Model Years

2010 Chevrolet Suburban Recalls and Problems

NHTSA lists 3 safety recalls and 175 owner complaints for the 2010 Chevrolet Suburban. It has 1 open investigation that names this model year.

Recalled components: air bags. Most-described problems: loss of power or limp mode and the airbag warning light or an airbag fault (9 complaints, 5% each). Most-reported area: air bags (76 complaints, 43%; median mileage when it happened: 86,000).

Fewer complaints than a typical Suburban year

The 2010 drew 15 owner complaints in its first three years, against about 32 for a typical Suburban year. Best years are picked only from 2016 on, since counts for older years say less: owners filed fewer complaints in the early 2010s.

Years to avoid: 2015 and 2023. Based on owner complaints, not adjusted for sales.

Every Suburban year ranked

3Safety recalls
175Owner complaints
1Complaints citing a crash
1Complaints citing a fire

Opens NHTSA's lookup in a new tab; your VIN goes to NHTSA, not to us. The VIN is on the driver's side dashboard, the door jamb and your registration. Safety recall repairs are free at Chevrolet dealers for vehicles up to 15 years old from first sale.

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Data: NHTSA recall, complaint and investigation filesUpdated Oct 2, 2026

3 safety recalls for the 2010 Chevrolet Suburban

Newest first. Summaries are NHTSA's own wording. Open a recall for the fix and the full notice.

Air bags

Feb 5, 2021

frontal · passenger side · inflator module

Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2007-2008 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." These vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger frontal inflators containing phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.

Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.

The fix and full notice

Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 22, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on March 1, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328760.

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2007-2011 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, Yukon XL, and 2009-2011 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, GMC Sierra 2500 and Sierra 3500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A."

NHTSA listing: SUBURBAN. Chevrolet campaign N212328760.

Air bags

Feb 5, 2021

frontal · passenger side · inflator module

Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2010 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2009 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C."

Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.

The fix and full notice

Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 24, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 11, 2021. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328790.

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2013 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A."

NHTSA listing: SUBURBAN. Chevrolet campaign N212328790.

Air bags

Feb 5, 2021

frontal · passenger side · inflator module

Additionally GM is recalling certain 2011-2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, Yukon XL and 2011-2013 Cadillac Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of AZ, AR, DE, DC, IL, IN, KS, KY, MD, MO, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NC, OH, OK, PA, TN, VA, and WV or "Zone B." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2010-2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL and 2010-2013 Cadillac Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of AK, CO, CT, ID, IA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MT, NH, NY, ND, OR, RI, SD, UT, VT, WA, WI, and WY or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger frontal inflators containing phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.

Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.

The fix and full notice

Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 25, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed to 40 VIN owners on May 11, 2021. A second owner notification letter was mailed to all other owners on January 24, 2022. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328800.

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of AL, CA, FL, GA, HI, LA, MS, SC, TX, PR, AS, GU, the MP, and VI or "Zone A."

NHTSA listing: SUBURBAN. Chevrolet campaign N212328800.

Questions about any of these recalls: call NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 (TTY 888-275-9171) or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

NHTSA also lists 1 equipment recall for parts sold for this vehicle, not the vehicle itself: Equipment (MARATHON SEAT COVERS, INC., 10E-043).

NHTSA investigations

NHTSA has opened 1 investigation that names the 2010 Chevrolet Suburban; it is still open. An investigation means NHTSA is reviewing reports of a problem. It is not a finding that the vehicle has a defect.

Desiccated air bag inflator rupture

Engineering analysis EA21002Open since Sep 17, 2021

From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant - propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L.

NHTSA listing: SUBURBAN. Component: Air bags (frontal, driver side, inflator module, passenger side). This investigation names 352 models.

An engineering analysis is a deeper review, usually opened after a preliminary evaluation. NHTSA lists investigations by make, model and model year only, so one can apply to only some versions of a model, such as one engine; its summary says which.

What owners report

Owners have filed 175 complaints with NHTSA about the 2010 Suburban. Below, they are sorted by the problems owners describe and by the areas NHTSA files them under. NHTSA does not verify complaints.

Problems owners describe

Counted from the complaint text: a complaint counts once for each problem it describes (how we match them). Some complaints describe none of these. Compare other models in the problem owners report most for every model year.

Areas named in complaints

A complaint can name more than one area, so shares add up to more than 100%. Mileage is shown where at least 15 owners reported it.

Chevrolet Suburban recalls and complaints by model year

The highlighted bars are the 2010 model year. Newer model years have had less time on the road, so their counts are lower. Counting complaints filed in each model year's first three years, the 2015 Suburban drew the most (104) and the 2010 drew 15.

Owner complaints

2010: 175 complaints

Show as a table
Owner complaints by model year, Chevrolet Suburban
Model yearComplaints
2010175
2011235
2012101
2013118
201459
2015429
2016220
2017141
201881
201978
202044
2021199
2022124
2023142
202442
202530
202615

Safety recalls

2010: 3 recalls

Show as a table
Safety recalls by model year, Chevrolet Suburban
Model yearRecalls
20103
20115
20124
20134
20143
201511
20166
20175
20184
20193
20204
202112
20224
20234
20242
20251
20263

Crash test ratings

NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings for each version it tested. Rollover risk is NHTSA's estimate of the chance of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.

Tested versionOverallFrontalSideRollover
Chevrolet Suburban 1500 4-DR. w/SAB
Rollover risk 23.7%
Not ratedNot ratedNot rated
Chevrolet Suburban 2500 4-DR. w/SAB
Not ratedNot ratedNot ratedNot rated

2010 Suburban MPG

EPA rates the 2010 Chevrolet Suburban up to 17 mpg combined.Every version and fuel cost

Questions

What are the most common 2010 Suburban problems?

In the 175 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2010 Chevrolet Suburban, the problems described most are loss of power or limp mode (9), the airbag warning light or an airbag fault (9), and shaking, shuddering or vibration (6). NHTSA does not verify complaints, and one complaint can describe several problems.

Is NHTSA investigating the 2010 Chevrolet Suburban?

Yes. NHTSA has 1 open investigation that names the 2010 Chevrolet Suburban: desiccated air bag inflator rupture (EA21002, opened Sep 17, 2021). An investigation is not a finding that the vehicle has a defect.

How do I check if my Suburban has an open recall?

Enter the 17-character VIN from your dashboard, door jamb or registration at nhtsa.gov/recalls. The lookup lists unrepaired recalls for that exact vehicle. Safety recall repairs are free at Chevrolet dealers for vehicles up to 15 years old from first sale.

Sources and method

  • NHTSA recalls file (NHTSA datasets), dated Oct 2, 2026; every campaign checked against NHTSA's recalls API.
  • NHTSA owner complaints file, dated Oct 2, 2026. Counted by complaint number, so a complaint naming three components counts once in the total.
  • NHTSA investigations file, dated Oct 2, 2026. Defect petitions, which ask NHTSA to open an investigation, are listed apart and only while open. Audit queries, which check whether a company met its recall and reporting duties rather than whether a vehicle has a problem, are not listed.
  • NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings (NCAP).
  • NHTSA model names covered: SUBURBAN, SUBURBAN 1500, SUBURBAN 2500.

Complaint counts are unverified owner reports. They rise with sales volume and time on the road, so compare model years with care. How we build these pages. Spotted an error? Tell us.