Best tires for the Chevrolet Traverse
Top picks across four categories for the Chevrolet Traverse, anchored to the current-generation OEM size 255/65R18. Every recommendation is selected from our 22,000-tire catalog by ranking on UTQG treadwear, mileage warranty, cabin-noise rating, and season class; no commission-weighted reordering.
Daily driver
Best all-season touring
Long warranty, low noise, balanced ride. The one-tire compromise that works for 80% of owners.
Michelin
CrossClimate 2
UTQG 640 with a 60,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Chevrolet Traverse owners.
Michelin
Defender 2
UTQG 800 with a 80,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Chevrolet Traverse owners.
Cooper
CS5 ultra touring
UTQG 800 with a 80,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Chevrolet Traverse owners.
Bridgestone
Alenza A/S 02
Touring-tuned all-season compound; balanced ride, grip, and tread life for everyday driving.
Lowest cost per mile
Best budget
Best price-per-warranty-mile in this size. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options, not safety.
Cooper
CS5 ultra touring
800 UTQG with a 80,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Michelin
Defender 2
800 UTQG with a 80,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Michelin
Defender LTX M/S
Lowest sticker price in this size that still meets the OEM load index. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options.
BFGoodrich
Advantage T/A sport LT
Lowest sticker price in this size that still meets the OEM load index. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options.
Lowest cabin noise
Best quiet
Tread patterns engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning. Pick this if you commute long highway distances daily.
Michelin
Defender 2
68 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Cooper
CS5 ultra touring
70 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Michelin
CrossClimate 2
70 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Cold-weather grip
Best winter
Dedicated winter or all-weather compounds that stay pliable below 7 °C. Necessary for >5 snow days a year.
Side-by-side
Pick the trade-off that matches your driving
| All-season Michelin CrossClimate 2 | Best budget Cooper CS5 Ultra Touring | Best quiet Michelin Defender 2 | Best winter Toyo Celsius CUV |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UTQG treadwear | 640 | 800 | 800 | 520 |
| Mileage warranty | 60,000 mi | 80,000 mi | 80,000 mi | - |
| Cabin noise | 70 dB | 70 dB | 68 dB | - |
| Season class | all-season | all-season | all-season | all-weather |
| Type | touring | touring | touring | truck-suv |
OEM tire sizes by year
What size does the chevrolet traverse use?
Recommendations on this page are anchored to the latest model-year's OEM size. Confirm yours against the driver-door placard before purchase.
| Year | OEM size | |
|---|---|---|
| 2009–2023 | 255/55R20 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2024–2026 | 265/65R18 | Year-specific fitment → |
How we ranked these tires for the chevrolet traverse
We started with the latest model-year's OEM tire size; 255/65R18; and filtered our catalog of 22,000+ tires to those offered in that exact size. From there, four parallel rankings:
- Best all-season ranks on a weighted score: tire type matches performance car segment, season is "all-season", premium brand bonus (Michelin / Continental / Bridgestone / Pirelli / Goodyear / Nokian).
- Best budget ranks on cost-per-warranty-mile; the lower the better. Premium brands get no bonus here.
- Best quiet ranks on the EU tire-label dB rating; lower is quieter.
- Best winter filters to tires marked 3PMSF severe-snow rated or all-weather class, with a small premium-brand bonus because winter-compound R&D is capital-intensive.
Performance trims trade tread life for grip. Expect summer-class compounds to wear 15,000–25,000 miles vs 50,000+ for all-season touring. The all-season recommendation below is the daily-driver compromise; the budget pick saves money for owners who want the same compound class without the brand premium. Use the side-by-side comparison above to weigh the trade-offs against your specific driving; highway-heavy, winter-state, performance-oriented, or budget-constrained.
NHTSA-reported issues for chevrolet traverse
Top issue category: Tires (General)
Most reported: Tires (General) (25) · TPMS (6) · Tread / Belt (6) · Spare Tire (2) · Bead (2)
Reported across: 2009 – 2024 (13 years)
What owners described
Cracking or dry rot appears in 35% of these reports; about 3.8× as often as across all tire complaints. Percentages are shares of the 34 reports covering every model year of the Chevrolet Traverse that include a written account; a single report can describe more than one problem, so they do not total 100%.
| Reported problem | This subject | All tire complaints | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cracking or dry rot | 35% | 9% | 3.8× |
| Pressure-monitoring (TPMS) fault | 15% | 2% | 6.1× |
| Blowout or sudden deflation | 9% | 20% | 0.4× |
| Sidewall failure | 9% | 15% | 0.6× |
| Loss of control, rollover or collision | 9% | 8% | 1.1× |
| Tread or belt separation | 3% | 13% | 0.2× |
Mileage at failure
16 of these reports state an odometer reading. The middle report is at 28,500 miles, with 8 in 10 falling between 8,000 and 60,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA about Chevrolet Traverse. Reports are published by NHTSA as filed and are lightly cleaned here only to remove intake codes.
MY HUSBAND AND I PURCHASED A USED 2009 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE FROM THE LOCAL GLENN FORD DEALERSHIP AROUND 02/2012. AT THE TIME OF OUR PURCHASE, GLENN FORD "REPAIRED" THE TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM. THE LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN A FEW DAYS AFTER WE BOUGHT THE TRUCK. SINCE THEN AND UP UNTIL NOW, WE HAVE REPLACED A SENSOR AND HAD THE SENSORS RELEARNED AND REPROGRAMMED AT LEAST 8 TIMES. THE LIGHT IS STILL ON, DESPITE NUMEROUS DEALERSHIP TECHNICIANS TELLING US THAT THE SENSORS ARE ALL FUNCTIONAL. I AM REPORTING THIS BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A POTENTIAL SAFETY ISSUE. I HAVE TWO BABIES SO I AM VERY CONCERNED.
THE TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM WARNING LIGHT WONT GO OUT. THIS LIGHT CAME ON AND FLASHED AND THEN WENT OFF. WE HAD THE DEALER CHECK IT, BUT THEY SAID THAT THIS WAS NORMAL. IT CAME ON AGAIN A MONTH LATER, BUT WENT OFF. IT WAS CHECKED BY DEALER AGAIN. A FEW DAYS LATER IT CAME BACK ON AND STAYED ON. THE DEALER KEEPS SAYING ITS A QUIRK IN THE SYSTEM FOR THE CAR, BUT THIS SOUNDS LIKE BS. IT MAY BE A FAILED SENSOR BUT IT NEEDS TO BE REPLACE OR CORRECTED. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE LACK OF ADEQUATE PRESSURE IN ALL FOUR TIRES CAN CAUSE AN ACCIDENT, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE SYSTEM NO LONGER TELLS YOU WHICH TIRE IS THE ISSUE.
MY DAUGHTER AND SON IN LAW HAD PURCHASED GOOD YEAR TIRES 8 MONTHS AGO AND HAVE LESS THAN 8,000 MILES ON THEM WHEN ONE TIRE SIDE WALL ON THE TIRE FAILED WHEN THEY TOOK IT TO THE DEALER THEY WERE TOLD THAT THE FAILURE WAS DUE TO A POT HOLE. THE FAILURE WAS THE SIDEWALL AND THEREFORE IN OUR MINDS THAT PARTICULAR TIRE SIDEWALL HAD TO BE DEFECTIVE. THEY WERE TOLD THAT THEY HAD TO PAY FOR A NEW TIRE. THIS IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. GOODYEAR SHOULD RECOGNIZE THAT THE FAILURE COULD HAVE TAKEN PLACE ON THE HIGHWAY AT HIGH SPEEDS WHERE MY DAUGHTER, SON IN LAW AND GRAND CHILDREN COULD HAVE EASILY BEEN KILLED. THERE NEEDS TO BE SOME JUSTIFICATION TO THEM OTHER THAN SOME MECHANIC TELLING THEM IT WAS DUE TO A POT HOLE..
THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE EQUIPPED WITH GOODYEAR FORTERA HL TIRES, SIZE: P255/65R18 109S. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO START THE VEHICLE, THE LOW TIRE PRESSURE WARNING INDICATOR FOR THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE TIRE DISPLAYED ACROSS THE MESSAGE BOARD. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE TIRE HAD DRY ROTTED AND HAD CRACKS. THE TECHNICIAN FILLED THE TIRE WITH AIR; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS WITH ALL FOUR TIRES. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 15T002000 (TIRES); HOWEVER, THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 79,000 AND THE TIRE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100.
Complaints are voluntarily submitted to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation and are not verified by NHTSA; they represent owner-reported problems, not proven defects. Counts can be useful as a relative quality signal across comparable tires or vehicles.
Tire recalls & safety complaints for the Chevrolet Traverse →
FAQ
What's the best all-season tire for the Chevrolet Traverse?
Should I get a cheaper tire for my Chevrolet Traverse?
Does the Chevrolet Traverse need winter tires?
Can I run a different tire size on my Chevrolet Traverse?
Where can I buy these tires?
Last verified 2026-10-07.