2013 Chevrolet Suburban problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Structure:body (16) · Air Bags (16) · Engine (8)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Chevrolet Suburban model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
80 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (4)
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2021-02-05 · campaign 21V053000 · 692,526 vehicles
Defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2013 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 24, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 11, 2021. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. G
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2021-02-05 · campaign 21V054000 · 1,778,128 vehicles
Defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of AL, CA, FL, GA, HI, LA, MS, SC, TX, PR, AS, GU, the MP, and VI or "Zone A." Additionally GM is recalling certain 2011-2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 25, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed to 40 VIN owners on May 11, 2021. A second owner notification letter was mailed to all other owners on January 24, 2022. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-8
Electrical System 2014-10-01 · campaign 14V614000 · 106,307 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Cadillac CTS, Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Yukon XL, and 2014 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Express, Impala, Silverado HD, Traverse, GMC Acadia, Savana, and Sierra HD vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the chassis electronic module may be internally contaminated, resulting in an electrical short.
Risk: If the module experiences an electrical short, the vehicle could stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the chassis electronic module, free of charge. The recall began on December 26, 2014. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-458-006 (Cadillac), 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), and 1-800-462-8782 (GMC). GMs number for this recall is 14515.
Power Train:automatic Transmission 2013-01-02 · campaign 13V001000 · 54,686 vehicles
Defect: General Motors (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT; Chevrolet Avalanche, Express, Silverado HD, Silverado LD, Suburban, and Tahoe; and GMC Savana, Sierra HD, Sierra LD, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles, manufactured between November 7, 2012, through December 18, 2012, for failing to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 102, "Transmission Shift Lever Sequence, Starter Interlock, and Transmission Braki
Risk: As a result, the vehicle may shift from Park with the ignition key removed or the ignition key in the OFF position. The vehicle may also shift out of Park without application of the brake pedal while the key is off. Either of these scenarios may cause the vehicle to roll away after the driver has exited the vehicle, resulting in a possible vehicle crash and/or injury.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the affected vehicles and replace the steering column as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on January 21, 2013. Chevrolet owners may call 1-800-630-2438. Cadillac owners may call 1-866-982-2339. GMC owners may call 1-866-996-9463.
Service bulletins (1,761)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-26 · PIT5698F · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this pi provides diagnostics tips on how the lin bus works and how to diagnosis it.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-04 · PIP4902W · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email gds2 session logs into technical assistance.
Unknown Or Other 2026-05-04 · PIT6247B · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communicates direction to find information at www.gmupfitter.com for police and special service vehicles.
Unknown Or Other 2026-04-01 · PIT3271Q · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communicates information about how to determine if a wheel and tires size change is available.
Unknown Or Other 2026-03-09 · PIP6104 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communicates the steps on how to save a gds2 session log and upload to a technical assistance case in cx connect.
Unknown Or Other 2026-03-09 · PIP4902V · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email gds2 session logs into technical assistance.
Showing the 6 most recent of 1,761 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-03-03 · Unknown Or Other“the dashboard in 2007-2014 gm trucks and subs break apart. these can shatter when in an accident. there is insufficient bracing and supports to keep the dashboards from cracking and coming apart in pieces. only remedy is to replace the dashboard or get an aftermarket cap that may or may not hold during an accident. especially when the airbags is de…”
2026-01-21 · Air Bags“the contact owns a 2013 chevrolet suburban. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 21v053000 (air bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. the local dealer was contacted. the contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. the manufacturer was n…”
2026-01-03 · Structure:body“on the driver side adjacent to the fuel tank, improper drainage for the body frame caused severe rust. over time the frame of the vehicle becomes a safety hazard and may cause the frame to crack or split resulting in loss of control to the rear of the vehicle.…”
2024-11-06 · Vehicle Speed Control“bought 2013 suburban brand new and in 2018, on a trip to the mountains for fall break, the car quit with no warning signs, in the middle of the night. the car would not accelerate when gas pedal was pressed and rpm gauge needle “fluctuated erratically” until car came to a complete stop in the middle of the highway! it was a scary and dangerous situ…”
2024-09-30 · Unknown Or Other“my suburban's dashboard has a crack that extends now to the edge of the airbag compartment door, with a piece now missing and what appears to be something like an airbag visible. i am concerned the airbag will not deploy correctly if / when it is needed. i have called a certified chevrolet dealer/ repair garage who said this is not an issue listed …”
2024-04-25 · Unknown Or Other“the vehicle has exterior side mirrors that fold in. once folded in the driverside mirror can be powered back out, but the passager side does not. this makes it unsafe to change lanes and identify a vehicle in your blind spot. this malfunction has happen several times on this vehicle. prior to this vehicle had another 2013 suburban that the same mal…”
2024-02-05 · Structure:interior Panels:dashboard · 294,000 mi“the contact owns a 2013 chevrolet suburban. the contact stated that the dashboard had many fractures nearby the air bag enclosure. the vehicle had not been taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and it was confirmed that the vin was not included in a recall. the failure mileage was 294,000.…”
2023-10-04 · Structure:body“starting approximately 24 months ago the dash on my suburban started cracking. now it has cracked in several locations on both the driver's and passenger side of the dash. the cracks on the passenger side go up to the air bag location. cracks on the driver's side are numerous and getting worse. the driver's side cracks are such that the pieces …”
2023-08-31 · Unknown Or Other“on july 8th i went into sheehy honda to look at a suburban that miss [xxx] said she had on sale. when i arrive ms [xxx] showed me the vehicle, after looking over the vehicle it was something hanging from the back part of the vehicle they looked at it they got the manager out there he said he was going to take care of it doing, that time i went ba…”
2023-08-17 · Unknown Or Other“the dash has cracked in several spots and makes loud vibrating noises and i’m worried with one crack being near air bag that air bag will not work correctly or dash will have projectile pieces that may impel into a person if the airbag deploys …”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.