"How reliable is the 2002 Chevrolet Suburban?"

"Based on 352 NHTSA complaints, the 2002 Chevrolet Suburban has a median complaint mileage of 63700 miles. The most common issue is SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP."

2002 Chevrolet Suburban: Reliability Data

Q: "What are common problems with the 2002 Chevrolet Suburban?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2002 Chevrolet Suburban is SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP, accounting for a significant portion of the 352 total complaints filed."

Source: NHTSA — 352 complaints

352

Total Complaints

63,700mi

Median Mileage

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

34,500 25th Percentile

63,700 Median Mileage

115,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP

SERVICE BRAKES

PARKING BRAKE

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

TIRES

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

STEERING

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHILE TURNING INTO A DRIVEWAY AT APPROXIMATELY 7 M.P.H. BRAKES FAILED AND CAR MADE LOUD NOISE. THE SUBURBAN FINALLY STOPPED ON THE 3RD TIME OF HITTING THE BRAKES. *AK"

"THE DOME LIGHT SWITCH CAN BE USED TO OVERRIDE THE DAYTIME RUNNING LAMPS, BY PUSHING IT IN AND OUT TWICE. THE DRLS ARE TURNED OFF AND A BELL NOTIFIES YOU. THIS CAN BE DONE AT ANY VEHICLE SPEED / GEAR. THIS DOME LIGHT SWITCH IS SIMILAR IN SHAPE AND SIZE TO THE FOG LAMP SWITCH RIGHT NEXT TO IT, AND..."

"I HAVE BEEN UNABLE, SINCE PURCHASE, TO PROPERLY FILL THE GAS TANK. THE TANKS HAVE BEEN REPLACED, THE FILLER MECHANISM HAS BEEN REPLACED. GMC ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THER IS A PROBLEM BUT SIX MONTHS AFTER FIRST IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM, THEY SAY THEY STILL DONT HAVE A FIX. I SEE FROM CHECKING CONSUMER CO..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP 42 complaints

25th: 36,694 mi Median: 57,500 mi 75th: 80,000 mi

SERVICE BRAKES 41 complaints

25th: 107,500 mi Median: 130,000 mi 75th: 170,000 mi

PARKING BRAKE 19 complaints

25th: 32,990 mi Median: 44,000 mi 75th: 55,350 mi

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 18 complaints

25th: 90,500 mi Median: 119,000 mi 75th: 157,550 mi

TIRES 11 complaints

25th: 26,000 mi Median: 38,000 mi 75th: 38,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 45 TX: 34 NY: 22 MI: 19 FL: 18 PA: 18 MD: 18 VA: 17 IL: 15 OH: 14

Who Files Complaints?

44.6%

Original Owners

55.4%

Second+ Owners

Chevrolet Suburban — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1990	67	-	SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:RECLINER	2
1991	65	106,744	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP	6
1992	226	-	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP	45
1993	616	120,000	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP	110
1994	1038	124,062	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP	158
1995	587	113,450	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP	64
1996	531	93,100	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP	25
1997	556	90,000	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP	27
1998	298	76,500	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP	11
1999	859	81,250	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP	65
2000	382	68,000	PARKING BRAKE	30
2001	543	60,000	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP	38
2003	360	71,000	SERVICE BRAKES	39
2004	264	65,250	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL	14
2005	161	85,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	5
2006	33	84,500	LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES	0
2007	357	80,000	AIR BAGS	4
2008	276	87,000	AIR BAGS	4
2009	133	83,500	AIR BAGS	1
2010	161	86,000	AIR BAGS	3
2011	192	68,245	AIR BAGS	3
2012	139	68,000	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	3
2013	170	55,700	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	4
2014	77	55,000	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	0
2015	584	62,000	SERVICE BRAKES	29
2016	288	55,000	SERVICE BRAKES	11
2017	178	50,000	SERVICE BRAKES	8
2018	108	38,155	ENGINE	3
2019	84	48,000	POWER TRAIN	3
2020	59	3,250	ENGINE	3
2021	223	60,000	ENGINE	12
2022	134	64,083	ENGINE	7
2023	122	25,000	ENGINE	0
2024	42	16,600	ENGINE	0

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28