OK. Have had my Traverse 2011 for almost a year (bought used with 18,000 miles). After 3 months the steering wheel was squeaking and needed more grease. 10-11 months into the throttle had to be cleaned, the throttle valve replaced, then the steering pump and steering something replaced, the throttle is shot, and the check airbag sensor light came on and they quickly told me something that needed to be fixed with that. Still waiting on the final verdict. Does this sound like a car that could have been flooded or what could be the problem with this great purchase???
It wouldn’t have been the first thing I thought of but It could have been flooded.
It also could have been build on the day after the company sponsored kegger. Maybe the car was inspected on the last day of the QA inspector. Who knows?
Seriously, there’s clearly something wrong with the way that car was manufactured but what makes you think it was flooded?
The car could also have been severely abused. An independent mechanic should go over it and give you a verdict. This definitely is not normal.
No reason to think it was flooded other than I don’t have any other idea why a car that looks so good would have so many problems
That’s a shame. If you bought it recently, you may want to look into your state’s lemon law to see what your rights are.
It could be perfectly fine after this, of course, but a car shouldn’t have that many problems.
The wide variety of issues, coupled with the fact that the front airbag sensors are below the centerline of the car and accelerator pedals rarely fail, make me think there;s a good possibility that the car was a flood victim. But there’s no way of knowing for certain.
Any good shop should be able to evaluate the car whil lifted up on a rack and give you a better idea. Floodwaters would generally leave telltale traces in the undercarriage, like rusted metal components up to a “waterline”. If there’s evidence of that happening, it’s a sure sign. If not, you may have gotten the odd lemon. I’d pay the $100 for the inspection. It’ll be worth it to know.
Ye have to ask yourself why someone would trade a good car in at 18,000 miles. Either they didn’t like it, was a problem to them, or something else happened to it. I suspect though they wouldn’t be doing warranty work on it if it was flooded though and salvaged.
Open the rear hatch and pull up the carpet. Check in every nook and cranny at the back end to see if there is any indication of flood damage, like dried mud. There might be recessed cargo areas or a spare tire well. Pull the spare tire out and inspect the sell if you have one.