Steering rack, gear or tie rod failure on the 2010 Chevrolet Traverse
1 crash 1 of the 72 reports for this failure mention a crash, a fire, an injury or a death. Those are the owner's words on the complaint form, not a verified finding, and one report can mention more than one.
When steering rack, gear or tie rod failure gets reported
Owners of the 2010 Chevrolet Traverse report steering rack, gear or tie rod failure at a median of 60,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 45,000 miles and a quarter after 77,500 miles, from 67 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 98,000 miles. It is the 3rd most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 25,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 87,500 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 62,040 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A spread this wide points at use rather than design. Towing, climate, service history and city mileage all move a failure like this, so the median is a weak guide to any individual car.
18% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26,160 miles | 45,083 miles | 60,000 miles | 76,458 miles | 88,200 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Of these reports, 1 a crash is mentioned. Owners write their own complaints and the agency does not verify them, so read this as what the reports say happened rather than as a confirmed count.
Putting it right typically runs $700–$2,600 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 6 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2018, at a median of 35,000 miles, and latest on the 2012 at 65,000 miles.
By volume the 2010 is the worst of them, which makes this a problem of this specific year rather than of the model as a whole.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Vehicle had been parked in garage when we noticed pink fluid under car. Took it to local repair shop where they diagnosed the power steering gear valve solenoid is leaking. Have to take it to dealer for repair. Dealer has already replaced steering gear input housing (10-29-12) and said they had 4 traverses in with the same problem that week. *tr
Noted power steering fluid in driveway. Had it diagnosed at the dealership as a leak from the steering column. Was told the steering gear assembly had to be replaced at a $1300 charge. I've researched the issue and found many, many complaints regarding this same problem. I have also read complaints that various repairs had been made to solve the steering problems with other traverses, but still problems with the steering system occur. I'm concerned my steering may go out entirely during travel and end up in a fatality. A recall should be required to rectify this issue. *tr
Steering makes a loud grinding noise and steering gear failure. Delay and binding up when trying to turn at low speeds. Dealer confirmed repair bulletin exists but general motors denied warranty repair. Found 40+ ntsb/NHTSA issues with chevrolet traverse steering. This is a safety concern affecting the steering ability of the vehicle. New steering gear, housing, hoses, and fluid change to dexron is required. I need help please! *tr
Also reported on the 2010 Chevrolet Traverse
Other steering problem
Timing chain, belt or tensioner failure
Other engine problem
Loss of power steering
Other driver assistance problem
Power steering pump or fluid leak
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 72 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does steering rack, gear or tie rod failure happen on the 2010 Chevrolet Traverse?
Across 67 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 60,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 45,000 miles and a quarter after 77,500 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is steering rack, gear or tie rod failure on the 2010 Chevrolet Traverse?
72 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 1.4 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed