Chevrolet C1500 vs GMC Suburban

Both cars' complete complaint records, side by side.

Read the totals carefully. NHTSA publishes no sales figures, so the car that sold more collects more complaints regardless of quality. The rows worth weighing are the proportions — the share of complaints that involved harm, and which part dominates.

Measure	Chevrolet C1500	GMC Suburban
Complaints on file	969	2,323
Model years covered	1988–1996	1974–2004
Worst model year	1996	1994
Best model year	1994	2000
Crashes reported	41	246
Fires reported	25	39
Injuries reported	26	101
Deaths reported	0	7
Most complained-about part	Windows, Mirrors & Wipers	Brakes
Share of complaints involving harm	9.5%	16.9%

Chevrolet C1500 by year

37 39 25 43 48 84 177 238 278

88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 293 30.2%

Brakes 185 19.1%

Seats 94 9.7%

Transmission & Drivetrain 69 7.1%

Engine & Cooling 53 5.5%

Seat Belts 36 3.7%

Electrical System 34 3.5%

Fuel & Propulsion 30 3.1%

GMC Suburban by year

1 2 5 6 4 8 8 24 28 33 105 254 490 294 220 268 137 393 20 5 9 8 1

74 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Brakes 1,053 45.3%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 203 8.7%

Tires 136 5.9%

Transmission & Drivetrain 129 5.6%

Electrical System 125 5.4%

Seats 105 4.5%

Engine & Cooling 100 4.3%

Steering 95 4.1%