This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The battery cables leak acid, . when the battery becomes corroded, there is no power to the vehicle. The dealer has told me that the battery cables are bad, which we have replaced, and the problem continues. We have had the batteries (replaced more than one) checked, and they are fine. We have had the posts replaced, and the problem gets worse. The latest, (im stranded right now) seems to be the worst yet. At first when this started happening, it was a couple of months apart, now its every week. Also when it started the cables where really corroded before the engine quit. Now they can be wiped off with a dry towel. Also, the A/C has stopped working due to cracks in hoses. (from the acid) being as I live in Texas, even if the truck is running I cant drive it in the summer, even if we fix the hoses it happens again. When I had the vehicle towed to the dealer the last time, they told me the battery was fine, but I needed to spend $400 to have the cables replaced again. How is this problem really corrected. Talking to other people who had Suburban I have found that a number of them have had vehicle fires due to the acid problem!!! having children in the car, im terrified to drive my truck. (when it even starts) I cannot sell it to someone else and put them in danger. The fuel pump has failed. We were told that we have to keep a 1/4 tank of gas in the truck. Well it is going out again and I keep it full! also, something to do w/ the ABS booster being bad. Well my brakes are failing again. (less than a year later) the pads are fine. The acid leaking has caused damage to our driveways, not to mention the kids and animals in the neighborhood getting into the acid on the ground. Please send me any info that might help me. Im am going to contact the dealer and talk to them again about the information the I have found, re: Im not the only one this is happening to.
The initial symptom has been upon starting the engine the clock resets to 1:00 and the air conditioner lights glow on and off(but the A/C switch is off). The next symtom is while driving the engine will just die unexpectedly. The Suburban has been taken to several dealers. The battery has been replaced 4 times since the vehicle was purchased in mid-1996. The battery has leaked so badly that parts under the area where the battery sits had to be replaced. Besides what seems to be electrical problems, the brakes in the front have already been replaced 4 times. This last time the roters were replaced because the dealer said they were out of mfg. Specifications. Brakes and battery repair are not under extended warranty. Each trip to the dealer is more $500. The potential for a life ending accident is so great when these systems fail on a vehicle. Why aren't these vehicles built with better reliability? the truck was picked up from the dealer on 9/11/2000. The electrical problems are still not fixed! (description of vehicle: Chevrolet Suburban, V8 vortec 454, 4X4, 3/4 ton).
Post on battery broke off. Battery acid had leaked from the break. Transmission failed, fluid level had been check approximately 10 days prior to failure. Fluid level was fine.
The original battery leaked and caused a power outage, causing the positive cables to eventually start corroding internally.the dealer replaced the defective battery under warranty.several months later the replaced battery caused the same problem, but this time it internally corrode the positive cables.I went to the dealership and explained to them that the battery leaked again and corroded the positive cables.they refused to replace the battery.so I had to buy a new battery and bought a new pair of positive cables and installed them myself.I filed a complaint with GM and they did not do anything about it.I contacted ac delco to tell them that I felt that they had a battery problem and they never contacted me back.
First time at 30,000 miles, symptoms appeared to be defective starter or started solenoid- found that the battery was leaking at the positive terminal and corroded/ruined cable connecting to battery. Dealer in North Carolina [parks Chevrolet, charlotte replace battery and cables, free]. second time, at 50,000 miles, I checked battery and found leaking again - soaked cable connections in baking soda water solution and re-installed with new bolt. Since that time, I have cleaned the cable connection at battery positive post with soda/water solution at approximnately 10,000 mile intervals. From talking to other owners, it appears that the batteries are the problem - leaking at the positive bolt/terminal connection. As a former mechanic and factory service rep, I have been able to avoid a serious threat to safety by frequent inspection and maintenance, but this is really a dangerous situation and may have frightening results unless some action is taken to correct
In February my car died while leaving a parking lot. I turned out to be acid corrosion on the battery. I have already had to have my positive battery cable replaced under extended warranty due to acid corrosion. Even after cleaning the acid off I am still having problems and will have to replace the battery even though it says it is still good. I know of another Suburban (95) also having the same problem.
The battery leaked/sprayed acid onto the engine and right front side components of the Suburban. The air bag sensor had to be replaced, but the rest of the components were just cleaned off (this included brake hydraulic cables and lines, brakes, air conditioning hoses, radiator, etc.). the dealer/manufacturer said they don't cover the battery because it is not made by them althought I think the company is owned by them. We had to buy a new battery and pay for all the damage to the car and still don't know what the long term affects of this corrosive acid will be. It left a huge orange puddle in our garage floor which we can't get rid of. We took video and pictures of the damage to the car, battery and garage. The cracked front transaxle casing was only diagnosed after they had replaced the seal on the front axle twice since it was always leaking fluid. The rear differential had the seal replaced 2 or 3 times but it still leaks. The fuel pumped failed on our car leaving us stranded. We were told that the truck needs to keep a 1/4 tank of gas at all times in the tank so that this does not happen. The air conditioner has never really worked well on this model, it appears that it is undersized to handle the thermal load. We also had to have the spot welds on the door jams filed because many sharp burrs existed which were a safety hazard.
Battery failure resulting in positive terminal pulling out of battery and acid spilling on air conditioning and brake lines. Replaced batery and connections came loose and truck shutdown completely. This has happened on three occasions. The terminals have been cleaned each time and truck will run fine. Initial failure resulted in batery acid spilling on inner fender and brake lines. Problem was found before acid ate through brake lines and air conditioning lines. During other failures battery terminal has not pulled out of baterry but positive terminals have had corrosive build up causing truck to shut down completly. After pulling connections loose and cleaning then truck functions fine for a few months then it will happen again. This poses a seriuos condition due to lack of warning.
Delco battery case cracked and leaked acid. Original battery and replacement both failed in similar fashion. Problem was reported earlier and I was contacted by NHTSA investigator. He asked if there had been any corrosion of brake lines or air bag wiring. I did not know. Have now checked and found corrosion on a brake line and air bag wiring which runs directly under battery tray.
Original battery (delco) cracked and spilled battery acid on hoses and wiring. Replacement battery (delco) failed in similar fashion after 65,000 miles.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Gainesville, TX, USA