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2012 Chevrolet Tahoe Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 178 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe, most often about the other or unspecified (56% of complaints, typically around 69,000 miles). It is 18th of 27 Tahoe model years by number of complaints and has 3 recalls.
Most common 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe problems
Other or unspecified
100 complaints · 56%Half of these problems showed up before 69,000 miles.
Dash cracking near electrical system on driver's side and near air bag on passenger side. I've called gm and dealerships. They said there's no recall. This is a very dangerous situation and I don't want the airbag exploding while my 1 year old grandbaby is in the vehicle with me. There's several people that have…
My dash is cracked right by airbag like other 1000's of gm trucks years 07-14. I have 75,000 miles on my Tahoe currently and the crack appeared at 70,000 miles. This is a known problem, I belong to a group on facebook called 07-13 gm cracked dash and safety hazard and everyday there's new people who join the group…
Air bags
61 complaints · 34%Half of these problems showed up before 74,000 miles.
I bought truck certified by carl's buick gmc. Jan 30th 2014 with 40 something thousand miles, also paid 5k for extended warranty. Alternator went bad, service department sucks, and also had them check my dash bc cracks started, and deemed defective by service manager bc truck kept like new, I only drive on trip to…
Dashboard broke into passenger side airbag aperture while the car was sitting in my garage and had less than 75,000 miles. I went to Chevrolet service center in dallas, tx on east I-35 concerned about the possibility of additional injury if the airbag deployed since the dash is already broken and probably will further…
Body and structure
37 complaints · 21%Half of these problems showed up before 69,000 miles. Parts named most often: body, interior panels, frame and members.
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that the dashboard was fractured along the passenger side air bag housing. The air bag was not visible. Paul masse Chevrolet (located at 1111 taunton ave, east providence, ri 02914, ([phone]) was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or…
There was a wreck, where the opposing driver pulled out to take a left turn into oncoming traffic, 10 ft in front of [] (owner of Tahoe). Impact was on front passenger side. Airbag did not deploy effectively resulting in [] have a broken neck and bone fusion. Airbags were exploded open. These events might not have…
Electrical
13 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 80,000 miles. Parts named most often: instrument cluster/panel.
The rear audio controller has a hum. When it is off the hum stops. It will also stare humming/buzzing when the turn signal is on. It does it randomly whether the vehicle is moving or not.
While driving down the road my vehicle shuts down on occasion. Interior lights, radio, dash panel, transmission and engine shut down while driving. Also door locks, lock and unlock. This has happened multiple times. Last year I was told that the problem was repaired after I was nearly hit at a high rate of speed when…
Engine
9 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 81,000 miles.
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine had failed and needed to be replaced. The…
While driving down the road my vehicle shuts down on occasion. Interior lights, radio, dash panel, transmission and engine shut down while driving. Also door locks, lock and unlock. This has happened multiple times. Last year I was told that the problem was repaired after I was nearly hit at a high rate of speed when…
Transmission
7 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 55,000 miles.
While driving approximately 70 MPH. Vehicles engine and instrument panel cycled on and off randomly. Noting that once I was able to pull off the road and come to a complete stop the vehicle finally shutdown. Furthermore attempting to turn the truck on only resulted in flickering electronic equipment with no response…
While a accelerating onto an interstate highway the vehicle began to shake violently around 50mph so I pulled over and turned off the vehicle. Read later online that this anomaly is called the chevy shake. Called Chevrolet customer service and they told me to take my vehicle into my local dealership for diagnosis. I…
Brakes
6 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 63,000 miles.
I was driving west bound on 176th st and as I approached the light I could not brake or turn my car to the right in which I had a head on collision with another vehicle. On in packed my airbags did not deploy! The driver of the other vehicle even told the officer he was trying to turn , his eyes were as big as a cows…
As I was driving on 176th getting ready to turn on spanaway loop my wouldn't complete the right turn or stop so I had a head on collision with another truck and my air bags didn't deploy.
Stability control
5 complaints · 3%The electronic traction control and stability control lights showing they had been turned off came on, and the message display said service the same. Took to dealership and they checked for errors and reset computer. It has kept going in and out of operation sporadically for the past several months. Really no…
The traction and stabilitrak controls are coming on and staying we haven't found the problem yet but I noticed there was a recall on both at one point
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2012 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 22, 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 n212328770.
Full defect summary
General motors, llc (gm) is recalling certain 2012 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext, chevrolet avalanche, silverado 1500, silverado 2500/3500, suburban, tahoe, gmc sierra 1500, sierra 2500/3500, yukon, and yukon xl 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." these vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger frontal inflators containing phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (psan) propellant. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
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: ignition
Risk: If stuck in the "start" position, the ignition may suddenly snap back into the "accessory" position, causing a loss of engine, steering, and braking power, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash. If the vehicle is in a crash, the air bags may not deploy, increasing the risk of occupant injury.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the ignition lock housing, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on february 12, 2015. Owners may contact gm customer service at 1-800-458-8006 (cadillac), 1-800-222-1020 (chevrolet), or 1-800-462-8782 (gmc). Gm's number for this recall is 14696 for the original equipment, and 14912 for the service replacement parts.
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext, chevrolet avalanche, silverado hd, silverado ld, suburban, tahoe, gmc sierra ld, sierra hd, yukon, and yukon xl vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the ignition lock actuator may bind, making turning the key difficult or causing the ignition to get stuck in the "start" position.
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 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe
- What are the most common problems with the 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: other or unspecified (100 complaints, typically around 69,000 miles); air bags (61 complaints, typically around 74,000 miles); body and structure (37 complaints, typically around 69,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe have?
- 3 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 2012 a bad year for the Chevrolet Tahoe?
- It is 18th of 27 Tahoe model years by number of complaints, with 178 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.