What 9 owners told NHTSA about the 2026 Chevrolet Trax

Service Safety Restraint System warning light keeps coming on. I have taken it to Classic Chevrolet in Oklahoma City 6 times now for the same issue. I have opened a case with GM(XXX). I have been told that GM engineers have been on the phone with the dealership to get this repaired yet it is back in the shop at the dealership again. It has been explained to me that this warning light indicates that the air bags may not work if an accident occurs or the airbags may just deploy as I am driving down the road. That is the safety issue I am reporting. If even the GM engineers cannot fix this problem then I would say that it is a serious problem putting many people at risk. I wanted this in writing. This safety issue needs to be looked into and a recall needs to occur as I am sure I am not the only GM customer driving an unsafe 2026 Chevrolet Trax. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11744667

I was driving at about 10 mph in a suburban Buffalo retail parking lot when I was T-boned by a driver coming at me perpendicular at a much higher rate of speed who hit me squarely on the driver's side front and rear door. Airbags did not deploy. Yes, my safety was put at risk. I was injured. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by dealer or anyone else. Noone has inspected the vehicle yet. There were no warning signs prior to the accident.

NHTSA ODI 11744059

This happened the first night that I drove this brand new vehicle since owning it. While driving at night, there is what I would describe as a "Hard line" of headlight illumination on the roadway in front of the vehicle. I would describe the "hard line" as being illuminated toward the bottom and at a certain point further up, the light suddenly stops and is just a black void, creating a black line. While driving up and down roadways that have hills, there is a definitive line that the headlights do not shine on the roadway in front of the vehicle. The area ahead of this hard line is pitch black and is sometimes no more than 75 feet in front of the vehicle. This happens mainly while traveling down hills, near the bottom. As the car goes through the bottom of the hill, the area illuminated in front of the car can be even less than 75 feet. At this point the roadway beyond in front of the car is totally black. I wouldn't see this as a huge concern while driving in the city if there are street lights, but in rural areas, which is where I drive, I found this to be a major safety issue. Using the bright lights to help with illumination wasn't always an option when there was oncoming traffic or traffic directly in front of my vehicle. At times I had to slow down at the bottom of hills from the posted 60 MPH speed limit to less than 30 MPH because I couldn't see anything that may have been in the roadway in front of me.

NHTSA ODI 11739693

In the last 30 days of obtaining my first brand new vehicle, there have been a couple of incidents where I have put my truck in Park on an incline (hilly street or driveway), and you can hear the brakes grinding once my foot has been removed from the brake pedal. It gives the impression that the brakes have not stopped. It’s unusual to hear and in my concern, I activate the emergency park for extra security. It’s a little scary to think that the brakes won’t do what they’re designed to do.

NHTSA ODI 11735478

Antilock Breaking System

NHTSA ODI 11733834

The contact owns a 2026 Chevrolet Trax. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the message "Brake System Failure" was displayed. The contact turned off the vehicle, waited for a while, and then restarted the vehicle. After restarting the vehicle, the message "Steering System Not Engaged" was displayed. The contact turned off the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who informed the contact that 3 diagnostic codes were retrieved, indicating a braking system and steering failure. However, the third failure was not provided. The dealer stated that a software update might be needed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. A case was opened with the manufacturer. The failure mileage was approximately 156,000

NHTSA ODI 11727008

I was driving 70MPH down the highway, electronics blacked out, when they finally came back, the check engine light came on. Got to dealership, had 18 codes, engine, transmission, and electronics issues. Car is two weeks old with 498 miles on it.

NHTSA ODI 11725976

emission warning light and verified by on star diagnostic. Carried to Rick Hendricksn Gm dealer in Buford Ga. for a 7 day diagnostic and repair. I also could smell gasoline when the car was running and smell gasoline inside my garage when the car was parked..very strong odor. Dealership found it was a EVAP system leak. removed and replaced the filler neck . My vehicle had 650 miles on it when I started getting warning notices that would come and go.

NHTSA ODI 11719696

While driving on the interstate vehicle begin to surge and lag with a check engine light appearing. Vehicle never became disabled but after reading it sounds like this a very known issue with Trax’s. Chevy app stated it was the emissions control system which is most common for purge valve failure. GM needs to issue a recall as the purges valve in every Trax is defective just like the did with earlier models.

NHTSA ODI 11708128