2019 Chevy Trax, any "watch outs"?

[blupupher]

Any known major issues with these vehicles?

I unfortunately may be able to purchase my mother in laws vehicle (unfortunate in that it is due to severe health issues and she can no longer drive).
It is a 2019 Chevy Trax that she bought new in 2019, and owes around $10,000 on it.
While I don't need another vehicle, my truck is getting old and I just don't use it as a truck much (and don't drive much regardless, I use my motorcycle for most of my transportation needs), and for the price (I would just take over payments) it seems a deal, especially in this economy. Plus I am sure I could sell my truck and cover half the cost of the vehicle.
I surprisingly fit well in the vehicle for it's size, and would probably do everything I need a vehicle for.

It seems I have read there are some issues with the turbo in this engine? Was that just earlier models, or is it an ongoing issue? Or is it just a matter of using a good oil and changing regularly.
Same for some suspension issues, seems it was earlier models that had problems.

The one big thing about this is the vehicle only has 1,200 miles total on it.
Literally an "old lady drove it to and from church", but not church, just to and from the store.
The oil has never been changed on it though. I know at 18 months I reset the oil life monitor (it had <500 miles on it at that time, with 300 of it being all highway when she first bought it) without changing the oil, and the oil life is at 0% right now.

 

[measureman]

Here ya go

2019 Chevrolet Trax - problems, statistics, and analysis

Statistics of the reported problems of the 2019 Trax vehicles. The reliability study of the 2019 Trax cars.

www.carproblemzoo.com

2019 with 1200 miles,go for it.
I thought my wife's 2018 Elantra GT with 15K miles on it was low.

 

[tasch72]

From my experience with a 2014 buick encore, if the 2019 trax engine has the cam cover with the integrated PCV valve, those can be a fail point. The coolant piping and thermostat housing are plastic and can break.

If the oil filter cap is marked with Hengst, the OE ACDelco PF2257G is a reboxed Hengst filter.

The oil pan drain threads are also really easy to strip.

 

[Jmlo96]

Like the Cruze, that engine tends to have some PCV issues anywhere between 50-120k. If it goes bad, you have to replace the intake manifold and the valve cover (I think it's about $250 in parts). Sometimes the plastic cooling system components such as the water outlet and thermostat can go bad with age. If you change the oil regularly with a good Dexos rated synthetic you should be fine.

By 2019, the Trax had been around in the US for 4 years (longer elsewhere) and that engine since 2011 in the Cruze so most of the bugs have been worked out. Plus parts are common and cheap. 10 grand is a steal for that car even if it had more miles.

 

[Rmay635703]

Trax seem to be relatively simple and reliable, there are bad examples but compared to say a Honda turbo your golden if a little slow

 

[Andrew1972]

It is a deal and it does not work out easy to flip at least for a few years in vehicle shortage.

I would not worry about oil.

 

[blupupher]

From my experience with a 2014 buick encore, if the 2019 trax engine has the cam cover with the integrated PCV valve, those can be a fail point. The coolant piping and thermostat housing are plastic and can break.

If the oil filter cap is marked with Hengst, the OE ACDelco PF2257G is a reboxed Hengst filter.

The oil pan drain threads are also really easy to strip.

OK, seems I did read something about issues with the PCV when she bought this, but had not really looked into it. I have also read today about some issues with the coolant systems being somewhat problematic (but seems higher mileage, and is that a maintenance issue or a "defect").
It has the UEI? oil filter (brown cap). I was debating just doing an oil change on it (it is sitting in my driveway right now just for today), but don't really see a need for it. Why the heck GM has 2 different style oil filters for the same engine in the same year is beyond my understanding.

It is a deal and it does not work out easy to flip at least for a few years in vehicle shortage.

I would not worry about oil.

Yeah, that is an option, but don't want to come across to the other in-laws that I am doing this for profit.
None of them need the vehicle at all (nor the money really), but if I took it for what is owed on it then sold it for more, I would probably just split any profit with them.
The other option is just to sell it outright to Carmax or Carvana and the money gets split between my wife and her 2 siblings.

If I buy it, I will probably do an oil change then, but it will be at least a month till any real decisions are made.
I just wanted to get an idea if it was even worth looking into.
I made brief mention of "I would take it" when the discussion of her vehicle came up a few months ago (she has dementia that has been slowly progressing, but recently gotten worse, as well as other health and mobility issues), but not real sure if they really have other intentions for it.

 

[measureman]

OK, seems I did read something about issues with the PCV when she bought this, but had not really looked into it. I have also read today about some issues with the coolant systems being somewhat problematic (but seems higher mileage, and is that a maintenance issue or a "defect").
It has the UEI? oil filter (brown cap). I was debating just doing an oil change on it (it is sitting in my driveway right now just for today), but don't really see a need for it. Why the heck GM has 2 different style oil filters for the same engine in the same year is beyond my understanding.


Yeah, that is an option, but don't want to come across to the other in-laws that I am doing this for profit.
None of them need the vehicle at all (nor the money really), but if I took it for what is owed on it then sold it for more, I would probably just split any profit with them.
The other option is just to sell it outright to Carmax or Carvana and the money gets split between my wife and her 2 siblings.

If I buy it, I will probably do an oil change then, but it will be at least a month till any real decisions are made.
I just wanted to get an idea if it was even worth looking into.
I made brief mention of "I would take it" when the discussion of her vehicle came up a few months ago (she has dementia that has been slowly progressing, but recently gotten worse, as well as other health and mobility issues), but not real sure if they really have other intentions for it.

they might decide to sell it if they see how much it's worth to Car Max,Cavana etc.

 

[blupupher]

they might decide to sell it if they see how much it's worth to Car Max,Cavana etc.

Which I am fine with, but they know what it is worth, and as I said, they don't need the money, but who knows.
Either way, I am not going to push it. My wife will bring it up with them when she feels the time is right.

Also, seems at some point my MIL rubbed up against the garage pillar pulling in (at least it looks like pulling it) to the garage at some point.

 

[c502cid]

I own a 2015 awd, my daughter just bought a 2022 awd. Both 4 cylinder turbos, but different engine families. Mine has just under 100k miles, fairly trouble free. Had the shifter lock in park, replaced under warranty early on. Fan relay stuck open around 80k, $13 fix. Had the PCV valve fail, $68 for genuine GM part, took me about an hour to replace the assembly. I just had the water outlet leak a little so I replaced it $29 Dorman item, about 2 hours. I added fog/driving lights from the beginning to get rid of those giant factory plastic covers. Oil and ATF are easy to replace.

It's my wife's daily driver. Gets 29-30 mpg, running 87 octane. It does perform better on 91. The oil life monitor will go out to around 6500 miles for her to 2-5%. AWD works great in the snow, although the factory Conti's stunk in it. Her model doesn't have cruise control but she would never use it even if she had it.

It's been a great daily driver for my wife. It is still on factory brake pads with a lot of life to go... but that is more on how she drives I suspect.

 

[01rangerxl]

The upside to the 1.4 turbo is that every dealer tries to keep all the typical failure parts in stock and most mechanics are very familiar with them.

For a while, we had trouble getting the valve covers in stock, but that hasn't been an issue recently. Among the parts we keep in stock are those, turbos, intakes, all plumbing and seals associated with the turbo, coolant bypass hose, coolant reservoir, water outlet, thermostat, oil cooler/filter housing, water pump, and probably other things I am forgetting. A lot of this stuff I can pull off the shelf without looking up the part number or location.

The rest of the car isn't that bad for what it is. A friend has one as a company car and it has actually held up okay except for having basically all the things I mentioned above replaced at least once.

 

[blupupher]

Well, I washed the vehicle today and took an 10 extra minutes and some polishing compound and cleaned up the fender.
Looks a lot better, just a scratch and scuff now, but for no real cost, a lot better.

Put on a coat of Nu Finish, and overall exterior looks brand new except the little mark on the fender.

I also ended up changing the oil, aired up the tires, put the battery on the charger overnight, cleaned the interior and windows (she is a smoker, so there was a slight film on the windows, and a bit of an odor, but not too bad) and just did a once over on everything.

After having the vehicle for a few days and driving it more, I decided it is not for me. Even if it was just outright given to us, I could not take it.
Power is just horrible, takes forever to downshift, and even when it does, just pathetic. I actually felt a little unsafe driving in freeway traffic.
The drivers headrest is way to uncomfortable, it pushes my head forward and makes my neck hurt, the "armrest" is a joke, and I have to sit so far back to fit in it that I can't reach the A/C controls. It is also just too narrow for me.
The rear seat behind the driver is also useless when I am in it since the seat is so far back.

I let both my 19 yr old and 16 yr old drive it, and neither of the cared for it much either (19 year old drives a 2012 Scion xB, 16 yr old has a 2004 Hyundai Sonata lined up when he gets his license), so I think that says a lot about the vehicle as well. 19 yr old also noted it seemed gutless, and 16 yr old is just used to his Sonata. Fine with me, their older vehicles are cheaper to insure.

I brought it back to her house today, mainly because I have done what I needed to with it (and the family and I went to see her), but partially because I don't want any of the extended family thinking I am "claiming" the vehicle for myself (brother in law and sister in law were fine with me taking it to drive it some and get it all sorted, and could have kept it for a bit for all they cared, but there is other family (aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews etc.) that may think otherwise).

Thanks for all the input though.

 

[Imp4]

Trax seem to be relatively simple and reliable, there are bad examples but compared to say a Honda turbo your golden if a little slow

Can you describe the Honda turbo problems you're alluding to?

 

[dishdude]

Can you describe the Honda turbo problems you're alluding to?

Head gaskets, fuel dilution.