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.
Re: incident AE00013 - the airbag light came on intermitantly, took it to dealer, they couldn't find problem with it. About a mont later the Tahoe started intermitantly losing power when trying to accelerate, causing several near crashes. Took it again to the dealer that then determined the battery was leaking acid on to the airbag sensor. Had to replace the airbag sensor and battery. They charged over $700 to do so, including $89 labor just to install a new battery! about a week or so after that similar loss of power was occurring. Took Tahoe to a different chev dealer who the found alternator was now bad, which I suspect may be related to the ongoing bad battery problems.
I recently read of your investigation of Tahoe battery leakage. I think the problem is bigger than power failure. My brakes failed on the highway, and when I took the vehicle in for repair I was told that acid from the battery had leaked onto the brake line and destroyed it. All the fluid was lost. The brake line, right front hose and (of course) battery were replaced. Someone should tell GM that it is not too smart to put leaky batteries over a brake line. The vehicle has been (and still is) dealer maintained and serviced.
The battery leaked battery acid. The positive battery cable was corrodded by the acid and had to be replaced. Acid also leaked onto the inner fender and the brake line. The acid removed the paint from the fender which began to rust. The brake line appears corrodded but has not failed yet.
My battery failure was same as power failure that newspaper said NHTSA was investigating. I still have battery which will show why vehicle loses power. I also know of one more exact same failure with a Suburban which probably has'nt been reported. The cargo door hinges are another failure that GMC refuses to address and blames it on poor maintinence by the owner.
2 batteries have leaked, brakes have become "squeaky" shortly thereafter goth times. I saw an announcement in the NY times and felt I should give you yhis information
Original mfg's battery side terminals leaked with pressure and spewed acid out and down on other components of the engine compartment, including the rt sir deployment sensor, electrical wiring, brake lines, transmission cooling lines, and other items, with resultant corrosion. Dealer refused to fix, owner cleaned up best possible.
During routine maintainance I noticed positive terminal on the battery was leaking. Notified dealership and was told it was not covered. I replaced it with a sears battery and cleaned up to be best of my ability the leakage that occurred (which I was concerned could affect the braking, anti-lock system, and other components.) I was not happy with the response from the dealership, but I was not going to buy another battery that would leak, from the dealership. I noticed the article in the newspaper regarding this situation, recently, which has prompted my report. Thank you.
Consumer noticed white dust on driveway. Looked under hood and battery was leaking. Also, paint wa spealing off vehicle. Please provide further informaton.
Battery leaked acid onto the brakes, resulting in poor brake performance. Also leaked acid onto the air bag sensors. The dealer has repaired the vehicle. Manufacturer has been notified.
Onseptember 25, 1998, I was driving my 1995 Chevy Tahoe, SUV and had a complete brake failure, which almost caused a terrible accident. This was amazing in that on August 7, of that same year only a little over a month after the brakes had been serviced they failed. It was concluded that the battery had failed and leaked acid onto the brake lines causing them to fail and leakout the vital fluid. On 1/23/00 S.D.union/tribune carried an national a..P article saying the the ntsa was investgating this very problem in Tahoe/Yukon & Suburban
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Mclean, VA, USA