Chevrolet Trax: Years to Avoid and Best Years to Buy
Chevrolet Trax: 10 model years scored from 932 NHTSA owner complaints and 20 recall campaigns. Worst year 2024, best year 2018.
Chevrolet Trax: which years to avoid
Across 10 scored model years the Chevrolet Trax ranges from 44/100 in 2024 to 94/100 in 2021 — a 50-point spread, so which year you buy matters more than whether you buy a Trax at all. The weakest year’s complaints concentrate in Electrical System (64 of them).
Avoid: 2024, 2025 — scored below 45 on the complaint and recall record.
Safest years: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 — scored 70 or better.
Scored from NHTSA complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. How the score works · every car’s years to avoid.
Editor's note
The Chevrolet Trax's years to avoid are the two newest, 2024 (AVOID at 44 on 169 complaints, 84.5 per year on the road) and 2025 (47 on 80); the years to buy are the first-generation cars of 2015 to 2022, every one a BUY, with 2021 and 2022 at 94 each. The first generation runs 95, 117, 111, 100, 133, 94, 24 and 9 complaints with scores from 70 to 94, and Engine is first or second in every year to 2020. Suspension leads the 2018 car at 34, and two campaigns explain it: 19V652000 and 19V312000, covering 2015 to 2019 cars whose front lower control arm joint may have been improperly welded. The 2019 car, the generation's dip at 70, also carries 18V774000 for an air bag sensing module left in manufacturing mode. The 2024 car is a different vehicle with no 2023 predecessor on record; Electrical System leads it with 64 complaints, and its single campaign, 23V744000, covers instrument display software that can blank the panel while driving.
Read the guide
Used Chevrolet Sonic, Trax and Blazer: the years to avoid — written and signed by Adir Trabelsi, 2026-09-16.
How the Trax changed, run by run
The federal record falls into 2 stretches of years that behave alike. A redesign shows up here as a step in the complaint rate that then holds.
2015–2022
Mean score 82/100, about 11 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Engine more than anything else (199 complaints). 11 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
2024–2025
Mean score 46/100, about 82 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Electrical System more than anything else (94 complaints). The record falls 36 points against the years before it. 1 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
Year-by-year data table
Best year in our data: 2018 (score 84). Worst: 2024 (score 44, AVOID).
| Year | Score | Verdict | Running cost / yr | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 47 | AVOID | $4,100 | 80 | 0 |
| 2024 | 44 | AVOID | $4,326 | 169 | 1 |
| 2022 | 94 | BUY | $3,342 | 9 | 0 |
| 2021 | 94 | BUY | $3,530 | 24 | 0 |
| 2020 | 80 | BUY | $3,878 | 94 | 0 |
| 2019 | 70 | BUY | $3,931 | 133 | 2 |
| 2018 | 84 | BUY | $3,948 | 100 | 2 |
| 2017 | 81 | BUY | $4,084 | 111 | 3 |
| 2016 | 74 | BUY | $4,112 | 117 | 5 |
| 2015 | 76 | BUY | $4,194 | 95 | 7 |
Running cost is fuel or energy plus the maintenance band midpoint for that car at its age today, re-priced to your country. Purchase price, insurance and depreciation are not included.
Photographs and every generation of the Trax, through the years →
What goes wrong on the Chevrolet Trax
Across every Trax model year in our index, owners report these component groups most often. The cost beside each one is the representative repair for that group at a US independent shop, re-priced to your country.
- Engine261 complaints across all Trax years · typical job: Cooling-system or timing-drive repair$1,040–$2,220
- Electrical System239 complaints across all Trax years · typical job: Alternator, battery-drain or body-module diagnosis and replacement$540–$1,310
- Unknown Or Other151 complaints across all Trax years · typical job: Diagnosis and mixed repair$360–$940
- Power Train80 complaints across all Trax years · typical job: Transmission service or clutch-pack repair$1,290–$4,040
- Steering70 complaints across all Trax years · typical job: Electric power-steering rack or column motor replacement$1,020–$2,500
- Suspension63 complaints across all Trax years · typical job: Struts, springs and control-arm bushings, one axle$780–$1,580
Flat-rate labour hours x local shop rate plus a parts band. An estimate of what this class of failure costs, not a quote. Formula.
FAQ
Which Chevrolet Trax years should I avoid?
On the NHTSA record the years to avoid are 2024, 2025 — each scores below 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. The 2024 is the weakest at 44/100, with its complaints concentrated in Electrical System.
What are the best Chevrolet Trax years to buy?
2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 all score 70 or better. The strongest is the 2021 at 94/100, on 24 complaints and 0 recall campaigns.
What is the most common Chevrolet Trax problem?
261 of the complaints filed against the Trax across all its model years sit in the Engine group — more than any other component.
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Sources: NHTSA, EPA · Methodology · Updated 2026-10-04