YearToAvoid

2012 Chevrolet Suburban Structure & Body Problems

Structure & Body issues account for 24 of 101 complaints (24%) on the 2012 Chevrolet Suburban, mostly dashboard cracking near the passenger airbag and interior door handle failures. Median mileage at failure is 65,553, and NHTSA lists no related recall for this area.

Structure & Body complaints
24
24% of 101
Crashes reported
0
Fires reported
1
Injuries reported
1
Median mileage
65,553 mi
Related recalls
0

Typical body and structure symptoms owners report

  • Dashboard cracks near the passenger airbag housing and above the instrument cluster, with cracks that widen over time.
  • Interior door handle or armrest grab-bar breaks apart because internal plastic support pieces fail under normal use.
  • Plastic clips inside the front doors that hold the door assembly together detach, causing the door to feel loose or not close securely.
  • Power liftgate locks and unlocks on its own, sometimes leaving the tailgate ajar or locked with no manual override.
  • One owner reported a fire at the front passenger side grille area after the vehicle had been parked for hours.

When 2012 Chevrolet Suburban body and structure complaints were filed

First complaint May 29, 2012, latest Aug 19, 2022.

2012 Chevrolet Suburban structure & body complaints: complaints filed per month3May 2012Aug 2015Mar 2017Sep 2017Nov 2019Dec 2020Aug 2022
24 complaints filed with NHTSA from May 2012 to Aug 2022; peak Mar 2021 (3).

Structure & Body recalls for the 2012 Chevrolet Suburban

No safety recalls on record for this model year.

Structure & Body complaints by Suburban model year

Raw complaint counts per model year; newer years have had less time to accumulate complaints.

  1. 201043 (25%)
  2. 201149 (21%)
  3. 201224 (24%)
  4. 201325 (21%)
  5. 201411 (19%)
  6. 201540 (9%)
  7. 201616 (7%)
  8. 20171 (1%)
  9. 20181 (1%)
  10. 20191 (1%)
  11. 20201 (2%)
  12. 20215 (3%)
  13. 20223 (2%)
  14. 20236 (4%)
  15. 20241 (2%)
  16. 20250 (0%)

Frequently asked questions

How common are structure and body complaints on the 2012 Chevrolet Suburban?
NHTSA lists 24 Structure & Body complaints for the 2012 Suburban, which is 24% of the 101 total complaints filed for that model year.
Is there a recall for the cracked dashboard on the 2012 Suburban?
No. NHTSA shows no related recalls tied to the Structure & Body complaints for the 2012 Suburban.
At what mileage do these structure and body problems usually show up?
The median mileage at failure reported to NHTSA for this problem area is 65,553 miles.
Did the dashboard cracking cause any crashes or injuries?
NHTSA records zero crashes tied to Structure & Body complaints for the 2012 Suburban, along with one fire report and one injury report.
How does the 2012 Suburban compare to other years for this issue?
The 2012 model's 24% share of complaints in this area is similar to 2010 (25%), 2011 (21%), and 2013 (21%), but higher than most years from 2015 onward.

Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation complaint and recall databases; U.S. EPA fuel economy data; NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.

Data updated Sep 24, 2026. Read the methodology and data sources. The Complaint Index is based on NHTSA owner complaints and recalls; it is not a reliability rating.