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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
38,234 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.

2008 Chevrolet Tahoe accessories - exterior problems

accessories - exterior problem

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2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Owner Comments (Page 1 of 3)

problem #56

Sep 172014

Tahoe

  • 103,000 miles

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

Passenger side door lock started having problems. Would work occasionally. Now, it won't work at all. Has to be manually pulled up to unlock and pushed down to lock. I noticed over 450 complaints from others about the actuators going out on theirs too. Seems to be a problem.

- Washington, KS, USA

problem #55

Oct 012010

Tahoe 8-cyl

  • miles
A few years ago all three door locks went at the same time on my 2008 Tahoe. I told my dealer this seems very unusual. Asked if there is a recall and he shrugged his shoulders. I am not sure of the exact date other than to tell you it was a few years ago. A few months ago left blinker wont work. Took to dealer again. Said to bring it back as they needed more time to work on it and think I needed an entire new fuse box. Saturday Oct. 5, 2013 headlights came on while parked in parking lot. Next day it was totally dead. Tried charging it and headlights came on and would not shut off. Had to disconnect fuses and battery. Weird messages keep popping up on dashboard such as check tire pressure. It will say rear but actually it is the front. Sometimes it isn't any tire that is low. Called Chevy customer service and asked why there is no recall and they said it is your responsibility to do so. I researched edmunds.com and found 454 messages from people who have the same electrical problems. Chevy said to contact you.

- Sweet Valley, PA, USA

problem #54

Jul 012011

Tahoe 8-cyl

  • 18,000 miles
Rear passenger door electric lock actuator failed resulting in no way to open the door without manually unlocking it from the inside. In the even of an emergency, there would be no way to open the door from outside of the vehicle or from the lock switch on the driver door. In addition, there is no key lock on this door from the outside. I have learned that this is a very common problem on 2008 Chevrolet, which has cost consumers a huge amount of money in addition to subjecting them to serious safety concerns. I was the victim of a theft when a passenger did not manually lock the door and several days later when I was parked in a parking garage someone entered my vehicle and stole personal property. This would not have occurred if the lock actuator had functioned properly and locked the door when I locked the others. To date, Chevrolet has acknowledged this issue but refused to do anything to correct it without an approximate charge of $300 - $400 per door.

- Brooklandville, MD, USA

problem #53

Jun 142013

Tahoe

  • 52,000 miles

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

Power locks are failing for second time after replacing. The actuators do not last over 2 years. Each door costs $300 to repair. There are thousands of posts on the internet with this problem in multiple models and years. This needs to be a recall.

- Trophy Club, TX, USA

problem #52

Dec 012008

Tahoe 8-cyl

  • 0 miles
This is the 3rd time this happens to my vehicle and I get it repaired. When I got my Tahoe with 0 miles it already had this problem and I had it fixed, I thought no big deal of it. Then with time I find out it is a common problem with my vehicle. I did some research and this is a very common and pricey problem. The door locks on my Tahoe go out, they don't go up or down automatically and this is an issue to me because I have children in the back with an unlocked car. Three of my doors are currently out and I don't have $940 to fix it. My passengers are not safe because the door locks are a major problem. Please help us out!

- Olathe, KS, USA

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problem #51

May 132013

Tahoe 8-cyl

  • 47,000 miles
The locking mechanism on my Chevy Tahoe 2008 ltz no longer works on the drivers door, drivers side passenger door and right side passenger door. The electronic lock/unlock door mechanism no longer locks or unlocks the doors as well as the key remote no longer locks or unlocks the doors. The drivers side passengers door handle came loose and had to be replaced. This vehicle has only 47,000 miles. This is with no doubt is a safety issue.

- New Berlin, WI, USA

problem #50

Oct 012012

Tahoe 8-cyl

  • 85,000 miles

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

The door locks have gone out on my 2008 Tahoe approximately 6 months ago. Our children cannot open the doors to get in our out of the vehicle. The only door that will currently work is the driver door, which only works with the key. The Tahoe has a factor installed alarm system / key fob system, and does not control the doors to lock or unlock. You have to use the key to unlock the driver door, then manually open the passenger and rear doors from the inside, as well as manually lock them from the driver side.

- Port Arthur, TX, USA

problem #49

Mar 092013

Tahoe

  • 45,000 miles
The locking mechanism on my Chevy Tahoe 2008 ltz no longer works on the passenger side door. The electronic lock/unlock door mechanism no longer locks or unlocks the passenger door as well as the key remote no longer locks or unlocks the front passenger door. It sounds like from reading the other numerous complaints regarding this issue I can expect the rest of the door locks to quit operating at some point. This is obviously a real safety concern.

- Union, KY, USA

problem #48

Feb 202013

Tahoe

  • 65,289 miles
The company I work for purchased four 2008 Tahoe new. All have had door lock problems. Mine just happened on both driver side doors and it cost $741 to have fixed today at Chevy dealer. I believe the other 3 Tahoe were under warranty at the time, but not sure. The Tahoe I drive was not under warranty. As others have said, you cannot unlock the rear doors since there is no key, and the manual button is not near the pillars so you cant reach it from the front doors. Its a bad situation if you needed to access the rear doors.

- Enid, OK, USA

problem #47

Dec 272011

Tahoe 8-cyl

  • 34,230 miles
I have taken my 2008 Tahoe ltz to the GMC dealership multiple times to repair the door locks / outer door handles. I have had two of the door locks replaced because they will not unlock when I hit the unlock button on the doors or the key fob. This is a major defect in this vehicle. It is a safety conern because I have a small child and I am afraid if I were to have an accident and I try to unlock the doors they will fail and I will be unable to get my child out without crawling over the front seats to manually unlock the lock. The same with the outer door handles breaking. I have had two of those replaced. I had to crawl over the passenger seat at one point to be able to get in the vehicle until I could get it to the dealership. I have searched the internet and see there are several complaints about these issues, yet there are no recalls. Please help us.

- Columbus, GA, USA

problem #46

Dec 082011

Tahoe

  • 30,000 miles

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

Failure of all four power door locks on my 2008 Tahoe. At almost exactly 3 years and 30,000 miles of ownership, the door locks of my, purchased new, 2008 Tahoe ltz began to fail. All four locks failed within 12 months of each other. The vehicle had less than 40,000 miles and four years of service at the last and final (4th) failure. Concern: (#1) there is only one manual keyed entry located on the vehicle which is the drivers door. In the event of an emergency and total electronic lock failure, the only passenger door access would be through the drivers door utilizing the key and manual lock/unlock feature. If the manual lock were to also fail, there would be no way to gain access to the vehicle through any of the four passenger doors. Restricted access to the vehicle could cost the life of a child, adult passenger or pet trapped in the vehicle. The system could be designed safer with a redundant manual lock located on another door. Additionally, the electronic locking mechanisms currently installed are inadequate and unsafe. The common failure of these systems eliminates the argument of electronic redundancy for the system since the installed product is faulty and unreliable. Why should we be forced to accept these unsafe products/designs on our vehicles? concern: (#2) the cost of replacing a lock has been quoted between $250 to $450 per lock from different facilities. The pricing may influence a generally safe mined person to postpone a repair which impacts the redundancy feature of the electronic system. Note: These locks typically begin to fail immediately after the warranty expires. And, GM corporation is unwilling to help with the cost and wasted time to deal with the issue. Further investigation by the NHTSA is warranted and I feel a recall should be mandated.

- Anchorage, AK, USA

problem #45

Jan 252013

Tahoe

  • 70,000 miles
To whom it may concern; I am writing because we have problems with the door locks on our 2008 Chevy Tahoe. We have had a problem with the door locks in the past as we have had to literally climb out of the window to get out of the vehicle. It happened while on a boat ramp so it was an incredibly memorable event. We have been experiencing problems with the door locks again and took the vehicle to the Chevy service this morning. Their customer service rep called us to let us know that all 4 door locks needed to be replaced. The charges are $350 for the front doors and $250 for the back doors. Needless to say we are not happy about having to pay for any additional door lock work on this vehicle. The vehicle has only 70,000 miles. This problem is huge considering that you can not get out of the car once a lock completely fails in that you have to climb out of the window to get out of the car. We request that a recall be initiated as soon as possible.

- Clayton, NC, USA

problem #44

Jul 232008

Tahoe

  • 8,500 miles
I currently own a 2008 Chevy Tahoe. Today 1-17-13, I had to have the power door lock actuator replaced for the 5th time on this vehicle. Every door has been affected at least once with today being the right rear door having to be replaced for a second time. From what I have read numerous times online, this seems to be a recurring problem for the GM SUV products starting with the 2007 model years. GM has yet to address this issue with a recall, however I feel as well as many other owners of these vehicles that this could cause a serious issue if the vehicle is hit from the side or a water related accident occurred with the vehicle being submerged and not being able to get out. 1 or 2 instances in a 4.5 year period I could understand but 5 in a 4.5 year period involving every door is not a coincidence. The replacement cost is well in excess of $200 and as such I can understand why GM would be reluctant to act. Does it have to take a death or 2 for GM to realize that this is a serious issue and needs to be addressed. If you build a vehicle such as this and charge in excess of $50,000, then I as the purchaser have every reason to expect that these types of issues would be resolved by using quality parts and not junk. Please investigate this issue and you will find a whole lot of customers of these products who are highly upset and want something done to resolve this serious issue. Thank you.

- Carnegie, PA, USA

problem #43

Nov 292012

Tahoe

  • 47,950 miles
Drivers door and back hatch will bounce back open and not catch and then the door lock will not unlock to open the door by remote, door panel lock or by hand trapping person in the vehicle. Spoke to GM, they know this is an issue but unwilling at this time to put out a bulletin or recall.

- Vancouver, WA, USA

problem #42

Jul 132012

Tahoe 8-cyl

  • 87,331 miles
After vacating the car through the front driver's side door, the electric door locks on the rear doors did not operate while my grandchildren were in the Tahoe. The doors would not unlock either with the fob or the electric switch in the Tahoe. This incident was very scary and could have been serious. Fortunately, I was able to reenter the Tahoe through driver's door, start the car, lower the rear windows, manually unlock the doors, and remove my grandchildren. Had this been an emergency, serious problems could have occurred. As a result of this problem, which has recurred many times, I am not willing to drive with my grandchildren in the Tahoe, unless an adult is available to accompany them in the rear seat.

- Springfield, MA, USA

problem #41

Nov 052012

Tahoe

  • 52,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated the front passenger and rear passenger interior power doors would not unlock upon engaging. The passenger seated in the front or rear exited the vehicle through the driver's side door. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the vehicle was being repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 52,000.

- Gillette , WY, USA

problem #40

Apr 142009

Tahoe

  • 8,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that while parked the driver was unable to enter the vehicle since he was unable to lock or unlock the doors. On several occasions the back door of the vehicle had to be used to enter and/or exit the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician stated the door lock actuator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 8,000 and the current mileage was 29,713.

- Cadillac, MI, USA

problem #39

May 312011

Tahoe

  • 35,518 miles
5/31/2011 driver door lock actuator failed, door would and alarm would not set. Fixed under warranty. Rear left and front right failed within a year. Both were replaced at no charge out of warranty at 45000 miles, approx. October 23 2012, rear right lock actuator failed. Not sure how long it was not working, but the vehicle was parked and driven with the door unlocked, unknown to me. I find this to be a very unsafe condition, and with the number of complaints on this issue I'm surprised no injuries have been reported. Thefts, kids opening moving vehicle door, carjacking are all things that come to mind. Why is there no recall? clearly a safety issue, and not isolated to just a few vehicles.

- Cape Coral, FL, USA

problem #38

Aug 102012

Tahoe 8-cyl

  • miles
1. there were no significant events leading up to this. 2. the locks on the doors to not automatically unlock and lock. The actuator is failing. Happens approx. Every 2 years. This is on a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe. 3. actuator must be replaced at the cost of the vehicle owner.

- Dallas, TX, USA

problem #37

Aug 222011

Tahoe 4WD 8-cyl

  • 60,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that the driver and passenger side windows and door locks malfunctioned. The contact stated that she was unable to open or close the windows and the locks failed to unlock. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000. Updated 10/23/2012

- Pownal, ME, USA

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