2013 Chevrolet Tahoe Problems, Complaints & Recalls

Source: NHTSA · Updated Oct 7, 2026 · 233 owner complaints analyzed

Compared with other Tahoe years
About as many complaints as other years 20th of 32 for complaints
NHTSA crash rating
4 out of 5 stars

Owners have filed 233 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Chevrolet Tahoe. That ranks 20th out of 32 Tahoe model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is unknown or other (122 complaints, 52%), typically at around 58,565 miles. Complaints mention 4 crashes, 6 injuries. There are 4 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 1 defect investigation involving it.

Chevrolet Tahoe
Chevrolet Tahoe Z71 2025. Representative photo; appearance varies by model year. Photo: RL GNZLZ, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.

Compare with another car

Most common 2013 Chevrolet Tahoe problems

Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.

Unknown or Other122 · ~58,565 mi
Structure56 · ~70,200 mi
Air Bags51 · ~55,680 mi
Electrical System17 · ~89,867 mi
Engine13 · ~99,500 mi
Power Train9 · ~38,000 mi
Electronic Stability Control (esc)8 · ~93,788 mi
Vehicle Speed Control7 · ~64,934 mi
Service Brakes6 · ~70,000 mi
Steering5 · ~46,159 mi
Problem areaComplaintsShareMedian milesOwners mention mostTypical repair cost
Unknown or Other12252%58,565——
Structure problems5624%70,200“dashboard cracked” (18%)—
Air Bags problems5122%55,680“air bag” (25%)—
Electrical System177%89,867——
Engine136%99,500——
Power Train94%38,000——
Electronic Stability Control (esc)83%93,788——
Vehicle Speed Control73%64,934——
Service Brakes63%70,000——
Steering52%46,159——
Suspension52%70,000——
Fuel/propulsion System31%42,000——
Visibility/wiper31%95,000——
Lane Departure10%5——
Tires10%8,600——
Wheels10%56,400——

One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.

Complaints by year received

Peak: 2017, with 50 complaints
2014: 8201482015: 102015102016: 362016362017: 502017502018: 372018372019: 262019262020: 222020222021: 162021162022: 112022112023: 5202352024: 6202462025: 4202542026: 220262

n = 233 complaints · Source: NHTSA

2013 Chevrolet Tahoe recalls (4)

Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.

Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator moduleFeb 5, 2021 · NHTSA campaign 21V053000 · 692,526 vehicles

Problem: 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." 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.

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.

Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator moduleFeb 5, 2021 · NHTSA campaign 21V054000 · 1,778,128 vehicles

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.

Electrical systemOct 1, 2014 · NHTSA campaign 14V614000 · 106,307 vehicles

Problem: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Cadillac CTS, Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Yukon XL, and 2014 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Express, Impala, Silverado HD, Traverse, GMC Acadia, Savana, and Sierra HD vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the chassis electronic module may be internally contaminated, resulting in an electrical short.

Risk: If the module experiences an electrical short, the vehicle could stall, increasing the risk of a crash.

Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the chassis electronic module, free of charge. The recall began on December 26, 2014. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-458-006 (Cadillac), 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), and 1-800-462-8782 (GMC). GM’s number for this recall is 14515.

Power train:automatic transmission; steering:column locking:anti-theft deviceJan 2, 2013 · NHTSA campaign 13V001000 · 54,686 vehicles

Problem: General Motors (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT; Chevrolet Avalanche, Express, Silverado HD, Silverado LD, Suburban, and Tahoe; and GMC Savana, Sierra HD, Sierra LD, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles, manufactured between November 7, 2012, through December 18, 2012, for failing to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 102, "Transmission Shift Lever Sequence, Starter Interlock, and Transmission Braking Effect", and FMVSS No. 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention." The vehicles may have been built with a fractured park lock cable or a malformed steering column lock actuator gear in the lock module assembly.

Risk: As a result, the vehicle may shift from Park with the ignition key removed or the ignition key in the OFF position. The vehicle may also shift out of Park without application of the brake pedal while the key is off. Either of these scenarios may cause the vehicle to roll away after the driver has exited the vehicle, resulting in a possible vehicle crash and/or injury.

Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the affected vehicles and replace the steering column as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on January 21, 2013. Chevrolet owners may call 1-800-630-2438. Cadillac owners may call 1-866-982-2339. GMC owners may call 1-866-996-9463.

To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.

NHTSA defect investigations

  • Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture (EA21002) — opened Sep 17, 2021, still open.

Recent owner reports

Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2013 Chevrolet Tahoe. It was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of purchase, the mileage was 108,000. At the time of the registration, it was discovered that the mileage was 212,257.

Electrical System · received Oct 7, 2026 · NHTSA complaint 11769734

Odometer Fraud. The contact intended to purchase a 2013 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that while inspecting the vehicle, the odometer reading displayed 88,000 miles; however, the Carfax history report provided by O'Reilly Auto Parts listed the mileage at 162,000.

Electrical System · received Jul 8, 2026 · NHTSA complaint 11749051

Dealer has advised that replacement of airbag will result in damage to interior parts and trim and that replacement parts are not available and that the dealer will not be responsible for replacement and repair of damage. I have refused the warranty replacement until a dealer can be located that…

Air Bags · received Aug 8, 2025 · NHTSA complaint 11679387

One day I was driving normal and my engine light and two other lights came on. It dropped my speed under 30mph and I couldn't pass the gas. It said reduced engine power, service stabilitrak and service traction. I immediately took it to auto zone then placed it in the shop at the dealership. They…

Engine · received Jun 25, 2025 · NHTSA complaint 11669335

I have a 2013 Chevrolet Tahoe. It is one of the thousands of which the plastic dash has cracked into pieces.My concern is that the loose plastic will hurt someone if the airbag is deployed. GM Should have never used such flimsy plastic on the dashes of so many vehicles.

Air Bags · received Jun 10, 2025 · NHTSA complaint 11666122

Other Chevrolet Tahoe years

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See all Chevrolet Tahoe problems by year, every Chevrolet model, or the Chevrolet VIN decoder.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the most common problems with the 2013 Chevrolet Tahoe?

Owners most often report unknown or other, structure, air bags problems. The top one, unknown or other, accounts for 122 complaints.

Was there a recall on the 2013 Chevrolet Tahoe?

Yes, 4 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.

Was the 2013 Chevrolet Tahoe a good year?

Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Tahoe model years, the 2013 has about as many complaints as a typical year, and NHTSA rates it 4 out of 5 stars overall in crash tests. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.