Chevrolet Traverse tires

The Traverse is straightforward on pressure and strict on load. Two original sizes, 35 psi across both, front and rear equal. What it does not forgive is a replacement tire with a lower load index than the one that came off, because this is a large three-row SUV that gets used as one.

The sizes Chevrolet fitted

This page covers the second generation, 2018 to 2023, confirmed on the 2023 car. The 2024 redesign changed fitments and is not covered here.

• 255/65R18 on LS and LT.
• 255/55R20 on LS, LT, RS, Premier, High Country and the Premier Redline Edition. This size covers the most trims.

Notice that LS and LT appear on both rows. The trim name does not settle the wheel on this vehicle, which is a good enough reason on its own to read the size off the tire rather than off the paperwork. Wheel diameter moves with specification while the vehicle underneath stays the same. See finding your tire size.

Where the Traverse puts its placard

Inside the driver's door jamb, on the door frame. GM's own owner-facing service guidance says the Tire Information Label, which carries the recommended cold tire pressure, is on the inside of the vehicle's driver door frame.

Open the driver's door and look at the frame, which is the painted edge of the opening rather than the door itself. This is the easier end of the industry: several makes have moved the same label onto the B-pillar, the upright post beside your shoulder, and their owners search the door edge and find nothing. Our tire pressure placard guide sets out which makes go where.

How to read it once you find it

1. Cold pressure, front.
2. Cold pressure, rear. Equal to the front on this vehicle.
3. The original tire size, which is what the vehicle was designed around. If what is fitted now is a different size, the placard pressure is no longer a direct answer.
4. The spare, printed separately and normally at a much higher figure.

Cold means the vehicle has been parked at least three hours, or driven under about a mile. A tire warms as it rolls and its pressure rises with it, so a reading taken at the end of a journey is high and will tempt you into letting air out.

The verified pressure

35 psi front and rear. Two independent pressure sources agree on 255/55R20 at 35 front and rear, and the first source gives the same figure for 255/65R18 with nothing from the second contradicting it.

Front and rear being equal matters here because it is not universal. Plenty of vehicles in this class want a different number at each end, and setting all four the same is one of the more common real mistakes made on a driveway. On a Traverse, one number across four corners is right.

Replacing fewer than four

All-wheel drive is optional on the Traverse. No GM tire-matching tolerance was found in our sources, and Tire Rack's per-manufacturer matching table does not cover GM, so there is no numeric limit to quote and we will not invent one.

On a front-drive Traverse, one or two tires is a normal job and two new ones go on the rear axle. On an all-wheel-drive car with three well worn tires, matching all four is the safer course, and it is a conversation we have before fitting rather than after. See how many tires and mixing tire brands. Where the damage is a puncture in the tread, repair against replace is the first question.

What changes on a mobile Traverse fitting

• Direct TPMS, with a sensor in each road wheel, so the job ends with a reset or a relearn rather than a pressure check alone.
• The load index on the label is part of the specification on a vehicle this size. A cheaper tire in the same size with a lower load rating is not a substitute.
• 255/55R20 wheels are large and heavy to handle, though nothing about them needs special access. A flat, firm parking space is enough.
• LS and LT are sold on both wheels, so we confirm the size on the car before loading tires.
• A 2024 or later Traverse is a different vehicle for fitment and is not covered by the figures here.

What we do

We supply the tires and fit them where the vehicle is parked. Pressure is set to the figure on your own door frame label rather than to a database, the TPMS is reset or relearned where the vehicle supports it, and the old tires leave with us. Pricing is on our mobile tire replacement page.

Questions people ask

• What psi does a Traverse take? 35 front and rear on both fitments for 2018 to 2023, corroborated on the 20-inch and uncontradicted on the 18-inch.
• Where is the label? Inside the driver's door frame. GM names that location in its own service guidance.
• My tire says 44 psi on the side. Should I use it? No. That is the tire's maximum, not your vehicle's target. Use the label figure.
• Can I fit two tires instead of four? On a front-drive car, yes, and they go on the rear axle. On an all-wheel-drive car we look at the other two first.
• Does my 2024 take the same? Not necessarily. The 2024 redesign changed fitments and this page does not cover it.
• Can I save money with a lower load rating? No. On a three-row SUV the load index is the specification, not an upsell.