The Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave are built together, recalled together and, for most of their history, fail together. The years to avoid are 2014 on all three (Traverse 58, Acadia 51, Enclave 30, the last an AVOID on 292 complaints), the 2017 Acadia (36, on 1,341 complaints, the worst single year of any of the three), and the 2018 and 2019 Traverse and Acadia, which score between 49 and 65. The years to buy are 2013, when all three score between 81 and 84, and 2020 to 2023, when the Acadia scores 75 to 87, the Enclave 77 to 90 and the Traverse, after a transitional 2020, 85 to 88. The Enclave is the quiet one throughout: 1,457 complaints across fifteen model years, against 4,296 for the Traverse and 4,249 for the Acadia.
The 2014 air bag year
Something changed in the 2014 model year on all three, and the complaint component says what. Air Bags is the top category on the 2014 Traverse with 258 complaints, on the 2014 Acadia with 245 and on the 2014 Enclave with 205, where it accounts for 205 of the year's 292 complaints. It did not stop in 2014. Air Bags stays the top component on the Traverse in 2015 (162), 2016 (163) and 2017 (263), on the Acadia in 2015 (108) and 2016 (130), and on the Enclave in 2015 (105), 2016 (110) and 2017 (145). On the Traverse and the Enclave that is four consecutive model years in which the most-reported thing on a family SUV was its restraint system.
The recall record on those years is dense. The 2014 cars alone carry campaign 14V223000 (engine control module software, filed under the instrument cluster), 14V092000 (automatic transmission), 14V614000 (electrical system) and 14V266000 (seat belts, covering 2011 to 2014). Later campaigns reached back to them: 23V334000, issued 10/05/2023, recalls 2014 to 2017 Enclave, Traverse and Acadia because the driver's air bag inflator may explode during deployment, and 22V246000 does the same for the 2015 cars. Campaign 21V246000, issued 08/04/2021, covers the side curtain air bags on 2010 to 2019 Traverses because they may not be properly attached. The 2014 Traverse has 7 recall campaigns of which 6 are safety-critical; the 2014 Enclave has 7 and 6; the 2014 Acadia 6 and 5.
The 2017 Acadia
The Acadia was redesigned for 2017, a year ahead of the other two, and the record treats the 2017 car as a different vehicle. Its combined fuel economy on the sheet jumps from 17 to 23 miles per gallon, and its complaints jump from 235 in 2016 to 1,341, or 149.0 complaints per year on the road against 23.5 the year before. Power Train leads with 456, Electrical System has 362, Unknown Or Other 321, Air Bags 151 and Engine 114. The three recall campaigns on the 2017 car are 16V802000 (front brake calipers that may have a torn or misaligned seal, shared with the 2017 Cadillac XT5), 17V516000 (the right front intermediate driveshaft may fracture and separate while driving, 2017 to 2018) and 18V358000 (the high pressure fuel pump, 2017 to 2018). None of those is a transmission campaign, so the 456 Power Train complaints stand on their own as a symptom pattern rather than a documented cause.
The 2018 and 2019 Acadias are better but not good: 390 and 381 complaints, scores of 53 and 49, and Power Train still first at 163 and 153. The 2020 car drops to 99 complaints and a score of 81, and from there the Acadia is a BUY every year until 2025, though 2022 and 2023 have low evidence on 48 and 42 complaints.
GMC Acadia: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 56 | CAUTION | 62 | 0 |
| 2024 | 81 | BUY | 55 | 0 |
| 2023 | 87 | BUY | 42 | 4 |
| 2022 | 86 | BUY | 48 | 3 |
| 2021 | 75 | BUY | 147 | 2 |
| 2020 | 81 | BUY | 99 | 6 |
| 2019 | 49 | AVOID | 381 | 2 |
| 2018 | 53 | CAUTION | 390 | 2 |
| 2017 | 36 | AVOID | 1,341 | 4 |
| 2016 | 77 | BUY | 235 | 4 |
| 2015 | 74 | BUY | 261 | 4 |
| 2014 | 51 | CAUTION | 466 | 6 |
| 2013 | 84 | BUY | 140 | 3 |
| 2012 | 76 | BUY | 302 | 5 |
| 2011 | 79 | BUY | 280 | 5 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the GMC Acadia model page.
The Traverse's own bad years
The Traverse has two. The first is 2011, with 608 complaints and a score of 69: Engine 204, Steering 165, Electronic Stability Control 103. The 2012 car cuts that to 354 and the 2013 car to 162, the Traverse's best count until 2021.
The second is the 2018 redesign. Complaints go from 361 in 2017 to 457 in 2018 and 403 in 2019, and the category changes: Air Bags disappears from the top five and Power Train takes over with 192 and 165, followed by Electrical System with 100 and 110. The transmission recall 20V668000, issued 29/10/2020, covers the 2018 to 2020 Traverse along with the 2019 to 2020 Acadia and Enclave. The 2020 Traverse is a transitional year with 221 complaints, a score of 69 and 8 recall campaigns, including a cracked right-hand frame rail (19V643000), a fuel pump (20V639000) and a roof-rail air bag inflator (20V446000). Then 2021 to 2023 are the best Traverses on record: 88, 95 and 85 complaints, scores of 85, 88 and 86.
The current generation, from 2024, is where the record turns again. The 2024 car has 138 complaints at 69.0 per year on the road and the 2025 car 173 at 173.0, the highest rate of any year on any of the three, and a score of 46. Service Brakes leads both years with 61 and 111, and Forward Collision Avoidance is second on the 2025 car with 60. Neither year has a recall campaign yet.
Chevrolet Traverse: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 46 | AVOID | 173 | 0 |
| 2024 | 64 | CAUTION | 138 | 0 |
| 2023 | 86 | BUY | 85 | 2 |
| 2022 | 88 | BUY | 95 | 1 |
| 2021 | 85 | BUY | 88 | 3 |
| 2020 | 69 | CAUTION | 221 | 8 |
| 2019 | 61 | CAUTION | 403 | 3 |
| 2018 | 65 | CAUTION | 457 | 2 |
| 2017 | 72 | BUY | 361 | 3 |
| 2016 | 78 | BUY | 291 | 5 |
| 2015 | 76 | BUY | 313 | 5 |
| 2014 | 58 | CAUTION | 547 | 7 |
| 2013 | 81 | BUY | 162 | 4 |
| 2012 | 80 | BUY | 354 | 5 |
| 2011 | 69 | CAUTION | 608 | 5 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Chevrolet Traverse model page.
The Enclave
The Enclave's worst year is 2014, and it is worse than the other two: 292 complaints, of which 205 are Air Bags, and a score of 30, the lowest of any year in this guide. The years either side are also marked by the restraint system, with 2015 (58), 2016 (67) and 2017 (51) all CAUTION and Air Bags at 105, 110 and 145 while no other category reaches 15.
From the 2018 redesign the Enclave's record is thin but clean. The 2018 car has 64 complaints, a score of 89 and no recall campaigns. The 2019 car scores 92 on 42 complaints, the 2020 car 77 on 56 (with six campaigns, all shared with the 2020 Traverse), and 2021 to 2024 have 25, 13, 19 and 7 complaints. Those years are marked low evidence, and the scores of 87 to 91 are an absence of reports rather than proof of an absence of problems. The 2025 car is an AVOID at 48 on 36 complaints in its first year, but with low evidence that is a flag, not a verdict.
Buick Enclave: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 48 | AVOID | 36 | 0 |
| 2024 | 91 | BUY | 7 | 0 |
| 2023 | 90 | BUY | 19 | 0 |
| 2022 | 90 | BUY | 13 | 1 |
| 2021 | 87 | BUY | 25 | 2 |
| 2020 | 77 | BUY | 56 | 6 |
| 2019 | 92 | BUY | 42 | 1 |
| 2018 | 89 | BUY | 64 | 0 |
| 2017 | 51 | CAUTION | 179 | 3 |
| 2016 | 67 | CAUTION | 141 | 4 |
| 2015 | 58 | CAUTION | 171 | 5 |
| 2014 | 30 | AVOID | 292 | 7 |
| 2013 | 83 | BUY | 69 | 4 |
| 2012 | 72 | BUY | 132 | 6 |
| 2011 | 60 | CAUTION | 211 | 6 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Buick Enclave model page.
Ranking
By the record, the Enclave is first: two AVOID years, one of them the thin 2025, four CAUTION years, and a complaint total roughly a third of either sibling's. The Traverse is second, with a broad middle (2012, 2013, 2015 to 2017, 2021 to 2023) that is solidly BUY and two troughs at 2014 and 2018 to 2019. The Acadia is third because the 2017 car is the worst single year here and its 2018 and 2019 cars did not recover the way the Traverse's did. From 2020 to 2023 the three are close enough that condition and equipment should decide.
What to check before you buy
- On any 2014 to 2017 car, ask the dealer to run the VIN against 23V334000 and 22V246000 (driver air bag inflator) and 21V246000 (side curtain attachment), and do not drive away with them open.
- On a 2018 to 2020 Traverse or a 2019 to 2020 Acadia or Enclave, confirm 20V668000 has been performed and drive the car cold from a stop for transmission behaviour.
- On a 2020 car of any of the three, check the campaigns of that year: the fuel pump (20V639000), the roof-rail air bag (20V446000), the two tyre campaigns and, on the Traverse and Enclave, the cracked frame rail (19V643000).
- On a 2017 or 2018 Acadia, ask for evidence of 17V516000 (the intermediate driveshaft) and 18V358000 (the fuel pump).
- On a 2024 or 2025 Traverse, test the brakes and the forward collision system on a quiet road; those are the two categories owners are reporting.
Summary
Avoid the 2014 model year on all three, the 2017 to 2019 Acadia and the 2018 to 2019 Traverse. Buy a 2013 of any of the three, or a 2020 to 2023 car, where the Enclave has the cleanest record and the Traverse from 2021 is close behind. Treat the 2025 Traverse as an AVOID until its complaint rate falls, and read the 2021 to 2025 Enclave's high scores as thin evidence rather than a guarantee.