2002 Chevrolet Suburban problems
NHTSA has received 352 complaints about the 2002 Chevrolet Suburban, and 39% of them involve brakes. Next are fuel system (9%) and steering (6%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 352 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 39% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 34 and 9
- Injuries and deaths
- 34 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 64,000 miles 240 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 | 32 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 40 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 41 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 36 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 20 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 17 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 17 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 8 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 8 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 5 |
| 200k+ miles | 16 |
What the data shows
Of the 240 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 64,000 miles. For brakes specifically, the median reported mileage is about 80,000 miles (114 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 34 complaints mention a crash; 9 complaints mention a fire; 34 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2002 ranks 11th most-complained-about out of 35 model years of the Chevrolet Suburban with enough data (234 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 safety recall campaigns.
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.
When car was 2 months old, we complained to the dealer that the anti-lock brakes didn't seem to work properly in that they locked up and made the car jolt to a stop. Dealer said over phone that this was fine and did not need to look at car. On june 25, 2002, same problem was experienced on I-95 when trying to avoid another car that cut into lane. Brakes did not respond, I lost control of suburban, which rolled over and was totaled.
While driving 25 MPH, vehicle was involved in a collision in which the driver's side air bag did not deploy, causing injuries. The vehicle was hit broad side on the passenger side. It flipped on the drivers side and slid 39 feet. The driver received severe lacerations to the back area by shattered glass. The passenger has whiplash and a small contusion to the head with bruises.
I was hit on the head inside my 2002 suburban, wearing my seat belt at 48 MPH by an oncoming mazda miata. My steering column collapsed, I went into oncoming 3 lanes of traffic, went up a curb, went through a brick retaining wall, and hit a telephone pole. My airbag did not deploy on any of the 3 impacts. Why? Also, my driver?s seat came off the track.
Driving on freeway along carpool lane when the car ahead of us stopped to move to the next lane and we all had to stop. I had a good distance from the vehicle in front of me when I hit the brakes. The brakes went all the way to the floor(literally) but still didn't stop until I crashed into the car in front of me. The ABS brakes feels unusual.
Windshield wiper fluid reservoir has been replaced twice, and at the time of this complaint, it has been discovered that the plastic tank has cracked, and is leaking for the third time.