Seat Belt complaints by model year
| Year | Complaints | Share of year's complaints | Typical mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | 2% | — |
| 2024 | 1 | 1% | — |
| 2023 | 1 | 0% | — |
| 2022 | 2 | 1% | 35,000 miles |
| 2021 | 13 | 3% | 1,000 miles |
| 2019 | 3 | 3% | 212,000 miles |
| 2018 | 1 | 1% | — |
| 2017 | 2 | 1% | 80,000 miles |
| 2016 | 4 | 2% | 40,000 miles |
| 2015 | 15 | 2% | 61,000 miles |
| 2014 | 2 | 2% | 100,000 miles |
| 2011 | 3 | 1% | 62,000 miles |
| 2010 | 1 | 0% | 62,000 miles |
| 2009 | 1 | 0% | 78,000 miles |
| 2008 | 7 | 1% | 85,000 miles |
| 2007 | 14 | 1% | 112,000 miles |
| 2006 | 2 | 2% | 87,000 miles |
| 2005 | 5 | 2% | 70,000 miles |
| 2004 | 2 | 0% | — |
| 2003 | 10 | 2% | 83,000 miles |
| 2002 | 15 | 3% | 25,000 miles |
| 2001 | 29 | 6% | 50,000 miles |
| 2000 | 5 | 2% | — |
| 1999 | 12 | 2% | 200,000 miles |
| 1998 | 3 | 1% | — |
| 1997 | 7 | 2% | 168,000 miles |
| 1996 | 4 | 1% | — |
| 1995 | 13 | 5% | — |
Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (buckles, retractors, anchors and pretensioners).
Mileage when the problem started
What owners report
Our vehicle was rear ended and the front passenger seatbelt did not lock or (possibly) locked too late. The front passenger's face hit the dashboard, as well as their knees and feet. The vehicle that hit ours was estimated to be travelling at about 45 mph and we were rolling at around 5 mph in traffic. The failure has not been able to be reproduced by the collision center, the sensor callibration contractor, nor the dealership. No sensors showed any failures and the tension appears to be correct on the seatbelt. We have been unable to determine why the seatbelt failed during this incident and if the vehicle will react appropriately in the event of another collision.
I purchased a 2021 Chevy Tahoe from Autonation Chevrolet 11-3-2020. I have taken my Tahoe to the service department numerous times - as my truck has had a stubborn service safety restraint system warning error code that continues to come on and off. I have taken it to have all recalls serviced as per recall request. The service safety restraint system warning code has not been corrected after more than 5-6 visits if not more as not all visits have been logged properly. I have had this truck for less than 12 months and have experienced too many conflicting issues. I do NOT feel safe driving my Tahoe with the SRS light on. There's obviously a malfunction that you all have not been able to figure out. This is extremely dangerous!! What if I were to get involved in an accident or collision and my airbags do not deploy? …
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that while driving approximately 10 mph, a second vehicle crashed into the rear of the vehicle. The contact indicated that during the crash no air bags were deployed and the front driver and front passenger seat belts did not retract. After the incident, the front driver's side and front passenger side seat belts remained inoperable and the air bag warning light remained illuminated. No injuries were reported and a police report was filed at the scene. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not contacted regarding the failures. The contact was concerned that due to the illuminated air bag warning light, the air bag may erroneously deploy while operating the vehicle. The failure mileage was 212,000.
I had pulled away from back door of store after dropping off a donation. I drove about 30 feet when my passenger side rear door popped open and tapped a fence post. Every airbag went off in the vehicle, except for the steering wheel. I could not have been going more than 5mph. It sounded like an explosion went off and frightened me terribly as I am claustrophobic and was trapped in the vehicle. The insurance agent, and tow service said that that door hitting a fence post should not have blown every airbag in the vehicle. They both acknowledged that they had never seen that happen in all the accidents they have been to. I do not feel like my insurance company should have to cover this and I should not have to pay the $1000 deductible when there is clearly problems with all the recalls on airbags.
I purchased a 2016 Chevrolet Tahoe on March 8, 2026, in [redacted] . After the sale, I discovered that the vehicle has serious undisclosed safety defects, including evidence that the airbag (Supplemental Restraint System) had previously deployed and was not properly repaired or restored to working condition, and were actually cut and removed from the vehicle and glued and covered up. This defect was not disclosed prior to purchase and represents a significant safety hazard. It is available for inspection. This put my safety and others at risk because if I had not noticed that the airbag system was not working and was removed and if I had been in a wreck who knows the injuries that me or somebody else could have sustained. The problem has not been confirmed or reproduced by anybody other than me I have physical documentation pictures and diagnostic reports showing the issue. …
Thursday, April 12, 2018. Heading to work one morning on the interstate, the girl in front of me put on breaks (we were in the fast lane), so I put on my breaks. I looked in the rear view mirror and saw the driver behind me not paying attention and going 50-55 MPH. I had enough time to brace myself before he hit me from behind which made me hit the person in front of me (I have video and pictures). Fortunately, my Tahoe held up pretty good and didn't crumble with the type of impact it had. My concern is my airbags did deploy but actually didn't. The smoke came out from the airbags through the dash and my airbag sensor light came on my alerts on the dash. If I wouldn't have prepared and braced myself then my face would have gone in the steering wheel. I didn't see a recall but is there a reason they didn't come out? …
The contact owns a 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that while her husband was attempting to secure the seat belt, the metal cable bolted to the driver's side seat snapped in half. The contact stated that the lap belt was loose. The contact stated that the lap belt was buckled but the driver was not secured in the seat. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.
The contact owns a 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that the front driver's side seat belt tensioner cable had failed to operate as needed. Due to the failure, the seat belt warning symbol was displayed on the instrument panel. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V245000 (Seat Belts) which was linked to the failure. The dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.
Related recalls (12)
Seat belts › Critical fasteners
General Motors, LLC (M) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles equipped with third-row seats. The rivet that retains the buckle to the mounting bracket in the left or right side third-row seat belt buckle assembly may have been improperly…
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the rivet head formation on both the left and right side third-row seat belt buckle assemblies and replace seat belt buckle assemblies, as necessary, free of charge.
Seat belts › Front
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2014-2016 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, 2015-2016 Chevrolet Tahoe, and 2014-2015 GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles that may have received an incorrect replacement tensioner cable assembly as part of a previous recall remedy or a subsequent repair.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver seat belt lap pretensioner, free of charge. The recall began on May 5, 2021.
Seat belts › Rear/other
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe vehicles. The second-row center seat belt latch may be trapped beneath the trim bezel and therefore inaccessible. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208. "Occupant Crash Protection."
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will remove the trim bezel, correctly position the seat belt latch plate, and reinstall the trim bezel, free of charge. The recall began April 14, 2021.
Seat belts › Rear/other
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, GMC Yukon, Yukon XL, Chevrolet Suburban, and Tahoe vehicles with third-row seating. The third-row outboard seat belts may have been entrapped or misrouted behind the outboard seat-folding mechanism, which could result in damaged seat belts.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the third-row outboard seat belts, replacing any damaged seat belts, and rerouting them if necessary, free of charge. The recall began on April 21, 2021.
Seat belts › Critical fasteners
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV and 2021 GMC Canyon and Sierra 1500, 2500 and 3500, Yukon, Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV and Chevrolet Blazer, Camaro, Colorado, Equinox, Silverado 1500, 2500 and 3500, Suburban and Tahoe vehicles.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the suspect bolts, free of charge. The recall began January 29, 2021. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8785, Cadillac customer service at…
Show 7 more recalls
Seat belts › Critical fasteners
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2019-2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500, 2021 Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe and GMC Yukon XL and 2020-2021 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 and 3500 and GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 vehicles.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect left-side and right-side front-row center seat-belt bracket attachments and reassemble it correctly as necessary, free of charge. The recall began January 26, 2021.
Seat belts › Front
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2016 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and Tahoe Police Pursuit and Special-Service vehicles. The flexible steel cable connecting the driver's seat belt to the outboard side of the seat may be repeatedly bent over the seat side shield as the driver enters and exits the vehicle causing…
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the pretensioner cable and seat side-shield, free of charge. The recall began June 19, 2018. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020.
Seat belts › Pretensioner
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015-2017 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD, 3500 HD, Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Sierra 2500 HD and 3500 HD, GMC Yukon, GMC Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade and Cadillac Escalade ESV vehicles and 2014-2017 Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500, Trax, Caprice Police Pursuit Vehicle, GMC Sierra…
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge.
Seat belts › Rear/other
On certain crew cab pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, the 2nd row center occupant seat belt routing May make it difficult to position the lap portion of the safety belt low around the hips of occupants, especially smaller occupants, seated in this position.
Remedy: Dealers will cut open the guide loop, remove a portion of the loop, and then the remaining two sides should be folded over and secured with a retainer free of charge. The recall began on July 21, 2005.
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.
Seat belts › Front › Webbing
Vehicle description: light duty pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles. These vehicles do not comply with the occupant protection requirements of FMVSS no. 208, "occupant crash protection."
Remedy: Dealers will install a tray insert on the top of the passenger side of the instrument panel. The tray insert corrects the noncompliance.
Seat belts › Rear/other
Vehicles fail to conform to FMVSS no. 210, "seat belt anchorages." the center rear seat lap belt was improperly routed.
Remedy: Instructions for rerouting the center rear seat lap belt will be sent to the vehicle owners. If the owner prefers, they can take their vehicle to their dealer and have it rerouted free of charge by the dealer.
NHTSA investigations
Seat belt anchorage separation
Odi has received one (1) complaint alleging that the 2nd row passenger-side seat belt release buckle anchor detached from seat frame during a side impact crash.during the crash, the occupant was thrown from his seat, partially ejected through the rear quarter window of the vehicle.occupant sustained injury.GM has subsequently changed seat belt anchoring design in my 2000.
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…
Frequently asked questions
Which Chevrolet Tahoe years have seat belt problems?
By NHTSA complaints, the 2001 (29), 2002 (15), 2015 (15), 2007 (14) and 1995 (13) model years. Seat Belt complaints make up 6% of all complaints for the 2001.
Is there a recall for Chevrolet Tahoe seat belt problems?
Yes — 12 recalls, including 22V-617 (critical fasteners, Aug 11, 2022); 21V-245 (front, Apr 8, 2021); 21V-210 (rear/other, Mar 25, 2021). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers; check a specific car with the VIN recall check.
At what mileage do Chevrolet Tahoe seat belt problems start?
Across all years, half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 77,000 miles; 37% happened before 50,000 miles.
What part fails most often?
Owners most often name the front › retractor (22 mentions), followed by the rear/other (18).
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.