Used Holden Trax Review: 2013-2020
The South Korean product Holden hasn't been without quality issues, and the Trax is no different, though by no means the worst.
Holden has recalled Trax a couple of times, the first time due to a potential malfunction of the seatbelt pretensioner system, which had obvious safety implications.
The good news is that there were only eight vehicles involved in this particular recall, and a Holden dealer will be able to identify the affected car if you have any doubts about a particular instance.
The second recall went under the odd heading: Some Traxs had a defect in the ignition cylinder that caused the car to mysteriously fire its own starter even when no one was in the car.
If the car was manual, the gear was in gear, and the parking brake wasn't applied properly, the starter had enough power to actually make the car move, perhaps until it hit something stationary.
Cases are few and far between, but they have been reported so it would be wise to check if a potential purchase was one of the affected Trax and if it was fixed with an ignition barrel replacement.
The Trax was also recalled to test the electric power steering wiring harness, which could become disconnected in some cases.
If this happened, then the car could still be driven, but much more effort would be required from the driver.
As with many modern cars, it's not uncommon for Trax owners to experience problems with automatic transmissions.
Any signs of slipping between gears, inability to select gears, or loss of traction are indicative of serious transmission problems.
Trax also annoyed its owners with paint on the hood and roof peeling or flaking very early in the vehicle's life.
Therefore, carefully check the condition of the paint on all horizontal surfaces.
Trax has also been involved in the Takata airbag saga, so make sure any potential purchase is checked and its dodgy airbags replaced.
If not, then don't buy. In fact, don't even test drive it.
For other common Trax-related issues, check out our guide here.
