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Chevrolet Suburban no deployment problems

85 of the 8,048 owner complaints about the Chevrolet Suburban describe airbags did not deploy in a crash, most of them for the 2001 model year.

owner complaints
85
worst model year
2001
typical mileage
72,000
Is there a fix? There are 9 recalls for this area of the car. See below

By model year

  • 2021
    1
  • 2020
    1
  • 2018
    2
  • 2017
    1
  • 2016
    2
  • 2015
    5
  • 2013
    1
  • 2012
    1
  • 2009
    1
  • 2008
    1
  • 2007
    4
  • 2005
    1
  • 2004
    3
  • 2003
    3
  • 2002
    7
  • 2001
    15
  • 2000
    4
  • 1999
    11
  • 1998
    2
  • 1997
    4
  • 1996
    4
  • 1995
    11

What owners say

Filed Jan 29, 2026 · Airbags · 90,000 miles · CA · crash · 1 injury

The contact owned a 2017 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, another vehicle crashed into the rear driver side of the vehicle, causing him to lose control of the vehicle, collided into the curb, and the two right side tires, both driver's and passenger tires, became blown and damaged. The contact mentioned that after colliding with the curb, he crashed into a tree, which caused the right passenger side rim to detach from the tire. The contact also mention from the impact the whole right passenger side of the completely crushed and was damaged. The contact stated that no air bags deployed in his vehicle. The contact stated that he sustained a concussion to the head from the driver side window, brushing of the right rib, and bruises on both left and right hands. Medical attention was required. The contact stated that a police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to City Towing. The manufacturer was notified of this failure, and they requested information from the contact regarding the accident. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.

Filed Jun 17, 2024 · Transmission · TX · 1 injury

The contact owns a 2015 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and turned off without the key in the ignition, her daughter bumped into the gear shift selector and inadvertently shifted the vehicle into reverse. As a result, the vehicle began to roll, coming to a complete stop after colliding with another parked vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. A police report was not filed, and injuries were reported. The contact reported bruising sustained while attempting to stop the vehicle but had not sought medical treatment. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the federal safety agency hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.

Filed Apr 15, 2022 · Brakes, Driver assistance · 111,572 miles · OH · crash · 1 injury

The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Suburban. The vehicle had previously been serviced under the federal safety agency Campaign Numbers: 19V761000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic, Service Brakes, Electronic Stability Control) and 19V645000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) at the dealer; however, the failure recurred after the recalls were repaired with a stiff brake pedal and increased braking effort while driving. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle went over a curve and the front passenger's side crashed into a tree, then came to a complete stop in a ditch. There were no air bags deployed. The contact's wife sustained neck and back injuries but did not receive medical attention. The vehicle was towed to Coughlin Hyundai (2300 Hebron Rd, Heath, OH 43056) where it remained and was not repaired. The vehicle was not deemed totaled by the insurance company. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. Prior to the failure, the contact was receiving notifications from OnStar that the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 19V761000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic, Service Brakes, Electronic Stability Control) was unrepaired. The failure mileage was 111,572.

Filed Sep 16, 2021 · Airbags · MD · crash · 3 injuries

On August 21, 2021 My Daughter [XXX], husband [XXX] and myself was in a car accident on the 495 beltway in PG County, Maryland. We where hit from the rear back side (fishtail) on the passenger of vehicle which caused the vehicle to spin across all 4 lanes and hit the guardrail.. The impact caused all of us to be locked inside the vehicle in which I had to physically kick my door open from the inside because I was unable to get out. I was able to get out and go to my husband side (drivers side) because he was bleeding from his head, I had to forcefully pull and pull to open his door because it was also jammed and wouldn’t open. Same for my daughters side(passenger rear).. The entire front of the truck was pushed back, doors, front and back of the vehicle was badly damaged and NOT ONE AIRBAG DEPLOYED.. NOT ONE. My husband was the driver and sustained head injuries with head bleeding and was transported via ambulance to NOVA Fairfax County Hospital. My daughter was transported via ambulance to Washington Hospital Trauma Center. I went to Washington Hospital Center ER but was unable to stay and went to Kaiser Permanente Urgent Care once my daughter was discharged from the Trauma Side of the hospital that night. Geico has determined that the truck is a totally lost and that the damages thus far have exceeded $30,000 but waiting on final approvals of Numbers. We do have a police report. To answer the question above. The airbags failed to deploy in the accident. We could have died. My husband had to get staples in his head and disk are messed up in his back. There where no warnings on the dash board before the crash. The vehicle has been inspected by the insurance company and the police on the scene. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

Filed Jul 8, 2021 · Airbags · 260,000 miles · VA · crash · 1 injury

The contact owned a 2002 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that while driving at 40 mph, there were cicadas flying towards the front driver side windshield that obstructed the contact's visibility which caused the contact to crash into a utility pole. The air bags did not deploy. The contact was transported to the hospital by ambulance for injuries sustained. A police report was filed. The vehicle was first towed to a towing yard then towed to an auto body shop where the insurance company deemed it totaled. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and had sent out a field representative to inspect the vehicle and retrieved the event data recorder from the vehicle. The failure mileage was 260,000.

Filed Apr 13, 2021 · Driver assistance · 361 miles · NY · crash

We were stopped at a red light on florida state road 54 turn lane to go on us 75 when the other car rear ended us and drove us into the car in front of us. No air bags deployed. Florida highway patrol crash number 88482185. We only had the vehicle for 10 days.

Filed Mar 31, 2021 · Airbags, Transmission · 140,000 miles · CA · crash · 1 injury

Tl* the contact owned a 2008 chevrolet suburban. The contact stated while driving at 55 MPH, the rear axle fractured. As a result, the brakes would not engage when the brakes were suppressed causing the contact to crash into a concrete barrier. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed.the contact sustained a broken wrist and neck soreness. The contact did not seek any medical attention. The vehicle was not drivable and was towed to her home address. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of failure. The failure mileage was 140,000.

Filed Jan 7, 2021 · Brakes · 159,000 miles · PA · crash

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet suburban. The contact stated that while driving behind his father's vehicle, they had approached a stop and attempted to depress the brake pedal. As his foot was on the pedal, the contact could hear the ABS making an abnormal noise as the brake pedal failed to operate as needed. Due to the failure, the contact hit the back of his father's vehicle without warning. Due to the low impact of the crash, the airbags did not deploy. A police report was not filed and no injuries were reported. The manufacturer was then notified of the failure and they informed him that his vehicle was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 05v379000(service brakes, hydraulic) and offered no further assistance. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was 159,000.*dt

Filed Sep 23, 2020 · Airbags, Body · 173,000 miles · TX · crash · 2 injuries

Tl* the contact owned a 2003 chevrolet suburban. The contact stated that while towing his daughter's vehicle at about 60 MPH, another vehicle crashed into the vehicle being towed. The air bags did not deploy. The contact sustained a head and lower back injury. The front passenger (his daughter) sustained a back injury. The two went to the doctor three days later. There was no police report. The vehicle being towed was damaged and was driven to the daughter's dorm where it was totaled by the insurance company. The dealer and the manufacturer were not contacted. The contact stated that the other driver's insurance denied any compensation to the contact, stating that the contact's vehicle (the vehicle towing the damaged vehicle) was not hit. The contact stated that after the accident, a loud noise was heard whenever the vehicle was turned on. The contact also stated that the dashboard was cracked. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 173,000.

Filed Aug 7, 2020 · Airbags · 1,500 miles · AK · crash

None of the airbags did not deploy during an accident. Vehicle was moving forward and hit on the drivers side front quarter by another vehicle doing approximately 45mph. My suburban was turning left onto a highway.

Related recalls

Air bags: SRS malfunction warning lamp/lightReported June 10, 2021 · 285,622 vehicles affected
What is wrong
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Buick Envision, Cadillac CT4, CT5, Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Tahoe, Corvette, Suburban, GMC Yukon, Yukon XL vehicles. The communications gateway module incorrectly processes a loss of communication with the sensing diagnostic module (SDM), causing the air bag malfunction indicator light to inconsistently illuminate.
Risk
The air bag malfunction indicator light may fail to warn the driver of a problem with the air bag, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy
The communications gateway module software will be updated by a dealer, or through an over-the-air (OTA) update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 1, 2021. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1‑800‑521‑7300, Cadillac customer service at 1‑800‑458‑8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1‑800‑222‑1020, or GMC customer service at 1‑800‑462‑8782. GM's number for this recall is N212338110.

Recall number 21V421000 · Recall details

Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator moduleReported February 5, 2021 · 1,778,128 vehicles affected
What is wrong
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of AL, CA, FL, GA, HI, LA, MS, SC, TX, PR, AS, GU, the MP, and VI or "Zone A." Additionally GM is recalling certain 2011-2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, Yukon XL and 2011-2013 Cadillac Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of AZ, AR, DE, DC, IL, IN, KS, KY, MD, MO, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NC, OH, OK, PA, TN, VA, and WV or "Zone B." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2010-2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL and 2010-2013 Cadillac Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of AK, CO, CT, ID, IA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MT, NH, NY, ND, OR, RI, SD, UT, VT, WA, WI, and WY or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger frontal inflators containing phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
Risk
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 25, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed to 40 VIN owners on May 11, 2021. A second owner notification letter was mailed to all other owners on January 24, 2022. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1‑800‑222‑1020; Cadillac customer service at 1‑800‑458‑8006; and GMC customer service at 1‑800‑462‑8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328800.

Recall number 21V054000 · Recall details

Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator moduleReported February 5, 2021 · 692,526 vehicles affected
What is wrong
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2013 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2010 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2009 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C."
Risk
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 24, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 11, 2021. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1‑800‑458‑8006; Chevrolet customer service at 1‑800‑222‑1020; and GMC customer service at 1‑800‑462‑8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328790.

Recall number 21V053000 · Recall details

Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator moduleReported February 5, 2021 · 557,023 vehicles affected
What is wrong
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2009 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2007-2008 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger frontal inflators containing phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
Risk
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 23, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 20, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1‑800‑222‑1020, Cadillac customer service at 1‑800‑458‑8006, and GMC customer service at 1‑800‑462‑8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328780.

Recall number 21V052000 · Recall details

Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator moduleReported February 5, 2021 · 284,645 vehicles affected
What is wrong
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2012 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." These vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger frontal inflators containing phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
Risk
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 22, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 11, 2021. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1‑800‑458‑8006; Chevrolet customer service at 1‑800‑222‑1020; and GMC customer service at 1‑800‑462‑8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328770.

Recall number 21V051000 · Recall details

Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator moduleReported February 5, 2021 · 2,641,272 vehicles affected
What is wrong
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2007-2011 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, Yukon XL, and 2009-2011 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, GMC Sierra 2500 and Sierra 3500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2007-2008 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." These vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger frontal inflators containing phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
Risk
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 22, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on March 1, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1‑800‑222‑1020; Cadillac customer service at 1‑800‑458‑8006; and GMC customer service at 1‑800‑462‑8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328760.

Recall number 21V050000 · Recall details

Air bags: side/windowReported July 23, 2014 · 22 vehicles affected
What is wrong
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015 Chevrolet Suburban, Suburban LTZ, Tahoe, Tahoe LTZ, GMC Yukon, and Yukon XL Denali vehicles manufactured on May 13, 2014. The affected vehicles were assembled with a roof rail air bags (RRAB) that were not reinforced at the points were the bags contact the hardware used to attach the roof carrier.
Risk
During deployment, the RRAB may be punctured or torn by the roof carrier hardware, reducing its performance and increasing the risk of occupant injury in the event of a crash.
Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the roof carrier attaching hardware, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in early September 2014. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1‑800‑222‑1020 (Chevrolet) or 1‑800‑462‑8782 (GMC). GM's number for this recall is 14359.

Recall number 14V451000 · Recall details

Air bags: frontal: sensor/control module-inactiveReported July 1, 2002 · 525,254 vehicles affected
What is wrong
On certain pickup and utility trucks, some of these vehicles have an air bag sensing diagnostic module (sdm) which contains an anomaly that could result in the driver and passenger's air bag failing to deploy during certain frontal crashes.
Risk
In a vehicle crash, front seat occupants may receive more severe injuries.
Remedy
Dealers will recalibrate the sdm on the affected vehicles. Owner notification began august 28, 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact chevrolet at 1‑800‑222‑1020 or gmc at 1‑800‑462‑8782.

Recall number 02V178000 · Recall details

Air bagsReported July 25, 1995 · 3,651 vehicles affected
What is wrong
The vehicles have both the supplemental inflatable restraint (sir) label and an engine start label installed on the same side of the sun visor. This does not comply with fmvss no.208, "occupant crash protection."
Risk
Consequence of non-compliance: operators could fail to notice and heed the warning label.
Remedy
The engine start label will be removed from the stowed side of the sun visor and a new engine start label will be installed on the headliner in the sun visor depression. Owners will receive the new label and can install the label themselves or have a dealer install it.

Recall number 95V140000 · Recall details

Questions about the Chevrolet Suburban no deployment

Which Chevrolet Suburban years have airbags did not deploy in a crash problems?

The model years with the most reports are 2001 (15 complaints), 1995 (11 complaints) and 1999 (11 complaints).

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