2012 Chevrolet Tahoe: owner complaints and recalls

56% of everything owners report about the 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe points at a single system: unknown or other. That is 101 of 180 complaints on file.

180
Complaints
3
Recalls
8
Crash reports
1
Fire reports
10
Injuries
65.6
Severity index

Severity index 65.6 - Medium. It weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints, so a vehicle attracting serious reports scores above one attracting many trivial ones (how this is calculated).

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 65.6p25 35p75 96cleanestworst
Where the 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe sits against the quartiles of every vehicle we track.

Among the 129 2012 vehicles we track with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe ranks 64 of 129 by severity, where 1 is the worst. Its severity is higher than 50% of its model-year peers. See the full 2012 ranking.

What actually fails

Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 101 complaints (56.1%)101 56%Air BagsAir Bags: 63 complaints (35.0%)63 35%StructureStructure: 37 complaints (20.6%)37 21%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 13 complaints (7.2%)13 7%EngineEngine: 9 complaints (5.0%)9 5%Power TrainPower Train: 7 complaints (3.9%)7 4%Service BrakesService Brakes: 6 complaints (3.3%)6 3%Electronic Stability Co…Electronic Stability Control (Esc): 5 complaints (2.8%)5 3%
Systems named in complaints. One complaint can name several, so shares overlap.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
UNKNOWN OR OTHER10156.1%
AIR BAGS6335.0%
STRUCTURE3720.6%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM137.2%
ENGINE95.0%
POWER TRAIN73.9%
SERVICE BRAKES63.3%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)52.8%

Complaints filed per year

022442012: 22013: 12014: 42015: 32016: 442017: 292018: 222019: 172020: 212021: 242022: 22023: 62024: 22025: 12026: 2 (partial year)12131415164417181920212223242526
Complaints filed per calendar year, not model year. The hatched bar is the current year and is still incomplete.
YearComplaints
20122
20131
20144
20153
201644
201729
201822
201917
202021
202124
20222
20236
20242
20251
2026 (year to date)2
Complaint volume is declining, consistent with a defect that was addressed by recall or that affected early builds.

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
14V82700030/12/2014ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITIONGeneral Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado HD, Silverado LD, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra LD, Sierra HD, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the ignition lock
21V05100005/02/2021AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULEGeneral Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2012 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL originally sold, or ever registered, in the states o
21V05400005/02/2021AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULEGeneral 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,
Source. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports; volume is influenced by how many units were sold and how long the vehicle has been on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.