Chevrolet Tahoe Years to Avoid and the Best Years

Years to avoid: 2015, 2021, and 2023 At least twice the 45.5 complaints of a typical Tahoe year. Most described: brake failure (2015), loss of power (2021), engine failure (2023).
Best years: 2018 Under three quarters of the 45.5 complaints of a typical Tahoe year since 2016, with no open NHTSA investigation or do-not-drive or park-outside recall. The 2020 drew few complaints too, but its first three years fell in the pandemic, when people drove less. The 2017 and 2019 also drew few complaints, but each has a recall telling owners not to drive or to park outside until it is repaired.

Based on owner complaints filed with NHTSA in each model year's first three years, not adjusted for sales. The 2024 to 2026 models are too new to judge. See every year ranked

Data: US EPA and NHTSAUpdated Nov 11, 2026

Every model year since 2010 in one place: EPA fuel economy, NHTSA recalls, owner complaints and crash test ratings. The best fuel economy rating, 24 mpg combined, arrived in 2021 and has held since. Includes the 2010 to 2013 Tahoe Hybrid. Crash ratings for the Tahoe Police Pursuit Vehicle are left out. NHTSA files most of its recalls and complaints under the regular Tahoe name, so they appear here.

Tahoe problems by year, ranked by owner complaints

How the years are ranked

Model years ranked by owner complaints filed with NHTSA in their first three years (model year Y: filed by the end of Y+2), so every year is measured over the same time on the road. Years without three full years of data, and launch or final years with very few sold, are left out. Counts are not adjusted for how many were sold.

A typical Tahoe year drew 45.5 complaints in its first three years: the median of its years since 2016, higher than the median of all its ranked years (27.5). Years to avoid drew at least twice that, and at least 50. Best years are up to three years since 2016 with the fewest complaints, each under three quarters of a typical year since 2016 (45.5), with no open NHTSA investigation and no do-not-drive or park-outside recall that covers all versions; the 2020 is never picked, as its first three years fell in the pandemic. How the verdict works.

Model year	First 3 years	All complaints	Recalls
2015 Tahoe Avoid Most described: brake failure or a soft or hard pedal	150	659	14
2023 Tahoe Avoid Most described: engine failure or replacement	148	236	5
2021 Tahoe Avoid Most described: loss of power or limp mode	120	467	16
2022 Tahoe Most described: engine failure or replacement	67	198	4
2016 Tahoe Most described: brake failure or a soft or hard pedal	62	256	8
2017 Tahoe Most described: the check engine light coming on and transmission failure or replacement	29	175	4
2018 Tahoe Best Most described: the check engine light coming on, then loss of power or limp mode	28	106	3
2019 Tahoe Most described: fuel pump failures	27	109	2
2011 Tahoe Most reported: air bags	21	455	5
2013 Tahoe Most reported: body structure	18	233	4
2014 Tahoe Most described: shaking, shuddering or vibration	16	90	3
2020 Tahoe Most described: hesitation or slow acceleration and the check engine light coming on	12	58	3
2010 Tahoe Most reported: air bags	9	318	3
2012 Tahoe Most reported: air bags	7	179	3

Compare other models' worst years in the worst model years guide.

Check your Tahoe for open recalls

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.

How to check a car for recalls, step by step

Get a vehicle history report from EpicVIN (opens in a new tab): a paid report with the car's title, odometer and salvage records, from an approved NMVTIS data provider. Affiliate link: we earn a commission if you buy. If you typed a full VIN above, the link sends it to EpicVIN and opens its checkout page for that VIN. Check the price before you pay: EpicVIN's $1 trial lasts 3 days, then becomes a monthly subscription until you cancel ($49.99 to $99.99 a month on its pages as of Oct 2, 2026). Disclosure

Year by year

Model year	Best rating	Recalls	Complaints	Crash test
2026 MPG · Recalls and problems	24 mpg Diesel	3	30
2025 MPG · Recalls and problems	24 mpg Diesel	1	53
2024 MPG · Recalls and problems	24 mpg Diesel	3	69
2023 MPG · Recalls and problems	24 mpg Diesel	5	236
2022 MPG · Recalls and problems	24 mpg Diesel	4	198
2021 MPG · Recalls and problems	24 mpg Diesel	16	467
2020 MPG · Recalls and problems	18 mpg Gas	3	58
2019 MPG · Recalls and problems	18 mpg Gas	2	109
2018 MPG · Recalls and problems	19 mpg Gas	3	106
2017 MPG · Recalls and problems	19 mpg Gas	4	175
2016 MPG · Recalls and problems	19 mpg Gas	8	256
2015 MPG · Recalls and problems	18 mpg Gas	14	659
2014 MPG · Recalls and problems	17 mpg Gas	3	90
2013 MPG · Recalls and problems	21 mpg Hybrid	4	233
2012 MPG · Recalls and problems	21 mpg Hybrid	3	179
2011 MPG · Recalls and problems	21 mpg Hybrid	5	455
2010 MPG · Recalls and problems	22 mpg Hybrid	3	318	Not rated

Owner complaints by model year

All complaints filed so far. Counts rise with sales volume and with time on the road, so recent years look better than they may turn out. The highlighted bar is the model year with the most complaints in its first three years.

2015: 659 complaints

Show as a table

Owner complaints by model year, Chevrolet Tahoe
Model year	Complaints
2010	318
2011	455
2012	179
2013	233
2014	90
2015	659
2016	256
2017	175
2018	106
2019	109
2020	58
2021	467
2022	198
2023	236
2024	69
2025	53
2026	30

Best combined rating by model year

The best-rated version in each model year. Gas: 17 to 19 mpg (every year from 2010 to 2026); highest in 2016. Hybrid: 21 to 22 mpg (2010 to 2013); highest in 2010.

Best gas version
Best hybrid version

2026: gas 17 mpg · hybrid not offered

Show as a table

Chevrolet Tahoe best combined mpg by model year
Model year	Best gas version	Best hybrid version
2010	17	22
2011	17	21
2012	17	21
2013	17	21
2014	17	–
2015	18	–
2016	19	–
2017	19	–
2018	19	–
2019	18	–
2020	18	–
2021	18	–
2022	17	–
2023	17	–
2024	17	–
2025	17	–
2026	17	–

Every Tahoe year's ratings in one table

Comparisons

Questions

Which Chevrolet Tahoe years should you avoid?

The 2015, 2021, and 2023 Tahoe are the years to avoid: each drew at least twice the 45.5 owner complaints of a typical Tahoe year in its first three years. Owners of the 2015 most often describe brake failure. Complaints can't tell you whether a particular car is sound, so whatever the year, check its open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before you buy. Safety recall repairs are free at Chevrolet dealers for vehicles up to 15 years old from first sale.

What are the best Chevrolet Tahoe years?

The 2018 Tahoe is the best year: it drew 28 owner complaints in its first three years, under three quarters of the 45.5 complaints of a typical Tahoe year since 2016, and it has no open NHTSA investigation or recall telling owners not to drive or to park outside. The 2020 drew few complaints too, but its first three years fell in the pandemic, when people drove less. The 2017 and 2019 also drew few complaints, but each has a recall telling owners not to drive or to park outside until it is repaired. Only years since 2016 are considered, since owners filed fewer complaints in the early 2010s. The 2024, 2025, and 2026 are not ranked yet: they have had fewer than three full years on the road.

Which Chevrolet Tahoe years have the most problems?

Counting owner complaints filed with NHTSA in each model year's first three years, the 2015 (150) and 2023 (148) drew the most.

Which Chevrolet Tahoe years have the most recalls?

The 2021 has the most safety recalls in NHTSA's file (16), then the 2015 (14). A recall can cover a problem that affects only a few cars, so open a year's page to see what each one covers. Three recalls tell owners not to drive the car or to park it outside until it is repaired: NHTSA 14V-246 (2015 models), NHTSA 16V-256 (2016 models), and NHTSA 26V-289 (2016 to 2017, 2019, 2026 models).

What are the most common Chevrolet Tahoe problems?

In the 3,691 owner complaints NHTSA lists for 2010 to 2026 models, owners most often describe loss of power or limp mode (283 complaints); stalling or shutting off (244 complaints); and engine failure or replacement (243 complaints, most of them for the 2021, 2022, and 2023). One complaint can describe several problems. Each year's recalls and problems page lists what owners describe for that year.

Which Chevrolet Tahoe year has the best MPG?

The best EPA fuel economy is 24 mpg combined, first reached by the 2021 diesel version and matched by every year since.

Sources and method

US EPA fuel economy data (fueleconomy.gov), file dated Nov 4, 2026.
NHTSA recall file dated Nov 12, 2026 and owner complaint file dated Nov 11, 2026; NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings.

Complaint counts are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume. How we build these pages. Spotted an error? Tell us.