The Chevrolet Suburban is a large SUV from the Chevrolet division of General Motors. Ever since Chevrolet introduced the GMT400 platform-based vehicle for the 1992 model year, a host of transmission problems has plagued it.
The most severe transmission problem with the Chevy Suburban is the greater likelihood of the automatic transmission failing in the 1992 to 1996 model-year vehicles than the newer models. Also very common are the failures of the front axle actuator, the transmission valve body and transfer case encoder motor assembly in some of the late-'90s four-wheel drive-equipped vehicles.
Front and/or rear axle seal failure particularly affect post-2000 Suburbans. Customers should also watch out for failure of the park neutral switch in the 2003 vehicles.
Due to the wide variance of transmission problems associated with the Chevrolet Suburban, the cost to repair them greatly varies. As of September 2010, it can cost as little as $100 to replace the transmission of a 1992 vehicle, or as much as $600 to repair a transfer case encoder motor assembly.
