2016 Chevrolet Suburban reliability

Is it reliable?

Owners have filed 0 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Chevrolet Suburban over 11 years — 0 per year. The other Suburban years sit at about the same rate: their median is 0 complaints per year. NHTSA has 6 recalls on file, including Wheel speed sensor, Vacuum, and Frontal.

2012 Chevrolet Suburban — Photo by Artaxerxes, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0

Complaints

Per year

Recalls

Years on the road

Next to 2015 and 2017

The 2015 Suburban has 0 complaints, 0 per year, and the 2017 has 0 complaints, 0 per year. The 2016 has about the same number of complaints per year as the 2015. The 2016 has about the same number of complaints per year as the 2017.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2016 Chevrolet Suburban. How we count. Data as of 2026-10-16.

Recalls (6)

Recall hydraulic brakes, antilock and traction control, wheel speed sensor 2019-10-24 · NHTSA campaign 19V761000

Summary 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.

Remedy 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.

Recall hydraulic brakes, power assist, vacuum 2019-09-06 · NHTSA campaign 19V645000

Summary 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.

Remedy 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.

Recall air bags, frontal 2017-07-10 · NHTSA campaign 17V437000

Summary 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) 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.

Remedy 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.

Recall visibility, rearview mirrors, exterior 2017-01-12 · NHTSA campaign 17V033000

Summary 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."

Remedy 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.

Recall air bags, frontal 2016-09-08 · NHTSA campaign 16V651000

Summary 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.

Remedy 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.

Recall suspension, front, control arm 2016-04-28 · NHTSA campaign 16V256000

Summary 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.

Remedy 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.

Complaints by component (0 total)

No complaints on file with NHTSA for this model year.

NHTSA crash ratings

Version	Overall	Front	Side	Rollover
2016 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 SUV 4WD	4 stars	4 stars	5 stars	3 stars
2016 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 SUV RWD	4 stars	4 stars	5 stars	3 stars

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim	Engine	Transmission	Drive	City	Hwy	Combined	Annual fuel cost
Suburban C1500 two-wheel drive	5.3L, 8-cyl	Automatic 6-speed	Rear-wheel drive	16	23	18 MPG	$3600
Suburban C1500 two-wheel drive	5.3L, 8-cyl	Automatic 6-speed	Rear-wheel drive	16	23	19 MPG	$3400
Suburban K1500 four-wheel drive	5.3L, 8-cyl	Automatic 6-speed	Four-wheel drive	15	22	18 MPG	$3600
Suburban K1500 four-wheel drive	5.3L, 8-cyl	Automatic 6-speed	Four-wheel drive	15	22	18 MPG	$3600

Specs and fitment

12th generation, 2015–2020

Body styles SUV

Oil 0W-20 (5.3L and 6.2L V8; dexos1) , 8 qt capacity

Tire size 265/65R18 to 285/45R22 (trim-dependent)

Known issues for this generation

Recall 19V-645 covers certain 2015-2018 Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe vehicles among other GM full-size SUVs and trucks: vacuum from the mechanical vacuum pump can decrease over time, reducing power brake assist. Dealers reprogram the electronic brake control module. Recall 19V-761 covers certain 2015-2020 Suburban and Tahoe vehicles for ABS pump software that may disable electronic stability control or cause loss of engine power; dealers update the ABS module software.

Compare

Previous year 2015 Chevrolet Suburban Next year 2017 Chevrolet Suburban See every Chevrolet Suburban model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2016 Chevrolet Suburban reliable?

Is the 2016 Chevrolet Suburban more reliable than the years next to it?

Has the 2016 Chevrolet Suburban been recalled?

The 2016 Chevrolet Suburban has 6 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2016 Chevrolet Suburban?

Owners have filed 0 complaints about the 2016 Chevrolet Suburban with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2016 Chevrolet Suburban get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2016 Chevrolet Suburban is 18.3 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

How is the Chevrolet Suburban related to the Tahoe?

They share the same GMT platform each model year; Suburban adds a longer wheelbase and more cargo space behind the third row.

What engine oil does a Chevrolet Suburban use?

2012-2014 models commonly use dexos1 5W-30; later generations commonly use 0W-20 on 5.3L/6.2L (and Duramax where equipped).

What vacuum-pump brake recall covers certain 2015-2018 Suburbans?

Recall 19V-645 covers certain 2015-2018 Suburban and Tahoe vehicles among other GM full-size SUVs/trucks where vacuum from the mechanical vacuum pump can decrease over time.