Comments: 1-15, 16-23
Brake pads and rotors replaced twice, 15,000 miles and 25,000 miles.
Fuel pump replaced at 40,000 miles.
Steering sensors failed at 32,000 miles.
Transmission failed at 60,000 miles.
Factory rebuilt transmission does not want to shift from park to first gear.
Windshield wiper motor is flaky.
Factory battery ruptured at 30,000 miles.
Coolant connector on top of the block has failed twice.
The Suburban is a good looking piece of junk. Even with regular dealer maintenance, the problems have been extremely frequent and costly.
When the transmission failed, I contacted Chevrolet customer service to complain and they voluntarily offered to share the cost. The factory rebuilt transmission cost me $500.00 and came with a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty.
My recommendation to anyone who has to have a Suburban: Buy the extended warranty!
I echo that sentiment regarding the extended warranty. My 1997 Suburban LT (2WD) dropped a transmission at a whopping 43K miles (and four years old) while midway through a 10 hour trip in the middle of the summer to Texas. That was a $2,300 ordeal, not to mention the stress of having to deal with three kids under five years old while "downed" by the side of the road.
Most other problems have been fairly minor, although we just underwent a MAJOR brake repair/replacement (drums, rotors, etc...) at about 65K miles. It would seem as though the originals would be built to last a bit longer than this, but we have done mostly city driving in a hilly town.
I'd recommend trading up to the model with the bucket seats in the second row if you have young kids. The bench is not conducive to getting to the third seat at all.
I don't know what all you people are doing to your Suburbans.. i have a 1998 1500 LS and I have 93000miles and I'm still on the original transmission.. you people must be beating the hell out of your truck..e-mail me if you wish budwisr6@aol.com.
Transmission to our 1996 Chevrolet Suburban just went out. It has 97K miles. We were in the middle of Los Angeles and Sacramento at a rest area, and it just decided not to move out of its parking space...engine still revs good though. So for the that last person making a comment, be advised.
-conservative driver.
My 1995 Suburban had 144,000 on the transmission when I traded it this month. It served me very well. I moved up to a 1997 Tahoe (more pulling power). I hope it does as well.
I own a 98' LT 4X4, I spend as much time on the road as off it here in Idaho. Soon I'll be moving to Alaska & I don't anticipate any problems. My truck is about to roll over 100,000 miles. & it still runs like new on the original motor, transmission, transfer case (only had to change a leaky output shaft seal), rotors turned awhile ago. Fairly basic up keep. I'm extremely happy & I'm sure she'll see me through another 100,000 easily.
I have a 1993 Suburban with over 150,000 miles on it and the transmission never had any problems. Keep in mind that @ 30,000 miles intervals, the fluid is replaced and the screens cleaned.
I have a 98 Suburban (67K miles). I've loved this truck since the day I got it. In the last year I've had quite a few problems... Water pump, windshield wipers (electronic chip for board), air conditioning, and just a few days ago some hoses that were leaking oil ($350). It's bean less than a week and I have a new "sound" to deal with... A very loud "clicking" noise when I accelerate. I'm afraid to see what this one is going to cost.
Has anyone ever had this noise??
Cara
San Ramon, CA.
I have a '98 Sub LT 4X2 that I purchased a few months ago with about 70K miles on it. I did purchase the extended warranty, but have (so far) had very little problem with the vehicle. I did have an AC valve that needed to be replaced (I overpaid for the replacement due to not going to the right mechanic, but oh well). Other than basic maintenance, though, it has been great.
Now, on to the questions. A couple of weeks ago I had a problem that was really weird. From the time I purchased the Sub, it has cranked up and started right up. Now, on occasion, it starts, but will not idle unless I coax it with the accelerator. At times it will also actually stall while in overdrive and actually moving down the street. It is just a miss, in that the lights and radio die and then it kicks back on.
Then, last week, the wipers would not turn on at all. I could hear the motor, but the wipers and washers would not come on. A few minutes later they all worked fine. All of this seems to point to an electrical problem, but I just wanted to check and see if anyone else is experiencing or has experienced this and if so, what was the outcome? A friend of mine said that the same types of things happened with his Jeep and it turned out to be a battery issue. Does this sound right? Any comments are welcomed at
trey.campbell@mci.com. Thanks.
I recently purchased a 2001 Suburban LT, 4 X 4 with 78000 miles. No problems driving it back from La. (820 miles) to Mo. Had all fluids changed in transfer case, differential and transmission and now it does not always go into 4WD Hi. If anyone else has experienced this problem I would appreciate hearing from you at linker918@yahoo.com. All other items on the vehicle appear flawless.
I live in Europe and I've just bought a low mileage 99 suburban - I like it, I love the size of it and the large V8 engine, but I'm quite staggered at how poorly it compares with the European and Japanese offerings (of a similar age) in terms of build quality, ride, and standard of interiors. The interior is absolutely primitive in terms of the fit of everything, the standard of the upholstery is terrible. The electrics are shocking, the braking is terrible.
It costs an absolute fortune to run over here ($260 to fill it up), so I hope I'm praying that I don't get any of the mechanical troubles that others seem to have had. I don't think I could afford it on top of the fuel running costs.
John.
I have a 94 1500 GMC Suburban. I has 129k miles and ran great until last month when the transfer case had a problem and now it does not drive. Estimate to fixi is $3k. After reading these comments, I am not sure if I want to fix it.
My friend has a 98 burb 4x4 with only 87k and the transmission went out. What is up with these trucks--seems funny that Chevy keeps saying longest lasting most dependable trucks on the road--while going through college I turned wrenches and we always joked that if it wasnt for american cars and old jap cars we would be out of business. When does 100k or 200k become the norm and not the exception?
I own a 98 with 60K miles on it 2ND transmission. My cousin's tahoe (basically the same thing) also had his transamission go out at 45K miles? If people are die hard fans, and say that their truck runs like "new" at 100K miles, it's a lie. It's justtrying to find some form of validation for getting bamboozled into buying one of these problem vehicles.
All chevys trucks 1500 with 4l60e transmission have problems if you do towing/not do oil change/drive hard. The life is more or less 60000 miles. I own few chevys trucks and I only buy k2500-14bolts rear/4l80e heavy duty transmission--heavy towing upstate ny/plowing with over 180000 runing like new original engine &transmission.
I own a 1996 suburban 1500 4El60 and it has a 169,000 miles on it and no problems runs like a brand new truck little oil leak from rear main and cooler lines, but that's about it.