The 1989 GMC Suburban has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 2,307,087 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 24 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the seats. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
SEATS93V1870001993-11-16604,207 affected
Defect
THE RECLINER MECHANISM AND THE SEAT FRAME MAY HAVE FOAM AND/OR VINYL BETWEEN THEM, CREATING A "SOFT" JOINT. THIS "SOFT" JOINT RESULTS IN LOWER THAN SPECIFIED BOLT TORQUE WHICH LEADS TO JOINT LOOSENESS, CAUSING BOLT FATIGUE AND EVENTUAL BOLT FAILURE.
Consequence
IF BOLT FAILURE OCCURS TO THE DRIVER'S SEAT, IT WOULDALLOW THE SEAT BACK TO SUDDENLY RECLINE, AND COULD RESULT IN LOSS OF VEHICLECONTROL AND A VEHICLE CRASH WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL REMOVE THE FOAM AND/OR VINYL FROM BETWEEN THE RECLINER MECHANISM AND THE SEAT FRAME "SOFT" JOINT AND REPLACE THE RECLINER BOLTS.
POWER TRAIN93V0160001993-02-011,702,880 affected
Defect
UNANTICIPATED HEAT IN THE TRANSMISSION CAN FORCE THE TRANSMISSION FLUID OUT OF THE VENT TUBE.
Consequence
THE VENTED TRANSMISSION FLUID CAN CATCH FIRE IF EXPOSEDTO A SOURCE OF IGNITION.
Remedy
INSTALL A LONGER TRANSMISSION VENT HOSE ROUTED TO THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT OF THE VEHICLE.
Complaints by component
SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:RECLINER
3
1crashes4injuries
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL
2
STEERING: STEERING WHEEL/HANDLE BAR
2
TIRES
2
1crashes1injuries
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:FRONT UNDERHOOD
1
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
1
EQUIPMENT:APPLIANCE:AIR CONDITIONER
1
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP
1
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
1
1fires
SEAT BELTS
1
Total complaints24
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“While at a stop vehicle jerked forward intermittently. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak”
“The right rear tire blew out. Steeltex radial lt tires. *ak the tire pressure had run low, but never more than 2 psi high. (never any impact) the blowout happened on a smooth road at a low speed. There were never any repairs done to the tires. The blowout had a "t" shaped 4-5" edge of tread, with…”
“We purchased a 1989 gmc suburban in february 2003. At that time the person we had purchased the vehicle from told us there was a possibility the paint had been recalled, but he had never checked into it. Upon us taking delivery I began to search on the web and came upon your information and took…”
“We purchased a 1989 gmc suburban in february 2003. At that time the person we had purchased the vehicle from told us there was a possibility the paint had been recalled, but he had never checked into it. Upon us taking delivery I began to search on the web and came upon your information and took…”
“The tire blew up, causing the vehicle to turn immediately to the left. This caused a wreck and physical damage to the driver.*ak (tiresize: lt26575r16)”
“As a result of recliner bucket seat recall, the passenger's side mounting bolt broke and the entire back of seat released, injuring consumer's wife. *ak”
“Passenger seat back collapsed due to failure of bolt breakage, caused injury.”
“Transmisssion overheated, causing fire.”
Defect investigations
InvestigationEA92022 Opened 1992-06-24 · closed 1993-11-19
SEAT BACK BOLT BREAKAGE
There is no summary currently available
InvestigationEA94029 Opened 1994-07-29 · closed 1996-07-31
ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES
AN ALLEGED MALFUNCTION IN THE ATLERNATOR RESULTING IN ENGINE COMPARTMET FIRES.
InvestigationPE90004 Opened 1989-10-10 · closed 1990-02-02
TRAILER HITCH SEPERATION
There is no summary currently available
InvestigationPE92026 Opened 1992-03-06 · closed 1992-06-24
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1989 GMC Suburban as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.