2016 Chevrolet Suburban
Gas Midsize / large SUV
The 2016 Chevrolet Suburban is sold in the U.S. as a gas midsize or large SUV with 4 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Suburban C1500 2WD, is EPA-rated at 19 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 6 recall campaigns for this model year, 1 rated critical, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of F. Owners have filed 219 complaints, most often about service brakes. NHTSA crash-tested it at 4 stars overall.
Specs & fuel economy (EPA)
| Configuration | Powertrain | Drive | Engine / motor | City | Hwy | Comb | Annual fuel* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suburban C1500 2WD | Gas | RWD | 5.3L 8-cyl | 16 | 23 | 19 | $3,300 |
| Suburban C1500 2WD | Gas | RWD | 5.3L 8-cyl | 16 | 23 | 18 | $3,450 |
| Suburban K1500 4WD | Gas | 4WD | 5.3L 8-cyl | 15 | 22 | 18 | $3,450 |
| Suburban K1500 4WD | Gas | 4WD | 5.3L 8-cyl | 15 | 22 | 18 | $3,450 |
*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year and EPA reference fuel/electricity prices. Source: fueleconomy.gov vehicle records.
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Recalls (6)
Electronic Stability Control (Esc)
highProblem: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2020 Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, and GMC Yukon, and 2014-2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles equipped with a 5.3-liter engine, a 3.08-ratio rear axle and four-wheel drive. If a wheel-speed sensor fails, while the vehicle is traveling between 41 and 60 mph in four-wheel or automatic mode, the Electronic-Brake Control Module (EBCM) software may activate the driveline-protection system.
Risk: Unintended activation of the driveline-protection system will cause unintended braking on the wheel on the opposite side of the failed sensor, causing the vehicle to pull to one side unexpectedly, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the EBCM, free of charge. The recall began December 11, 2019. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-630-2438 or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N192261050.
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
highProblem: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Cadillac Escalade, 2014-2018 Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, 2015-2018 Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon vehicles. The amount of vacuum created by the vacuum pump may decrease over time.
Risk: As the vacuum level drops, the brake assist decreases, increasing braking effort, extending the distance required to stop the vehicle, thereby increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the Electronic Brake Control Module, free of charge. The recall began October 8, 2019. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-630-2438, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006 or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N192268490.
Air Bags
highProblem: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse and Chevrolet Spark EV, Caprice PPV and SS vehicles, 2014-2017 Buick Encore and Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles, 2015-2016 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Tahoe, Trax, Suburban and Silverado 2500 and 3500 and GMC Yukon and Yukon XL vehicles, and 2015-2017 GMC Sierra HD 2500 and 3500 vehicles. While being previously remedied for recall 16V-651, the affected vehicles may not have received the complete software update necessary to remedy the recall condition. Without the update, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) softw
Risk: A failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on August 4, 2017. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 17287.
Visibility
highProblem: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2016-2017 Chevrolet Suburban HD vehicles. These vehicles were assembled with a convex right-hand outside mirror, instead of with a non-convex (flat) right-hand outside mirror. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rearview Mirrors."
Risk: If equipped with the incorrect right-side rear-view mirror, the driver may misjudge the distance of other vehicles, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the convex mirror with a non-convex mirror and provide a new page for the owner's manual with the customer notification letter, free of charge. The recall began February 7, 2017. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 17017.
Air Bags
highProblem: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015-2017 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD, 3500 HD, Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Sierra 2500 HD and 3500 HD, GMC Yukon, GMC Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade and Cadillac Escalade ESV vehicles and 2014-2017 Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500, Trax, Caprice Police Pursuit Vehicle, GMC Sierra 1500, Buick Encore, and 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse, Chevrolet Spark EV and SS vehicles. In the affected vehicles, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) software to activate a diagnostic test. During this test, deployment of the frontal air bags and the seat belt pretensioners would not occur in the event of a crash.
Risk: A failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on October 13, 2016. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 16007.
Suspension
criticalProblem: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and 2016 Cadillac Escalade, Cadillac Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Sierra, GMC Yukon and GMC Yukon XL vehicles. The front upper control arms may have inadequate welds near the control arm bushing.
Risk: Inadequate welds may allow the control arm to separate from the bushing, compromising steering and increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the left and right front upper control arms and realign the vehicle, free of charge. The recall began on May 18, 2016. Until the repairs have been made, owners are advised not to drive their vehicles. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 42190.
NHTSA investigations
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Power Assist:Vacuum — Brake Vacuum Pump Failure (closed)
On November 20, 2018, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened PE18-012 to investigate instances of sudden onset of a hard brake pedal that could result in extended stopping distance due to an issue with the brake assist vacuum pump in model year (MY) 2014 through 2016 GMC Sierra 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado 1500 series pickup trucks and MY 2015 through 2016 Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Tahoe, and GMC Yukon SUVs.If the brake assist vacuum pump fails to operate as intended, the amount of brake power assist supplied to the driver can be significantly reduced, extending the subject vehicle stopping distance. GM stated that the root cause of pump failures was due to
Opened Nov 20, 2018 · closed Apr 10, 2022 · action PE18012
Owner complaints
219 complaints filed
9 involved a crash, 1 a fire, 8 injuries, 0 deaths reported by owners.
Filed by year — 2016: 11 · 2017: 17 · 2018: 17 · 2019: 50 · 2020: 24 · 2021: 19 · 2022: 20 · 2023: 15 · 2024: 12 · 2025: 20 · 2026: 14
Most-cited components
- Service Brakes — 78
- Power Train — 45
- Engine — 27
- Unknown Or Other — 26
- Electrical System — 26
Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.
Crash ratings
| Configuration | Overall | Frontal | Side | Rollover | Rollover risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUV 4WD | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★☆☆ | 20% |
| SUV RWD | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★☆☆ | 21% |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program.
Other Suburban model years
2026 Suburban
3 recalls · 13 complaints
A2025 Suburban
1 recalls · 30 complaints
B2024 Suburban
2 recalls · 40 complaints
C2023 Suburban
4 recalls · 138 complaints
C2022 Suburban
4 recalls · 119 complaints
F2021 Suburban
12 recalls · 190 complaints
F2020 Suburban
4 recalls · 44 complaints
D2019 Suburban
3 recalls · 77 complaints
D2018 Suburban
4 recalls · 81 complaints
F2017 Suburban
5 recalls · 141 complaints
Sources & method
Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.
EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records (ids 36614, 36612, 36621, 36623). Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.