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2009 Chevrolet Tahoe Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 284 complaints with NHTSA about the 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe, most often about the air bags (34% of complaints, typically around 97,000 miles). It is 12th of 27 Tahoe model years by number of complaints and has 5 recalls.
Most common 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe problems
Air bags
97 complaints · 34%Half of these problems showed up before 97,000 miles.
Cracks in the dashboard of my 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe have been appearing over the past 7 months. Gm and Chevrolet refuse to acknowledge a fleetwide problem and will only pay for partial repairs. One of the cracks is in approximation to the passenger side airbag and how the airbag deployment will affect the dashboard…
I noticed a crack in my dashboard going to my air bag on the passenger side. The crack in the dashboard could possibly alter the deployment of the passenger airbag and has compromised the integrity of the dashboard as a whole. There have since developed two additional, larger cracks in the dashboard, furthering the…
Other or unspecified
92 complaints · 32%Half of these problems showed up before 94,000 miles.
The chrome on the inside door handles for both drive and passenger side is peeling and is very sharp. My 12 year old recently cut his finger open attempting to open the door. Online research indicates that this is a known issue with these vehicles
Both door handles on driver and passenger side are this silver plastic that has began to peel up just on top of the handle exactly where you grab to open the door. Myself as well several people have sliced their finger open pretty bad on my door handles. Very poor quality.
Body and structure
52 complaints · 18%Half of these problems showed up before 73,500 miles. Parts named most often: body.
Front passenger and driver interior door handles are peeling plastic with sharp edges. A child and an adult have cut their hands opening the door from the inside to get out. No stitches required but severe cut. I went to see about replacement. Told not considered defect and the same type of handles would be replaced…
Vehicle dash cracked on the passenger side. A straight crack in the dash going from the air vent/defroster to the passenger air bag. A complete crack in the dash exists 2-4 inches long.
Electrical
33 complaints · 12%Half of these problems showed up before 72,500 miles.
Both back doors on my Tahoe began to stop unlocking and locking when using the clicker. A month later they stopped locking and unlocking using the unlock/lock button inside the vehicle. At the time I had a two month old who I was having to carry through the driver's side door and crawl through to the back to put him…
Driver door and rear door on driver side do not lock/unlock consistently with key fob nor do they lock/unlock with power lock button. I have to manually lock and unlock both doors most of the time. The previous owner said they replaced these a few years back under warranty shortly after purchasing vehicle. Obviously…
Doors and locks
22 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 59,000 miles.
Door lock on the driver's side rear doesn't not want to lock. Cannot lock the door by pushing the door lock button on the key fob or lock button inside the car.
The lock on the rear, driver side door does not work properly. It will not lock or unlock with the key fob. This is a known problem and gm refuses to cover the repairs unless the vehicle is under warranty. This is a safety issue. My son is in a car seat and is not able to unlock the door himself. There are multiple…
Engine
16 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 74,000 miles.
We have had nothing but problems out of this Tahoe. When driving the dash lights flash, door locks move up and down, speedometer will go to zero then back up to speed an so forth, the Tahoe will start gearing down on its own, the air will go off, and the radio will flash on and off. The vehicle has even shut…
Started with a #4 misfire and no engine power and dealer said truck was fine. Finally after 4 cylinder misfiring, dealer agreed truck had an issue and is now saying I need a valve job done for # 1800.00 but it looks like I should tell them that its the lifters.. 74,000 on my 2007 Tahoe for a 25,000.00 truck not only…
Stability control
13 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 90,000 miles.
Loss power while driving while going 75 MPH on a highway, the.car went to a limp mode from 75 to 15 MPH in a couple of seconds time, almost was hit from behind. , door lock actuators start cycling, dash lights go on the blink, fail to start & cruise control loss of operation. Id for recall is 14v614, my VIN currently…
While driving my vehicles traction control is coming on for no reason. The dealership said it is a false reading causing the traction control to come on when it shouldn't. They said the sensors would need replaced and all the previous models have had this recalled but not out current year yet. The dealership said…
Transmission
12 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 57,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission.
The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced a failure in which it would intermittently resist acceleration accompanied by a warning chime sounding. The contact also stated that the door locks would unexpectedly lock and unlock. The failure occurred regardless of the speed…
I have had to replace the brakes twice, as well as the driver side hub. I have replace the door trim at least 4 times. Everyone I have met that has the same year has had trouble with the trim. I also feel that the transmission has trouble shifting when towing.
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2009 Chevrolet Tahoe 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
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
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
Fuel system: fuel system, gasoline
Risk: Water in the module could cause a short or open circuit, illumination of the service engine soon lamp, setting of diagnostic trouble codes or the engine may be hard to start, may not start or may stall increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will install a new fuel system control module free of charge. The recall began on may 18, 2009. Owners may contact cadillac at 1-866-982-2339, chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438 and gmc at 1-866-996-9463 or at www.gmownercenter.com.
Full defect summary
Gm is recalling 27,188 my 2009 cadillac escalade, escalade hybrid, escalade esv, and escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, suburban, tahoe, tahoe hybrid, and colorado; and gmc yukon, yukon hybrid, yukon xl, and canyon vehicles. The fuel system control modules may have a condition in which an adhesive separation of the room temperature vulcanizing (rtv) seal between the seal and the housing may allow water to seep into the module.
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 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe
- What are the most common problems with the 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: air bags (97 complaints, typically around 97,000 miles); other or unspecified (92 complaints, typically around 94,000 miles); body and structure (52 complaints, typically around 73,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe have?
- 5 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 2009 a bad year for the Chevrolet Tahoe?
- It is 12th of 27 Tahoe model years by number of complaints, with 284 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.