118 of the
10,571 complaints filed about the Chevrolet Suburban
are about the lighting —
1% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 1999.
2021 SUBURBAN LT. Driver side headlamp adjuster failed while driving. Wife struggles to see at night so when the adjuster failed the driver side headlamp faced right to the ground causing no projected illuminating light. We attempted to adjust the light when she arrived home but it would not adjust due to the leveler failing and breaking. Looking into the matter we found out that numerous people with those, suburban's and even Silverado's that share the same parts have also reported the part failing due to the leveling being so thin and driving over bumpy roads will cause the weight of the lamp to snap and break. Its a growing concern yet dealerships are charging customers over 1400 to replace the whole assembly as it is one seal piece. There was no indication of it starting to fail just the moment it went from fine to facing the ground. We tried to run through extended warranty but claimed denied stating us touching the leveler to adjust it is what caused it to break. We tried to prove our case that doing research they would find to be common but no luck. its a safey matte.r
NHTSA complaint #11746579 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
As I was driving 75 mph down the highway my collision alert flashed all my lights turned off, including my headlights and all interior lights as it was dark time and they flashed back on a couple of times until they finally stayed on. I pulled over and as I came to zero, speed, the vehicle completely shut down. It did start back up, but this is not the first time I get a light on my dash that says stability track and then everything resets and I don’t have any lights on at all after that this has been happening off and on I also have three coworkers that have the same make, and year that experienced the same problems ! My situation on the highway was very dangerous. It was pitched dark outside and I lost vision due to my lights going off at 75 mph and my steering wheel also locking up. The next time the vehicle does it I will take a video for proof. I have heard that this problem is very common in these vehicles and believe something should be done because that is a dangerous situation if I was going around a corner and my steering wheel locked up, I could easily flip my car. I have small children that’s why I have the big space but we need safety for our family.
NHTSA complaint #11743382 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The front headlight leaks water which pools inside the led front headlight bezel causing the headlamp to blow/fail. This is a known GM issue and TSB's have been initiated. Concern was confirmed by the dealership who reported that the seal on the headlamp had failed causing the water leak and full replacement of the headlamp/headlight bezel needed to be replaced.
NHTSA complaint #11742128 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The headlight adjustment screw is broken. Was never used or adjusted and now the headlights point to the ground. GM does not offer a replacement part for the adjustment screw, the only fix is to purchase a whole new headlight assembly which is roughly $1,000 before installation costs. This causes a dangerous situation since the drivers side headlight points to the ground and it is hard to see in front of you at night.
NHTSA complaint #11687782 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2024 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that upon brushing snow off the vehicle, the contact noticed that there was snow inside the headlights, which later turned into ice and dimmed the headlights. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the failure recurred, causing the contact to pull over to the side of the road to clean the headlights. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 360.
NHTSA complaint #11648988 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The headlamps are defective and unexpectedly break causing them to aim basically straight down towards the pavement making it unsafe to drive at night. In February of this year I took the vehicle to Cox Chevrolet in Bradenton and they said the headlamps would need to be replaced and it would cost several thousand dollars. I rarely need to drive at night and have been taking our son's car since then. There is a chance one broke and I didn't notice at first then the second one but, at this point, it is unsafe to drive the vehicle at night. I have found several posts on online forums where owners of other GM/Chevrolet vehicles with the same headlamps have had the same experience. Some have mentioned that an adjuster pin breaks and is not repairable (which I have confirmed with a service advisor at another Chevrolet dealership). I am [XXX] who drives responsibly (i.e. not going off road in my Suburban) so having an issue like this is of concern as it makes the vehicle suddenly unsafe to drive at night. This is not a defect that is noticeable during the day so anyone purchasing a used vehicle with this problem wouldn't know they essentially don't have headlamps (I can see maybe 10 feet in front of the car) until they get on the road at nighttime. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11624869 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The headlight adjuster failed. As a result, the headlight points straight down creating a safety issue at night. I have read online this is a common problem on suburbans and tahoes. This happened on my car around 60k miles and only ~3 years.
NHTSA complaint #11621901 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
*From day one of purchase there is a random, frequent loud buzzing/whining through the speakers(with our without the radio on). Dealership had no idea how to fix and Chevrolet said there was no known issue, so no help. *The running lights constantly short out. We continually replace them and they short out again! *We have replaced all four door handles! Cheap chrome plastic is not going to hold up. These should actually be metal to insure holding up! *The tires seem too big since they rub the fender well if you cut sharply to either side. You can actually hear them rubbing on the well as you cut hard to either side! *The dash cracked about five years after we purchased it. We kept it under our carport and this cracking was unacceptable! I called Chevrolet and they said there was no known issue or recall. We continued to ask our dealership to look for recalls on this. *There was a recall on our passenger side airbag. We tried to get it replaced and were told, no they could not. Takata went bankrupt, so sorry, Chevrolet will not replace air bag for you! *After a few years of not being able to use our front seat due to safety issues Chevrolet would not fix(defective airbag), we decided to save and get the airbag and cracked dash replaced on our own. Unacceptable! Proclaimed recalls should be tended to by manufacturer! *The cruise control just stopped working one day early on, no recall--not surprised:( *The fuel tank is cutting off at the pump as we try to put gas into the tank. This is problematic as the vehicle will not run without fuel! Currently fighting with this and contacting dealership to see if they can help at all. Everyone we know who has a Suburban or Tahoe has these same problems! These are all widespread problems/design flaws. Please look into these issues to make a better product!
NHTSA complaint #11569806 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving on the highway at night during rainy conditions the wipers stopped in the up position, and at the same time, the headlights turned off. After a few seconds they resumed normal operation. My headlights were in the auto position and my wipers were also in the automatic setting. Being as that I was on a highway at night, in the rain, and going approximately 65mph surrounded by traffic, this was an extremely dangerous situation to be in. Without headlights and windshield wipers, my windshield was immediately obstructed and I was unable to see the road without headlights. More so, other traffic might have had trouble seeing my vehicle. This problem has not been replicated by myself or a dealer. It has been random in nature. When the incident happened, there were no warning lights on the gauge cluster or anything else inside the vehicle that seemed to be affected.
NHTSA complaint #11556381 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While night driving driver noticed the driver side headlight completly pointing down providing no visibility. Vehicle was brought into GM dealership where is was discovered the Driver LED headlight adjuster screw broken causing a safety issue, where the light beam pointed down. Vehicle light assembly is currently being inspected for replacement under manufacture warranty under 36,000 miles.
NHTSA complaint #11550089 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Stopped at a stop sign. The vehicle suddenly lost all electrical power. Lights began flashing. Traction control system turned off and on. Then it went back to normal driving. I just had the Chassis Control Module Recall taken care of as well. The air conditioning is intermittently cutting its ability to cool then suddenly cooling again during this time. When the vehicle turned back on, the strong odor of fuel was present from the air vents. I had reported the issue before but was told by a dealer there is nothing wrong they could see beyond a visual inspection.
NHTSA complaint #11535928 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Started with driver side heated seat randomly turning on and off. Going from high, medium, low. No way to turn it off just comes back on. Can hear clicking coming from under dash. Lift gate wiring that goes into body, ground wire burnt. (Replaced) but ground wire has power. (Wiring issue) so rear wiper doesn’t work. “Reading” Lamps only work when door is open. After replacing life gate connector, says lift gate open. Started the repair, which leads to more wiring issues! Needs a recall! Unsafe
NHTSA complaint #11469495 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Headlight assembly leaks and retains significant amounts of water resembling a half filled fish tank. This causes the bulbs to burn out or corrode the light power supply leaving you with no headlights! This is a very common problem across many GM platforms. I am surprised the Government regulators have allowed a safety problem this wide spread and known to continue unaddressed.
NHTSA complaint #11453774 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the driver’s side low-beam headlight was pointing inward, affecting his visibility of the roadway. The contact stated that the failure later occurred with the passenger’s side low-beam headlight. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the headlights needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 62,000.
NHTSA complaint #11444175 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated while driving at night, the headlights did not function properly and would turn off inadvertently. The vehicle was originally taken to the dealer and diagnosed as headlight failure, and the bulbs were replaced. However, the failure recurred. The dealer was made aware of the failure and the dealer notified the manufacturer of the recurring failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.
NHTSA complaint #11432302 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The entire electrical system shuts down including lights while driving down the road. No driving light or display at night for about 30 seconds then come back on. System also loses all displays on dash during the day as well.
NHTSA complaint #11429992 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
We had the 2006 Suburban parked with the engine running while our family was just starting to get in. A couple of them noticed a slight smoke smell which we followed and we trailed it to the rear of the vehicle. While I was pulling off a left rear column trim piece to locate where the smoke was coming from, the far rear dome light fixture started dripping melted and burning plastic close by my head. I looked up and saw the rear dome light fixture on fire and flicked it down into the rear cargo area. One of the family was already fetching a fire extinguisher and as they arrived I used it to put out what fire was left in the headliner.
NHTSA complaint #11429880 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
DRIVING TODAY IN SNOW, INCREASED ELECTRICAL DEMAND ON VEHICLE WHILE ACCELERATING. SMELLED BURNING WIRES AND ALL DASH LIGHTS FLICKERED THEN DIED. ENGINE TURNED OFF AND HAD TO BE RESTARTED WITH THE PUSH BUTTON. HAPPENED WITHIN 30 MINUTES LATER WHILE ACCELERATING ONTO A MAIN ROAD WITH TRAFFIC, LOST CONTROL OF VEHICLE AND HAD TO FORCE THE STEERING WHEEL TO TURN THE VEHICLE OFF THE ROAD TO AVOID BEING HIT BY ONCOMING TRAFFIC.
NHTSA complaint #11395111 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.