Other powertrain problem on the 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe
When other powertrain problem gets reported
Owners of the 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe report other powertrain problem at a median of 40,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 25,000 miles and a quarter after 55,000 miles, from 14 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 92,000 miles. It is the 7th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 10,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 95,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 84,429 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
43% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11,557 miles | 24,750 miles | 39,205 miles | 54,725 miles | 95,986 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $400–$4,500 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 28 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2019, at a median of 2,400 miles, and latest on the 2025 at 120,000 miles.
By volume the 2021 carries the most reports, with 33; the 2002 has 20. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Transmission fails to function appropriately when going from a stopped position to forward or reverse. In reverse position, loud grinding noise is heard. In forward, vehicle hesitates before finally moving forward. This has been to dealer for repair 3 times. First repair revealed front thrust shim with too much end play; transmission assembly was rebuilt (manufacturer refused to replace), thrust washer replaced and transmission overhauled. Two return visits for same problem and dealer says they cannot recreate and have found no problems. *nlm
I have a 2002 tahoe that just turned 41k miles. I experienced on a few occasions while accelerating from a stop that the vehicle seemed to lose acceleration for a second or so before re-engaging and resuming normal acceleration. Problem was definitely transmission related. This same incident happened to me but this time the engine revved, acceleration diminished, and loud banging tumbling metal noise was heard. Ends up the transmission mechanism that causes the transmission to shift failed and broke apart breaking other internal components. Transmission has to be rebuilt. Gm customer service was helpful but still have to pay for 50% of repair cost for rebuilt transmission. The vehicle has a tow package and has never towed a thing yet. Obviously a problem this grand in a vehicle did not happen overnight and it appears this problem is similar to other transmission complaints on the same vehicle. This should really be looked at by those that know. *jb
Transmission disengaged from engine while driving. On several other occassions the vehicle failed to move upon depressing the accelerator, after a few seconds the vehicle would jerk and take off.*ak
Also reported on the 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe
ABS module or sensor failure
Other brake problem
Loss of braking
Other wheel or tire problem
Parking brake failure
Brake line, hose or caliper failure
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 20 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other powertrain problem happen on the 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe?
Across 14 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 40,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 25,000 miles and a quarter after 55,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other powertrain problem on the 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe?
20 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.5 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed