The 2023 Chevy Tahoe performed well in the older crash tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), but newer, more demanding tests proved challenging for the Bow Tie brand’s full-size SUV.
A series of four videos from the IIHS shows the crash tests being carried out with several Chevy Tahoe units, providing a look at exactly what goes into determining the safety rating of the vehicles. The first in the series looks at the “driver side small overlap crash test:”
The one-minute, seven-second video shows the Chevy Tahoe impacting a fixed obstacle with its left front headlight and front fascia, predictably crushing in that side of the SUV’s front end. Crumpling also occurs in and below the C-pillar. Interior views show the driver crash test dummy thoroughly enveloped in air bags, while no rear-seat passenger view is shown.
The Tahoe earned a “G” or Good rating overall in this test. The head, neck, chest, and thigh of the dummy received Good protection according to the IIHS, while the lower leg and foot might have been susceptible to injury with a Marginal rating.
The second test, shown above, is the updated moderate overlap crash test. While the original test gave the Chevy Tahoe a Good rating, the new test revealed potential shortcomings. In the one-minute, 19-second video, the 2023 Tahoe has its front end thoroughly crushed in. The driver dummy fares about the same, but the side curtain airbag in the rear seat does nothing to prevent a violent whiplash of the passenger dummy’s head and neck.
Protection is rated Good in all measures for the driver. However, only the thigh of the rear-seat passenger gets Good protection. The chest and lower leg get Marginal ratings, and the head and neck receive a Poor rating. The passenger’s lap belt constricted the abdomen, “increasing the risk of abdominal injuries” per the IIHS.
The passenger-side small overlap test, linked above, rated Acceptable overall. The IIHS notes “the passenger’s survival space was not maintained well,” meaning that unlike the driver side, the structure itself was crushed inward into the occupied space.
Nevertheless, injury safety for all body areas of the driver was rated Good, while for the passenger, the rating was Good except for the lower leg and foot, which were Marginal. The airbags kept both heads from whacking against internal structures, but the footrest likely would have crushed the right foot and left shin of a human passenger during the impact.
The last test above is the updated IIHS side crash test. As a weighted truck simulation piledrives into the side of the Chevy Tahoe, it’s visible how well the SUV’s structure holds up to the impact, scarcely buckling inward despite the force of the impact.
The driver and rear-seat passenger are both protected by the side curtain airbags, which prevent their heads from impacting hard surfaces. The rating is uniformly Good, both overall and for all potential injury types.
We’ve also written about how the Tahoe fared in the IIHS tests overall, including not only the impact tests shown in the video, but in pedestrian avoidance and other safety scenarios.
The subpar performance of the Tahoe and other models prompted the IIHS to note that the “results show that some popular vehicles still lag behind in meeting the most advanced safety standards.”
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Comments
Can’t wait to see EV’s being tested…. CLEAR THE BUILDING!
After seeing that I am still feeling pretty good about protection in my 2023 Suburban…. But things can happen…. I know you need a nice new vehicle to do the test, but still amazing to see the instant destruction….. Ron
IIHS is an insurance industry lobbyist organization.
what is your point?
O Yes… those EV’s…. Just wait until so many die in EV fires…. Lawyers will be making lots of money…. Our fire department is now undergoing special training to deal with EV fires…. Even dealerships will have to change their ways and prepare for potential fires….
Not only that, but training for extrication procedures so first responders don’t electrocute themselves trying to save someone’s life by getting them out of a destroyed vehicle.
IIHS is responsible for some safety changes that manufacturers would not have made without crash tests and the publication of the results. Customers do value safety of their family.