2012 Chevrolet Tahoe Air Bags Problems
Owners have filed 61 complaints with NHTSA about air bags problems on the 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe, 34% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 74,000 miles. The words owners use most often: “passenger side” (30% of reports).
- 61air bags complaints
- 74,000median miles at failure
- 6mention a crash
- 4mention an injury
- 2related recalls
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Passenger side: mentioned in 18 of 61 complaints (30%)
- Instrument panel: mentioned in 8 of 61 complaints (13%)
- Dash cracked: mentioned in 5 of 61 complaints (8%)
- Airbag deploy: mentioned in 5 of 61 complaints (8%)
At what mileage do air bags problems happen?
Based on 38 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 61 complaints, 6 mention a crash, 1 a fire, 4 an injury.
Chevrolet Tahoe air bags complaints by model year
| Model year | Air Bags complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Tahoe | 3 | 4% | — |
| 2023 Tahoe | 6 | 3% | 27,072 |
| 2022 Tahoe | 6 | 3% | — |
| 2021 Tahoe | 27 | 6% | 37,000 |
| 2020 Tahoe | 4 | 7% | 12,000 |
| 2019 Tahoe | 8 | 7% | 29,900 |
| 2018 Tahoe | 2 | 2% | 71,000 |
| 2017 Tahoe | 10 | 6% | 40,000 |
| 2016 Tahoe | 10 | 4% | 36,750 |
| 2015 Tahoe | 11 | 2% | 24,500 |
| 2014 Tahoe | 13 | 14% | 46,300 |
| 2013 Tahoe | 51 | 22% | 55,680 |
| 2012 Tahoe | 61 | 34% | 74,000 |
| 2011 Tahoe | 185 | 41% | 66,901 |
| 2010 Tahoe | 115 | 37% | 74,000 |
| 2009 Tahoe | 97 | 34% | 97,000 |
| 2008 Tahoe | 233 | 44% | 93,000 |
| 2007 Tahoe | 500 | 42% | 100,000 |
| 2006 Tahoe | 7 | 6% | 125,000 |
| 2005 Tahoe | 19 | 6% | 122,807 |
| 2004 Tahoe | 14 | 3% | 71,950 |
| 2003 Tahoe | 19 | 4% | 90,000 |
| 2002 Tahoe | 31 | 7% | 84,000 |
| 2001 Tahoe | 31 | 6% | 82,000 |
| 2000 Tahoe | 21 | 7% | 43,902 |
| 1999 Tahoe | 20 | 4% | 162,500 |
| 1998 Tahoe | 9 | 3% | 82,927 |
| 1997 Tahoe | 5 | 1% | 190,000 |
| 1996 Tahoe | 16 | 6% | 142,453 |
| 1995 Tahoe | 18 | 7% | — |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (2)
Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module
Problem: 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." 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.
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.
Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module
Problem: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2012 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL 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." 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.
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 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 N212328770.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
My 2012 Chevy Tahoe Dashboard is completely cracked up. This seems to be a very common issue as I read online. I am very concerned about the Safety with the Dashboard being cracked in multiple areas. What do I need to do to get Chevy to replace this at no cost to me?
I was rear ended while stopped by another truck that was going 60+ mph. None of the airbags in my 2012 Chevy Tahoe deployed. The backside of the driver and passenger seats fell off - unsure if that is airbag related but nothing deployed. My car was totaled my insurance.
The vehicle was involved in a "T-Bone" collision where two vehicles drove into the driver side of my vehicle. I was not at fault and yes, the vehicle is available for inspection upon request. In February of 2022 I took the vehicle to Felix Chevrolet to have the airbag recall repaired. In late…
Frequently asked questions
Do all 2012 Chevrolet Tahoes have air bags problems?
No. NHTSA has 61 owner complaints about air bags for the 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe (34% of the 178 complaints for this model year). Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe air bags?
Yes: 2 safety recalls list air bags. Check your VIN on NHTSA.gov to see whether the fix was done on your car.
At what mileage do air bags problems start?
The median reported mileage is 74,000 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.
What do owners say about air bags problems on the 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe?
The most frequent phrase is “passenger side”, in 18 of 61 complaints, followed by “instrument panel” (8).
See all 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe problems or air bags problems across all Tahoe years.