I am camping in Moab. I have a 2013 Suburban. I was on an isolated paved mountain road, going slow and hit a pothole. The stability light and the abs light came on, the truck shuddered, and then it died and wouldn't restart. The motor cranked but won't start. OnStar eventually got us a tow in to town. People told us about a fuel shutoff switch or an inertia switch. Or just unplug the battery. Do Chevy Suburbans have this switch?Any guesses what could have happened?The very full up campground thinks we're leaving. Friday. Thanks

Not completely sure about GM's, but our Expedition had a fuel shut off switch. If I remember it was behind the kick panel on the passenger side.Supposedly activated in the event of a collision.(IF you have one, maybe it was activated when you jarred through the pot hole??? maybe)

Nearly all vehicles have a fuel cutoff to reduce fire risk in a collision. The reset location should be in your owner's manual. However, I'd be surprised that a jolt just from a pothole or bump in the road would trip it. From what I've seen, typically to trip the fuel shutoff it takes a significant collision, hard enough to cause body damage. At any rate, it would be the first thing to check.

If it hit hard and vibrated the steering column it would be the security switch plug in they are known for this it operates the fuel pump

In my experience as a firefighter I remember a reset button for electric fuel pumps in passenger cars usually located in the trunk area. If a collision shut off power to the fuel pump, the reset button could be pushed to restore power to the pump. On a Suburban, if so equipped, don't know where it would be, but in the rear of the vehicle interior would be the place to look. Wondering if the stability control light and ABS light were activated by the wheel(s) that hit the pothole.Must have been one helluva pothole.

Several people who stopped to help looked for this switch and couldn't find it. I know Ford has it. Does Chevy have it and where is it? I have bad internet service here and can't search.

Hit pothole and truck stopped running. | Good Sam Community

downtheroad
Explorer
Oct 15, 2015
Not completely sure about GM's, but our Expedition had a fuel shut off switch. If I remember it was behind the kick panel on the passenger side.
Supposedly activated in the event of a collision.
(IF you have one, maybe it was activated when you jarred through the pot hole??? maybe)
rjstractor
Nomad
Oct 15, 2015
Nearly all vehicles have a fuel cutoff to reduce fire risk in a collision. The reset location should be in your owner's manual. However, I'd be surprised that a jolt just from a pothole or bump in the road would trip it. From what I've seen, typically to trip the fuel shutoff it takes a significant collision, hard enough to cause body damage. At any rate, it would be the first thing to check.
newman_fulltime
Explorer II
Oct 15, 2015
If it hit hard and vibrated the steering column it would be the security switch plug in they are known for this it operates the fuel pump
thomasmnile
Explorer
Oct 15, 2015
In my experience as a firefighter I remember a reset button for electric fuel pumps in passenger cars usually located in the trunk area. If a collision shut off power to the fuel pump, the reset button could be pushed to restore power to the pump. On a Suburban, if so equipped, don't know where it would be, but in the rear of the vehicle interior would be the place to look. Wondering if the stability control light and ABS light were activated by the wheel(s) that hit the pothole.

Must have been one helluva pothole.
Bank_of_Dad
Explorer
Oct 15, 2015
Several people who stopped to help looked for this switch and couldn't find it. I know Ford has it.
Does Chevy have it and where is it? I have bad internet service here and can't search.
bob_nestor
Explorer III
Oct 15, 2015
If you have OnStar couldn't they do the diagnosis? Given all the computers and electronics vehicles have now days I'd be surprised if there wasn't something in the OBD-II logs and OnStar should be able to access them.
rwynkoop
Explorer
Oct 15, 2015
GM does not use a shut off switch. It is some other problem.
jus2shy
Explorer
Oct 15, 2015
Jostling a vehicle with a good hit can either trigger a switch, or knock a connection in your wiring harness loose. One thing to try is to push all your wiring harness connections closer together, typically the stuff behind your dash and under your hood. Kinda like how RAM had an issue with a wiring harness in the driver side footwell that would get tapped by a person's foot and it could loosen the harness. A good push and re-seal resolved that issue.
Bank_of_Dad
Explorer
Oct 15, 2015
They didn't offer to do diagnostic and I didn't know about it. DH just remembered and called OnStar to do it but they told him he has to hit the blue button in the truck, which is now at the dealer.

The pothole was not that deep but I could see a sharp ledge on the side I probably hit.
Old-Biscuit
Explorer III
Oct 15, 2015
Truck at Dealer.....so issue is being attended to, the owners manual is in truck so you can't look there nor anywhere in truck to see if any one's response will work.

GM doesn't use the 'inertia switch'