Owners have filed 480 complaints on the Chevrolet Uplander, covering 2005–2009. The system named most often is Electrical System (87 reports). Worst years by volume: 2005, 2006, 2008; cleanest: 2009, 2007, 2008. 20 reports describe a crash, 4 a fire, 1 a death. On average the car was 4.1 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Chevrolet Uplander
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 480 Uplander complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 87 Read
Driving down the highway and the lights in the dash started to flash and the van stalled so we pulled over to check for a reason and none were found battery connections were clean and tight. Tried to restart the van and it started up fine then smoke started to fill the interior compartment and then flames emerge from…
The contact owns a 2005 chevrolet uplander. The contact stated that a vehicle merged into traffic from a side road and crashed into his vehicle's passenger side door. The contact was driving 35 mph at the time of the crash. The air bags failed to deploy and the middle row seats reclined backwards. The driver and six…
Passenger side headlamp bulb holder loosened and fell to rest on headlight housing melting the plastic and started a fire,melted wiring harness complete headlight assembly and headlight mounting assembly, fire was put out right away could have burn the whole car flames where shooting out of engine compartment
Structure 69 Read
Our 2008 chevrolet uplander van is utilized to deliver campus mail. This past week the carrier hand was caught in the door while unloading/loading mail. Luckily there was no major damage done to her hand but that may not be the case the next time. There are no locking position on the two sliding side doors. We have to…
The contact owns a 2008 chevrolet uplander. The sliding passenger doors on both sides of the vehicle opened on their own at various times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer four times for this failure. The vehicle was repaired and the failure has continued to occur. The vehicle was taken to the dealer five times.…
The contact owns a 2008 chevrolet uplander. The contact stated that the rear driver side sliding door opened while the contact was driving 40 mph. The contact stated hat the failure would occur when any road bump was driven over. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and the dealer could not identify the problem.…
Steering 46 Read
I was hit from behind on february 4, 2012 on campcreek pkwy in college park ga, because my vehicle stalled when I pressed the gas to take off from the red light, it clunks when making turns, it sounds as if something is loose on the front end, and has made these sounds since I've had it, I have had to repair the…
A deer ran across the road. In an effort to avoid a collision, my wife swerved but the vehicle began to spin around and she could not control it by counter steering. My wife struck a post sideway on driver side. The vehicle was declared a total lost by california insurance who has the vehicle
On december 15, 2011, a 2005 chevrolet uplander was driven on a side street at approximately 25 mph. Without warning, the wheel jerked out of the driver's hand and the vehicle struck a parked vehicle and came to a stop. No one was injured. A forensic engineering investigation revealed that the failure of the right…
Latches/locks/linkages 39 Read
I have a 2006 chevy uplander, almost from the beginning I have had problems with the automatic doors. I took it back to the dealership I purchased it a couple of times and they would "do all they could" by cleaning the track and lubricating - then cleaning the sensors. This was always a temporary fix. The doors would…
The contact owns a 2008 chevrolet uplander. The contact stated that after she turned the vehicle off a child passenger pushed the button to close the door and it closed on the child's fingers. Three of the child's fingers were fractured. The manufacturer stated that an investigator would inspect the vehicle. The…
The contact owns a 2008 chevrolet uplander. The contact stated that both sliding doors open on the vehicle without assistance. The contact stated the doors also opened while the vehicle was moving. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer several times, but they have not been able to repair it . The failure mileage…
Suspension 35 Read
I own a 2008 chevrolet uplander which displays a "service engine light" when driving in rain or snow, on trips more than an hour in length. This problem has occurred on more than twelve occasions, and has been taken to three dealers under warranty for repair. Diagnoses include wrong gas cap, wiring harness short…
The contact owns a 2008 chevrolet uplander. The contact stated that when driving over bumps at various speeds, the vehicle performed as if there were no suspension system. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, where the contact was informed that the rear bushings fractured and needed to be replaced. The…
I have a 2008 chevy uplander which has developed a severe banging of the rear axle through the rear tailing arm bushing the manufacturer is well aware of the failure of the rear trailing arm bushings in this vehicle and with all models with this type of rear axle. The vehicle sounds as if someone is pounding on the…
Service Brakes 32 Read
2008 chevrolet uplander with transmission problems. Consumer states when he went down a slight down hill grade, he went down the grade on an angle. The right wheel contacted the road before the left wheel. *kb as the consumer started to accelerate, he heard the stability control activate. The vehicle immediately…
The contact owns a 2008 chevrolet uplander. The contact stated that the ABS system was activated and he was unable to determine when the vehicle would stop. Approximately one year earlier, the dealer replaced the wheel bearing. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed that the front brake…
Transmission went out . Dash light go out, seat belts all of them unlatch by them self, I replaced the brakes 6 times already, emission vapor canister went out , the engine light always on . It all ways say check gas cap,know my van not working. I can't clean any hard codes, passenger right side door unlatch when I…
Fuel System 25 Read
Car
Right back passenger door wouldn't close properly 3 days after purchase; took it in for adjustment. 2 years later, during which my baby was sitting next to that door, the latch failed and the door was inoperable. Latch was supposedly fixed. Fuel/oxygen injector failure 3 times; waiting on a part. Taken in for…
A short time after filling my gasoline tank I began to detect the strong odor of gasoline fumes. I thought I had overfilled the tank so I ran out some gas for a few miles, but the odor of raw gasoline would not go away. I looked under the vehicle to see if there was any gasoline leaking and saw what appeared to be…
Power Train 23 Read
A driver parked her vehicle such that the rear of her vehicle was facing downhill. She thought she placed the vehicle in park and turned the ignition off. She left the key in the ignition and began to clean the interior of the vehicle from the front passenger side. Her two year old son was standing on the drivers…
Driving out of a parking lot with a down hill slop and at an angle. The left front wheel made contact with the road first and then the right. As the back wheels made contact with the road the stabilizer control came on and as I started to accelerate either the trans or the brakes locked up throwing every one forward…
My transmission is starting to stutter at high speeds I was told by two different mechanics that this is a common problem and I shouldn't have to pay for it! That chevy knows about it and should fix the problem as a recall! I owe way too much on the van to put 3000 dollars into a transmission overhaul because of a…
Uplander years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Electrical System,structure | — | — | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 7 | — | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 2 | 2 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 5 | 1 | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 6 | 1 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 176 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.7 |
| Worst single series | 13 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 4.1 years |
A model average of 2.7 hides a worst series at 13. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Uplander?
By complaint volume, 2005, 2006, 2008 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Uplander years are the cleanest?
2009, 2007, 2008 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Chevrolet Uplander have?
480 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2005–2009. Of those, 20 describe a crash and 4 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.