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2016 Chevrolet Suburban Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 220 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Chevrolet Suburban, most often about the brakes (37% of complaints, typically around 62,000 miles). It is 7th of 25 Suburban model years by number of complaints and has 6 recalls.
⚠ Safety advisory1 recall for this car came with a do-not-drive warning. See below and check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Most common 2016 Chevrolet Suburban problems
Brakes
82 complaints · 37%Half of these problems showed up before 62,000 miles.
Sitting in traffic at dead stop and car started moving forward. Breaks were not working. Put car in park and turned off engine. Breaks started working. Took truck to dealership vacuum pump was defective.
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Suburban. While driving unknown speeds. The brake pedal was applied, but was difficult to depress. The brake light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to frank brown gmc (5802 texas 327 spur, lubbock, tx 79424, ([phone]) where it was diagnosed that the brake pads were rubbing on…
Transmission
45 complaints · 21%Half of these problems showed up before 100,500 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, transmission case/housing.
The contact's husband owns a 2016 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that while her husband had merged onto the highway at 30 MPH, the vehicle began to hesitate without warning upon depression of the accelerator pedal. Her husband pulled the vehicle over and attempted to restart the vehicle; however, the failure…
Our vehicle which is used to move myself, my wife and our four children, has been experiencing lunging, vibrations, noise, like hitting the rumble strips in the road. Gm dealer said it was normal. Tachometer was fluctuating 250rpms, constantly. I was concerned when the dealer found nothing. I took the vehicle to a…
Engine
27 complaints · 12%Half of these problems showed up before 60,000 miles.
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that there was a knocking sound in the engine compartment while driving at any speed. The sound occurred without warning. Also, water leaked into the vehicle via the external antenna when it rained. The vehicle was taken to peltier Chevrolet ([phone]…
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated the air conditioner failed to produce cold air through the vents. The vehicle was taken to all star Chevrolet (11377 airline hwy, baton rouge, la 70816) where it was diagnosed with an air condenser leak. The contact was also advised that the vehicle was…
Other or unspecified
26 complaints · 12%Half of these problems showed up before 28,500 miles.
Since purchase, our vehicle has been towed into the dealership because it would not turn off and we had to disconnect the battery. The vehicle did that 2 more times after being towed in. It has had new motor mounts, new rotars, and has been in a gm service center 16 times. The most recent incident was when the vehicle…
Attached are images from the in-vehicle screen of our rear-view camera at night. We are unable to see anything (row of cars, roads, driveway, traffic, etc) due to the large red blurry area. We live in a rural area without street lights so the rear-view camera is essential but the camera is ineffective anywhere..the…
Electrical
26 complaints · 12%Half of these problems showed up before 51,000 miles. Parts named most often: 12v/24v/48v battery.
While driving the door locks began opening and closing, the emergency flashers turned on and off repeatedly, the GPS navigation system stopped working and the bluetooth operations failed
At times, the entire electrical system fails while the vehicle is operating. Typically, it quickly reboots, but at times will not restart for several minutes. This has happened while making a hard turn at low speed, in which the power steering fails, wheel jerks, and entire electrical system and engine become…
Steering
23 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 51,000 miles. Parts named most often: hydraulic power assist.
Power steering completely failed same as in 2015. My wife could not steer the vehicle. After leaving a parking spot driving down street my wife was not strong enough to turn the wheel. Power steering failure appeared on the dash , she ended up on a neighbor's lawn. Chevy would only cover a portion. 2000.00 my cost to…
At times, the entire electrical system fails while the vehicle is operating. Typically, it quickly reboots, but at times will not restart for several minutes. This has happened while making a hard turn at low speed, in which the power steering fails, wheel jerks, and entire electrical system and engine become…
Body and structure
12 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 36,000 miles. Parts named most often: body.
Brakes wont stop in carpool on second stop. They lock up. Ive almost run into the car in front and almost ran into a kid!! Dealership said it was just my brake pad and not covered byt I said it only happens in this one situation. Also - my screen/radio/movie just blacks out with no power for mo reason and fir days and…
The contact rented a 2016 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that the liftgate closed independently on three occasions. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was approximately…
Suspension
11 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 30,000 miles. Parts named most often: multiple axle.
The transmission on my 2016 chevy Suburban started to give me problems at 30000 miles, at first I didn't know it was the transmission. The truck started to jump when I switched gears, it lagged on accelerating, there was a humming noise and gears slipped. Currently at 80000 my transmission needs to be replaced car is…
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Suburban. While driving 30 MPH, the front passenger wheel detached from the axle. The contact lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a tree. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The contact sustained minor injuries, the vehicle was towed to an independent…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2016 Chevrolet Suburban recalls
Brakes: service brakes
Risk: Unintended activation of the driveline-protection system will cause unintended braking on the wheel on the opposite side of the failed sensor, causing the vehicle to pull to one side unexpectedly, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the ebcm, free of charge. The recall began december 11, 2019. Owners may contact chevrolet customer service at 1-800-630-2438 or gmc customer service at 1-800-462-8782. Gm's number for this recall is n192261050.
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain 2015-2020 chevrolet suburban, tahoe, and gmc yukon, and 2014-2018 chevrolet silverado 1500 and gmc sierra 1500 vehicles equipped with a 5.3-liter engine, a 3.08-ratio rear axle and four-wheel drive. If a wheel-speed sensor fails, while the vehicle is traveling between 41 and 60 MPH in four-wheel or automatic mode, the electronic-brake control module (ebcm) software may activate the driveline-protection system.
Brakes: vacuum
Risk: As the vacuum level drops, the brake assist decreases, increasing braking effort, extending the distance required to stop the vehicle, thereby increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the electronic brake control module, free of charge. The recall began october 8, 2019. Owners may contact chevrolet customer service at 1-800-630-2438, cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006 or gmc customer service at 1-800-462-8782. Gm's number for this recall is n192268490.
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain 2015-2017 cadillac escalade, 2014-2018 chevrolet silverado, gmc sierra, 2015-2018 chevrolet suburban, tahoe, gmc yukon vehicles. The amount of vacuum created by the vacuum pump may decrease over time.
Seat belts: pretensioner
Risk: A failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the sdm software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the sdm replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on august 4, 2017. Owners may contact buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or gmc customer service at 1-800-462-8782. Gm's number for this recall is 17287.
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 buick lacrosse and chevrolet spark EV, caprice ppv and ss vehicles, 2014-2017 buick encore and chevrolet corvette, silverado 1500 and gmc sierra 1500 vehicles, 2015-2016 cadillac escalade and escalade esv, chevrolet tahoe, trax, suburban and silverado 2500 and 3500 and gmc yukon and yukon xl vehicles, and 2015-2017 gmc sierra hd 2500 and 3500 vehicles. While being previously remedied for recall 16v-651, the affected vehicles may not have received the complete software update necessary to remedy the recall condition. Without the update, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (sdm) software to activate a diagnostic test. During this test, deployment of the frontal air bags and the seat belt pretensioners would not occur in the event of a crash.
Visibility and wipers: exterior
Risk: If equipped with the incorrect right-side rear-view mirror, the driver may misjudge the distance of other vehicles, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will replace the convex mirror with a non-convex mirror and provide a new page for the owner's manual with the customer notification letter, free of charge. The recall began february 7, 2017. Owners may contact gm customer service at 1-800-222-1020. Gm's number for this recall is 17017.
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain 2016-2017 chevrolet suburban hd vehicles. These vehicles were assembled with a convex right-hand outside mirror, instead of with a non-convex (flat) right-hand outside mirror. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor safety standard (fmvss) number 111, "rearview mirrors."
Seat belts: pretensioner
Risk: A failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the sdm software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the sdm replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on october 13, 2016. Owners may contact buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or gmc customer service at 1-800-462-8782. Gm's number for this recall is 16007.
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2015-2017 chevrolet silverado 2500 hd, 3500 hd, tahoe, suburban, gmc sierra 2500 hd and 3500 hd, gmc yukon, gmc yukon xl, cadillac escalade and cadillac escalade esv vehicles and 2014-2017 chevrolet corvette, silverado 1500, trax, caprice police pursuit vehicle, gmc sierra 1500, buick encore, and 2014-2016 buick lacrosse, chevrolet spark EV and ss vehicles. In the affected vehicles, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (sdm) software to activate a diagnostic test. During this test, deployment of the frontal air bags and the seat belt pretensioners would not occur in the event of a crash.
Suspension: control arm
Risk: Inadequate welds may allow the control arm to separate from the bushing, compromising steering and increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will replace the left and right front upper control arms and realign the vehicle, free of charge. The recall began on may 18, 2016. Until the repairs have been made, owners are advised not to drive their vehicles. Owners may contact chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, or gmc customer service at 1-800-462-8782. Gm's number for this recall is 42190.
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 chevrolet silverado 1500 and 2016 cadillac escalade, cadillac escalade esv, chevrolet suburban, chevrolet tahoe, gmc sierra, gmc yukon and gmc yukon xl vehicles. The front upper control arms may have inadequate welds near the control arm bushing.
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
Brake vacuum pump failure
Summary
On november 20, 2018, the office of defects investigations (odi) opened pe18-012 to investigate instances of sudden onset of a hard brake pedal that could result in extended stopping distance due to an issue with the brake assist vacuum pump in model year (my) 2014 through 2016 gmc sierra 1500 and chevrolet silverado 1500 series pickup trucks and my 2015 through 2016 cadillac escalade, chevrolet suburban, chevrolet tahoe, and gmc yukon suvs.if the brake assist vacuum pump fails to operate as intended, the amount of brake power assist supplied to the driver can be significantly reduced, extending the subject vehicle stopping distance. Gm stated that the root cause of pump failures was due to
Questions about the 2016 Chevrolet Suburban
- What are the most common problems with the 2016 Chevrolet Suburban?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: brakes (82 complaints, typically around 62,000 miles); transmission (45 complaints, typically around 100,500 miles); engine (27 complaints, typically around 60,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2016 Chevrolet Suburban have?
- 6 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from October 24, 2019 (brakes). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2016 a bad year for the Chevrolet Suburban?
- It is 7th of 25 Suburban model years by number of complaints, with 220 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.