2021 CHEVROLET TAHOE Unknown Or Other Problems
35 complaints about Unknown Or Other
High Severity Issue
This component has been associated with crashes, fires, or deaths.
This Problem Across All Years
All Unknown Or Other Complaints (35)
This vehicle has experienced multiple substantial defects, several of which directly endangered my family, including an infant, and rendered the vehicle unsafe and inoperable for extended periods despite warranty repairs. Summary of defects and failures: 1.Electronic door locking failure The vehicle experienced an electronic malfunction that caused the doors to randomly lock, resulting in my infant being locked inside the vehicle when we exited. This wiring defect was later repaired under warranty but represents a serious safety failure. 2.Fuel pump recall and highway breakdown While driving my family of six on a major highway over an hour from home, the recalled fuel pump failed while in motion, leaving us stranded on the side of the highway. We were forced to arrange an Uber for transportation. This incident placed my family in a dangerous situation and constitutes a major safety-related defect. 3.Transmission failure and extended inoperability The vehicle suffered a transmission failure that rendered it unsafe and inoperable. The dealership required over one week to schedule service and more than two additional weeks before the vehicle was inspected and repaired. The vehicle was out of safe driving condition for approximately one month. Upon return, the vehicle experienced additional failures, including a dead battery. 4.Known poor design defect – rear entertainment screens The rear entertainment system screens cracked due to a widely known poor design and placement issue, unrelated to misuse. 5.Rear headrest internal mechanism failure The internal mechanism of a rear headrest failed and requires replacement, further demonstrating ongoing quality and safety concerns. Due to the number, severity, and safety-related nature of these defects—combined with cumulative downtime exceeding 30 days—I have lost all confidence in this vehicle. I no longer consider it safe or reliable for transporting my family.
The REAR end of the truck needs to be repair. The dealership says multiple people have needed to order the rear end.
PER HENDRICKS CHEVROLET IN HOOVER, AL "INSPECTED REAR DIFF FOR METAL & FOUND LAARGE AMOUNTS OF METAL ON DRAIN PLUG MAGNET. RECOMMEND REPLACING REAR DIFF DUE TO LARGE AMOUNT OF METAL FOUND IN OIL." There was no warning on the vehicle; however, you can hear it loudly when a left or right turn is made.
My tahoe is throwing a low engine oil code and burns through about 2 quarts of oil in between oil changes. other tahoes of the same year make and model have been recalled for the same issue but mine was not.
Driving down the highway (open road) and the sunroof spontaneously shattered.
We just recently had the cam shaft and lifters replaced, as the vehicle began experiencing a knocking sound. The repair was supposedly completed, and they gave the truck back. We took the truck back in within a week, bc we continued to hear the sound. They sent it back saying they didn’t hear anything after test driving it. Over the weekend the car shut off after beginning to shake uncontrollably. Now supposedly the camshaft bearing is gone, and the truck experience engine failure. I spoke with someone previously, as the issue being repaired hundred thousands of cars were recalled for the same issue. I was told that it wasn’t on the same line, even though my truck was experiencing the EXACT issue and fell under the years. We were placed back on the road with our family, with a vehicle
I’m reporting a transmission failure that occurred unexpectedly on my 2021 Chevy Tahoe/the diesel version has been recalled so I don’t know why all the other 2021 Tahoe have not been recalled for this issue . The vehicle began shifting roughly and slipping between gears, followed by a warning message and eventual inability to shift properly. I had it inspected by a family friend who owns a body shop , and I was told the transmission needs to be replaced at a cost of nearly $7,000. I am no longer under powertrain warranty, but this failure feels premature and unsafe for such a new vehicle. I’ve seen many other 2021 Tahoe owners report similar issues online including transmission failure, harsh shifting, valve body problems, and complete breakdowns . This seems like a pattern, and I believe it may warrant investigation. I’m asking NHTSA to investigate whether this is part of a broader transmission defect that poses a safety or reliability concern. Sudden shifting issues and inability to accelerate or reverse are dangerous for drivers and passengers. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.
Our vehicle was rear ended and the front passenger seatbelt did not lock or (possibly) locked too late. The front passenger's face hit the dashboard, as well as their knees and feet. The vehicle that hit ours was estimated to be travelling at about 45 mph and we were rolling at around 5 mph in traffic. The failure has not been able to be reproduced by the collision center, the sensor callibration contractor, nor the dealership. No sensors showed any failures and the tension appears to be correct on the seatbelt. We have been unable to determine why the seatbelt failed during this incident and if the vehicle will react appropriately in the event of another collision.
3rd row headrest- not staying upright was recalled prior to current condition not upright 2nd row seat- adjustment cable broken no longer working Transmission- pump and valve body failed required replacement
Instrument panel has failed twice and is unresponsive. The gauges move and stay to the left after moving left to right. All lights begin to cycle through error messages. I have video of the issue both times it happened. When it occurs, you don't know your speed you have to guess, the full tank reads empty etc., and it is dangerous to back up. The vehicle has been diagnosed by one independent mechanic and is currently at the dealership. There was no warning before the instrument cluster failed other than a cycling through of warning messages service transmission check 4X4, service suspension system, service Power Steering Drive with care. -The center screen goes in and out. -When in reverse, the rear camera is black, the screen blinks intermittently. - Dealer has stated that the wires are put on incorrectly- if that is the case, I am not sure who would have done that other than the manufacturer. -previously reported there was a strong gasoline smell in the cabin that made it really hard to breathe. Dealer corrected. Right passenger side is intermittently wet with no cause from the interior creating stale smells, making it hard to breathe. It is important to note this is the side where the electrical wires are "put in incorrectly" according to the dealer. I also have a video of what occurs
My vehicle is a 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe with less than 90,000 miles and the catalytic converters have internally failed causing a $3000 complete replacement of that system in which they state should last a lifetime of the vehicle and it is not even five years old.
My vehichle will not go in reverse my wheels are locking up and also my car is going over 6000 rpm when going down the highway and not wanting to shift gears where it is a safety concern for myself and my kids well being
2 incidents of complete engine power loss while driving. Luckily was able to roll off road safely to curb. Dashboard glitch/flashing multiple/various message, including check engine, conditions not ideal to shift, etc. Would not re-start/shift when attempted. Tried disconnecting battery cable completely and re-connecting and that seemed to 're-set' the system and engine re-started. Incidents were about 30 days apart. "This battery reset" was tried because approx 1 year prior after leaving Tahoe parked at airport for a 7 day trip, it would not start, completely dead. Battery charge/jump would not work...watched youtube videos and someone said to try disconnect/reconnect cable and it worked to start it up at that time & did take it into Dealership after that incident and no-cost repairs were made for that issue. Called Chevy 3/25/25 on this power loss while driving issue to ask for information/assistance, they advised to take to dealership for diagnostic info/report and depending on result/cause might assist with costs to repairs. Appointment set for 3/28/2025 with Salem Oregon Chevrolet.
I have taken this vehicle two times to the dealers that sell Chevrolet. The first time it was there for 5 hours and nothing was done and the second time the service agent said there was no recall on this vehicle when obviously there is one.
The HVAC blend/mode door actuator has melted, causing a fire hazard.
WHAT FAILED: Main Radio. SAFETY CONCERNS: GM sent an over the air update to car around July 5, 2024 and the update broke the whole radio system to my car. I now have no access to OnStar, bluetooth for phone safety, maps, blinkers on side mirrors, radio etc. Dealer mentioned it is a very common problem with this particular GM product and the over the air update to cars. When I asked to turn this feature off so it doesn't happen again it is not an option. The Chevrolet Dealer and a sound system specialist has inspected vehicle. Sound System specialist said this part may only be replaced by the dealer as it is the high end radio system. There was no warning of the update happening. The car was in great condition until this update was pushed through in the middle of the day. Now I am being quoted $2000 to fix it with no guarantee that it wont happen again.
Gps/onstar module not working, I read a lot of people are complaining same thing. I had it for a year, warranty done but I never used it. Sad you spend $70k on a truck and onstar goes bad and you never used it and they want more money to replace it. Now engine light is on.
I was driving to work today and I heard what sounded like an explosion, so I stopped and pulled to the side of the road and checked everything and I seen that the sunroof glass was broken, I have only ever used the sunroof twice and that was to see if it was working. My safety and others on the road were at risk because if I would have had the sunroof sliding shade open the glass would have fell on my head or in my face. Also anyone driving behind me I'm sure the glass flew on their vehicle and could caused an accident. I got to work and called the local Chevrolet dealership in town and they said there were no recalls for this problem, but yet I looked it up under GMC forums and there has been other people saying it happened to them, especially the same year and make and model. My vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police or insurance yet, I reached out to the Chevrolet dealership and they said there was nothing they could do to help because there were no recalls on my vehicle, so I asked the girl in the service department who was higher then her and could help me because I did nothing wrong and did not feel that I should have to pay to fix this problem. She then gave me customer care contact information and I am waiting for a response. There were no warnings or symptoms or any messages on the dash, my sunroof glass just exploded without any warnings.
The airbags failed to deploy in my 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe after being involved in an accident where another vehicle t-boned my vehicle on the passenger side front end to rear end causing severe damage and pushing my vehicle with great force. A police report was taken by officers that responded to the traffic accident. A claim was filed with my auto insurance and my 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe is currently being repaired as it was not deemed a total loss. Myself and my passengers were injured and received and continue receiving medical treatment for our injuries; our safety was definitely placed at risk. Before being involved in this accident, warning alerts/lamps would appear on the vehicle’s dashboard indicating to “service the safety restraint system” and also to “open then close passenger window” which in turn led me to take the vehicle in for service however the dealer said it could not be duplicated nor did the computer show any alerts. After the accident, I Contacted General Motors and filed a claim for the non deployment of the airbags, they in turn are conducting their investigation.
Exhaust fumes in cabin from back presure valve welds
High pitched whine during during acceleration.
Purchased a 2021 Tahoe in late 2020 - May of 2021 the car started leaking water during a rain storm into the main cabin. Brought it to the dealership and they couldn't find any issues. Fast-forward to 2023 and it happened again in May and June. Brought the car to dealership and was told that the sunroof drains were clogged and it's a maintenance issue. I contacted GM and after about 2 months they had a field tech look at it....found that it wasn't a maintenance issue but a sunroof drainage tube that was installed incorrectly. I received an email saying that they would replace the tube and front carpet but I need to pay 50% of the bill. All the carpets and roof liner have been affected by the leaking and the car smells like mildew. I would expect them to at least replace everything and pay 100%. If they were responsible they would take the car and replace it with a new car for me. I purchased a $65,000+ vehicle with a factory defect that has caused water leaking into the car and i don't know if there will be future issues with electrical or mold.
water leaking in from the roof area. I heard water above me, then after applying the brakes water came pouring in through the LED lights, seat belts, and other areas mostly on the passenger side of the vehicle. After pulling panels and looking, water was dripping down into the car getting airbags wet, the fuse panel, seat belts are soaked, carpet, and water inside LEDs and dripping on other electronics. Dealership unable to locate leak at this time and is a continuing problem.
My tahoe has shut off several times. I am sometimes at a red light and it shuts off and won't turn on or itll eventually turn off but it has a ton of errors on the screen. This has happened about 6 times. Today, April 6th, it wouldn't even start. It has started at the dealership but the screens are blacked out. Also the back hatch is not working as well and it randomly happened. I just purchased this vehicle in September of 2022. And it only has about 40k miles on it. The first time it shut off on me it had less than 40k miles.
I have an on going problem with the emissions system on my 2021 Tahoe. The vehicle discharges raw diesel fuel and DEF from the exhaust tail pipe during cold startup. This discharge is overwhelming and is so strong it can be detected by smell from over fifty feet away. In addition to this issue the fumes enter the inside of the vehicle and at times it is so bad you need to open the windows. I believe this problem is unsafe as it poses a fire risk and a CO exposure risk to the vehicle occupants. The vehicle has been in the shop repeatedly for the past eighteen months with various parts replaced. To date none of the repairs have fixed the problem. In February GM issued a statement saying that this is normal operations.
While driving on the highway there was a loud explosion like sound. The sunroof on the SUV completely shattered. There was no car in front of me and no overpasses. Sunroof shattered and glass came in the car. I was driving the speed limit which is 70MPH and there was no forewarning. GM is scheduled to look at the vehicle, I am waiting on their return call.
Panoramic sunroof exploded suddenly and without any warning.
Received an Over-the-Air update that rendered my vehicle unless. My vehicle would no longer start, or power on, or power on in accessory mode. It was stuck in Park, the electronic Parking Brake could not be disengaged, the door locks could not be operated and left unlocked, no lights, no warning lights, the emergency lights did not function, no horn, and most everything else. The only things still working were the radio, the driver's side powered seat would move, and the light came on for the Parking Brake. The battery was fully charged. I also started receiving messages through my Chevrolet APP that the vehicle had no air in the tires, no oil in the engine, and many other items that needed servicing. I am not sure what exact components or computers have failed yet. GM could not find any dealer to render aid and come to my location to reprogram the vehicle. It had to be towed to a dealer. With the electronic Parking Brake engaged, GM had a hard time trying to find a tow truck that wouldn't just drag the vehicle down my driveway and onto a flatbed.
On 7/13/2022, I was driving down the highway and my Tahoe without any warning began to decelerate. I put on hazards and merged over in rush hour morning traffic off to side of the highway. I looked to put it in park and it had switched itself into Neutral. I immediately shut the car off and tried 3-4 times to start it. Had to wait 5 minutes then got it started and back on road I went. The previous evening, the My Chevrolet App showed I had a flat driver side rear tire but in fact, I didn't.
The sunroof made a very loud popping noise and exploded while driving on the interstate on November 30th around 12:15pm in about 40-50 degree temperatures. There were no warnings or noises or any indications that something was wrong. The safety of myself and children were put at risk, as the glass came down into the car while driving on the interstate, and presumably the safety of other drivers if some of the glass flew off onto the interstate. A local body shop has taken photos, as have I, and we have filed a claim with our insurance company. Our local GM dealer did not want to cover the cost under warranty, claiming there was no way to prove exactly what happened. The vehicle has been looked at and temporarily fixed by a local body shop, but not thoroughly inspected. The body shop has ordered new glass and will inspect the vehicle next week.
On 10/21/2021 while driving about 65 mph on highway 80 in Sacramento my sunroof glass exploded. It was not struck by any object. The weather at the time was rain and about 60 degrees. Traffic was light and nothing near that could have caused this to happen. Fortunately the shade was closed preventing any glass to enter the interior. Its been in at the dealer Stevens Creek Chevrolet in San Jose since 10/21/2021 waiting for a replacement glass. This incident could have injured anyone in the vehicle if the shade had not been drawn. So far it appears it is being handled as a warranty issue.
In late May, 2021, an "over-the-air" software update was forced onto our vehicle by GM. This update was initiated, and resulted in a failure of the over-the-air system. We brought our vehicle in to our dealer, who indicated that the "module" is bad and a part is required to fix it. This part is reportedly "on backorder" with no known ETA. This has resulted in various notifications (turn signal indicators, and unknown other notifications on the dash) as well as our center console (music, nav, etc.) to become unresponsive. Since the "module" failure, GM has issued two additional safety recalls. In the paper notices we received for the safety recalls, GM indicates that they had been "prompting owners through the vehicle's radio screen" for a month, via this over-the air system, of which, ours has not been functional since late May 2021. The last of which is a power steering recall, which may result if loss of power steering functionality. Due to our inability to know the recall existed, resulting from the faulty "over-the-air" system, my family took a trip through the mountains only to return home to this recall notice. GM has been unresponsive in repairing the system used to notify us safety hazards related to the vehicle that we have purchased, beyond noting that they are trying to "get the part as soon as possible". No one has been able to indicate what this "part" actually is, to date. The possibility of this module failure, and our non-functioning module, presents a serious safety hazard to drivers with this technology who are not made aware of recalls and other safety concerns which may result in crashes and serious injury or death.
VEHICLE WILL NOT START. ONLY 6900 MILES. BATTERY FINE, LIGHTS AND RADIO WORK, WINDOWS AND TAILGATE WORK. CAR TURNS OVER, BUT JUST WON'T START. READ MANUAL, DID EVERYTHING SUGGESTED. CLEARLY AN ELECTRONIC ERROR. AND, BECAUSE VEHICLE COULD NOT BE STARTED, IT COULD NOT BE PUT IN NEUTRAL. TOW DRIVER HAD TO DRAG CAR ACROSS PAVEMENT ON FLATBED. COULD NOT BE GOOD FOR BRAKES OR ANYTHING ELSE DOWN BELOW. WHEN ARRIVED AT DEALERSHIP, COULD NOT GET TAHOE OFF FLATBED. WINCH ONLY PULLS UP ONTO FLATBED, DOES NOT PUSH BACKWARDS. OILED THE FLATBED AND SHOOK THE ENTIRE TOW TRUCK BODY TO TRY TO GET IT TO SLIDE DOWN. NO IDEA WHY THIS HAPPENED. BUT A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO SAME THING HAPPENED TO A FRIEND'S GMC VERSION. CLEARLY ELECTRONIC FAILURE IN BAND-NEW CAR.
Mileage: 6,900
2021 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN, 79 MILES ON ODOMETER WHEN DRIVEN OFF LOT ON 02/22/21. VEHICLE FRAME AND SUSPENSION PARTS, AS WELL AS, CONTROL, STEERING, AND POWERTRAIN PARTS HAVE SIGNIFICANT CORROSION OCCURRING. VEHICLE WAS MANUFACTURED AND INSPECTED 11/2020. VEHICLE WAS VISUALLY INSPECTED BY OWNER. CURRENTLY IN PROCESS OF TRYING TO REMEDY WITH GM. CORROSION SO EARLY IN VEHICLE LIFE WILL UNDOUBTEDLY LEAD TO FAILURE. I RESIDE IN TACOMA, WASHINGTON. VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED IN PUYALLUP, WASHINGTON. MORE PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. THERE ARE SEVERAL MORE AREAS OF CORROSION THAN PHOTO UPLOAD ALLOWED FOR. GM CLAIMS 2021 MODELS HAVE A NEW PROCESS WHEN MANUFACTURING AND TREATING METAL. IT APPEARS TO HAVE FAILED. THE CLIMATE HERE IS MILD, AND ROAD SALT IS NOT USED IN THE AREA.
Mileage: 80
I'VE BEEN RECEIVING THIS MESSAGE "SERVICE SAFETY RESTRAINT SYSTEM" SINCE OCTOBER 26, 2020. SURPRISED THAT I KEEP RECEIVING THIS MESSAGE AND I'VE HAD THIS VEHICLE FOR 3 WEEKS BRAND NEW. UNSURE AS TO WHAT IS CAUSING THE PROBLEM AND CURRENTLY SEEKING RESOLUTION OF THIS.
Mileage: 1,275