Total Complaints
4 filings
CHEVROLET SUBURBAN · model year
4 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 1983CHEVROLETSUBURBAN carries 4 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 2 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 1983 SUBURBAN is tires:tread/belt with 2 filings, followed by engine and engine cooling:engine:gasoline (2). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.
NHTSA currently has 57 investigation files overlapping the 1983 SUBURBAN, and 2 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
4 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| TIRES:TREAD/BELT | 2 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE | 2 |
CONSUMER STATES HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE TREAD SEPARATION ON THE TIRE. GOOD YEAR #LT23585R.*JB
WHILE DRIVING, VEHICLE BEGAN TO CHUG, CONSUMER NOTICED WHITE SMOKE COMING FROM THE VEHICLE SO HE PULLED OVER AND VEHICLE CAUGHT ON FIRE, POSSIBLE ENGINE FAILURE, OHIO TRAFFIC CRASH REPORT. *SLC
WHILE DRIVING, VEHICLE BEGAN TO CHUG, CONSUMER NOTICED WHITE SMOKE COMING FROM THE VEHICLE SO HE PULLED OVER AND VEHICLE CAUGHT ON FIRE, POSSIBLE ENGINE FAILURE, OHIO TRAFFIC CRASH REPORT. *SLC
REAR RIGHT TIRE PROBLEM. TREAD SEPARATED FROM TIRE WHILE DRIVING ON FREEWAY AT 65 MPH. TREAD HIT SIDE OF CHEVROLET SUBURBAN CAUSING BODY DAMAGE. TIRES HAVE APPROXIMATELY 28,000 MILES OF NON-COMMERCIAL USE, AND ARE WARRANTED FOR 50,000 MILES.*AK (TIRESIZE: 235/85 R16)( DOT NUMBER: TIRE SIZE: 235/85 R16 )
Loss of motive power due to engine failure
Loss of Motive Power due to the Battery Energy Control Module
Electric Vehicle Battery Fires
Outboard Front Seat Belt Anchor Cable Failure
Fuel Line Leak
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.