AI Damage1990 GMC Suburban: common problems
Owners of the 1990 GMC Suburban filed 22 complaints with NHTSA, most often about seats and service brakes. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 22
- involving a crash
- 3
What fails most often
- 1 Seats 32% of all complaints
- 2 Service brakes 32% of all complaints
- 3 Parking brake 14% of all complaints
- 4 Powertrain 9% of all complaints
- 5 Suspension 9% of all complaints
- 6 Vehicle speed control 9% of all complaints
- 7 Electrical system 5% of all complaints
- 8 Tires 5% of all complaints
- Seats: 7 complaints (32% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Service brakes: 7 complaints (32% of all), 2 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Parking brake: 3 complaints (14% of all).
- Powertrain: 2 complaints (9% of all).
- Suspension: 2 complaints (9% of all).
Engines and transmissions
US-market versions per EPA. On the right: how many NHTSA complaints name this engine or transmission type.
- 5.7 L · petrol · 8 cyl
- 6.2 L · diesel · 8 cyl
- automatic, 4-speed
- manual, 4-speed
Drive: AWD, RWD
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 22 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seats | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| Parking brake | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tires | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheels | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 1 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
When l was hit the third seat in the suburban was knocked off the bolts and pushed into the second seat. More severely, the drivers seat (bucket) snapped in half at the point where the back meets the seat. L was severely injured with serious and life long back injuries. L want to know what, if anything, can be done.
Consumer was leaving a stop light up to 15 mph. When she hit brakes to avoid hitting another vehicle, the brakes seemed to be resisting with a mushy feeling. There was no support of grabbing, and the vehicle kept moving forward, resulting in a crash, rear ending another vehicle.
The truck has abs. The brakes release on a bumpy road and do not work. Please describe. Tt
Consumer states the metal parking brake cable wears into the rubber brake hose, which could cause failure of the brake hose and the rear brakes, the rubber brake hose was almost worn to the point of failure, the metal parking brake cable does have a metal sleeve on it to protect the rubber hose, but the natural…
Consumer raised hood; attempted to start vehicle, after vehicle would not start, douglas battery suddenly blew up, consumer was injured.
I believe the suburban series vehicles have a design defect in the brake system because the rear brake hose(from the body to a connector above the differential) is used as a support for the parking brake cable. The stronger, heavier parking brake cable rubs on the rubber brake hose, causing the rubber hose to fail.
Upper ball joints were replaced 9/25/99 by suspension plus in san diego using mcquay norris parts.. On or about 11/04/2000 the vehicle was turning at low speed left turn into a parking lot when the right front wheel collapsed under the front end.
Later found that the hook from servo had rusted and broken off and the bar attached to the throttle had gotten stuck in the throttle. This hook should not be of a material that can rust & break off like that.
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
Comparison
By complaint count this model year ranks 7,904 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 22% most complained about).
On average one model year of the Suburban has 76 complaints (24 years in the data). This year has 22, below average.
What to check before buying
- Seats. Occupant sensor, power adjustment, seat mounts.
- Service brakes. Pedal feel, ABS operation, leaks, discs and hoses.
- Parking brake. Electric parking brake, codes, calipers.
- Powertrain. Shift quality under load, harsh shifts, transmission codes, CV joints.
Other years of this model
- Suburban 19845 sources
- Suburban 19853 sources
- Suburban 19864 sources
- Suburban 19878 sources
- Suburban 19888 sources
- Suburban 198917 sources
- Suburban 199130 sources
- Suburban 199280 sources
- Suburban 1993212 sources
- Suburban 1994411 sources
- Suburban 1995227 sources
- Suburban 1996172 sources
- Suburban 1997200 sources
- Suburban 1998100 sources
- Suburban 1999285 sources
- Suburban 200015 sources
- Suburban 20015 sources
- Suburban 20027 sources
- Suburban 20035 sources
- Suburban 99995 sources
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 1990 GMC Suburban?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: seats, service brakes, parking brake. Total complaints: 22. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: rollaway, parking brake (14%), won't start (5%), knocking, grinding or other noise (5%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 1990 GMC Suburban?
NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.
Should I buy a 1990 GMC Suburban from a US auction?
Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.
Other 1990 models
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.