IllustrationI OWN A 2002 CHEVROLET TAHOE, AND THE PARKING/EMERGENCY BRAKE FAILED TO HOLD THE VEHICLE IN PLACE ON ANY TYPE OF INCLINE. THIS PROBLEM GOT PERSISTENTLY WORSE OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS THAT I HAVE OWNED THE VEHICLE, ALTHOUGH I RARELY USED THE BRAKE.*AK
2002 Chevrolet S Utility
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Limited comparison data
There is not enough comparable history to draw a useful model-year comparison.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all S Utility years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 2 of 3 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Parking Brake. Review the 1 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 1 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Steering. Review the 1 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
0 crash reports0 fire reports0 injury reports
What owners actually said
3 reports2002 TAHOE. PURCHASED 9/04. 1 WEEK LATER ENGINE LIGHT AND TRACTION LIGHT CAME ON TOOK BACK TO DEALERSHIP HAD 34000 MILES AND THEY SAID IT WAS A SENSOR AND CLAIM TO HAVE FIXED THE PROBLEM. SINCE THAT TIME HAVE NOTICED THAT TRANSMISSION MISSES AT 40 MPH AND SLOW ACCELERATION FROM A STOP OR NOT FULL POWER WHEN TRYING TO GET ONTO I…
Read full complaint
2002 TAHOE. PURCHASED 9/04. 1 WEEK LATER ENGINE LIGHT AND TRACTION LIGHT CAME ON TOOK BACK TO DEALERSHIP HAD 34000 MILES AND THEY SAID IT WAS A SENSOR AND CLAIM TO HAVE FIXED THE PROBLEM. SINCE THAT TIME HAVE NOTICED THAT TRANSMISSION MISSES AT 40 MPH AND SLOW ACCELERATION FROM A STOP OR NOT FULL POWER WHEN TRYING TO GET ONTO INTERSTATE ETC THAT A V8 ENGINE SHOULD HAVE. 9/05 TRIED TO DRIVE TO WORK AND GOT TO STOP LIGHT AND ENGINE WOULD ON REV AND NO POWER. HAD TOWED TO DEALERSHIP THEY ADVISED NEED NEW TRANSMISSION OR REBUILD EXISTING ONE. 50,000 MILES ON VEHICLE NOW, NEVER USED IT TO TOW ANYTHING ETC ONLY DRIVEN 16000 MILES SINCE PURCHASE. THIS COULD NOT BE ANYTHING WE HAVE DONE TO CAUSE THE PROBLEM HAS TO BE MANUFACTURING DEFECT OR EXISTING PROBLEM WHEN PURCHASED AND NO HELP FROM DEALERSHIP AT THIS POINT. THEY WANT 2400.00 TO REBUILD THE TRANSMISSION. NEVER BUY ANOTHER ONE AGAIN. *NM
CLANGING (NOISE) IN FRONT END/STEERING COLUMN. DEALERSHIP STATED THAT THE STEERING SHAFT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED, BUT THAT THE PART NEEDED WAS ON BACK ORDER AND THAT AT THIS THERE THERE ARE ALMOST 200,000 (STEERING SHAFTS) ON BACK ORDER ACROSS THE COUNTRY, WITH NO WAY OF KNOWING WHERE THE PART WOULD BE AVAILABLE. *AK
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.