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Total NHTSA Complaints
219
Owner filings recorded
#1 Reported Problem
Engine & Cooling
84 reports (38.4%)
Crash Incident Reports
11
Filings citing a crash
Fire & Injury Reports
6
1 fire • 5 injury filings
Defect Investigation Analysis

Executive Problem Findings

AutoUtility currently tracks 219 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2020 Chevrolet Traverse. Engine & Cooling issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 84 complaints (38.4% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 11 filings cite a crash, 1 cites a fire, 5 report one or more injuries.

Methodology Notice: Consumer complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Filings are not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and do not constitute an audited component failure rate.
Incident & Severity Profile
  • • Total Owner Reports: 219 complaints submitted under federal penalty.
  • • Primary Subsystem: Engine & Cooling accounts for 38.4% of submissions (84 reports).
  • • Secondary Systems: Powertrain & Transmission (39), Electrical System (28).
  • • Crash Incidents: 11 filings cite an impact or collision.
  • • Thermal Incidents: 1 filings cite smoke or fire.
  • • Reported Casualties: 5 injury filings • 0 fatality filings.
Category Distribution

Reported Defect Categories for 2020 Chevrolet Traverse

Factual proportion of owner complaints categorized by automotive subsystem in NHTSA records

Engine & Cooling
84
38.4%
Powertrain & Transmission
39
17.8%
Electrical System
28
12.8%
Fuel & Propulsion System
19
8.7%
Air Bags & Restraints
15
6.8%
#1 38.4% SHARE

Engine & Cooling

84 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

⚠️ 1 Crash
#2 17.8% SHARE

Powertrain & Transmission

39 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

✓ 0 Incidents
⚠️ 2 Associated Recall Campaigns
#3 12.8% SHARE

Electrical System

28 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

⚠️ 2 Crash
#4 8.7% SHARE

Fuel & Propulsion System

19 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

✓ 0 Incidents
⚠️ 1 Associated Recall Campaign
Consumer Filings

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2020 Chevrolet Traverse

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Engine & Cooling ODI #11757347
Filed: 08/17/2026
Defect Report

"The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, there was a loud sound coming from the exhaust pipes, and the vehicle failed to properly accelerate, with exhaust fumes inside the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who diagnosed that..."

Engine & Cooling ODI #11756688
Filed: 08/13/2026
Defect Report

"Loses oil between oil changes. No visible signs of leaks or odor of burning oil."

Powertrain & Transmission ODI #11753792
Filed: 07/30/2026
Defect Report

"The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that the transmission was slipping and there was a delay while the transmission was shifting gears. The vehicle was sputtering and jerking while driving. While turning out of a driveway and driving approximately 5 MPH, the vehicle..."

Powertrain & Transmission ODI #11752600
Filed: 07/24/2026
Defect Report

"I own a 2020 Chevy Traverse with currently 16,000 miles. I am currently dealing with a know shudder issue that has returned. I have already taken the vehicle under warranty to the dealership where the transmission was replaced on 6/29/2022 at 4919 miles for “catastrophic failure” where the fluids..."

Powertrain & Transmission ODI #11752199
Filed: 07/22/2026
Defect Report

"The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle, the gear shifter was shifted into park(P); however, the “Shift to Park” message was displayed. The contact shifted the gear shifter back and forth and then shifted into park(P) before the proper gear was..."

Multi-Year Trend

Complaint History for Chevrolet Traverse

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2015 Chevrolet Traverse 313 10 5 View 2015 Problems →
2016 Chevrolet Traverse 291 8 5 View 2016 Problems →
2017 Chevrolet Traverse 360 13 3 View 2017 Problems →
2018 Chevrolet Traverse 456 9 2 View 2018 Problems →
2019 Chevrolet Traverse 403 14 3 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Chevrolet Traverse Current Page 219 11 8 Current
2021 Chevrolet Traverse 88 4 3 View 2021 Problems →
2022 Chevrolet Traverse 95 3 1 View 2022 Problems →
2023 Chevrolet Traverse 85 5 2 View 2023 Problems →
2024 Chevrolet Traverse 132 0 0 View 2024 Problems →
2025 Chevrolet Traverse 172 4 0 View 2025 Problems →
2026 Chevrolet Traverse 0 0 1 View 2026 Problems →
Exhaustive System Audit

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2020 Chevrolet Traverse

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 58 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Injury Entries Fatality Entries
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 41 0 0 0 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 26 1 0 0 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 23 0 0 0 0
Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 22 0 0 0 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 11 0 0 0 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 6 0 0 0 0
Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS 5 1 0 1 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 5 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 4 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 4 1 0 0 0
Back Over Prevention / Camera NHTSA category: BACK OVER PREVENTION 3 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3 0 0 0 0
Fuel System NHTSA category: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 3 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 3 0 0 0 0
Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION 3 0 0 0 0
Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS 3 0 0 0 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 2 2 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES 2 1 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS 2 1 0 3 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN 2 0 0 0 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 2 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,ENGINE,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 1 0 2 0
AIR BAGS,SEATS 1 1 0 1 0
CARRY HANDLE, SHELL, BASE,OTHER/I AM NOT SURE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,ENGINE 1 1 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,AIR BAGS 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,STRUCTURE,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 0 0 0 0
SEAT BELTS,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
SEAT BELTS,SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SEAT BELTS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 1 0 0
SUSPENSION,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
Tires NHTSA category: TIRES 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY 1 0 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
WHEELS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
Search Intelligence

Quick Answers: Common Problems & Reliability Questions for the 2020 Chevrolet Traverse

Direct, deterministic answers synthesized from verified United States government databases for the 2020 Chevrolet Traverse

What are the most common reported problems with the 2020 Chevrolet Traverse?

In official NHTSA consumer records, the most frequently cited issue area for the 2020 Chevrolet Traverse is Engine & Cooling, appearing in 84 records (38.4% of submitted filings).

Secondary reported categories include Powertrain & Transmission (39) and Electrical System (28).

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)

Is the 2020 Chevrolet Traverse a reliable vehicle?

AutoUtility does not issue subjective reliability scores or commercial ratings. In official United States government records, NHTSA tracks 219 consumer defect complaints and 8 safety recall campaigns for the 2020 Chevrolet Traverse.

Reviewing documented component complaint distributions, recall remedy notices, and active federal investigations provides an objective, evidence-based view of the vehicle's historical safety and defect record.

Source: NHTSA ODI & Safety Recalls Databases

Are there crash, fire, or injury reports associated with the 2020 Chevrolet Traverse?

Among consumer complaint records on file with NHTSA for the 2020 Chevrolet Traverse, 11 filings cite a crash, 1 cite smoke or fire, and 5 report one or more injuries.

Incident entries represent consumer descriptions at the time of submission to federal authorities and do not establish mechanical causation or legal liability.

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Consumer Logs
Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database under 49 CFR Part 576.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.