Problems with 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

While driving on the interstate all of the dash board instruments lost power, the door locks actuated as rapidly as possible, the four wheel drive engaged, and the engine temporarily lost power, & all the dome lights came on. the entire episode lasted approximately five seconds outside of the four wheel drive would not go back into two wheel until the vehicle was shut off and the ignition turned on. this type of scenario has occurred now four times. at one point the vehicle locked itself while shut off with our two year old child in the car stuck in his car seat. the vehicle is going in tomorrow for the fourth time and the mechanics have not been able to replicate the problem. the most recent event was preceded by the rear door refusing to open prior to departure, the headlights flickering, the radio panel shutting off, and when the headlights were switched from dim to bright the door locks again actuated at a high rate, the entire instrument fell dead, the engine briefly lost power & the air bag lights went on and off for about twenty seconds. once the major failure happened the radio and instrument panel would go dead about every five minutes. once we reached our destination i shut the car off and went to start it the next day and it had similar problems. *tr

The passenger side factory installed trailer wiring harness is defective because it is pushed in under and to the rear of the spare tire. accident - coming onto highway 152 with a trailer, which is a left lane entry onto a two lane headed east. everything inside was working; passenger side signal was indicating properly, but unknown to me the signal was not working on the trailer. as i moved over to the outside lane to give faster vehicles room to pass in the fast lane (left) the car behind me did not see my signal (because it was not working on the trailer, but was on the tahoe) and had to slam on his breaks and skidded darn near into me. this is really dangerous and is a flaw in the manner in which the wiring harness is squeezed into the tiny space at the rear of the spare tire. i traced all the wiring and it is in the harness since i could not get a current flow reading from the connector/tit that is for the passenger side signal and stop lights. yes, i did check the fuse and it is fully functional. i fully expect to hear from you since i cannot find a satisfactory place to call chevrolet; all they want to do is sell you another vehicle. thanks. *kb

Automatic door lock stop working on driver side then passenger side front door went out one month later. *tr

I bought this vechicle as a used car in june 2010. before i left the dealership with the car i had to request that one door lock be fixed because it was not locking automatically. that door was fixed (driver side back door). since then i am having trouble with the passenger side rear door and the driver door not locking on a consistent basis. the driver door seems to lock and unlock correctly part of the time when the weather is cool; however, in the afternoons and during hot weather, the door very seldom responds to the automatic locking/unlocking. after reviewing this website, it is apparent that this make and model of vehicle has been reported to have consistent problems with the locking system that the manufacturer has not been required to address at their expense. consumer safety laws should apply to locking systems that do not function properly. a known safety hazard is unlocked doors during impacts. since this vehicle is problematic in this regard, the manufacturer should be responsible for not only providing improved parts but, also, for replacing those parts at the manufacturer's expense. *tr

Rear passenger door electric lock actuator failed resulting in no way to open the door without manually unlocking it from the inside. in the even of an emergency, there would be no way to open the door from outside of the vehicle or from the lock switch on the driver door. in addition, there is no key lock on this door from the outside. i have learned that this is a very common problem on 2008 chevrolets, which has cost consumers a huge amount of money in addition to subjecting them to serious safety concerns. i was the victim of a theft when a passenger did not manually lock the door and several days later when i was parked in a parking garage someone entered my vehicle and stole personal property. this would not have occurred if the lock actuator had functioned properly and locked the door when i locked the others. to date, chevrolet has acknowledged this issue but refused to do anything to correct it without an approximate charge of $300 - $400 per door. *tr

2008 chevrolet tahoe. consumer writes in regards to defective remote door locks *tgw the consumer stated the remote door lock for the front passenger door was replaced under warranty on 06/03/11. however, on 05/21/12, the remote door lock for the front driver's side had to be replaced. the dealer replaced the lock actuator/latch assembly. *jb

Door locks on passanger side faulty. *tr

5/31/2011 driver door lock actuator failed, door would and alarm would not set. fixed under warranty. rear left and front right failed within a year. both were replaced at no charge out of warranty at 45000 miles, approx. october 23 2012, rear right lock actuator failed. not sure how long it was not working, but the vehicle was parked and driven with the door unlocked, unknown to me. i find this to be a very unsafe condition, and with the number of complaints on this issue i'm surprised no injuries have been reported. thefts, kids opening moving vehicle door, carjacking are all things that come to mind. why is there no recall? clearly a safety issue, and not isolated to just a few vehicles. *tr

latches/locks/linkages complaint. three of the four door locks cannot be automatically opened or closed either from the inside or outside of the suv . could pose a safety problem if trapped inside of the car. estimated cost to repair $180.00 per door.

Hi i purchase 2008 chevy tahoe brand new. how i called last year to gm support as for this my door lock problem. they told me we will take care of this just take it to nearest dealer which was 220 miles away from where i live. ( and i was told they will take care of it. ) support dept got me an appointment set everything up. i drove in to dealership they look at all my complains. and got me quote for all the repair needs to be perform. door lock problem is a know issue to gm i am not the only one who's affected. but dealership told us. that gm would not pay for repair. how would you feel drive 220 miles and get quote in your okay it's going to be $480 per door to fixed. my question if was not going to take care of this repair why would send me to dealership to have fixed.that trip cost me over 300 bucks not to mention all of the frustration involved. wasted my 1 1/2 days. i have been watching people complaining on edmunds and gm is answering emails. but none of them is getting any help, if gm is not going to stand behind of their product why would respond to emails. this is not done. i happened 2 months after warranty was expired. i bought my truck when gm was in trouble. i don't think that these giant company's care. that does tells me one thing stay away from gm. i would own another gm product in future or ever and pass on this to others. one thing i would like point is that. this door lock problem gm should look into little too closely. this is safety issue. it should recalled and have it fixed immediately without any further delays. thanks *tr

The auto door locks went out on my 2008 chevy tahoe lt just after 36,000 miles. the dealer wants to charge me $500 to fix it. there appears to be many gm vehicles with this same problem. this is a safety issue with children in the vehicle. a recall needs to be issued on the auto door locks.

A few years ago all three door locks went at the same time on my 2008 tahoe. i told my dealer this seems very unusual. asked if there is a recall and he shrugged his shoulders. i am not sure of the exact date other than to tell you it was a few years ago. a few months ago left blinker wont work. took to dealer again. said to bring it back as they needed more time to work on it and think i needed an entire new fuse box. saturday oct. 5, 2013 headlights came on while parked in parking lot. next day it was totally dead. tried charging it and headlights came on and would not shut off. had to disconnect fuses and battery. weird messages keep popping up on dashboard such as check tire pressure. it will say rear but actually it is the front. sometimes it isn't any tire that is low. called chevy customer service and asked why there is no recall and they said it is your responsibility to do so. i researched edmunds.com and found 454 messages from people who have the same electrical problems. chevy said to contact you. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet tahoe. the contact stated that he received recall notice 10v240000 (electrical system). the contact stated that the remedy, which was to disconnect the heated washer fluid module, was a safety concern because in his state, there were icy road conditions and the heated wiper fluid was necessary. the contact called the manufacturer who offered no assistance. the current mileage was 31,481. the failure mileage was approximately 31,200.

The door lock actuator has failed on my 08 chevy tahoe on 3 different occasions. the first time it was the driver side rear door. the two other times were the driver's door. chevrolet replaced the actuator the first 2 times because it was under warranty. *js

The doors on my vehicle still fill up with water and switches have shorted out. it is an ongoing problem and i have to check for water in the doors every time it rains. the 2010 date is when the dealer first replaced shorted switches in the door. the dealer said it was a rare occurrence at the time, but now there is a major recall for similar problems, but the tahoe is not included. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet tahoe. the contact stated while driving an approximate speed of 30 mph, there was a burning smell in the vehicle and immediately, she noticed there was smoke emitting from the general console area. there were flames coming from the cigarette lighter.the contact moved the vehicle off the roadway and attempted to extinguish the fire, but to no avail. the fire department arrived and was able to extinguish the fire. a fire report was filed and the vehicle was towed to a local repair facility where the contact was awaiting further inspection of the failure. the cause of the failure had not been determined. the failure and current mileages were 40,000.

Started with the drivers side lock not working and has progressed to all 4 locks not working with keyless entry and electric switch inside cab. i armed and locked my vehicle and expected the vehicle to be locked when it wasn't and items were stolen from my truck. *tr

I took my 2008 tahoe in for a dead battery it's been 4 months in were on the 5th battery every time i get into my tahoe i don't know if it's going to start. on the last one it was scary i was driving on the highway at about 70 mph when the stability trac light came on and then my car shut down pulled over to the side and the car was dead had it towed to the dealer and the car started with no problem, i refuse to take the car and i called gm tech support and they took over my case with the dealer directly after 8 days at the dealer the gm tech calls me and said there was a bulletin tac #10288937 to replace all battery cables on the car, positive & negative battery cables, starter cables,alternators cables, and cables that go to the main fuse block. i've had my car back now for 1 week and so far it starting good. if my problem still continues to occur i will have no chose but to file for lemon law. *tr

Turn vehicle ignition off take the key out of the ignition, open the driver door to get outi get a few dings like i have left the key in the ignition. i close the driver door, the lights flash, horn honks and doors then lock. i have done nothing to make this happen. it is an intermittent problem. the two local chevy dealers cannot make it repeat this issue and because there are no codes that come up, they tell me they can't fix it. the second issue is my turn signals. i turn on a turn signal, it shows up green, it does not click at random times. third issue, windshield wipers turn on with the fluids when i have the switch in the off position. i touch nothing. i have asked the dealer if they have seen any of these issues and they said they have ran the service bulletins and cannot find anything. so i have a $50k vehicle that has electrical issues that they do not want to look into because they cannot find a "code". *tr

All of the indicators in the instrument cluster sometimes read '0' upon initial startup. sometimes by turning the ignition off, withdrawing the key, and open/close the door then restarting the vehicle the problem corrects itself. however this procedure may be repeated up to 15 times before problem is corrected or, more often, it isn't corrected. *tr

1. door locks failed. have been replaced multiple times. as a result, my [xxx] old baby got locked in the car in 100 degree weather in august. it continues to be an issue and often i have to resort in climbing through the back tailgate. 2. stabilitrack and traction control lights flash. sometimes after these lights flash, my vehicle will go into "reduced power mode" on its on which is very dangerous going 65 mph or pulling out from somewhere. 3.my wipers work when they want to...ever since the two recalls chevrolet released, the work intermittently when they want to. 4. major electrical issues with these vehicles....i have replaced the battery four times and something continues to drain it. parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

This is the 3rd time this happens to my vehicle and i get it repaired. when i got my tahoe with 0 miles it already had this problem and i had it fixed, i thought no big deal of it. then with time i find out it is a common problem with my vehicle. i did some research and this is a very common and pricey problem. the door locks on my tahoe go out, they don't go up or down automatically and this is an issue to me because i have children in the back with an unlocked car. three of my doors are currently out and i don't have $940 to fix it. my passengers are not safe because the door locks are a major problem. please help us out! *tr

I have had all four doors in for repair at one time or another. first it was the rear left door which would not open from the outside. same door still does/does not open. second door was theright rear which dropped down when you opened it. third door was the drivers door which would not open. had to insert car key to open. fourth door was the front passenger door which would not open. each time the door lock actuator was changed. but now i'm still having trouble with the left rear door sometimes opening, sometimes not opening. if i had a child in a infants seat in that rear seat, i may or may not be able to get to him/her in a emergency. i believe this is a safety problem. *tr

I currently own a 2008 chevy tahoe. today 1-17-13 , i had to have the power door lock actuator replaced for the 5th time on this vehicle. every door has been affected at least once with today being the right rear door having to be replaced for a second time. from what i have read numerous times online , this seems to be a recurring problem for the gm suv products starting with the 2007 model years. gm has yet to address this issue with a recall , however i feel as well as many other owners of these vehicles that this could cause a serious issue if the vehicle is hit from the side or a water related accident occurred with the vehicle being submerged and not being able to get out. 1 or 2 instances in a 4.5 year period i could understand but 5 in a 4.5 year period involving every door is not a coincidence. the replacement cost is well in excess of $200 and as such i can understand why gm would be reluctant to act. does it have to take a death or 2 for gm to realize that this is a serious issue and needs to be addressed. if you build a vehicle such as this and charge in excess of $50,000 , then i as the purchaser have every reason to expect that these types of issues would be resolved by using quality parts and not junk. please investigate this issue and you will find a whole lot of customers of these products who are highly upset and want something done to resolve this serious issue. thank you. *tr