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2013 Chevrolet Suburban Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 118 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Chevrolet Suburban, most often about the other or unspecified (38% of complaints, typically around 69,000 miles). It is 16th of 25 Suburban model years by number of complaints and has 4 recalls.
Most common 2013 Chevrolet Suburban problems
Other or unspecified
45 complaints · 38%Half of these problems showed up before 69,000 miles.
Dashboard crack appeared at around 68,000 miles. No collisions or any other obvious cause. I believe gm has not fixed this issue that has plagued other gm vehicles and I believe gm knows it is faulty because they offered to fix it at half price. I fully expect to see more cracks show up and I'm concerned that an…
In less than a month my dash has cracked in multiple places. I am concerned what impact these cracks would have with the proper deployment of my vehicle airbags.
Air bags
28 complaints · 24%Half of these problems showed up before 58,000 miles.
My vehicle is less than three years old from date of purchase (oct 2013) and current mileage is just shy of 58k. My dashboard around the airbags is cracked on the passenger side. It is also cracked just above the driver side instrument cluster. My vehicle was not moving, it was parked in my driveway. My concern is in…
Air bags hazard warning displays on dash today 2/13/2017, when vehicle was getting started. It was parked in drive way never been in accident and warning light stays on.
Body and structure
23 complaints · 20%Half of these problems showed up before 39,500 miles. Parts named most often: body, frame and members, interior panels.
The dashboard has cracked right next to airbag on passenger side. No accident involved. Unknown when it occurred (aka while driving or stationary). It occurred in the last week. If airbag deploys shards of plastic may become shrapnel. This vehicle only has 39k miles on it
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that the passenger side of the dashboard fractured. The contact was concerned that the front passenger side air bag would deploy violently. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the dashboard needed to be replaced. The vehicle was…
Engine
16 complaints · 14%Half of these problems showed up before 110,000 miles.
Brakes light anti-lock/skid e-brake keeps activating, but does not show up as a code or problem. Intermittent code p015b and p015d at the shop sometimes this code does not appear or at different shop code is active. Brake light comes on when stationary and stays on. P code occurs when in motion. I have a syncup drive…
I had driven my vehicle to work. Mid-morning I started my vehicle while in the parking lot of my work to run an errand. I backed out of the parking space and drove maybe 100 feet when my check engine light came on. My vehicle also began considerably shaking. I went straight to my mechanic. He found that one of the…
Electrical
14 complaints · 12%Half of these problems showed up before 58,000 miles.
2013 Chevrolet Suburban have an electrical and transmission clunking problem for the past 2 years, and gmc don't want to do anything about it. Krystal dealership in brooklyn, ny and manfredi dealership in staten island, ny, have no customer service what's so ever
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Suburban. While driving at an undisclosed speed, the doors began to lock and unlock independently. The contact reached his destination and turned off the vehicle, but it failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to basil Chevrolet (located at 5111 transit rd, depew, ny 14043, ([phone])…
Brakes
8 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 33,500 miles.
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that while driving and making a right turn, the brakes would erroneously activate causing independent deceleration. The contact also indicated that the air bag warning light was illuminated and the horn had also failed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or…
The vehicle was in cruise control at 75 MPH. While trying to switch lanes and disable the cruise control with the brake pedal the vehicle accelerated . We were unable to slow the vehicle as it reached a speed of 115 MPH. Driver put both feet on the brake pedal as we tried to slow the vehicle for just approximately 10…
Transmission
6 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 90,500 miles.
While traveling on the interstate 200 miles from home, the transmission catastrophically failed. Within 25 miles of the check engine light coming on, the vehicle would not move. Totally stranded in place in middle of highway. Needed to be towed to local dealership. Was diagnosed as failure of clutch plates in the…
Feb. 15 , 2019 transmission went out in car. Brought car earlier in the year because it was jerking but they said it was normal. Went out of town and transmission went out at 93,721 miles. Extended warranty went out on feb. 14, 2019. Only hours before and no company would help! We paid 5,000 for a replacement and…
Fuel system
5 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 3,500 miles.
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated while driving 19 MPH, he traveled over a road bump and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnosis and the contact was informed that the fuel pump fuse would need to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. Two days later, the…
When braking or slowing down this Suburban acts like it wants to keep going, like a jerking motion forward and back, making the stop hard, as if it is trying to accelerate and brake at the very same time, because the rpms are constantly moving up and down switching from v4 to v8 mode. Going down hills and going up an…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2013 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 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. Gm's number for this recall is n212328790.
Full defect summary
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 a." additionally, gm is recalling certain 2010 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 arizona, arkansas, delaware, district of columbia, illinois, indiana, kansas, kentucky, maryland, missouri, ne
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 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 1-800-222-1020; cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; and gmc customer service at 1-800-462-8782. Gm'
Full defect summary
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 3500, yukon, yukon xl and 2011-2013 cadillac escalade ext, chevrolet avalanche, silverado 1500, and gmc sierra 1500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of az, ar, de, dc, il, in, ks, ky, md, mo, ne, nv, nj, nm, nc, oh, ok, pa, tn, va, and wv or "zone b." additionally, gm is recalling certain 2010-2014 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, chevrolet silverado 2500, silverado 3500, sub
Electrical: electrical system
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). Gmâs number for this recall is 14515.
Full defect summary
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.
Transmission: automatic transmission
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.
Full defect summary
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 braking effect", and fmvss no. 114, "theft protection and rollaway prevention." the vehicles may have been built with a fractured park lock cable or a malformed steering column lock actuator gear in the lock module assembly.
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 2013 Chevrolet Suburban
- What are the most common problems with the 2013 Chevrolet Suburban?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: other or unspecified (45 complaints, typically around 69,000 miles); air bags (28 complaints, typically around 58,000 miles); body and structure (23 complaints, typically around 39,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2013 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 2013 a bad year for the Chevrolet Suburban?
- It is 16th of 25 Suburban model years by number of complaints, with 118 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.