Chevrolet · NHTSA safety record

2011 Chevrolet Aveo

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

Owners have filed 77 safety complaints about the 2011 Chevrolet Aveo with the US government. Of those, 10 describe a crash, 1 mentions a fire, 4 people were injured and 1 death is recorded. No recall campaign has been matched to this year, make and model.

The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 22 complaints, 29% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 56,322 miles, the median across the 64 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers December 2010 to March 2021 · How this is counted

What is on file

77 complaints on file

Complaints

Describe a crash

Mention fire

People injured

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.

No recall campaign was matched to this year, make and model. That is not the same as a clean vehicle: recalls are issued against production ranges, and the only reliable check is your own VIN.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system

ENGINE 22 · 29% 22 29%

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 15 · 19% 15 19%

POWER TRAIN 11 · 14% 11 14%

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 11 · 14% 11 14%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER 8 · 10% 8 10%

AIR BAGS 7 · 9% 7 9%

SERVICE BRAKES 7 · 9% 7 9%

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 6 · 8% 6 8%

STEERING 6 · 8% 6 8%

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 5 · 6% 5 6%

WHEELS 4 · 5% 4 5%

STRUCTURE 3 · 4% 3 4%

0 12 23

One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 77.

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 2014 at 18.

20 15 10 5

10 2010 11 2011 12 2012 13 2013 14 2014 15 2015 16 2016 17 2017 18 2018 19 2019 20 2020 21 2021

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2010 to 2021.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA has not crash tested the 2011 Chevrolet Aveo. 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.

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 Filed February 5, 2015

1 death · crash

MY DAUGHTER BROUGHT A 2011 CHEVY AVEO IN WISCONSIN. WHEN SHE CAME BACK HOME THERE WERE SEVERAL OCCASIONS THAT I USED HER CAR. THE FIRST TIME I DROVE HER CAR I DROVE IT TO WORK. WHILE I WAS DRIVING AT 55 MPH THE CAR JERKED VERY HARD TO THE LEFT. I HAD TO REALLY HOLD THE STEERING WHEEL HARDER THAN USUAL TO GAIN CONTROL OF THE CAR. I CALLED MY DAUGHTER AND ASKED HER ABOUT THE CAR JERKING TOWARDS INCOMING TRAFFIC. MY DAUGHTER STATED THAT THE CAR DID JERK SOMETIMES. I TOLD MY DAUGHTER TO GO GET THE CAR CHECKED OUT. I TOLD HER TO HAVE THEM CHECK THE JERKING OUT AND WHY THE CAR WAS WEARING OUT TIRES SO FAST. MY DAUGHTER HAD THE CAR CHECKED AND SHE WAS TOLD HER CAR COULDN'T BE ALIGNED. MY MOM, MY

NHTSA complaint 10681618, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES Filed November 28, 2012

1 injured · crash · 19,500 miles

NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS WITH THE BRAKING SYSTEM. IT HAS BEEN IN TWICE TO BE SERVICED. WE STATED THAT THE BRAKES DIDN'T FUNCTION CORRECTLY AND THE PEDAL WAS SPONGY AND WOULD GO ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR WITHOUT STOPPING THE VEHICLE. THE 1ST TIME THEY CHANGED THE MASTER CYLINDER. THE SECOND TIME SHE WENT IN WITH SAME COMPLAINT AND THEY LOOKED AT IT AND TOLD HER THE BRAKES WERE WORKING FINE. THIS FINALLY RESULTED IN AN ACCIDENT WHERE SHE WENT THROUGH AN INTERSECTION/RED LIGHT AND HIT ANOTHER CAR, AND HER AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. *TR

NHTSA complaint 10486383. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS Filed August 18, 2014

1 injured · crash · 80,000 miles

MY GRANDDAUGHTER WAS DRIVING THE VEHICLE AND WAS THE ONLY ONE INVOLVED IN THE ACCIDENT FRIDAY, JULY 25 2014. . SHE WAS CRITICALLY INJURY, AND IS STILL IN THE HOSPITAL. IT LOOKS LIKE THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY AND FOR UNKNOWN REASON THE VEHICLE LEFT THE ROAD AND HIT A UTILITY POLE. AS EVERYONE REPORTED A SIMILAR PROBLEM/ACCIDENT. *TR

NHTSA complaint 10626017. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SEAT BELTS Filed August 29, 2014

1 injured · crash · 73,000 miles

I WAS PULLING S ONTO HWY 515 FROM HWY 382 IN ELLIJAY, GA WHEN A CAR HIT MY DRIVERS SIDE PASSENGER DOOR. ON IMPACT, MY SEAT BELT BUCKLE BROKE RELEASING ME INTO THE VEHICLE CAUSING MULTIPLE INJURY. I WAS TAKEN TO PIEDMONT MOUNTAINSIDE HOSPITAL. I HAD RIB FRACTURES; CHEST WALL CONTUSION; SEVERE CERVICAL AND LUMBAR SPINE SPRAIN;SEVERE WHIPLASH; AND LEFT HAND LACERATION. I WAS PRESCRIBED NARCOTIC PAIN MED; MUSCLE SPASM MED; MED FOR INFLAMMATION. NEXT WENT TO KAISER URGENT CARE FOR SEVERE BACK SPASMS. MUSCLE SPASM MED CHANGED TO STRONGER MED; AGAIN NEXT WEEK CHANGED AGAIN. MOM HAD TO COME FROM TN; TO STAY WITH ME SO MY HUSBAND COULD WORK; I COULDN'T GET UP AND DOWN MYSELF & HAD TO SLEEP IN

NHTSA complaint 10629300, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

WHEELS Filed March 20, 2021

PRIME WALL TIRES 185/60/R14, PIMEWALL TIRES PS830 185/60/R14 ARE SEPARATING FROM THE SEAM

NHTSA complaint 11404031. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS Filed February 13, 2020

THE PASSENGER SEAT SENSOR IS DEFECTIVE CAUSING THE PASSENGER AIR BAG TO TURN OFF MAKING IT DANGEROUS FOR A PASSENGER IN CASE OF ACCIDENT

NHTSA complaint 11308969. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Filed January 2, 2020

76,000 miles

I HAVE BEEN TO THE SHOP SO MANY TIMES SINCE I BOUGHT THIS CAR. THE FIRST TIME OUT OF NOWHERE IT STARTED SMOKING WHITE SMOKE AND OVERHEATED THE ENGINE AND COME TO FIND OUT THE TUBING IN THE CAR HAD EXPLODED. THEN GOT EVERYTHING FIXED AND NOW STILL HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM WITH OVERHEATING AND WHITE SMOKE BUT NOW A BURNING SMELL. IT'S SOMETHING NEW EVERY TIME. I FOUND THIS RESPONSE O. YOUR WEBSITE WITH ANOTHER PERSON WHO HAS THIS CAR AND THIS HAPPENED TO MINE AS WELL: ' HOSES TO MY COOLING SYSTEM ALL BUSTED ONE AFTER ANOTHER WITH IN 5 DAY WE COULD SEE THE WEEK SPOT IN THE HOSE AFTER THY BUSTED,HAD THE THERMOSTAT CHANGED , IT ALSO BLOW MY HEAD GASKET' THIS IS ALSO HAPPENED AND I BARELY DRIVE

NHTSA complaint 11296778, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER Filed May 26, 2019

KEY GETS LOCKED IN IGNITION. IT WONT TURN OR IF IT TURNS IT DOES NOT COME OUT.

NHTSA complaint 11210060. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Filed May 8, 2019

131,996 miles

ARRIVED AT HOME PUT MY CAR IN PARK AND MY KEY WAS STUCK IN THE IGNITION AND UNABLE TO SHUT MY CAR OFF. HAD TO PULL FUSE TO THE COMPUTER AND DISCONNECT NEGATIVE SIDE OF BATTERY. TOOK IT TO A SHOP THEY ADVISED NO COMMUNICATION WITH SHIFTER. SHOP DRILLED OUT MY OLD IGNITION LOCK CYLINDER AND REPLACED WITH A NEW KEY LOCK CYLINDER. SEEMS TO BE WORKING AS OF NOW AFTER A $518.74 BILL.

NHTSA complaint 11206278. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS Filed March 19, 2019

crash · towed · 76,512 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 CHEVROLET AVEO. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 25 MPH, THE CONTACT CRASHED INTO THE PRECEDING VEHICLE. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THERE WERE NO INJURIES; HOWEVER, THE CONTACT WAS STILL DRIVEN TO THE HOSPITAL BY A PARENT. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A COLLISION CENTER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 76,512.

NHTSA complaint 11190040. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Chevrolet Aveo

Model year	Complaints	Recalls	Deaths
2010	66	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

Complaints: NHTSA's ODI complaint file, published October 2, 2026. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.
Recalls: NHTSA's recall campaign API, no campaign on file for this vehicle.
Investigations: NHTSA's ODI investigation file, published October 2, 2026.

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 guarledes
Independent developer and analyst