[Austin_Traverse_Owner]

My thought also. But of more concern, this wouldn't have happened if there wasn't a material or design issue. So will it happen again? I'm going to have my local garage put it on a lift so we can see if there was any improvement made in the design of the bracket. If not, I may go to the local muffler shop and see if they can put a more robust hanger in place.

 

[JoeMagrino]

We have a 2018 Traverse. The check engine light came on and found out it was the converter and leaky flexpipe. We just passed 80K miles when the light came on and missed the warranty. The flexpipe on one side was about $380, but the other side has the converter attached and the price was $1150. Originally this part was separate from the converter, but when they try to find the part, it gets superseded by a newer redesigned part that combined the pipe and the converter.

We haven't fixed it yet, but if we do, it will be our FOURTH pipe/converter since we bought the SUV. The last pipe/converter was replaced in January 2020 and it had a 2 year warranty, which we also just missed by 2 months. Unbelievable that there isn't some class action suit yet for all the people experiencing this. We are trying to work with GM on this but they are almost impossible to communicate with.

To make matters worse, since this all happened in the last few weeks, we were driving it on Thursday and holes blew out in the pipes just behind the Y. Our 2018 Traverse now sounds like a motorcycle. Two symmetrical holes like the pictures above. We think that bracket wore away the pipes and blew out. We are most likely going to do the "tin can" fix until we figure out what to do with the converter. So ridiculous!

 

[repairman54]

It's a known issue.
Exhaust Leak Conditions – TechLink (gm-techlink.com)

 

[Ed999]

Thank goodness for mig welders and car lifts and aftermarket cats and all the stainless exhaust tubing you can buy..
No way would I let a dealership redo this one...

 

[Enfusion3k]

I have a 2019 Chevy Traverse Redline with 50k miles on it. I also went through the same issue. First it began with a bad CAT. GM replaced that. Engine light came back on and tech found an exhaust leak at the weld indicated in the picture. Luckily, I had Geico mechanical breakdown insurance to cover $1800 install/labor. About two months ago, I received a letter in the mail that GM is refunding customers for the exhaust leak issue; they are also paying for anyone affected. Long story short, don’t waste your time taking the vehicle into a mom and pop muffler shop. The weld bead is extremely difficult to patch with a tig. Let GM take care of it since it’s free.
Every now and then, I get a smell of sulfur coming from the HVAC vents. Typically this smell happens during a cold start. Haven’t figured that out.

 

[Tampabay0199]

I have a 2019 Chevy Traverse Redline with 50k miles on it. I also went through the same issue. First it began with a bad CAT. GM replaced that. Engine light came back on and tech found an exhaust leak at the weld indicated in the picture. Luckily, I had Geico mechanical breakdown insurance to cover $1800 install/labor. About two months ago, I received a letter in the mail that GM is refunding customers for the exhaust leak issue; they are also paying for anyone affected. Long story short, don’t waste your time taking the vehicle into a mom and pop muffler shop. The weld bead is extremely difficult to patch with a tig. Let GM take care of it since it’s free.
Every now and then, I get a smell of sulfur coming from the HVAC vents. Typically this smell happens during a cold start. Haven’t figured that out.

Do you have a picture of the letter? I've thought mine had an exhaust leak forever and kept being told that it didn't, I have this exact same issue.

 

[Enfusion3k]

Do you have a picture of the letter? I've thought mine had an exhaust leak forever and kept being told that it didn't, I have this exact same issue.

The holes are located underneath those pipe brackets where you see the weld brackets. I tried taking it to a small mom and pop muffler shop for repair. But it didn’t work.

 

[Tampabay0199]

View attachment 11335
The holes are located underneath those pipe brackets where you see the weld brackets. I tried taking it to a small mom and pop muffler shop for repair. But it didn’t work.

Do you have the letter from GM? I called asking and they claimed they do not know of any letter and are saying that there's no exhaust issue known.

 

[Natural Lou]

Attached is the letter I received from GM regarding this exact issue and my vehicle just experienced this at 53,775 miles.

 

[Smyrnabs]

So I have had this same issue on my 2018 Traverse 3 times each times is starts off as a small rumble then it gets louder and louder with a day or two. Just try to catch it while still in warranty, mine first occurred within 2 months of me purchasing my 2018 traverse. I take it in right before the warranty expires on the exhaust parts so that it is covered by Chevy.

 

[Natural Lou]

The warranty period for this issue is 15 years or 150,000 miles. See attached TSB.

 

[ryanhand]

2019 Chevrolet Traverse 2WD 33,223 miles, ~41 months: Noticed "puttering" sound while at idle which got worse over time. Took it to dealership as I figured a blown gasket. "...front muffler and pipe from front cat to front muffler cracked causing the exhaust leak. Replaced both pipes and gasket..." Was quoted ~$1800 for repair (extended warranty stopped at catalytic converter) but service writer negotiated co-insurance from Chevrolet with ~$200 out of pocket. Service writer could not say whether the replacement design was modified for better longevity.

Exact same issue on a 2020! I wrapped it with a exhaust sealant for right now. Thanks for posting the pictures because I couldn’t figure out how the hole got there. As soon as I saw your pictures, I knew I had found the reason!

 

[Tampabay0199]

On mine the bracket was broken which led me to check the right Cat which was also leaking. The dealership is saying they can cover the cat but not the exhaust piece that has the bracket that is broken. I feel like that bracket being broken allows the exhaust to move and causes damage to the other parts. They disagree and refuse to cover it. I even called GM and they started a case but pretty much came back with there was nothing they could do.

 

[Henry B]

Same issues with my 2018 Traverse. Started at 60kish miles. Welded it back up but it is bad again. I might just weld it again and trade it in. Terrible design.

 

[Tomco]

Just went through this here in California. I own a 2019 Traverse that has salvage title. When we bought it only had 6K on it. @ 20K it started making the noise. Took it in to the local Chevy dealer and he told me sorry you're out of luck it's a "branded" vehicle.. I explained to him that in California anything to do with emissions by California law is to be warranted by the manufacturer 100% for 7 years branded or not branded. He still said nope. Called GM they said nope. Called the State of California Air resources board and they said oh really? Please send us all your info and we'll investigate. Lo and behold a month or so later I'm getting a call from the dealer saying I was in luck...LOL!

They replaced the whole exhaust system at no charge. Flash forward 6 months and @ 10K more miles, guess what? Here we go again same area leaking and making noise. You'd think they'd get a mechanical design engineer to take a look and come up with a long lasting solution wouldn't you. Good news is this time I won't need to fight with them to fix their own engineering flaw. That letter from GM posted above is a handy thing to have in hand if this is your first rodeo with the dealer. 15 years or 150,000 miles on their dime after that get a muffler shop to fix it and guarantee it.

 

[rbarrios]

Great story!
Loved the outcome.

 

[Tomco]

Well I went in today and they replaced everything AGAIN at no charge. Aren't they awesome? Did they offer me a loaner car to drive ...no. Do they give a crap about my time I'm having to waste to try and get a problem that is clearly a manufacturing design flaw fixed. Heck no. The jerk behind the counter just wanted to give me grief. He says to me when this happens again...and it will happen again we are not going to cover it because your frame is bent..This is why the bracket is breaking.....Remember this is a salvage vehicle...I tell him that's BS, that I have pictures of the vehicle when it was salvaged and the frame was not effected. Can you show me what you are speaking of as far as my frame and this failure? Being as there is a TSB on it, hundreds of Traverse owners all with the same problem and Chevy has said they will warrant this issue for 150K or 15 years....Doesn't matter, we'll show you when you bring it back. I spoke to the service manager after this guy hits me with this crap and he said don't worry we'll figure it out if there's a problem Yeah I can take that to the bank.... I'm taking it to a local muffler shop where the owner worked for a different Chevy dealer for many years. I'm going to have him inspect the new install and advise what we can come up with to avoid this happening again since GM hasn't. They are just replacing the failed part with the same guaranteed to fail again part. I have some ideas....These motors have a **** ton of torque. I suspect when you step on it, that motor is tweaking hard and possibly that is what is causing the bracket to break They have those flex pipes on there for a reason but it obviously isn't enough to not break the welds on the pipe. Back in my racing days I had a 65 GTO and we chained the upper block to the frame to help keep the engine stable when you put a lot of torque on the engine. The engine mounts alone let it move a good two or 3 inches to the right when you revved it. Once chained the engine didn't move but a tiny bit. Maybe that's a fix. I'll report back after Christmas and some head scratching

 

[Tomco]

I took this over to the muffler shop that sent me to Chevy telling me it was covered no matter what the service desk said...In the end he was right. We talked about why this weld fails...These engines are REALLY high torque engines and the motor mounts allow these engines to twist A LOT... That puts stress on the two pipes and the tiny welds that bind them together ..Twist these pipes enough times both in drive and reverse and you are pretty much guaranteed to have a failure...Unless you drive like the little ol lady from Pasadena. He told me next time it fails to skip the warranty and we'll change the way these pipes are stabilized getting rid of that welded on part that ends up cracking with a more flexible system. When that happens and it will I'll post our modifcation which will at least eliminate this one persistent design flaw.

 

[brinkley.kendra]

have my Traverse in the shop today and they said the same thing. Bracket is broken and wore a hole in the other side. So both Exhaust up to the manifolds need to be replaced.

Cat. Converter side is covered but not the other. $720. Anyone have luck having GM cover this?

I just had the same issue- we have to call and all make it known it's not a one off this is a GM issue. Their number is 800.462.8782 if they list as a recall we will be entitled to refund. Worth a try.

 

[brinkley.kendra]

I took this over to the muffler shop that sent me to Chevy telling me it was covered no matter what the service desk said...In the end he was right. We talked about why this weld fails...These engines are REALLY high torque engines and the motor mounts allow these engines to twist A LOT... That puts stress on the two pipes and the tiny welds that bind them together ..Twist these pipes enough times both in drive and reverse and you are pretty much guaranteed to have a failure...Unless you drive like the little ol lady from Pasadena. He told me next time it fails to skip the warranty and we'll change the way these pipes are stabilized getting rid of that welded on part that ends up cracking with a more flexible system. When that happens and it will I'll post our modifcation which will at least eliminate this one persistent design flaw.

Did Chevy cover yours? They told me today it isn't covered and I have to pay out of pocket. Do you mind sharing your write up? I was about to call GM because this sounds like a universal issue.