UsedScore

2015 Chevrolet Trax: Use caution

Owners filed 52 complaints with NHTSA about the 2015 Chevrolet Trax in its first five years on the road, about 110 for every 100,000 sold: 1.9× the rate of a typical Trax year. That's above average, so use caution.

The biggest problem area, counting serious complaints more, is the air bags (21% of complaints, median 14,000 miles).

Complaint index
1.9×
per vehicle sold, vs. a typical Trax year
Rank
7th of 7
1st = fewest complaints
Complaints
52
first five years; 110 per 100,000 sold
Recalls
7
campaigns
1st generation, 2015–2022 (first year of the generation; redesign years often run worse) · Updated September 24, 2026 · How we rate
2016 Chevrolet Trax LT

Photo: 2016 Chevrolet Trax LT · HJUdall, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Problem areas

Ranked by severity-weighted complaints · share · median miles
  1. Air bags21% · 11 complaints · median 14,000 miles
  2. Brakes17% · 9 complaints · median 32,000 miles
  3. Electrical21% · 11 complaints · median 28,000 miles
  4. Engine15% · 8 complaints · median 70,000 miles
  5. Powertrain15% · 8 complaints · median 11,000 miles
  6. Seats and belts6% · 3 complaints
  7. Steering13% · 7 complaints · median 28,000 miles
  8. Fuel and propulsion8% · 4 complaints
  9. Speed control6% · 3 complaints
  10. Visibility2% · 1 complaints

Bars rank problem areas by complaints weighted for severity (crashes, fires, injuries and deaths count more). A complaint can name more than one area. Mileage is reported on about half of complaints.

What owners describe

Air bags

Owners describe crashes, some at highway speed, where the air bags did not deploy, resulting in injuries in several cases. Others report a passenger air bag sensor that incorrectly indicates the air bag is off, sometimes fixed by dealer sensor replacement.

Warning signs:
Some owners saw a "passenger air bag off" warning message appear while driving or when a passenger was seated.
What shops did:
Some dealers diagnosed a faulty passenger sensor and replaced it, though one owner says the part wasn't fixed and another had a relay reprogrammed without success.
Mileage:
most between 10,000 and 35,000 miles, among 10 complaints that give it

“The "passenger side air bag off" warning message displayed”

“The brake pedal was depressed to the floor of the vehicle, but the vehicle failed to respond or stop”

Brakes

Owners describe brakes losing effectiveness, with the pedal sometimes going to the floor and little or no stopping power, occasionally causing collisions or rollaway. Some say dealers could not find a problem or called the issue normal wear rather than repairing it.

Warning signs:
Some report squeaking or squeezing brakes, pedal requiring more pressure, and reduced stopping power before the pedal went to the floor.
What shops did:
Dealers sometimes found no defect or replaced a brake vacuum switch, calling it normal wear not covered under warranty; some repairs were refused.
Mileage:
most between 10,000 and 80,000 miles, among 9 complaints that give it

“No brakes when driving home from work. Pedal pressed all the way to the floor. Pumping brakes made no difference.”

“Backing up vehicle, pressed brakes, went to floor, no brakes.”

Electrical

Owners of the 2015 Trax describe a range of electrical glitches, from backup cameras and instrument clusters going blank to sudden stalling or loss of steering with warning lights on. Dealers frequently struggled to reproduce or permanently fix these issues, leaving some owners with recurring problems.

Warning signs:
Owners report warning lights (check engine, stability control, power steering), blank or flickering instrument clusters, rough idling, stalling, and camera picture loss before failures.
What shops did:
Dealers often could not duplicate or diagnose the issue, though some replaced connectors, grounds, control arms, or fuel modules with mixed results.
Mileage:
most between 15,000 and 80,000 miles, among 13 complaints that give it

“At one point lost power steering and the dashboard display including speedometer zeroed out for a few seconds while driving city streets.”

“The information cluster (which displays my speed, mileage, gas gauge, etc.) went completely black for ~10-15 miles as was driving home one day from work on a city road.”

Summaries are written with AI from the owner complaints shown on NHTSA's site and checked against them; quotes are word for word.

Recalls (7)

Check a VIN on NHTSA ›
  • NHTSA 19V652000September 201993,722 vehicles

    Suspension: front: control arm: lower ball joint

    General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Chevrolet Trax vehicles. A joint in one or both of the front lower control arms may have been improperly welded. An improperly welded joint may break, resulting in the partial separation of the lower control arm from the vehicle.

    Risk: A partial separation of the lower-control arm from the vehicle could cause the attached front wheel to toe outward, impacting the vehicle's handling and steering and increasing the risk of crash.

    Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the left and right front lower-control arms, replacing them as necessary, free of charge.

  • NHTSA 17V437000July 201740,683 vehicles

    Seat belts: pretensioner · Air bags: frontal: sensor/control module-inactive · Air bags: frontal

    General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse and Chevrolet Spark EV, Caprice PPV and SS vehicles, 2014-2017 Buick Encore and Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles, 2015-2016 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Tahoe, Trax, Suburban and Silverado 2500 and 3500 and GMC Yukon and Yukon XL vehicles, and 2015-2017 GMC Sierra HD 2500 and 3500 vehicles. While being previously remedied for recall 16V-651, the affected vehicles may not have received the complete software update necessary to remedy the recall condition. Without the update, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) software to activate a diagnostic test. During this test, deployment of the frontal air bags and the seat belt pretensioners would not occur in the event of a crash.

    Risk: A failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.

    Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software.

  • NHTSA 16V651000September 20163,640,162 vehicles

    Seat belts: pretensioner · Air bags: frontal: sensor/control module-inactive · Air bags: frontal

    General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015-2017 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD, 3500 HD, Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Sierra 2500 HD and 3500 HD, GMC Yukon, GMC Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade and Cadillac Escalade ESV vehicles and 2014-2017 Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500, Trax, Caprice Police Pursuit Vehicle, GMC Sierra 1500, Buick Encore, and 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse, Chevrolet Spark EV and SS vehicles. In the affected vehicles, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) software to activate a diagnostic test. During this test, deployment of the frontal air bags and the seat belt pretensioners would not occur in the event of a crash.

    Risk: A failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.

    Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software.

  • NHTSA 16V422000June 201618,780 vehicles

    Electrical system: software · Equipment: electrical: radio/tape deck/cd etc.

    General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 Chevrolet Sonic and Trax, and 2013-2015 Spark vehicles equipped with a Bring Your Own Media radio. The affected radios may fail to provide an audible warning chime when the driver fails to fasten their seatbelt or if the driver leaves the key in the ignition. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) numbers 208 "Occupant Crash Protection" and 114 "Theft Protection."

    Risk: Without audible indicators, the driver may not fasten their seatbelt, increasing the risk of injury during a crash.

    Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the radio software, free of charge.

  • NHTSA 16V257000April 2016317,572 vehicles

    Electrical system: software · Equipment: electrical: radio/tape deck/cd etc.

    General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2016 Chevrolet Sonic and Trax vehicles and 2013-2015 Chevrolet Spark vehicles equipped with a Bring Your Own Media radio. The affected radios may fail to provide an audible warning chime when the driver, after turning off the ignition and leaving the key in the cylinder, waits 10 minutes or longer to open the door. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 114 "Theft Protection."

    Risk: Without audible indicators, the driver may leave the key in the ignition, increasing the risk of theft.

    Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the radio software, free of charge.

  • NHTSA 15V162000March 201519,831 vehicles

    Equipment: other: labels

    General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015 Buick Encore vehicles manufactured August 26, 2014, to February 9, 2015, and 2015 Chevrolet Trax vehicles manufactured October 13, 2014, to February 3, 2015. The affected vehicles have tire placards that do not provide the rim size information for the front or rear wheels. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims and Motor Home/Recreation Vehicle Trailer Load Carrying Capacity Information for Motor Vehicles with a GVWR of 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) or less."

    Risk: If the label is missing front and rear rim size information, the owner may replace the rims with ones that are an incorrect size, increasing the risk of crash.

    Fix: GM will notify owners, and will send owners a corrected label, free of charge.

  • NHTSA 15V146000March 20152,295 vehicles

    Steering: electric power assist system

    General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015 Buick Encore vehicles manufactured November 27, 2014, to February 24, 2015, and 2015 Chevrolet Trax vehicles manufactured November 18, 2014, to February 17, 2015. The steering column assembly housing may contact the power steering printed circuit board causing the circuit board to wear.

    Risk: The circuit board wear may cause a sudden loss of electric power steering assist, increasing the risk of a crash.

    Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the steering column assembly, as necessary, free of charge.

A recall only helps if the repair was done. Enter the vehicle's 17-character VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup before you buy.

Service bulletins

Chevrolet sent NHTSA 1,311 service bulletins and other notices to dealers covering the 2015 Trax. These are repair instructions, not recalls. Warranty extensions and bulletins about its top problem areas:

  • 25-NA-087 · April 2025This service bulletin provides information on the proper Reflective High Temperature Heat and/or Insulating Tape to use for certain repairs, such as Wiring Harness Repairs.
  • 13-08-116-001K · March 2025The intent of this service bulletin is to identify aftermarket ALDL or DLC interface devices as potential sources for causing multiple customer concerns that do not have other diagnostic methods to…
  • 25-NA-065 · March 2025This informational bulletin instructs the tech when fuel/fluid is needed to be tested and where it can be sent for analysis.
  • 24-NA-098 · March 2025This service bulletin provides information for dealers/technicians on Service Programming System (SPS) Error Codes E4398, E4399, E4401, E4403, M4404, M4413, M6954, M6955, E4414, E4423, E4491, E4492,…
  • 15-06-03-001F · March 2025This service bulletin provides information to diagnose batteries that have set for a long period of time and/or cold weather climates and testing those batteries.
  • 21-NA-043 · January 2025This bulletin advises the dealers to maintain the vehicle stock on hand by doing a full inspection on the vehicles before being sold (prepping) to the customer.
  • 09-06-04-026Z · January 2025This bulletin provides information on identifying Non-GM Engine Calibrations for Gasoline Engines using the Tech 2 or GDS 2.
  • 20-NA-132 · January 2025This warranty administration bulletin provides policy information on the requirements for 12V battery testing and warranty replacements.

All 2015 Trax bulletins on NHTSA ›

Questions owners ask

Is the 2015 Chevrolet Trax reliable?
Owners filed 52 complaints with NHTSA about the 2015 Chevrolet Trax in its first five years on the road, about 110 for every 100,000 sold: 1.9× the rate of a typical Trax year. That's above average, so use caution. Ratings compare Trax years with each other using complaints filed with NHTSA; they don't measure every problem owners have.
What are the most common 2015 Trax problems?
Owners' complaints most often involve the air bags (21%), the brakes (17%) and the electrical system (21%). A complaint can name more than one area.
Has the 2015 Chevrolet Trax been recalled?
Yes. NHTSA lists 7 recall campaigns for the 2015 Chevrolet Trax, the most recent in September 2019 (suspension). Enter the vehicle's VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup to see whether the repairs were done.

Sources

Owner complaints, recalls and manufacturer communications from NHTSA's public data files, as of September 24, 2026. Complaints are counted once each, over the model year's first 60 months on the road. UsedScore is not affiliated with NHTSA or Chevrolet. The 2015 Chevrolet Trax on NHTSA.gov · How we rate