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Chevrolet · NHTSA safety record

2011 Chevrolet Avalanche 1500

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 28 safety complaints about the 2011 Chevrolet Avalanche 1500 with the US government. Of those, 1 describes a crash and no death is recorded. 2 recall campaigns are open against it, covering the suspension.

The most complained-about system is the air bags, named in 11 complaints, 39% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 50,000 miles, the median across the 21 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers May 2011 to February 2019 · How this is counted

What is on file

28 complaints on file

28

Complaints

1

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

0

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
AIR BAGS 11 · 39%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 11 · 39%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 4 · 14%
STRUCTURE 4 · 14%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 3 · 11%
ENGINE 3 · 11%
POWER TRAIN 3 · 11%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 · 7%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 · 4%
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 1 · 4%
0 8 15

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 28.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2016 at 10.

12 9 6 3
11 12 14 15 16 17 18 19

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2011 to 2019.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA has not crash tested the 2011 Chevrolet Avalanche 1500. Its New Car Assessment Program tests a selection of each year's vehicles and does not reach motorcycles, heavy trucks, motorhomes or most low-volume models, so an absence here says nothing about how the vehicle would perform. It is not a low score.

What owners have reported about this vehicle is below, and it is a different question: a crash test measures what happens to the people inside in a controlled impact, while a complaint records what broke during ordinary use.

Recall campaigns

2 on file

SUSPENSION:REAR:AXLE:SPINDLE

11V007000 · January 6, 2011

The defect
GENERAL MOTORS IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2011 CADILLAC ESCALADE, ESCALADE ESV, ESCALADE EXT; CHEVROLET AVALANCHE, COLORADO, EXPRESS, SILVERADO, SUBURBAN, TAHOE; AND GMC CANYON, SIERRA, SAVANA, YUKON AND YUKON XL VEHICLES. THE REAR AXLE CROSS PINS WERE NOT PROPERLY HEAT TREATED AND COULD FRACTURE AND BECOME DISPLACED WITHIN THE REAR AXLE. SHOULD THE PIN SHIFT OUT OF POSITION, IT COULD CREATE AN INTERFERENCE CONDITION AND CAUSE THE REAR AXLE TO LOCK.
The risk
THE DRIVER MAY NOT BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND A CRASH COULD OCCUR WITHOUT WARNING.
The remedy
DEALERS WILL INSTALL A NEW REAR AXLE CROSS PIN FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JANUARY 11, 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CADILLAC AT 1-866-982-2339, CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438, GMC AT 1-866-996-9463 AND AT THE OWNER CENTER AT WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM.

GENERAL MOTORS CORP. · up to 30,566 vehicles across all model years covered

SUSPENSION:REAR:AXLE:SPINDLE

10V643000 · December 17, 2010

The defect
GENERAL MOTORS IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2011 CADILLAC ESCALADE EXT, CHEVROLET AVALANCHE, SILVERADO LD AND GMC SIERRA LD VEHICLES. THE REAR AXLE CROSS PINS WERE NOT PROPERLY HEAT TREATED AND COULD FRACTURE AND BECOME DISPLACED WITHIN THE REAR AXLE. SHOULD THE PIN SHIFT OUT OF POSITION, IT COULD CREATE AN INTERFERENCE CONDITION AND CAUSE THE REAR AXLE TO LOCK.
The risk
THE DRIVER MAY NOT BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND A CRASH COULD OCCUR WITHOUT WARNING.
The remedy
DEALERS WILL INSTALL A NEW REAR AXLE CROSS PIN FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JANUARY 11, 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CADILLAC AT 1-866-982-2339, CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438, GMC AT 1-866-996-9463 AND AT THE OWNER CENTER AT WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM.

GENERAL MOTORS CORP. · up to 1,262 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

POWER TRAIN

crash · 1,800 miles

WHEN SLOWING DOWN THE VEHICLE SURGES FORWARD EVEN WHEN BRAKE IS BEING APPLIED. IT DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE RELATED TO ENGINE SURGE AS IT DOES WITH SUDDEN GEAR CHANGE AS IF THE VEHICLE IS SPEEDING UP FROM A STAND STILL. THIS OCCURRED AS I WAS TURNING INTO A PARKING SPACE WHICH CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO VEER UNCONTROLLABLY TO THE RIGHT (WAS MAKING A LEFT HAND TURN INTO PARKING SPACE) AND HIT A BRICK COLUMN. IT HAS ALSO HAPPENED WHEN COMING TO A STOP AND PERSONS WERE ABOUT TO WALK ACROSS ROAD SCARING THEM AND ME! THE VEHICLE CONTINUES TO EXPERIENCE THESE SAME ISSUES. DEALERSHIP HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO FIX THOUGH THEY DID ACKNOWLEDGE THAT MY VEHICLE WAS THE ONLY ONE EXPERIENCING THIS ISSUE. *TR

NHTSA complaint 10593573. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)

65,000 miles

SERVICE STABILITRAC SYSTEM INDICATION COMES ON, WITH CHECK ENGINE LIGHT, AND ENGINE POWER REDUCED. HAPPENS RANDOMLY, CANNOT FIND A "COMMON CAUSE" SPENT LOTS OF MONEY ON PCM, BCM, MEMORY SEAT MODULE, BATTERY CABLES, BATTERY, BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH, ETC. ETC. DANGEROUS CONDITION WHEN VEHICLE DROPS INTO POWER REDUCTION MODE.

NHTSA complaint 11180729. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

80,000 miles

SAFETY ISSUE. DASH IS CRACKING NEAR AIRBAG. THIS COULD POSSIBLY CAUSE PREMATURE DEPLOYMENT OF AIRBAG OR SHRAPNEL FROM DASH CAUSING HARM DURING DEPLOYMENT. DASH IS ALSO CRACKING OVER STEERING WHEEL AREA.

NHTSA complaint 11155619. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
TAKATA RECALL; NO GM REMEDY FROM TN CHEVROLET DEALERS. LIVE IN MARTIN, TN. 38237 NOTR: BELOW DATE FIELD WILL NOT ALLOW PRIOR YEAR DATE; RECALL +2 YEARS OUTSTANDING WITH NO REMEDY VIA GM TO DATE.

NHTSA complaint 11085038. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
TAKATA RECALL - MY AIRBAG IS UNDER RECALL AND I CONTACTED MY DEALER WHO DOES NOT HAVE A REPLACEMENT OR KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT HOW I CAN GET A NEW PART. I AM FEARFUL TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE. TAKATA

NHTSA complaint 11039208. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

90,000 miles

DASH IS CRACKED ON DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDE.

NHTSA complaint 11034063. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

110,000 miles

2011 CHEVROLET AVALANCHE HAS DASHBOARD CRACKING ALL AROUND THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG. MY CONCERN IS IF THE AIR BAG IS DEPLOYED FOR ANY REASON THE HARD PLASTIC DASHBOARD MATERIAL WILL SHATTER A SCATTER ALL THROUGH THE CABIN INJURING MYSELF, OR WORSE MY FAMILY. MY UNDERSTANDING AFTER READING ALL THE REVIEWS THIS IS NOT A CONCERN OF GM EVEN THOUGH MOST VEHICLES HAVE THIS ISSUE. IT SEEMS THEY ARE SIMPLY WAITING FOR ENOUGH PEOPLE TO GET INJURED BEFORE THEY HAVE TO DO A RECALL DUE TO USING INFERIOR PRODUCTS. THIS WAS MY FIRST CHEVROLET AND WILL BE MY LAST, WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT.

NHTSA complaint 11022238. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Chevrolet Avalanche 1500

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2013 29 1 —

Other 2011 Chevrolet models

Malibu 978 Equinox 782 Cruze 732 Traverse 608 Silverado 1500 563 Impala 505 Tahoe 446 HHR 203

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Chevrolet on this site — 304 vehicles.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst