Owners have filed 1,379 complaints on the GMC Suburban, covering 1983–2000. The system named most often is Service Brakes (649 reports). Worst years by volume: 1994, 1999, 1995; cleanest: 1983, 1984, 1985. 154 reports describe a crash, 25 a fire, 7 a death. On average the car was 3.8 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on GMC Suburban
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 1,379 Suburban complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Service Brakes 649 Read
When brakes were applied on uneven pavement vehicle did not stop, resulting in an accident. The dealer has been notified. *ak
Applied brakes to stop at intersection and brakes failed, brake pedal was pumped twice and both times the pedal traveled to the floor with no response. Stopped car by hitting car in front of me in traffic and jamming transmission in to "park"
Applied brakes and pedal went to the floor. No pulsing action, no braking. Struck two veh in front of me
Visibility 133 Read
While driving 60 mph smelled smoke. Then, saw fire coming from driver's door panel. Stopped and put out fire, consumer stated it appeared fire started at mirror adjuster on door panel. No electrical component was used prior to fire*ak
Consumer was driving in the rain at 35 mph when weather conditions began to deteriorate, consumer turned on windshield wipers and blades flew off, resulting in consumer to not being able to see and rear ended another vehicle
It is imposible to roll down glass window when the motor of power window is not working. Had been at repair shop about four times, and motor had been replaced about eight times on the different windows
Tires 90 Read
Tread separated from the tire and damaged the vehicale. I have photographs of the tire and the tread. I also have one of the orginal tires left on the spare rim. Gm will not repair the damage because they said they need the old tire. I was 3000 miles from home and had to purchase new tires to get home I had to keep a…
Tire delamination
Vehicle 1998 gmc suburban: when driving on the highway at 65-70 mph one rear firestone steeltex radial tire blew out, causing loss of vehicle control/ collision which resulted in one fatality. Tire size r4slt245/75r16, DOT number v611b1a377
Seats 73 Read
The contact owns a 1999 gmc suburban 1500. The contact stated that the front passenger seat warmer overheated and burned a hole in the seat. There was an occupant in the seat but they were not burned. He called the dealership to find out if there were any related recalls and was told that there were none. The contact…
Drivers chair slipped back while driving, causing loss of control/accident/injury prior to recall.(93V187000)
Seat exhibits excessive play in the tracks, which in turn, has a rocking motion. Both front seat backs are twisted. Consumer has taken truck into dealer 9 times for the same problem. Dealer indicated that rear bolts that hold the track to the seat frame fell out. *ak
Power Train 70 Read
While engine was on and emergency brake was not applied vehicle shifted into reverse and went backwards. Consumer tried to apply emergency brake, but was dragged until vehicle stopped. Consumer suffered injuries
Lost control traveling down interstate I-20 eastbound in conyers, ga. Axle separated, and rear wheel came off. Suburban flipped 3x, skidded on passenger side & came to rest upside down. Airbags did not deploy but car was totally destroyed, including multiple hits on front bumper. 1 passenger airlifted to medical ctr;…
Normal highway speed I noticed a lot of smoke coming from rear of vehicle I stopped and heard a hissing noise under vehicle and saw oil spraying on the exhaust pipes near transmission it then caught fire put fire out I checked fluid level in transmission it was low help showed up with oil filled it back up continued…
Steering 66 Read
Vehicle was moving on the interstate while at 65 mph on cruise control. The automatic gear shift column was struck by the passenger and the transmission was sent into reverse. This action caused the brakes to lockup and the control mechanical lock on the wheel column was locked into a right hand turn with no way to…
Steering would pull to right. Took vehicle to dealership and mechanic repaired it, but currently vehicle was pulling to left. Steering sensor was replaced. Had an accident due to steering problem. Steering went right, and vehicle hit curb. Then, spun around, backwards. Air bags did not deploy. Vehicle went across 4…
While driving at 45mph the steering wheel came loose and was able to be turned 360 degrees, resulting in the vehicle hitting a wall due to a loose bolt in steering column
Electrical System 58 Read
Smoke came from behind door panels and dash area, claim 46-0355-298
Smoke came from behind door panels and dash area, claim 46-0355-298
Fire then smoke coming from wire harness
Engine And Engine Cooling 49 Read
While driving vehicle on highway, 65-70mph, foot felt heat, turned heat off, van started smoking and when everyone was out of vehicle, the vehicle burst into flames. Fire department came, report was taken, no injuries. Vehicle totalled. Provide further information
At 52073 miles consumers suburban stalled while driving. ***no answer required*** *ts the fuel pump failed three times. The transmission was replaced, the tires had worn out and was separating, the engine light had come on due to the air injector and the rear parking brakes had worn out
2000 suburban's malfunctioning computer warning lights were replaced per recall. The check engine light illuminated and the vehicle was taken to the dealer. Consumer was told that he computer need to be replaced. *ts ***nar*** the dealer informed the consumer that the necessary parts to perform the recall would not be…
Suburban 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 21 | 5 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 6 | 2 | |
| 1997 | Electrical System | 13 | 4 | |
| 1996 | Air Bags | 7 | 1 | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 13 | 1 | |
| 1994 | Electrical System | 48 | 4 | |
| 1993 | Electrical System | 24 | 3 | |
| 1992 | Engine And Engine Cooling | 17 | 1 | |
| 1991 | Engine And Engine Cooling | 2 | — | |
| 1990 | Electrical System | 1 | — | |
| 1989 | Engine And Engine Cooling | 1 | 1 | |
| 1988 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — | |
| 1987 | Fuel System, Gasoline | 1 | 2 | |
| 1986 | Service Brakes, Hydraulic | — | — | |
| 1985 | Service Brakes, Hydraulic | — | — | |
| 1984 | Tires | — | — | |
| 1983 | Fuel System, Gasoline | — | 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 | 749 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.8 |
| Worst single series | 14 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 3.8 years |
A model average of 1.8 hides a worst series at 14. 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
- No ads, on every page
- 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 Suburban?
By complaint volume, 1994, 1999, 1995 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 Suburban years are the cleanest?
1983, 1984, 1985 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the GMC Suburban have?
1,379 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1983–2000. Of those, 154 describe a crash and 25 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.