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2008 Chevrolet Suburban Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 213 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Chevrolet Suburban, most often about the air bags (45% of complaints, typically around 100,000 miles). It is 8th of 25 Suburban model years by number of complaints and has 4 recalls.
Most common 2008 Chevrolet Suburban problems
Air bags
96 complaints · 45%Half of these problems showed up before 100,000 miles.
I'm am bringing up a safety concern in my vehicle pertaining to the airbags in the front of the vehicle. I own a 2008 Suburban and recently the dash board has cracked right near the passenger air bag. I have called the Chevrolet corporate to voice my concerns and I have been told the vehicle is out of warranty so…
The passenger airbag on the upper left corner has a crack on the dashboard compartment. I noticed it this past weekend & it concerns me since it is where the airbag is. I researched this and found many other trucks by gm have the exact same problem... Gm needs to recall these vehicles due to this problem where the…
Other or unspecified
38 complaints · 18%Half of these problems showed up before 90,000 miles.
I'm am bringing up a safety concern in my vehicle pertaining to the airbags in the front of the vehicle. I own a 2008 Suburban and recently the dash board has cracked right near the passenger air bag. I have called the Chevrolet corporate to voice my concerns and I have been told the vehicle is out of warranty so…
Began noticing large cracks on dashboard, which has caused the entire front instrument panel to shift. Panel now sags 1/4" lower on right side. Cracks are also surrounding airbag locations. Should airbags deploy, the plastic could be very dangerous (ie, shrapnel) also, electric lift-gate has failed twice, falling…
Body and structure
30 complaints · 14%Half of these problems showed up before 80,000 miles. Parts named most often: body.
Drivers door has had trouble closing. Hinge was stiff and creaked loudly. Several attempts just told needed greased. So we continued to grease when necessary at home. Kept greasing the hinge. Finally the door would not shut at all around 90,000 plus miles when first noticed the door issue. Had to have someone come and…
Our 2008 Suburban dash has starting cracking upon further review exactly where many others are having the issues. My concern is that one area is around the air bags and as it continues to deteriorate there may be issues with safety device. Based on what I have seen across web is that it is a malfunction of the product.
Engine
27 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 122,000 miles.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Suburban. While driving various speeds, the vehicle lost power and the vehicle failed to accelerate when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The contact stated that various warning indicators were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to manassas Chevrolet (8000 sudley rd, manassas, va…
My 2008 Suburban started burning a tremendous amount of oil. Seems like I was continuously adding oil. Raised the issue with the dealer, who indicated it was a common problem but probably not worth the expense of fixing if I could keep checking the oil. This advice was also based on the fact that all my maintenance…
Electrical
22 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 60,000 miles.
After driving for approximately 3 hours the problem began: the door locks cycle repeatedly, the instrument console flashes, the drive position flashes from park to drive repeatedly, the radio stops working, the vehicle surges, and the stabilitrac says it needs to be serviced. This is the second report we have filed in…
Door lock actuators fail causing doors to remain locked and inoperable. Several accounts on the internet claim multiple failures at the same time and or replaced actuators failing a second time. Vehicle can not be entered or exited easily in an emergency causing a safety issue.
Doors and locks
20 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 53,000 miles. Parts named most often: doors.
I own a 2008 Chevrolet Suburban. In less that two (2) years, three (3) of the door lock actuators have stopped working completely. General motors has done nothing to remedy the problem after making them aware of it. The failure of the door lock actuators is constant. There were no events leading to the failure other…
The automatic door locks do not work on my 08 Chevrolet Suburban. To unlock the doors you have to use the key unlock the drivers side door and then either climb in the back or over to unlock the back doors and front passenger doors. Or roll down the windows. To lock the doors you have to manually lock the doors.
Transmission
7 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 142,500 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission.
I was driving my vehicle several days after having a routine oil change and the vehicle started to slow down. I took my car in to be checked out and was told that I need a new engine, the truck has a loss of power due to the stabilizing trak issue. After reading all the complaints online this seems to be a problem…
The contact owned a 2008 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated while driving at 55 MPH, the rear axle fractured. As a result, the brakes would not engage when the brakes were suppressed causing the contact to crash into a concrete barrier. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed.the contact sustained…
Fuel system
6 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 113,000 miles.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Suburban. After the vehicle was started, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the fuel cap needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic…
This started as I was driving down interstate at 65 MPH. Suddenly my traction control light on dash came on along with blinking check engine light. Also read stabilitrak off and service traction control in readout below. Immediately my truck lost power and decelerated so I immediately pulled off road as to not get ran…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2008 Chevrolet Suburban recalls
Air bags: inflator module
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 23, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on september 20, 2021. Owners may contact chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, and gmc customer service at 1-800-462-8782. Gm's number for this recall is n212328780.
Full defect summary
General motors, llc (gm) is recalling certain 2009 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext, chevrolet avalanche, silverado 1500, silverado 2500, silverado 3500, suburban, tahoe, gmc sierra 1500, sierra 2500, sierra 3500, yukon, and yukon xl vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of arizona, arkansas, delaware, district of columbia, illinois, indiana, kansas, kentucky, maryland, missouri, nebraska, nevada, new jersey, new mexico, north carolina, ohio, oklahoma, pennsylvania, tennessee, virginia, and west virginia or "zone b." additionally, gm is recalling certain 2007-2008 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, and escalade ext, chevrolet avalanche, silverado 1500, suburban, tahoe, gmc sierra 1500, yukon, and yukon xl vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of alaska, colorado, connecticut, idaho, iowa, maine, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, mo
Air bags: inflator module
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 22, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on march 1, 2021. Owners may contact chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; and gmc customer service at 1-800-462-8782. Gm's number for this recall is n212328760.
Full defect summary
General motors, llc (gm) is recalling certain 2007-2011 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext, chevrolet avalanche, silverado 1500, suburban, tahoe, gmc sierra 1500, yukon, yukon xl, and 2009-2011 chevrolet silverado 2500, silverado 3500, gmc sierra 2500 and sierra 3500 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 a." additionally, gm is recalling certain 2007-2008 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext, chevrolet avalanche, silverado 1500, suburban, tahoe, gmc sierra 1500, yukon, yukon xl vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of arizona, arkansas, delaware, district of columbia, illinois, indiana, kansas, kentucky, maryland, missou
Electrical: electrical system
Risk: It is possible for the heated washer module to ignite and a fire may occur.
Fix: Dealers will permanently disable and remove the heated washer fluid module. An updated page for the owner manual will be provided and inserted in the owner manual to document that the feature has been permanently disabled and removed from the vehicle. The safety recall began on june 11, 2010. Owners may contact buick at 1-866-608-8080, cadillac at 1-866-982-2339, chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, saturn at 1-800-972-8876, gmc at 1-866-996-9463 and hummer at 1-800-732-5493 or at the owner center at www.gmownercenter.com.
Full defect summary
Gm is recalling certain model year 2006-2009 buick, lucerne; cadillac dts; hummer h2; model year 2008-2009 buick enclave; cadillac cts; model year 2007-2009 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl; saturn outlook; and model year 2009 chevrolet traverse vehicles equipped with a heated washer fluid system (hwfs). A recall was implemented in 2008 to add a fuse to the control circuit harness to address the potential consequences of a printed circuit board (pcb) electrical short. However, there have been new reports of thermal incidents on hwfs modules after this improvement was installed. These incidents resulted from a new failure mode attributed to the device's thermal protection feature. The significance varies from minor distortion to considerable melting of the plastic around the hwfs fluid chamb
Electrical: electrical system
Risk: This may cause other electrical features to malfunction, create an odor, or cause smoke increasing the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will install a wire harness with an in-line fuse free of charge. The recall began on september 12, 2008. Owners may contact buick at 1-866-608-8080; cadillac at 1-800-982-2339 or http://www.cadillac.com; chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438; saturn at 1-800-972-8876 or http://www.saturn.com, gmc at 1-866-996-9436; or hummer at 1-800-732-5493; or through their website at <a href=http://www.gmownercenter.com>http://www.gmownercenter.com</a> .
Full defect summary
Gm is recalling 857,735 my 2006-2008 buick lucerne; cadillac dts; hummer h2; my 2007-2008 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl, saturn outlook; and my 2008 buick enclave vehicles equipped with a heated wiper washer fluid system. A short circuit on the printed circuit board for the washer fluid heater may overheat the control-circuit ground wire.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Desiccated air bag inflator rupture
Summary
From 2000 through 2017, takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("psan") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004l. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 blomquist report at www.NHTSA.gov/sites/NHTSA.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substa
Questions about the 2008 Chevrolet Suburban
- What are the most common problems with the 2008 Chevrolet Suburban?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: air bags (96 complaints, typically around 100,000 miles); other or unspecified (38 complaints, typically around 90,000 miles); body and structure (30 complaints, typically around 80,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2008 Chevrolet Suburban have?
- 4 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from February 5, 2021 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2008 a bad year for the Chevrolet Suburban?
- It is 8th of 25 Suburban model years by number of complaints, with 213 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.