The 1990 Chevrolet Suburban has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 2,648,451 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 67 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the seats. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
SEATS93V1870001993-11-16604,207 affected
Defect
THE RECLINER MECHANISM AND THE SEAT FRAME MAY HAVE FOAM AND/OR VINYL BETWEEN THEM, CREATING A "SOFT" JOINT. THIS "SOFT" JOINT RESULTS IN LOWER THAN SPECIFIED BOLT TORQUE WHICH LEADS TO JOINT LOOSENESS, CAUSING BOLT FATIGUE AND EVENTUAL BOLT FAILURE.
Consequence
IF BOLT FAILURE OCCURS TO THE DRIVER'S SEAT, IT WOULDALLOW THE SEAT BACK TO SUDDENLY RECLINE, AND COULD RESULT IN LOSS OF VEHICLECONTROL AND A VEHICLE CRASH WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL REMOVE THE FOAM AND/OR VINYL FROM BETWEEN THE RECLINER MECHANISM AND THE SEAT FRAME "SOFT" JOINT AND REPLACE THE RECLINER BOLTS.
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC93V1190001993-08-02341,364 affected
Defect
SEVERE CORROSION DUE TO ROAD SALT AT THE JOINT OF THE STAMPED STEEL CENTER SECTION AND THE CAST OUTER SECTION CAN CAUSE THE SECTIONS TO SEPARATE.
Consequence
SEPARATION OF THE ROTOR SECTIONS CAN CAUSE LOSS OFBRAKING ABILITY IN THE AFFECTED WHEEL. THIS COULD RESULT IN INCREASED STOPPINGDISTANCE AND/OR LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL AND AN ACCIDENT.
Remedy
REPLACE THE FRONT BRAKE ROTORS WITH NEW ROTORS WITH A CORROSION PROTECTION COATING. HOWEVER, IF REPLACEMENT OF BRAKE LININGS ARE NECESSARY, IT WILL BE DONE AT OWNER'S EXPENSE SINCE BRAKE LININGS ARE NORMAL MAINTENANCE ITEMS.
POWER TRAIN93V0160001993-02-011,702,880 affected
Defect
UNANTICIPATED HEAT IN THE TRANSMISSION CAN FORCE THE TRANSMISSION FLUID OUT OF THE VENT TUBE.
Consequence
THE VENTED TRANSMISSION FLUID CAN CATCH FIRE IF EXPOSEDTO A SOURCE OF IGNITION.
Remedy
INSTALL A LONGER TRANSMISSION VENT HOSE ROUTED TO THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT OF THE VEHICLE.
Complaints by component
SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:RECLINER
10
1crashes
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Consumer stated vehicle was vibrating, vehicle was taken into shop and consumer was informed that tires were separating, which were replaced at the consumer expense after being told that they were not apart of any recall, the tires that consumer purchased, however were on recall, consumer has been…”
“Consumer stated vehicle was vibrating, vehicle was taken into shop and consumer was informed that tires were separating, which were replaced at the consumer expense after being told that they were not apart of any recall, the tires that consumer purchased, however were on recall, consumer has been…”
“Consumer took vehicle in to have tires balanced due to vibration and was advised tires were separating, consumer was informed that these tires were not part of any recall, so consumer purchased four new tires, 2 weeks later consumer reports indicated that the tires were on recall, so consumer…”
“The left rear tire blew out on I 95 while traveling at approx. 70 mph. This caused the truck to sway back and forth from the left lane then back into the right lane several times. I was lucky that nobody was beside me at the time. When I pulled off the road I saw that the whole tread was gone off…”
“Pe00 020; consumer was traveling 65mph on highway and heard a noise, tread was flapping up against inner fender well. He was able to pull over to the shoulder , and noticed that the driver's side rear tire tread separated. The tire firestone, steel tex, lt23585r16, dot vn0rtxk127. Dealership was…”
“Pe 00 020/trie tread separation: while traveling at highway speed of 60 mph, right rear tire experienced a tread separation on a 1990 chevrolet suburban, aftermarket equipment; p235/75r15; dot# unavailable. Driver / two passengers involved, no injury reported. Please feel free to provide any…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationEA94029 Opened 1994-07-29 · closed 1996-07-31
ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES
AN ALLEGED MALFUNCTION IN THE ATLERNATOR RESULTING IN ENGINE COMPARTMET FIRES.
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1990 Chevrolet Suburban as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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