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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
81,658 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2013 Chevrolet Suburban engine problems

engine problem

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2013 Chevrolet Suburban Owner Comments

problem #14

Feb 152019

Suburban

  • 92,721 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Feb. 15, 2019 transmission went out in car. Brought car earlier in the year because it was jerking but they said it was normal. Went out of town and transmission went out at 93,721 miles. Extended warranty went out on Feb. 14, 2019. Only hours before and no company would help! we paid 5,000 for a replacement and noticed that my dash had a crack in it after being repaired. Chevrolet company said they didn't do it. Now the dash is almost cracked all the way to my steering wheel. I understand the wear and tear of any vehicle, but for the warranty to go out hours before hand was unbelievable. Plus, the repair man that installed my transmission said my motor drinks oil. Yes, we know that. He explained to us why and said that Chevy should have replaced my motor when we brought it in during our bumper to bumper warranty. We no longer use chevyland because of their lack of service department. I will say that Chevy needs to build better door rests. Every time I push open my door or close it, the handle area is broke in half. Its a thin piece of plastic and its not worth paying an arm and leg to fix it. Needs to be a piece of metal.

- Vivian, LA, USA

problem #13

Nov 162020

Suburban

  • 190,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, there was a misfire in cylinder #5. the contact stated that the stabilitrak and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that there was a failure in cylinder #5. the contact stated that the spark plugs and ignition coils were replaced, and an oil change was performed however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to martin Chevrolet (23505 hawthorne blvd, torrance, ca 90505; (310) 853-5846) and the mechanic was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA campaign number: 14V614000 (electrical system) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had not been informed of failure. The failure mileage was approximately 190,000.

- Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, USA

problem #12

Sep 172020

Suburban

  • 123,788 miles
Tapping or clicking noise coming from engine compartment. Car lost power, bucking with hard shifts, and stabilitrack, ABS and check engine lights all come on. I took to authorized repair shop and they found misfire on cyl 4. changed all spark plugs/wires and cleaned thottle body and tune up as well as oil change. Car continued hard downshifting after picking up. Drove for a week and symptoms reappeared again. Shop is currently trying to diagnose if it's a bad lifter(s) or possibly fuel injection problem. Shop owner admitted that he's heard of problems with GM's 5.3 engines and the active fuel management system wrecking engines. I have my 3 kids in the car and it was scary almost getting stuck in the middle of a busy street.

- Apple Valley, CA, USA

problem #11

Apr 202020

Suburban

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that at start up and while driving, the low oil level warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the oil pressure sensor was defective and needed to be replaced. The contact was concerned about possible engine damage if the vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where the vehicle was purchased and the contact was informed that the vehicle would be repaired under warranty. The warranty company declined to authorize the repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

- Bufallo, NY, USA

problem #10

Jun 062020

Suburban

  • 140,710 miles
When decelerating getting off of the highway 6/6/2020 the vehicle engine revved up on it's own. The message center is saying that the airbags need to be serviced, the air conditioning turns on and off and goes from high to low on it's own, and the power windows in the second row of seating will roll down but can only be rolled up at times by the drivers side window controls. The brake grading system turns on at random times and the tire sensor reading displays are off. The tire sensor readings are the opposite of what they appear to be on the message center (ie. The message center says that the left rear tire is low, but the right rear tire is actually low. Lastly, despite regular timely recommended oil changes one of my lifters in my engine broke off on the way home from work one day last year. I was stopped at a light and went to accelerate and the check engine light came on and the vehicle started shaking. I pulled over and had to have the vehicle towed to an autoshop. The entire engine had to be replaced and it was just a month outside of the factory warranty. So we had to pay out of pocket for the entire cost of the repair. This truck has been one hazard after another since we purchased it.

- Saint Louis, MO, USA

problem #9

Feb 242020

Suburban 8-cyl

  • 119,300 miles
I had driven my vehicle to work. Mid-morning I started my vehicle while in the parking lot of my work to run an errand. I backed out of the parking space and drove maybe 100 feet when my check engine light came on. My vehicle also began considerably shaking. I went straight to my mechanic. He found that one of the lifters had failed. This was not the first time he had seen this problem. My mechanic has a friend who works for a GM dealership as a mechanic. The friend had previously advised my mechanic this is a known problem with this engine. If a lifter fails while the engine is still under warranty, only the one failed lifter is replaced although it is known they will all fail at some point. GM has not acknowledged this problem to the public and they will not issue a recall or correct the problem. I ended up replacing all lifters since my mechanic had already removed the engine and we knew at some point all lifters would have to be replaced. (note: I was only able to upload page 1 of the invoice below).

- San Mateo, CA, USA

problem #8

Aug 262019

Suburban

  • 110,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Brakes light anti-lock/skid E-brake keeps activating, but does not show up as a code or problem. Intermittent code P015B and P015D at the shop sometimes this code does not appear or at different shop code is active. Brake light comes on when stationary and stays on. P code occurs when in motion. I have a syncup drive on my vehicle so I get the P codes, brake code never comes up same when at the shop

- Selma, TX, USA

problem #7

Nov 152018

Suburban

  • 135,000 miles
The engine started knocking very loudly. We brought it to our local mechanic and were told that it needed a new engine. He also said many 2013 Suburban engines had been needed to be replaced due to poor metal used in the manufacturing process

- Verdigre, NE, USA

problem #6

Jul 162018

Suburban

  • miles
Paint flakes leaving vehicle looking cheap transmission burnt in 5 yrs even though proper precautions was taken to ensure no failure door trimming made out of plastic handle for using for in and out unmoveable until repairs to transmission is done

- Douglasville, GA, USA

problem #5

Sep 162017

Suburban

  • 44,000 miles
Engine died on highway lost all power and no steering. Was told by dealer it was a bad neg battery cable. It is shocking that a bad battery cable can cause a deadly situation. Certainly someone will die from this defect if they havent already. Dealer claimed to repair the vehicle and it happened only a few miles after I picked up the vehicle. Error code was P0601. They have the car for repair again, but I refuse to every drive the death trap. I have had 20 Suburban and I hope this is an isolated defect not one that affects all Suburban. This defect is extremely dangerous. Someone will certainly die from this defect.

- Ft Lauderdale, FL, USA

problem #4

Jan 262016

Suburban

  • 55,700 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

2013 Chevrolet Suburban have an electrical and transmission clunking problem for the past 2 years, and GMC don't want to do anything about it. Krystal dealership in brooklyn, NY and manfredi dealership in staten island, NY, have no customer service what's so ever

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

problem #3

Jun 012017

Suburban

  • 100,000 miles
Exhaust manifold bolt head fell off

- Billings, NY, USA

problem #2

Oct 012014

Suburban

  • miles
My vehicle is only 2 years old. At approximately 85000 miles on a car that is properly maintained it suddenly started to burn out spark plugs. After numerous spark plug burn outs and service appointments I was told that the engine is damaged because the number 1 cylinder was cracked and opening the engine was the only way to confirm how significant the issue was. As the cost and remedy was unknown and longterm fix seemed unfavorable to me, I took the option to replace the engine. I have tried to get to a resolution with GM but got absolutely nowhere. I am in a network of owners of these vehicles and a significant amount of drivers are experiencing the same issue. Some GM service stations have also mentioned that the issue was not corrected until the 2015 model year. This tells me that GM is aware of the issue and has chosen to do absolutely nothing to assist customers with this unacceptable issue. Overview of the many issues: Excessive oil usage spark plugs burning out or failing sluggish engine clicking noise in engine prior to fixing the engine, I spent approximately $1500 in repairs and lost wages as I use the vehicle for work.

- Randolph, MA, USA

problem #1

May 222015

Suburban

  • 32,000 miles
Traveling in the right lane of a four lane highway. Maneuvered into the left lane and accelerated under full throttle to pass another vehicle. After moving back into the right hand lane and releasing the accelerator pedal the vehicle continued to accelerate. Depressed accelerator pedal several times through its full range of motion to ensure that it was operating freely but that resulted in no change. Vehicle did not respond to accelerator pedal input changed. Seemed to be stuck at wide open throttle. Applied full brake pressure as hard as possible to slow vehicle as it continued to try to accelerate. Brakes began to get hot and brake fade was imminent. Shifted transmission selector up into the neutral position. Engine momentarily overran to the rev limiter and then settled at 4000 RPM. Continued to apply brakes to a stop while in neutral. After being stopped for approximately 30 seconds the engine slowed to normal idle speed. Throttle seemed to actuate normally again. Shifted transmission to drive and proceeded to the dealer. Approximately 30 seconds later the dash indicator "grade braking on" appeared in the mfd and then disappeared. I was traveling on flat ground at approx. 20 mph and not depressing the brake pedal. I confirmed that the tow/haul mode was not selected on the transmission. Proceeded to dealership and awaiting repair notes.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

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