Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (buckles, retractors, anchors and pretensioners).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2001 Chevrolet Suburban owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
1)front passenger seat belt locks up. No one would wear seat belt due to problem. Mechanism replaced by dealer 4 times, still not working. Dealer aded an extension to seat belt and that prevents it from locking. 2)parking brake never held vehicle, started to go all the way to the floor. Dealer states thats normal. Took in at 15,000 and 25,000 miles with same problem. At 37,000 miles they want to charge me $800.00 to replace rear rotors and brake pads. Refused to pay them for repair, took it to a tire repair shop and paid $630.00. Rotors were falling apart. This is a very dangerous situation it seems the parking brake stays on even when release. 3) sudden loss of power steering and all lights on dash go on while driving at any speed. Headlights also dim off and on. Alternator wiring replaced. Two months later same thing, wiring replaced. Leave dealer and happens agian on the way home. …
While driving or idling the electrical system shut down intermittently and caused the vehicle to stall. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the dealer replaced the electrical system, but the problem recurred. The dealer still was unable to determine the cause of the problem. The rear floor plastic plate had broken, the left rear window motor was inoperative up and down, the driver's side seat was coming apart by the door, seat track had broken, the right front seat belt shoulder strap sometimes tightened up, there was noise in the rear end had a harmonic vibration, the right second window would not go down, the passenger side seat belt in the front locked up right front retractor locked, the rear passenger side door squeaks really bad, the molding for the rubber coming off, and passenger side front light had come out.
Rt & lt front seat belt retractors pin passengers to seat for no apparent reason. The only way to get out, is to release the seat belt. When driver or passenger tries to move forward, seat belt restrains person and will not let them move freely in the seat. Seat belt retractors have been replaced and then will be OK for a time before they start restraining passenger again. This is a safety issue for the driver who is trying to check traffic out his side window and is a nuisance for the passenger who cannot move about in the seat. This problem encourages the occupants to not wear the seat belts because of the inconvience of being pinned into the seat. All of this is in normal driving situations and not in emerengency situations.
Tl* - the contact owns a 2001 Suburban Chevrolet. The contact received asafety recall 01V159000 concerning seat belts, rertractor on second and third row seats. The dealer stated that the safety recall did not apply to the contact's vehicle due to the VIN. The contact's passenger side retractor did not work, and she would like to have it repaired under the safety recall. The dealer won't acknowledge the safety recall even existed
Consumer states: shutting on and off the idle will go low and high and will itself shut off. Had work done to have it repaired, but only lasted a couple of months. Had the smell of gas. Also, seat belts on the second seats are not working properly. Can't pull the seat belts out, they are stuck inside of the wall of the vehicle.
Dt: the contact stated the third row passenger side seat belt was wrapped around the child's neck. The seat belt had to be cut to free the child. There should be a way to turn off the locking feature of the safety belt.
A passenger in my vehicle went to use the seat belt in the rear seat on the drivers side and the belt which was retracted at the time came out and failed to retract after a loud noise. The seat belt is unusable.
The front passenger seatbelt will lock up for no apparent reason while driving on any road surface, at any speed and all conditions preventing the person from moving freely about in the seat. The seatbelt must be unbuckled, let retract all the way back into the seat, then pulled out and buckled. The situation could happen as often as 5 minutes or one hour. The danger is having to undo the seatbelt while the vehicle is in motion. The dealer replaced it twice and the problem still exists. They said it is GM's problem and there is no fix at this time. I can't believe something can't be done, this is a serious safety situation. I called Chevy and was tol there is nothing they can do, the new style seatbelt that is in the top of the seat has a design problem.
Driver's seat belt squeaks randomly, causing a major distraction while driving until I figured out it was my movements, causing the noise. Whenever I get the chance to take it in for service, it stops for weeks at a time. Dealer stated he would have to keep truck and check it out. If a problem, then he would order parts and I could bring it in again to have it fixed. I cannot leave it for days, so I have not gone back in.
Seat belts in second row of seats directly behind driver, and center seating position seat belts are too long, which do not secure any child safety seat in either seating position. Consumer has contacted dealer. Consumer noted that seat belts needed to be shortened in order to secure child seat. Please provide any further details.
Related recalls
Seat belts › Front › Retractor
Vehicle description: pickup and utility trucks. Some of these vehicles have an internal component in the outboard seat belt retractors for the 2nd and 3rd row of seats that could be cracked. With repeated actuation of the locking mechanism, the crack could spread to the point such that the seat belt would no longer lock.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the outboard seat belts for specific lot numbers and replace the belts if necessary. GM is enclosing an inspection procedure for the owners to use or they can have their dealers do the inspections.
NHTSA investigations
Alleged failure of 2nd row seatbelt alr
The automatic locking retractor (alr) is a feature incorporated in the subject vehicle for locking the webbing to properly secure a child safety seat into a vehicle.this pe was opened based on a GM technical service bulletin stating that with certain child safety seats the webbing May not remain locked.there are no complaints in the odi database and only two complaints to GM.GM's instructions state for the final…
Seat Belt complaints in other Suburban years
Frequently asked questions
How common are seat belt problems on the 2001 Chevrolet Suburban?
NHTSA has 23 complaints about the seat belts of the 2001 Chevrolet Suburban, 5% of the model year's 440 complaints. The component named most often is front › retractor (7 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2001 Chevrolet Suburban seat belt problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 01V-159 (retractor, May 17, 2001). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2001 Chevrolet Suburban seat belt problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 46,000 miles, and 25% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.