Other engine problem on the 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe
When other engine problem gets reported
Owners of the 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe report other engine problem at a median of 90,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 70,000 miles and a quarter after 105,000 miles, from 8 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 95,000 miles. It is the 3rd most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 35,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 115,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 79,379 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A spread this wide points at use rather than design. Towing, climate, service history and city mileage all move a failure like this, so the median is a weak guide to any individual car.
13% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33,121 miles | 70,008 miles | 90,000 miles | 107,294 miles | 112,500 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 $300–$4,000 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 2020, at a median of 400 miles, and latest on the 1998 at 240,000 miles.
By volume the 2021 carries the most reports, with 79; the 2012 has 8. 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.
While driving approximately 70 MPH. Vehicles engine and instrument panel cycled on and off randomly. Noting that once I was able to pull off the road and come to a complete stop the vehicle finally shutdown. Furthermore attempting to turn the truck on only resulted in flickering electronic equipment with no response from the engine. Two weeks following this event fortunately enough after the vehicle was parked we noticed that electric folding mirrors weren't responding to the push button actuating the folding mirrors feature. This event we were able to get on our camera phone. Same flickering of electronics and again the engine didn't respond, turn over. In both occasion it was only after sitting approximately 30min. That vehicle finally responded and turned on. *tr
I was passing on a two lane high way at an accelerated speed at which time the engine dies, no lights no nothing total engine failure. Luckily I have enough momentum that I safely get around the semi and continue to be able to coast until I find a safe place to pull over. I call my local dealer who will not come tow me as I am approximately 50 miles from home although I do have gm roadside assistance. I turn off the ignition and it does restart so I manage to drive to a nearby dealership and leave it there. Nothing shows up on the computer I refuse to take it home. Should they not be able to repair this problem I will hold the dealership and general motors 100% responsible. Thank god my daughter and I are safe but this is a tragedy waiting to happen if not resolved. *tr
Also reported on the 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe
Other body or interior problem
Airbag inflator rupture
Other electrical problem
Other powertrain problem
Other driver assistance problem
Loss of braking
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 8 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 engine problem happen on the 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe?
Across 8 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 90,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 70,000 miles and a quarter after 105,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other engine problem on the 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe?
8 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.4 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