1997 CHEVROLET TAHOE — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 401 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: SERVICE BRAKES (97 complaints · 24.2%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 24
  • Fires 3
  • Injuries 9
  • Deaths 1
Compare with 1996 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution SERVICE BRAKES appears in 97 of 401 owner complaints (24.2%) in this vehicle snapshot. SERVICE BRAKES: 97 complaints, 24.2% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 97 · 24.2% · 11 crash reports STEERING: 88 complaints, 22.0% of reports STEERING 88 · 22.0% · 4 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 51 complaints, 12.7% of reports POWER TRAIN 51 · 12.7% · 1 crash reports VISIBILITY: 50 complaints, 12.5% of reports VISIBILITY 50 · 12.5% SUSPENSION: 26 complaints, 6.5% of reports SUSPENSION 26 · 6.5% · 2 crash reports FUEL SYSTEM: 25 complaints, 6.2% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 25 · 6.2% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 16 complaints, 4.0% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 16 · 4.0% · 1 crash reports 2 fire reports ENGINE: 10 complaints, 2.5% of reports ENGINE 10 · 2.5% · 1 fire reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 5 complaints, 1.3% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 5 · 1.3% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 298 complaints, 74.3% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 298 · 74.3% · 20 crash reports 1 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
SERVICE BRAKES 97 24.2% 11 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 88 22.0% 4 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 51 12.7% 1 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 50 12.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 26 6.5% 2 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 25 6.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 16 4.0% 1 crashes · 2 fires
ENGINE 10 2.5% 0 crashes · 1 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 5 1.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 298 74.3% 20 crashes · 1 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Oct 1996; the first recall shown was reported in May 2006. 1996-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 1997-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 1997-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 1998-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 1998-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 1998-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 1998-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 1999-Q1: 23 owner reports 23 1999-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 1999-Q3: 37 owner reports 37 1999-Q4: 20 owner reports 20 2000-Q1: 14 owner reports 14 2000-Q2: 17 owner reports 17 2000-Q3: 11 owner reports 11 2000-Q4: 16 owner reports 16 2001-Q1: 23 owner reports 23 2001-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2001-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2001-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2002-Q1: 12 owner reports 12 2002-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2002-Q3: 11 owner reports 11 2002-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2003-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2003-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2003-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2004-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2004-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2004-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2004-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2005-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2005-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2005-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2006-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2006-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2007-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2007-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2012-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 1996 Jul 2020 Recall campaign 06E043000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E043000 Recall campaign 07E088000 ◆ Recall campaign 07E088000 Investigation EA99011 ● Investigation EA99011 Investigation PE99073 ● Investigation PE99073 Investigation EA00013 ● Investigation EA00013 Investigation PE01023 ● Investigation PE01023
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1996-Q4 Owner reports 2
1997-Q1 Owner reports 1
1997-Q2 Owner reports 3
1997-Q3 Owner reports 7
1997-Q4 Owner reports 5
1998-Q1 Owner reports 9
1998-Q2 Owner reports 7
1998-Q3 Owner reports 7
1998-Q4 Owner reports 9
1999-Q1 Owner reports 23
1999-Q2 Owner reports 12
1999-Q3 Owner reports 37
1999-Q4 Owner reports 20
2000-Q1 Owner reports 14
2000-Q2 Owner reports 17
2000-Q3 Owner reports 11
2000-Q4 Owner reports 16
2001-Q1 Owner reports 23
2001-Q2 Owner reports 8
2001-Q3 Owner reports 9
2001-Q4 Owner reports 4
2002-Q1 Owner reports 12
2002-Q2 Owner reports 8
2002-Q3 Owner reports 11
2002-Q4 Owner reports 6
2003-Q1 Owner reports 9
2003-Q2 Owner reports 6
2003-Q3 Owner reports 2
2003-Q4 Owner reports 7
2004-Q1 Owner reports 8
2004-Q2 Owner reports 7
2004-Q3 Owner reports 10
2004-Q4 Owner reports 8
2005-Q1 Owner reports 1
2005-Q2 Owner reports 6
2005-Q3 Owner reports 5
2005-Q4 Owner reports 11
2006-Q1 Owner reports 4
2006-Q2 Owner reports 1
2006-Q3 Owner reports 2
2006-Q4 Owner reports 4
2007-Q1 Owner reports 4
2007-Q2 Owner reports 1
2007-Q3 Owner reports 2
2007-Q4 Owner reports 2
2008-Q1 Owner reports 3
2008-Q3 Owner reports 1
2009-Q3 Owner reports 1
2010-Q2 Owner reports 1
2011-Q3 Owner reports 3
2012-Q2 Owner reports 1
2012-Q3 Owner reports 1
2012-Q4 Owner reports 1
2013-Q1 Owner reports 1
2014-Q3 Owner reports 1
2015-Q1 Owner reports 2
2018-Q4 Owner reports 1
2019-Q1 Owner reports 1
2019-Q2 Owner reports 1
2020-Q3 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 06E043000
Recall campaign 1 07E088000
Defect investigation 1 EA99011
Defect investigation 1 PE99073
Defect investigation 1 EA00013
Defect investigation 1 PE01023
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 06E043000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    THIS CONDITION MAY CAUSE AN INADEQUATE SEAL AT THE CONNECTION, POTENTIALLY LEADING TO A FUEL LEAK. IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE, A FIRE COULD OCCUR.
    Remedy:
    HONEYWELL WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE FUEL FILTERS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON OCTOBER 18, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FRAM CUSTOMER SERVICE AT 1-800-890-2075 (OPTION 1).
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 07E088000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    THIS CONDITION MAY CAUSE INADEQUATE SEALING AND LOSS OF ENGINE OIL, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A FIRE.
    Remedy:
    HONEYWELL WILL REPLACE THE AFFECTED OIL FILTERS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN DURING NOVEMBER 2007. OWNERS CAN CONTACT FRAM CUSTOMER SERVICE TOLL-FREE AT 1-800-890-2075.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-22
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 401 complaints · page 1 of 17

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-22.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources