1999 Chevrolet Suburban problems
NHTSA has received 861 complaints about the 1999 Chevrolet Suburban, and 33% of them involve brakes. Next are tires (12%) and electrical system (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 861 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 33% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 65 and 15
- Injuries and deaths
- 74 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 81,000 miles 275 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 | 8 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 32 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 35 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 58 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 51 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 39 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 20 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 14 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 7 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 8 |
| 200k+ miles | 3 |
What the data shows
Of the 275 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 81,000 miles. For brakes specifically, the median reported mileage is about 96,000 miles (103 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 65 complaints mention a crash; 15 complaints mention a fire; 74 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1999 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 35 model years of the Chevrolet Suburban with enough data (551 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
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.
Consumer was traveling about 45 MPH on highway and was struck head-on by another vehicle who entered freeway through exit. Upon impact, front dual airbags didn't deploy. Consumer was injured.
Did not see red light driving southbound at intersection of rockwell avenue and nw 50th street. Hit drivers side of ford f350 extended cab pick-up truck travelling east bound on nw 50th. Applied brake and started to turn left to avoid collision just prior to impact. Estimated speed at impact 35-40 MPH. Air bags (both driver and passenger) did not deploy. Concerned that air bags malfunctioned or did not operate properly.
I am concerned about the fact that in this size of vehicle that the fuel tank ruptured and that the doors crimpled so bad that the passengers were unable to get out of the vehicle in a timely manner. Please contact me concerning this. Thank you.
1999 chevrolet suburban. As of 4/28/04 with only 47k miles, A/C compressor defective & dealer will not replace in spite of several attempts to repair before warranty expired, as soon as 3 months after purchase in october of 2002. Replaced brakes 3 times at our expense. Dealer (bob neill pontiac in winston-salem, nc refused to repair under warranty), steering problems, attempted repair, again at our expense. Replaced door locks and window mechanism's at our cost. Total piece of junk.
Steering box leaked and pinion seal leaking. Also the vehicles steeing was erractic and the steering feels loose at times at speeds above 25MPH. Steering box and pinion seal were fixed. The steering sensor was checked by dealer and they said there was not a problem. Car continues to drive "erractic" for the last 2 months, occuring daily.