1990 Chevrolet Suburban: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 3 recall campaigns for the 1990 Chevrolet Suburban. The newest campaign is 93V187000. NHTSA received the report on 16 Nov 1993. The NHTSA record gives the component Seats. NHTSA has 54 complaints on file for this model year. 1 NHTSA investigation names this model year.

The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on these campaigns.

This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.

Remedy of the newest campaign, 93V187000, in the NHTSA record

Dealers will remove the foam and/or vinyl from between the recliner mechanism and the seat frame "soft" joint and replace the recliner bolts.

NHTSA VIN lookup

Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.
NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on 1 Oct 2026. Complaint file through 30 Sep 2026. Recall file through 30 Sep 2026.

Since the last update

No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks

All updates to the register

Recall campaigns

3 campaigns, newest first. 2,648,451 units in total.

93V187000Received 16 Nov 1993. 604,207 units.
Seats
Defect, in the NHTSA record
The recliner mechanism and the seat frame may have foam and/or vinyl between them, creating a "soft" joint. This "soft" joint results in lower than specified bolt torque which leads to joint looseness, causing bolt fatigue and eventual bolt failure.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
If bolt failure occurs to the driver's seat, it wouldallow the seat back to suddenly recline, and could result in loss of vehiclecontrol and a vehicle crash without prior warning.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will remove the foam and/or vinyl from between the recliner mechanism and the seat frame "soft" joint and replace the recliner bolts.
Report filed by GENERAL MOTORS CORP.. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 20 Jan 1994.
93V119000Received 2 Aug 1993. 341,364 units.
Service Brakes, Hydraulic / Foundation Components / Disc / Rotor
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Severe corrosion due to road salt at the joint of the stamped steel center section and the cast outer section can cause the sections to separate.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
Separation of the rotor sections can cause loss ofbraking ability in the affected wheel. This could result in increased stoppingdistance and/or loss of vehicle control and an accident.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Replace the front brake rotors with new rotors with a corrosion protection coating. However, if replacement of brake linings are necessary, it will be done at owner's expense since brake linings are normal maintenance items.
Report filed by GENERAL MOTORS CORP.. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 8 Nov 1993.
93V016000Received 1 Feb 1993. 1,702,880 units.
Power Train / Automatic Transmission
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Unanticipated heat in the transmission can force the transmission fluid out of the vent tube.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
The vented transmission fluid can catch fire if exposedto a source of ignition.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Install a longer transmission vent hose routed to the left side of the engine compartment of the vehicle.
Report filed by GENERAL MOTORS CORP.. Manufacturer campaign number 93-C-07. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 13 Mar 1993.

The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.

Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

Complaints by component

54 complaints, 67 component mentions.

A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. The figure per 1,000 component mentions shows how many of each 1,000 mentions name the component.

1990 Chevrolet Suburban
All 1990 vehicles

1990 Chevrolet Suburban: complaints by component, per 1,000 component mentions
Component	1990 Suburban	All 1990 vehicles	Suburban, all years	Mentions
Seats	253.7	22	25.4	17
Tires	179.1	30.4	41.5	12
Service Brakes, Hydraulic	164.2	159.4	219.6	11
Power Train	134.3	85.1	67.4	9
Seat Belts	119.4	105.2	22.5	8
Electrical System	44.8	99	79.5	3
Equipment	29.9	15.5	9.6	2
Engine and Engine Cooling	29.9	104.4	32.8	2
Structure	14.9	65	37.2	1
Vehicle Speed Control	14.9	43.8	16.3	1

The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 11.

Complaints that report a crash: 2
Complaints that report a fire: 7
Injuries in the complaints: 7
Deaths in the complaints: 0
Date of the newest complaint: 8 Aug 2002

These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.

Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.

Complaints about the 1990 Chevrolet Suburban, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 1998, with 12 complaints.

Investigations

NHTSA investigations that name the 1990 Chevrolet Suburban
Number	Type	Subject	Component	Opened	Closed	Campaign
EA94029	Engineering analysis	ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES	Engine and Engine Cooling	29 Jul 1994	31 Jul 1996

Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.

Other model years

The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.

A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.

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Official channels

NHTSA VIN lookupNHTSA shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle from its VIN or its license plate.
NHTSA: report a safety problemThe NHTSA form for a complaint about a vehicle, a tire, a child seat or equipment.
NHTSA page of the 1990 Chevrolet SuburbanThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.

Cite this page

Recall Register. 1990 Chevrolet Suburban: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/chevrolet/suburban/1990/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through 30 Sep 2026.

Sources

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence: US government work, public domain
Recall file through: 30 Sep 2026
Complaint file through: 30 Sep 2026
First complaint in the file: 1 Jan 1995
Manufacturer in the recall file: GENERAL MOTORS CORP.

The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 1990 Chevrolet Suburban?: 2,648,451 units in 3 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Chevrolet Suburban have for all model years?: NHTSA lists 82 recall campaigns for the Chevrolet Suburban, model years 1977 to 2024. 3 of them name the 1990 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 1990 Chevrolet Suburban name most often?: Seats: 17 of 67 component mentions, or 253.7 per 1,000. For all 1990 vehicles the figure is 22 per 1,000.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 1990 Chevrolet Suburban open?: No. The 1 investigation that names this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.