Engine mounts repeatedly fail and have been replaced 4 times, now it occurs 1 per year. The engine twists and clunks around inside the engine compartment.
Chevrolet Suburban 1500 harsh shifting problems
14 of the 1,439 owner complaints about the Chevrolet Suburban 1500 describe harsh or hard shifting, most of them for the 2004 model year.
- owner complaints
- 14
- worst model year
- 2004
- typical mileage
- 41,000
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall for this area of the car. See below
By model year
- 20082
- 20072
- 20061
- 20051
- 20045
- 20033
Often reported together
What owners say
The wheel bearings on the right front wheel became unsealed. We were driving on a four-lane highway. The antilock breaking and stabilitrack warning lights came on. We did not know why. We continued to drive home on the interstate with about 100 miles to go. The car steering became intermittently difficult to control. Eventually we stopped when the car was pulling drastically to the right and the wheel well was smoking. At this point the right front wheel was pointed toward a right turn while the left front wheel was pointed directly forward. We had to be towed to a chevrolet dealership. After new bearings were installed, calipers replaced, etc., the maintenance person at the dealership said that there was no reason to believe that the same thing would happen to the other front wheel. Nevertheless, the same thing did happen to the left front wheel six months later 800 miles from home except the sealed bearings made a "clunk" sound when it happened as we backed out of a parking lot. We investigated the location of chevrolet dealerships and drove the car to a dealership about 30 miles away without incident.
Had serviced the transfer case and had taken it back twice now besides a noise like that of a power steering pump going bad ( whining ) , had a turning clunk noise coming and at a stop light I saw smoke coming from passenger side, got to park it and smelled like something is burning .bring it back to see if the mechanic will work on it since it hasn't been 30 days. Please notify me of anything do to the transfer case.
Ignition does not engage engine when key is turned. Takes several attempts of turning key on, completely off, then on again until engine will engage and start. Stabilitrak light illuminates and goes off every 20-40 miles. Rough shift between first and second gear.
It makes a clunking noise when turning the steering wheel.
I was proceeding from an intersection and turning left, I reached a speed of 15-20 MPH and there was a "bang" and a "clunk" and the power to the wheels was gone, I coasted to the roadside and was unable to put the car in "d" drive or "3" it was as if it was in neutral. I was able to limp home using 1st and 2nd gears. Vehicle was towed to dealership for a transmission replacement due to the failure of the forward sprag component.
I went to my local chevy dealer service dept. To report a problem with my steering mechanism - sever clunking, rattling felt in the steering wheel while driving. The service rep stated that this is a very common problem with the suburbans. This has been an ongoing problem with my vehicle, starting at about 32k miles.
We own a 2004 chevrolet suburban with approximately 50,000 current miles. We purchased the vehicle used at 20,000 miles. At some point after 36000 we started noticing a "clunking" in the steering column when we would turn the wheel. I an employed at a school and it has had to have this same problem repaired on 3 of it's 2004 chevrolet 1500 suburbans, each with just over the 36,000 warranty mileage. Each cost about $370.00 to repair.
I have a 2004 chevy suburban that has a bad vibration and clunking noise coming from the steering wheel. I have addressed this issue with the dealership and they state their is no recall, but I know of 4 people with chevy trucks with the same issue. I have also done some research online and found multiple people complaining of the same issue. I am not sure if left unfixed what might happen, but I really do not want to get in an accident and hurt myself or others. I only hope with your help we can find a solution to this problem with chevrolet vehicles. Thank you.
Clunking noise in the steering column, dealer said it was the intermediate steering shaft, called chevrolet (they gave me a case #)since internet search exposed many others same problem. They have a tsb #000235003 about this and how to fix the problem. Chevrolet wants me to pay a $99 diagnosis fee and they might help me with the problem.
Related recalls
Power train: transfer case (4-wheel drive)
- What is wrong
- General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2026 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Suburban, and Tahoe, and GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles with four-wheel (4WD) or all-wheel drive (AWD), and certain 2015-2020 Suburban, Escalade, Escalade ESV, Yukon, Yukon XL, and Tahoe vehicles. A component missing from the drivetrain transfer case may cause the front and/or rear wheels to lock up without warning to the driver.
- Risk
- Front or rear wheel lockup increases the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Owners are advised not to drive their vehicle until the remedy is completed. Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the transfer case assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 18, 2026. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1‑800‑462‑8782, Chevrolet customer service at 1‑800‑222‑1020 or Cadillac customer service at 1‑800‑333‑4223. GM's number for this recall is N262557620. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on on May 7, 2026.
Recall number 26V289000 · Recall details
Questions about the Chevrolet Suburban 1500 harsh shifting
Which Chevrolet Suburban 1500 years have harsh or hard shifting problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2004 (5 complaints), 2003 (3 complaints) and 2007 (2 complaints).
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