2002 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 problems
Owners have filed 144 complaints with NHTSA about the 2002 Chevrolet Suburban 1500. Brakes is the most reported problem area, at 52% of complaints. Next are fuel system (11%) and engine (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 144 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 52% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 3 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 6 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 112,000 miles 125 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 2 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 3 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 11 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 25 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 16 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 10 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 17 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 15 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 11 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 7 |
| 200k+ miles | 8 |
What the data shows
Of the 125 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 112,000 miles. For brakes specifically, the median reported mileage is about 108,000 miles (71 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 3 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 6 injuries reported; 1 death reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2002 ranks 9th most-complained-about out of 15 model years of the Chevrolet Suburban 1500 with enough data (30 complaints in that window).
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Was pulling a travel trailer when the stock hitch receiver broke off causing me to lose control of my vehicle, causing a death, and multiple injuries to the whole family. Vehicle was totaled.
I was involved in a front-impact motor-vehicle accident in my 2002 chevrolet suburban. I was traveling approximately 35 MPH when the impact occurred. The entire front end of my vehicle was crushed and none of my airbags deployed. I suffered neck and back injury ("cervical strain" - whiplash) and injury to both knees (which hit the dash board under the steering wheel). My vehicle is "totaled", so no repair is possible to remedy the damage to my vehicle.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 chevrolet suburban. While driving 40 MPH, a rock crashed into her windshield. As a result, the windshield cracked and produced pieces of glass on the front seats and dashboard. The contact felt that the windshield should not have produces glass pieces. As of may 6, 2008, the dealer had not inspected the vehicle. The failure and current mileages were 100,000.
While driving on the houston tollway at 65 MPH, my 2002 suburban suddenly and without warning lost power and the engine shutdown. I managed to get the vehicle onto the shoulder without incident after attempting to restart the engine while trying to steer clear of traffic. The vehicle would not start and was towed to lone star chevrolet in houston, texas. The bill was 1045.10.
This in reference to a closed NHTSA action # dp05009. After a parking brake failure that occurred on this 2002 chevy suburban with 54,000 miles on it, in november, I looked into similar situations with other suburban owners and of the 3 I found, 2 in south carolina, and one in indiana, all had similar parking brake problems. When I brought my vehicle to the dealer for repair, I was told there were no recalls or safety notices regarding this problem.