Model Year Index

Which Chevrolet Trax years to avoid

No Chevrolet Trax model year in 2015–2021 falls into the flagged band. The weakest are 2019 and 2016, and even those sit close to this model’s own median.

Ownership label · Chevrolet Trax Full report
C
Grade 2015–2021
2019 vs model median 1.6×
Model median3× median
Suspension 19
Engine 17
Electrical 17
Weakest

2016 · 2019

Best

2020 · 2021

What the record shows

Written from this model’s own complaint and recall history.

No Trax model year falls into the flagged band. Across seven scored years the worst grades C, so the years named opposite are the weakest rather than ones to avoid — a distinction worth making, because the gap between them is small.

The 2019 car is that weakest year at 1.60 times the model’s own median on 132 complaints. Suspension leads at 19 reports, and it leads the 2018 car too at 26 — the only years in this file where that category appears near the top. A number of those filings reference a recall notice directly rather than describing a failure the owner experienced.

The 2016 car is the other, at 1.29, with engine leading at 14 and no group larger than that.

Engine or electrical sits in the top three of every year, which on a file where no year exceeds 132 complaints means a steady trickle rather than a defect cluster.

The last two years are the strongest and the trend is clean: 70 complaints on the 2020 car and 25 on the 2021, which grades A. Neither carries a weighted recall campaign.

Ten distinct campaigns across the model, and the median odometer reading on the 2021 car is 42,681 miles — its complaints arrive late rather than at delivery.

Reviewed Claude, 13 August 2026, against the model's own record and NHTSA campaign filings

Year by year

Severity-weighted complaints filed in each model year’s first 60 months on the road, so every year is measured over an identical window.

Year Complaint volume vs median Reports Grade
2015
1.00× 66 C
2016
1.29× 96 C
2017
1.44× 109 C
2018
0.95× 81 B
2019
1.60× 132 C
2020
0.89× 70 B
2021
0.51× 25 A
2022 P
0.14× 13 A
2024 P
2.76× 214 F
2025 P
2.03× 123 D

P — provisional. These years have not completed 60 months on the road, so their totals are incomplete and they are excluded from the verdict.

What owners report

The component groups most often named, with one representative report. These are unverified — allegations, not findings.

2016 C 96 reports · median 46,890 mi

  1. Engine 14

    The key was barely bumped while in the ignition and driving on a high speed road twice and the key turned to the off position so my steering wheel locked up to the point I can barely get to the side of the road to… owner complaint filed with NHTSA

  2. Airbags & Restraints 11

    We had an single car crash. The car went over a curb and down an embankment and [xxx] near took out a wooden walk way with people near by on the walkway it ended up totaling ($20,000 in damage ) our brand new chevy trax… owner complaint filed with NHTSA

  3. Electrical 11

    I bought a brand new 2016 chevy trax on 10/31/16. One week later, I went into the garage, got into my new car which stated right away but I had no dashboard lights so I had no idea what speed I was traveling. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

10 crash · 5 injuries

2019 C 132 reports · median 6,509 mi

  1. Suspension 19

    The contact owns a 2019 chevrolet trax. The contact received a recall notice for NHTSA campaign number: 19v312000 (suspension). owner complaint filed with NHTSA

  2. Engine 17

    Car was bought brand new and had a manufacturing defect of the automatic transmission fluid coolant lines leaking, to the point that the car would not go forward or backwards, this problem was fixed under warranty, and… owner complaint filed with NHTSA

  3. Electrical 17

    Vehicle is just over 300 miles and the LED display has stopped working. First it went white and now is completely dark. No back up camera either. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

10 crash · 3 fire · 9 injuries

The best year for the Trax

Ranked by overall score among years with a full 60 months on the road.

2021 is the best-scoring Trax model year with a full 60 months on the road, at 87.3 out of 100 — a score that combines complaint rate, recall campaigns and open investigations.

Yearvs medianReportsGrade
2021 0.51× 25 A
2020 0.89× 70 B
2018 0.95× 81 B

Recalls

10 campaigns on record.

Campaign Component Model years Units affected
16V651000 AIR BAGS:FRONTAL 2015–2017 3,640,162
16V257000 EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL:RADIO/TAPE DECK/CD ETC. 2015, 2016 317,572
19V312000 SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER BALL JOINT 2017–2019 112,958
19V652000 SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER BALL JOINT 2015–2018 93,722
23V744000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL 2024 60,154
17V437000 AIR BAGS:FRONTAL 2015, 2016 40,683
15V162000 EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS 2015 19,831
16V422000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE 2015, 2016 18,780
15V146000 STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM 2015 2,295
18V774000 AIR BAGS 2019 12

Recall work is free at any franchised dealer, whoever owns the car and however old it is. Check a specific car’s VIN on NHTSA’s register before you buy — an unrepaired campaign is among the most commonly missed items on a used vehicle.

How long do they last?

Complaint records show when problems get reported, not how long a car survives. Where owners gave an odometer reading, faults on the 2019 were reported at a median of 6,509 miles. Treat that as the point problems start being noticed, not a lifespan.

Common questions

Answered directly from this model’s record.

Which Chevrolet Trax years should you avoid?
No Chevrolet Trax model year in 2015–2021 scores in the flagged band. The weakest are 2019 and 2016.
What is the best year for the Chevrolet Trax?
2021 is the best-scoring Chevrolet Trax model year with a full 60 months on the road, at 87.3 out of 100. The score combines complaint rate, recall campaigns and open investigations.
How many recalls does the Chevrolet Trax have?
10 distinct recall campaigns are on record across all scored Chevrolet Trax model years. A recall is a matter of record: the manufacturer filed a defect report with NHTSA.

How this was calculated

Every model year is scored over an identical window: complaints filed with NHTSA during the first 60 months after that model year went on sale. Without this, older cars look worse purely because they have had longer to accumulate reports.

Limitations. Complaints are unverified reports submitted voluntarily by owners; they are allegations, not findings, and reporting rates vary between models. Model years with fewer than 60 months on the road are marked provisional and excluded from verdicts. Cross-model comparison is withheld pending production-volume data.

Full methodology · Sources · Data vintage August 9, 2026

Working 2019 Trax
Complaints in window
132
Severity-weighted
182.5
Model median (weighted)
114
vs model median
1.60×
Recall campaigns (weighted)
2
Open investigations
0
Score 55 C