1997 Chevrolet Suburban: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 2 recall campaigns for the 1997 Chevrolet Suburban. The newest campaign is 03V159000. NHTSA received the report on 28 Apr 2003. The NHTSA record gives the component Visibility / Windshield Wiper/Washer. NHTSA has 414 complaints on file for this model year. 5 NHTSA investigations name 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, 03V159000, in the NHTSA record

Dealers will replace the wiper motor circuit board and cover. Owner notification began on june 19, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact chevrolet at 1-800-222-1020, GMC at 1-800-462-8782, or oldsmobile at 1-800-442-6537.

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

2 campaigns, newest first. 2,263,047 units in total.

03V159000Received 28 Apr 2003. 1,755,876 units.
Visibility / Windshield Wiper/Washer
Defect, in the NHTSA record
On certain minivans, pickup trucks, and sport utility vehicles with certain model-engine combinations, the windshield wiper motor may fail due to cracked solder joints on the controller circuit board. The windshield wipers could work intermittently or not at all.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
If this were to occur during bad weather, driver visibility would be reduced, which could result in a crash.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will replace the wiper motor circuit board and cover. Owner notification began on june 19, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact chevrolet at 1-800-222-1020, GMC at 1-800-462-8782, or oldsmobile at 1-800-442-6537.
Report filed by GENERAL MOTORS CORP.. Manufacturer campaign number 03023. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 19 Jun 2003.
03V093000Received 7 Mar 2003. 507,171 units.
Visibility / Rearview Mirrors/Devices / Exterior
Defect, in the NHTSA record
Certain sport utility vehicles, mini vans, and pickup trucks may develop a short circuit in the electric outside rearview mirror switch.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
If this were to happen, it could result in an inoperative switch, heat damage to the driver's door, and/or ignition of components in the driver's door and a subsequent vehicle fire without prior warning.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will install a fused jumper harness to the electric outside rearview mirror switch. Owner notification began on april 24, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact chevrolet at 1-800-222-1020 or GMC at 1-800-462-8782.
Report filed by GENERAL MOTORS CORP.. Manufacturer campaign number 03006. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 24 Apr 2003.

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

414 complaints, 556 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.

1997 Chevrolet Suburban
All 1997 vehicles

1997 Chevrolet Suburban: complaints by component, per 1,000 component mentions
Component	1997 Suburban	All 1997 vehicles	Suburban, all years	Mentions
Steering	206.8	69.9	46.6	115
Service Brakes, Hydraulic	197.8	100.8	219.6	110
Power Train	100.7	87.5	67.4	56
Electrical System	97.1	81.7	79.5	54
Fuel System, Gasoline	73.7	49.4	26.5	41
Visibility	66.5	55.8	53.1	37
Tires	50.4	53.9	41.5	28
Engine and Engine Cooling	39.6	128.6	32.8	22
Suspension	37.8	64.1	20.9	21
Unknown or Other	18	21.4	49	10

The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 28.

Complaints that report a crash: 22
Complaints that report a fire: 13
Injuries in the complaints: 16
Deaths in the complaints: 0
Date of the newest complaint: 6 Oct 2020

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 1997 Chevrolet Suburban, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 2000, with 93 complaints.

Investigations

NHTSA investigations that name the 1997 Chevrolet Suburban
Number	Type	Subject	Component	Opened	Closed	Campaign
EA02006	Engineering analysis	WINDSHIELD WIPER FAILURE	Visibility / Windshield Wiper/Washer / Motor	31 May 2002	23 Jul 2003	03V159000
EA00013	Engineering analysis	BATTERY LEAKS ACID	Electrical System	2 May 2000	28 Jun 2002
DP00001	Defect petition	OEM HITCH RECEIVER PLATFORM CRACKING	Equipment	31 Jan 2000	Open
EA99011	Engineering analysis	ERRATIC POWER STEERING ASSIST WHILE DRIV	Steering	12 May 1999	27 Feb 2001
EA95026	Engineering analysis	POOR BRAKE PERFORMANCE	Service Brakes, Hydraulic	20 Sep 1995	20 Sep 2001	01I006000

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 1997 Chevrolet SuburbanThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.

Cite this page

Recall Register. 1997 Chevrolet Suburban: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/chevrolet/suburban/1997/. 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 1997 Chevrolet Suburban?: 2,263,047 units in 2 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. 2 of them name the 1997 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 1997 Chevrolet Suburban name most often?: Steering: 115 of 556 component mentions, or 206.8 per 1,000. For all 1997 vehicles the figure is 69.9 per 1,000.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 1997 Chevrolet Suburban open?: 1 investigation has no closing date in the NHTSA file, of 5 that name this model year.