAVERSE. ON AUGUST 6TH 2015, WHILE DRIVING MY CAR 55MPH, THE ENGINE SEIZED CAUSING LOSS OF POWER STEERING AND POWER BREAKS. AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THIS PUT MY FAMILY IN A DANGEROUS SITUATION. OUR LICENSED MECHANIC TOLD US THE REASON THE ENGINE SEIZED IS A 'SPUN ROD BARRING.' WE WERE TOLD THAT A SPUN ROD BARRING IS A VERY UNCOMMON MECHANICAL ISSUE AND EXTREMELY UNCOMMON IN A CAR THAT IS ONLY 5 YEARS OLD WITH ONLY 71K MILES ON IT. I CALLED GENERAL MOTORS WHILE THE CAR WAS BEING REPAIRED TO DISCUSS THE PROBLEM. THEY WERE QUITE RUDE AND REFUSED TO DISCUSS THE ISSUE BECAUSE I DID NOT TAKE MY CAR TO A CERTIFIED GM REPAIR SHOP. THEREFORE, I DECIDED TO SEND GM A LETTER EXPLAINING THE SITUATION. ATTACHED IS A COPY OF THE LETTER, MAINTENANCE RECORDS, AND PHOTOS OF THE SPUN ROD BARRING I SENT TO GM. GM CUSTOMER SERVICE CALLED ME ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS AND VERBALLY TOLD ME THAT THEY WOULD NOT REIMBURSE ME OR EVEN LOOK INTO THE ISSUE BECAUSE 'I DID NOT TAKE MY CAR TO A CERTIFIED GM REPAIR SHOP FOR THE REPAIR.' I ASKED CUSTOMER SERVICE MULTIPLE TIMES TO SEND ME THIS INFORMATION IN WRITING AND THEY REFUSED. TO REFUSE STANDARD CUSTOMER SERVICE AND AVOID TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR A POORLY ENGINEERED AND MANUFACTURED ENGINE SIMPLY BECAUSE I DID NOT TAKE MY CAR TO A CERTIFIED GM REPAIR SHOP IS INEXCUSABLE. I HOPE THAT YOU CAN ASSIST ME IN RECEIVING REIMBURSEMENT FOR REPLACING THE ENGINE IN MY CAR AND REQUIRING GM TO RECALL THE ENGINE. IF YOU NEED ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I HAVE MORE DOCUMENTS THAN THE WEBSITE ALLOWS ME TO SUBMIT.

MY TRAVERSE JUST PULLED A P0008 AND P0017 ENGINE CODE. AFTER BRINGING IT TO THE MECHANIC, I HAD AN OIL FLUSH AND INDUCTION SYSTEM CLEANING. THE FOLLOWING DAY THE P0008 CODE WHEN OFF AGAIN. THIS IS SPECIFIC FOR THE TIMING CHAIN AND CYLINDER HEADS. APPARENTLY THERE WAS A RECALL AND WARRANTY EXTENSION FOR 08-09 CHEVY TRAVERSES HOWEVER THAT HAS NOT TRANSFERRED OVER TO MY PARTICULAR MODEL YEAR. MY VEHICLE IS 1 YEAR OUT OF WARRANTY WITH ONLY 63,000 MILES ON IT. MY REPAIRS ARE TO BE AN ESTIMATED $4,000 - $6,300 BUT AM BEING OFFERED A 50/50 SPLIT THAT I FEEL IS STILL UNACCEPTABLE ON A VEHICLE WITH ONLY 63,000 MILES.

I TOOK THE VEHICLE INTO THE GM DEALERSHIP FOR AN UNRELATED PROBLEM AND THE TECHNICIAN "DISCOVERED" A FAULTY/LEAKING STEERING GEAR BOX....TOTALLY REPLACED AT A COST OF $1386. NOW, FOLLOWING ONLINE RESEARCH, I REALIZE THAT THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM AND GM WOULD APPEAR TO BE CIRCUMVENTING REPORTING AND A RECALL BY HAVING INDIVIDUALS "PAY FOR THE FIX".....I WANT TO DOCUMENT THIS COMPLAINT AND MY PERSONAL ENCUMBERANCE OF THE REPAIR COSTS....THE DISCUSSION ONLINE POINTS TO A COMMON AND DANGEROUS PROBLEM THAT WE HAD NOT "YET" EXPERIENCED, BUT ACCORDING TO THE TECHNICIAN, MAY HAVE HAD A DANGEROUS ENCOUNTER AT ANY TIME!

ENGINE WAS RUNNING ROUGH; VEHICLE WAS SLUGGISH. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. DEALERSHIP, BURLINGTON CHEVROLET, RAN A DIAGNOSTIC AND THERE WERE SOME FAILED CODES (P0011 AND P008), ALL RELATED TO THE CAMSHAFT AND TIMING CHAINS. TO REPAIR, IT WOULD COST ABOUT $2,700 SINCE I WAS SIX MONTHS OVER THE POWERTRAIN WARRANTY. THEY CONTACTED GM AND THEY STATED THAT IT WOULD COST ME $681 PLUS TAX. I AGREED TO HAVE THE REPAIRS COMPLETED WHICH ALSO INCLUDED REPLACING THE WATERPUMP WHICH WAS LEAKING. I HAVE READ ONLINE THAT TIMING CHAIN PROBLEMS ON HAVE OCCURRED MORE FREQUENTLY ON 2007-2010 CHEVY TRAVERSE, SATURN OUTLOOK, GMC ACADIA, AND BUICK ENCLAVE. ALL OF THESE SUV'S HAVE THE 3.6 LITER V6 ENGINE WITH DUAL OVERHEAD CAMS. WHAT IS HAPPENING ON THESE VEHICLES IS THAT THE TIMING CHAINS ARE STRETCHING WHICH LEADS TO CORRELATION ERRORS WITH THE CAM SENSORS AND ACTUATORS. AFTER 2010, GENERAL MOTORS HAS SEEMED TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM WITH UPDATED CHAINS AND ECM CALIBRATIONS.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT REMAINED ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER TO BE INSPECTED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG MODULE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V118000 (AIR BAGS). THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 69,999.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE POWER STEERING RACK AND THE POWER STEERING PUMP FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE DETAILS WERE NOT AVAILABLE. IN ADDITION, THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT REMAINED ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 75,827.

ON THE HIGHWAY DOING AROUND 65 MPH, ALARM CHIMES WENT OFF, DISPLAY CENTER SHOWED "SERVICE STABILITRAK", "SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL", "ENGINE POWER REDUCED". THE CAR QUICKLY DECELERATED TO 10 MPH AND WOULD NOT GO ANY FASTER. HAD TO PULL OVER AND SHUT DOWN. THIS WAS ONLY ONE OF THE MANY TIMES THIS HAS HAPPENED OVER THE PAST YEAR AND A HALF. IT HAS BEEN IN AND OUT OF THE SERVICE CENTER, DIAGNOSED WITH 4 OR 5 DIFFERENT ISSUES, REPAIRED 2 OR 3 COMPONENTS ALL WITH THE SAME OUTCOME: THE ENGINE POWER REDUCED ISSUE COMES BACK. THE DEALER TELLS ME IT'S A "NEW ISSUE" EVERY TIME SO AT THIS POINT I HAVE NO FAITH IN THEIR "FIXES", I FEEL THAT WHEN MY WIFE, KIDS, OR ME ARE IN THE CAR I WILL EVENTUALLY BE IN A HORRIFIC ACCIDENT WHERE WE ALL DIE AND HOPE THAT AT LEAST THIS MESSAGE WILL COME OUT THEN. GM HAS BEEN SORT OF HELPFUL BUT FROM MY RESEARCH/DEALINGS WITH THIS ISSUE (30+ HOURS), IT SEEMS LIKE SOMETHING THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED ON SEVERAL DIFFERENT MODEL GM AUTOMOBILES. I AM AT A LOSS. I HAVEN'T FIXED THE MOST RECENT ISSUE ($700, TRANSMISSION INTERNAL MODE SWITCH) IN HOPES THAT, USING MY OWN RESEARCH/TECHNICAL EXPERTISE, I CAN FIND THE REAL ISSUE BEHIND THESE FAILURES AND NOT JUST WHAT THE "COMPUTER ERROR CODES" ARE POINTING TOO. THE IRONY IN THIS "FEATURE" IS THAT, FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, IT GOES INTO THIS ENGINE POWER REDUCED MODE FOR SAFETY REASONS SO THAT YOU WON'T LOSE CONTROL OF THE CAR OR OTHER PROBLEM. YET REDUCING THE ENGINE POWER ON A BUSY HIGHWAY OR THE PA TURNPIKE WHERE THERE IS NOWHERE TO SAFELY PULL OVER IS THE MOST DANGEROUS PROBLEM OF ALL. NOTES FOR OTHER CONSUMERS: SO FAR THE MECHANIC HAS FLUSHED THE THROTTLE BODY (CLEANED IT), AND REPLACED THE TIMING BELT . TAKING TO A DIFFERENT MECHANIC FOR A 2ND OPINION ON THE MOST RECENT INTERNAL MODE SWITCH DIAGNOSIS.

I WAS DRIVING ON HIGHWAY GOING 70MPH. TRACTION CONTROL/STABILITRAK OFF CAME ON DASH ALONG WITH PARK ASSIST OFF. I FELT THE ENGINE LOSE POWER AND SPEED DROPPED TO 25MPH. I HAS TO SWERVE AND MISS SEVERAL CARS FROM HITTING ME DUE TO THIS REDUCE SPEED ON THE HIGHWAY. PRESSED ON THE PEDDLE TO SPEED UP AND THE ENGINE WOULD NOT GO PAST 1ST GEAR ( WELL AT LEAST THAT'S WHAT IT FELT LIKE) I HAD THE CAR TOWED HOME. TO AFRAID TO DRIVE. TOOK IT TO OUR SHOP AND NOTHING WAS REGISTERED ON THE DIAGNOSTIC CODE. CAR SEEMS FINE NOW, JUST AFRAID TO DRIVE. IS THERE A RECALL FOR THIS?

STABILITRAK/TRACTION CONTROL/REDUCE ENGINE POWER. WHILE DRIVING DOWN INTERSTATE 75 NORTH IN TN ON NOVEMBER 28, 2015 AT APPROXIMATELY 10:30PM WITH MY HUSBAND, 6 YEAR OLD, AND 3 YEAR OLD; MY 2010 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE SUDDENLY DINGED AND THEN THE FLASHED THE FOLLOWING MESSAGES ON MY DISPLAY: STABILITRAK, TRACTION CONTROL, REDUCE ENGINE POWER. THIS RESULTED IN A RAPID DECELERATION FROM ABOUT 75MPH TO ABOUT 25MPH. WE NARROWLY AVOIDED BEING HIT BY A SEMI-TRUCK BEHIND US, AS THE CAR RAPIDLY SLOWS WITHOUT BRAKE LIGHTS NOTIFYING OTHER DRIVERS. THANKFULLY, THE SEMI WAS ABLE TO QUICKLY SWERVE INTO THE LEFT LANE TO AVOID HITTING US. WE PULLED OVER AND SHUT DOWN THE ENGINE. WHEN WE TURNED IT BACK ON, THE WARNING LIGHTS WERE OFF AND THE CAR RAN NORMALLY. THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION, WHICH APPEARS TO BE QUITE COMMON IN NUMEROUS GM VEHICLES. I'M ALARMED THAT NHTSA HASN'T REQUIRED A RECALL FOR THIS ISSUE, WHICH LOOKS TO BE RELATED TO A THROTTLE-BODY PROBLEM. I WAS ABLE TO LOCATE A SERVICE ALERT FROM GM FOR THIS ISSUE, SO IT APPEARS THAT THEY ARE VERY AWARE OF THE PROBLEM.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME DIFFICULT TO MANEUVER AS THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE POWER STEERING SYSTEM AND THE ENGINE COILS FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE POWER STEERING SYSTEM WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 65,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.