2018 Chevrolet Tahoe Powertrain (other) Problems

Out of nowhere without any warning light all of a sudden couldn’t back up when geared into reverse to reverse. Turned the vehicle off and back on, then was able to reverse. Left parking lot and was on the road and vehicle started loosing speed, then put into park with hazard lights. When attempting to get off the road for safety reasons tried putting into drive and the car then drove in reverse. Local Fire department came and called in the local police dept for assistance and pushed vehicle off to the side and tow company came and took to the auto shop with information today of the transmission going out, and with that causing happening causing the Fluid to Smell Burnt and Full. The auto shop test Drove and made It 30 Feet and Would Not Move. Transmission Is Failing and Causing the Concern.

NHTSA ID

11753184

Incident

Jul 18, 2026

Unexpected acceleration

NHTSA ID

11747971

Incident

Jun 15, 2026

Transmission failure at 127,000 miles. Multiple flairs in transmission resulting in total rebuild

NHTSA ID

11743074

Incident

Jun 1, 2026

Transmission failed at 94,000 miles Misfire 80,000miles AFM/DOD issues $10,000 in repair bills still not fixed

NHTSA ID

11723987

Incident

Dec 5, 2025

Unknown, vehicle starts to jerk when shifting gears. Jerks when breaking and when accelerating. Check engine light on. I see there is a prior recall for the same issue on same year as mine

NHTSA ID

11718209

Incident

Feb 1, 2026

Transmission failure at 110,000 miles. No warning lights, no codes. The transmission was slipping during acceleration, random rpm bouncing at a steady speed, acting lost in gears, slow power up hills then takes off. Currently sitting at a chevy dealership.

NHTSA ID

11670902

Incident

May 29, 2025

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle began to shake excessively, prompting the contact to discontinue driving the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 80,000. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ID

11658003

Incident

Apr 30, 2025

Mileage

80,000 mi

Transmission is overheating and forcing the truck into limp mode

NHTSA ID

11652910

Incident

Mar 11, 2025

4100 Miles - Asked service dept. at dealership to check for noise coming from underside of vehicle. No service was completed. 4800 Miles - Asked service dept. at dealership to check again for noise on suspension. Service indicated it was a parking brake cable that was rubbing. 9800 Miles - Asked service dept. at dealership to check fluttering noise coming from engine. No service was completed. 15,000 Miles - Asked service dept. at dealership to check again for rattling noise coming from engine. Service indicated fluttering heard was exhaust pulsing through the manifold. No service was completed. 21,000 Miles- Service Dept at dealership provided multi point inspection and given clear inspection. No service was completed even though I stated there was still engine noises. 24,000- Asked service dept. at dealership to check hard shifting from transmission and poor performance. In addition, mentioned the noises again. No service was completed, service stated it was due to colder temperatures. 25,000- Asked service dept. at dealership to check hard shifting from transmission and poor performance. In addition, mentioned the noises again. Engine cooler lines were replaced. Scanned and verified clutch learn values all normal. Activated TCC and disabled TCC and found normal operation. No service completed. Now, after warranty has expired, service at dealership is telling me my camshaft and lifters need to be replaced, struts are leaking, transmission needs attention and should be flushed, and that I should NOT be driving my vehicle due to safety concerns. Although, I had taken the vehicle in multiple times during warranty period with complaints about these very items, no service was ever completed to correct them. Since then, I have read multiple articles documenting GM issues with L87 6.2L engines and transmissions. I'm filing a formal complaint with GM, as these issues should have been communicated to consumers or fixed through recalls.

NHTSA ID

11636801

Incident

Jan 1, 2025

Like every other GM vehicle from 2014 to 2021, the tongue converter has failed and ruined the crappy transmission.

NHTSA ID

11614161

Incident

Sep 11, 2024

Brakes failed pedal went to the floor when getting off the interstate. Kept pressing pedal and came back but vehicle pulls to the left hard when Brake pedal is also very hard to press. Very unsafe afraid to drive the vehicle. Dealer has recalls for same model vehicle show under my vin . Vehicle is available for inspection at anytime.

NHTSA ID

11606655

Incident

Aug 5, 2024

7-21-23 Unit stalled 3 times today. The last time was while driving. Check engine light on. 1-29-24 Today I was responding to an emergency backup for an officer that was fighting two subjects. The subjects were fleeing from a stolen vehicle and it was dispatched that these subjects were armed. I never made it to this call because my vehicle #10688 would not accelerate past 23mph and then shut off leaving me stranded in the roadway. While waiting for a tow truck I was able to get the vehicle started again and was able to drive at only 36mph to try to get to the scene and assist the officer. I ultimately was able to make it to the police station. I wrote up the vehicle and left the keys in the training building.

NHTSA ID

11581733

Incident

Jan 29, 2024

12-11-23 Vehicle was not accelerating when pressing gas pedal then began violently shaking and shut off in middle of roadway.

NHTSA ID

11581724

Incident

Dec 11, 2023

9-19-23 Vehicle stalled and started sputtering when turned on.

NHTSA ID

11581718

Incident

Sep 19, 2023

On 7/27/2023, the transmission in my 2018 Chevy Tahoe failed. There was no warning, noise or lights I dicating a problem. I was trying to excelerate after turning at a stop light. There was a slight hesitation when shifting so I let off the gas. When I tried again, it didn’t do anything and I began losing speed. I had to have the vehicle towed to the dealership. Upon their inspection the tech determined internal failure inside transmission. I was told I was 3,000 miles out of warranty.

NHTSA ID

11541497

Incident

Jul 27, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that while parked on a slight incline and shifting into reverse, the vehicle started driving down the driveway with the brake pedal depressed. The contact stated that the vehicle drove approximately 15-feet in reverse. The contact stated once on a flat service, the vehicle suddenly stopped. During the failure, the message "driving assist" was displayed. The failure had occurred on another occasion. The cause of failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 54,000.

NHTSA ID

11523433

Incident

May 7, 2023

Mileage

54,000 mi

A lifter collapsed, which in turn damaged the lobes of a piston, which then damaged the camshaft...generating a repair bill of $7,100 per the dealer. The vehicle only has 69,200 miles on it. When the lifter failed, the car shuddered at stops, lost some power and made a noticeable clanking noise. When pulling out from stops, or into traffic, the car hesitated somewhat before accelerating. This creates a very dangerous situation. Also, if more lifters or the camshaft seized up at higher speeds, a driver could experience a potentially fatal situation from an uncontrollable vehicle or a fire. Research shows that Chevy/GM knew about the lifter problem on 5.3 ltr engines with their AFM system for years and sold them anyway. They apparently have never solved the problem, and it still exists today. Several class action lawsuits have been lodged against them for the lifter failure problem. Aside from the serious potential safety issues, an expensive vehicle like my Tahoe should not be expected to incur a $7,100 repair bill when it's only 4 years old and has less then 70,000 miles on it. That's ridiculous. My wife and I are both retired. We will be tapping our retirement account to pay for this shoddy Chevy product and will worry that it just might occur again, after the fix. From a safety standpoint, a stall, loss of power, or engine seizure at speed will tax our quick response reflexes. The known lifter problem is a legitimate safety situation and needs to be addressed before someone is seriously injured or killed...if they haven't already. Thank you for listening.

NHTSA ID

11489374

Incident

Oct 4, 2022

On July 29, 2022 my Tahoe broke down on me while driving home from work. It started to lose speed while on a busy highway during rush hour. I started losing speed and I kept giving it gas and it wouldn’t go. I kept trying to get speed to try and get off the highway to avoid getting into an accident or put someone else in danger. Somehow I managed to get off into a shopping center. I had come up to a stop sign and couldn’t even get the Tahoe to stop while there was a lot of traffic in the shopping center as well. I eventually got it to a safe spot and called a tow truck. I live almost an hour from home. The shop the Tahoe was towed too said the torque converter was contaminated with metal shavings that was caused by parts on the Tahoe grinding together and therefore contaminating the torque converter and then it ruined my transmission. I was also told this is a common thing they are seeing with Chevy Tahoes, but yet no recalls have been issued and I think something needs to be down about it. It put my life in danger as well as other drivers around me! And I couldn’t afford to fix it so I lost my vehicle and all the hard work and money I put into paying my vehicle since 2018! I also found a lawsuit regarding this issue too.

NHTSA ID

11486218

Incident

Jul 29, 2022

WE JUST HAD TO SPEND $1,000 TO HAVE THE RADIATOR REPLACED ON OUR 2018 CHEVROLET TAHOE BECAUSE IT WAS LEAKING WHICH ONLY HAS 32,050 MILES ON IT. THE TAHOE HAD A 3 YEAR 36,000 MILE BUMPER TO BUMPER WARRANTY, BUT WE WERE TWO (2) DAYS PAST THE 3 YEAR MARK SO THEY WOULD NOT COVER IT. THE TAHOE ALSO HAS A 5 YEAR 60,000 POWERTRAIN WARRANTY, BUT THE DEALERSHIP SAID THAT THE RADIATOR IS NOT CONSIDERED TO BE PART OF THE POWER TRAIN ONLY THE HOSES GOING FROM THE RADIATOR TO THE ENGINE WERE COVERED UNDER THE POWERTRAIN WARRANTY. IN JANUARY 2019 GM ISSUED SERVICE BULLETIN PI1513F (ATTACHED) FOR 2015-2016 TAHOES FOR THIS EXACT SAME LEAKING RADIATOR ISSUE WHICH STATES THAT THE RADIATOR REPLACEMENT SHOULD BE COVERED UNDER THE POWER TRAIN WARRANTY. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE FOR 2017 & 2018 MODELS ALSO, BUT GM HAS NOT ISSUED A RECALL, NOR WILL THEY COVER THE 2017-2018 MODEL UNDER THE 5 YEAR 60,000 MILE POWER TRAIN WARRANTY LIKE THEY DO WITH THE 2015-2016 MODELS.

NHTSA ID

11375701

Incident

Nov 18, 2020

Mileage

32,050 mi