Avg. Price Paid:$20,155 - $30,317
Original MSRP: $34,630 - $39,560
MPG: 14 City / 19 Hwy
Search Used Listings:

Chevrolet Tahoe Recalls & Reliability

These scores and this review are from when the car was new.

Scorecard

Overall: 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe U.S. News Best Cars 9.4
Critics' Rating: 9.6
Performance: 8.6
Interior: 7.8
Safety: 9.8
Reliability:
How we calculate scores
Research analyzed for this review

Pros & Cons

  • Supportive and comfortable seats
  • Quiet ride with decent handling for a full-size SUV
  • Comfortable interior with high-quality materials
  • Heavy towing capacity
  • Active Fuel management System improves gas mileage
  • Head-curtain side airbags not standard on all trims
  • Third-row seat is uncomfortable; doesn't fold flat
  • Price skyrockets with options

Research Other Years

Review Last Updated: 3/10/09

Recalls

There have been 2 safety recalls issued from NHTSA.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEMRecall Date: 06/04/2010
  • Consequence: IT IS POSSIBLE FOR THE HEATED WASHER MODULE TO IGNITE AND A FIRE MAY OCCUR.
  • NHTSA Campaign ID: 10V240000
  • Potential Number of Units Affected: 1365070
  • Summary: GM IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2006-2009 BUICK, LUCERNE; CADILLAC DTS; HUMMER H2; MODEL YEAR 2008-2009 BUICK ENCLAVE; CADILLAC CTS; MODEL YEAR 2007-2009 CADILLAC ESCALADE, ESCALADE ESV, ESCALADE EXT; CHEVROLET AVALANCHE, SILVERADO, SUBURBAN, TAHOE; GMC ACADIA, SIERRA, YUKON, YUKON XL; SATURN OUTLOOK; AND MODEL YEAR 2009 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A HEATED WASHER FLUID SYSTEM (HWFS). A RECALL WAS IMPLEMENTED IN 2008 TO ADD A FUSE TO THE CONTROL CIRCUIT HARNESS TO ADDRESS THE POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES OF A PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD (PCB) ELECTRICAL SHORT. HOWEVER, THERE HAVE BEEN NEW REPORTS OF THERMAL INCIDENTS ON HWFS MODULES AFTER THIS IMPROVEMENT WAS INSTALLED. THESE INCIDENTS RESULTED FROM A NEW FAILURE MODE ATTRIBUTED TO THE DEVICE'S THERMAL PROTECTION FEATURE. THE SIGNIFICANCE VARIES FROM MINOR DISTORTION TO CONSIDERABLE MELTING OF THE PLASTIC AROUND THE HWFS FLUID CHAMBER.
  • Remedy: DEALERS WILL PERMANENTLY DISABLE AND REMOVE THE HEATED WASHER FLUID MODULE. AN UPDATED PAGE FOR THE OWNER MANUAL WILL BE PROVIDED AND INSERTED IN THE OWNER MANUAL TO DOCUMENT THAT THE FEATURE HAS BEEN PERMANENTLY DISABLED AND REMOVED FROM THE VEHICLE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR BEFORE JUNE 11, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT BUICK AT 1-866-608-8080, CADILLAC AT 1-866-982-2339, CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438, SATURN AT 1-800-972-8876, GMC AT 1-866-996-9463 AND HUMMER AT 1-800-732-5493 OR AT THE OWNER CENTER AT WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM.
  • Notes: OWNERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV .
ELECTRICAL SYSTEMRecall Date: 08/27/2008
  • Consequence: THIS MAY CAUSE OTHER ELECTRICAL FEATURES TO MALFUNCTION, CREATE AN ODOR, OR CAUSE SMOKE INCREASING THE RISK OF A FIRE.
  • NHTSA Campaign ID: 08V441000
  • Potential Number of Units Affected: 857735
  • Summary: GM IS RECALLING 857,735 MY 2006-2008 BUICK LUCERNE; CADILLAC DTS; HUMMER H2; MY 2007-2008 CADILLAC ESCALADE, ESCALADE ESV, ESCALADE EXT; CHEVROLET AVALANCHE, SILVERADO, SUBURBAN, TAHOE; GMC ACADIA, SIERRA, YUKON, YUKON XL, SATURN OUTLOOK; AND MY 2008 BUICK ENCLAVE VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A HEATED WIPER WASHER FLUID SYSTEM. A SHORT CIRCUIT ON THE PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD FOR THE WASHER FLUID HEATER MAY OVERHEAT THE CONTROL-CIRCUIT GROUND WIRE.
  • Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSTALL A WIRE HARNESS WITH AN IN-LINE FUSE FREE OF CHARGE. THE MANUFACTURER HAS NOT YET PROVIDED AN OWNER NOTIFICATION SCHEDULE. OWNERS MAY CONTACT BUICK AT 1-866-608-8080; CADILLAC AT 1-800-982-2339 OR HTTP://WWW.CADILLAC.COM; CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438; SATURN AT 1-800-972-8876 OR HTTP://WWW.SATURN.COM, GMC AT 1-866-996-9436; OR HUMMER AT 1-800-732-5493; OR AT MYGMLINK, HTTP://WWW.GM.COM/RECALL.
  • Notes: GM RECALL NO. 08048. CUSTOMERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV.

Reliability

Our reliability score is based on the J.D. Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) rating or, if unavailable, the J.D. Power Predicted Reliability rating.

Dependability Ratings1 2008
Overall Dependability
Powertrain Dependability
Feature & Accessory Dependability
Body & Interior Dependability

1These scores come from consumer ratings of their vehicles after three years of ownership.

  • Key:
  • Among The Best
  • Better Than Most
  • About Average
  • The Rest

J.D. Power and Associates Power Circle Ratings do not include all information used to determine J.D. Power and Associates awards. See JDPower.com for more information on Power Circle Ratings. Your experience may vary.

All information provided by J.D. Power and Associates is proprietary information owned by J.D. Power and Associates and is protected by U.S. and international copyright law and conventions. Reproduction of this information, in whole or in part, by any means is prohibited without the express written consent of J.D. Power and Associates, other than printing copies of the J.D. Power and Associates content by site visitors for their personal use. J.D. Power and Associates® is a registered trademark of J.D. Power and Associates.

Warranty

The Tahoe comes with a 5-year, 100,000 mile warranty for powertrain coverage and a 6-year, 100,000 mile warranty for rust-through corrosion protection.

  • "Chevy's initial quality and customer satisfaction scores [are] on an upward trend (Chevy has actually beaten Toyota here lately)."  -- The Car Connection
  • "Improved build quality, impressive solidity," -- Car and Driver
  • "The tester's body felt more solid than its predecessor's, with almost none of the shudder and shake that once characterized the vehicle." -- Newsday
  • The Tahoe has "tighter body gaps . . . and a stiffer body-on-frame design" -- Car.com

Next Steps: Chevrolet Tahoe