Problems · by component

2008 Chevrolet Tahoe engine problems

36 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe cite engine, 6% of all 586 complaints for this model year.

Complaints
36
6% of all complaints
Crashes
2
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
2
Reported by owners
01 —Owner reports

What owners say about the engine

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“Was Delivered. Took for a test drive. Stalled at stop sign. Restarted went down the road stalled and slammed into park. Contacted company was told to take to local GMC/Chevy, (said they did a bunch of research and this part should work) basically guessing had my vehicle for 9 months replaced some sensor. Had my boyfriend Drove to red light, not even half a block, stall (stable track sensor) but lost all electric but v8 still ran took to another ( had towed) to another local shop they had for 4+ months couldn't figure out said it was running 18+ codes and would cost too much to go through. Contacted company the gentleman politely laughed and said ur kidding me right it's been years I tried to explain how long it was taking due to both repairs company had it over a year n half. No sympathy he knew exactly what he sold.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 19, 2025Electrical system, Service brakes, EngineODI 11700456
“I had bought the 08 Tahoe hybrid. The day it was delivered, it stalled I called the dealership out of Minnesota and was told oh it could be this it could be that went to two local shops and a private shop all had different specifications as to what was wrong with the car due to so many codes being thrown out. You would try to take off from a stop sign or a red light car would completely lose all power, almost had multiple people slam into me because it always happened, caused so much anxiety because my only wheels to get my children around. Once again was told to take it in GM had it for over a year and could not figure the issue out. I was told by the dealer multiple times it was not their issue and they knew the position I was in an said it was inspected but refused to send me the paperwork.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 27, 2025Electrical system, EngineODI 11690098
“I BOUGHT MY CHEVY TAHOE IN 2012.I WOULD CHANGED MY OIL EVERY 3000 MILES.EVERY TIME MY OIL WAS CHANGED,THE OIL TECH WOULD INFORM ME THAT YOUR OIL IS VERY LOW BY SHOWING ME THE DIP STICK.WHEN I HAD 167,009 MILES,I WAS EXPERIENCING LIFTER NOISE AND OIL CONSUMPTION.I TOOK MY TAHOE TO A CHEVY DEALERSHIP WERE THEY FOUND EHAUST LIFTERS AND CAM LOBE WAS WORN.THEY HAD TO REPLACE CAMSHAFT,LIFTERS,OIL PUMP,BOLTS,GASKETS,ETC.VERY EXPENSIVE FIX.NOW THAT,I HAVE MY 5.3 VORTEX MOTOR FIXED,IT STILL CONSUMING OIL.I HAVE HAD MANY OIL CHANGES SINCE MOTOR WAS REPAIRED AND STILL MY 5.3 VORTEX MOTOR IS CONSUMING OIL SHOWING LOW ON OIL DIP STICK.ON 12/5/2020,I HAD A OIL CHANGE AT A OIL CHANGE PLACE AND THE TECHNICIAN SHOWED ME THE DIPSTICK WITH THE OIL SHOWING VERY LOW.WHERE IS THIS OIL GOING?”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Dec 6, 2020EngineODI 11378078
“WHILE AT A STOP LIGHT OR STOP SIGN, WHILE ENGINE IS ON, AT A COMPLETE STOP WHILE THE VEHICLE ACCELERATES THE GAS THE VEHICLE COMPLETELY CONKS OUT. THE VEHICLE CANNOT CATCH SPEED AFTER IT COMES TO A STOP. I AM STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC AT THE LIGHT OR AT THE STOP SIGN. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 24, 2020Electrical system, Unknown or other, EngineODI 11376244
“GAS ENGINE RUN AWAY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED WITH P0069, P0430 (EMISSIONS CODES) ENGINE UNCONTROLLABLY REVVED TO MAXIMUM 6000 RPM (MAX THROTTLE)WHILE IN DRIVE GEAR FROM AUTOSTOP RESUME.. CRUSE CONTROL NOT ENABLED SLIGHT UPHILL GRADE REQUIRED ENGINE TO BE SHUT OFF WITH KEY SAME DAY AS FIRST EVENT WHILE IN DRIVE GEAR FROM AUTOSTOP RESUME WITH CRUSE CONTROL ENABLED AT 25 MPH ENGINE UNCONTROLLABLY REVVED TO MAXIMUM 6000 RPM WAS ABLE REGAIN CONTROL OF ENGINE RPM BY SHUTTING OFF CRUSE CONTROL .. (SOMETHING IN COMMON WITH THE FIRST TIME ) SLIGHT UPHILL GRADE UNCONTROLLED HIGH ENGINE RPM FROM AUTOSTOP RESUME STILL HAPPENING AFTER REPLACEMENT OF THE MAP SENSOR ... I SEE AS MUCH AS 2,000 TO 2500 RPM FROM AUTOSTOP RESUME... THIS IS NOT NORMAL IT SHOULD BE STARTING AT 1200 TO 1500 RPM.. NORMAL ENGINE STARTS ARE AT 1100 RPM”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 11, 2019Vehicle speed control, EngineODI 11243090
“VEHICLE'S AUTOSTOP FEATURE IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS WHEN DRIVER IS TRYING TO APPLY THE BRAKES AND SLOW VEHICLE. VEHICLE JOLTS VIOLENTLY FORWARD UPON BREAKING AND ACCELERATES TO 10 MPH. VEHICLE'S TRANSMISSION FAILED AT 135K MILES DURING STOP AT TRAFFIC LIGHT IN HAYWARD CA IN DEC 2018. TRANSMISSION WAS REBUILT. VEHICLE AT 145K MILES NOW IS COMPLETELY SHUTTING DOWN DURING AUTO STOP WITH LOW RPM'S WITHOUT ANY SERVICE CODES TO CHECK. AT ALL TIMES VEHICLE IS IN DRIVE.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 18, 2019Power train, Vehicle speed control, EngineODI 11233229

Showing 6 of 36 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026NHTSA vehicle page

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.