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2011 Chevrolet Avalanche Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 127 complaints with NHTSA about the 2011 Chevrolet Avalanche, most often about the air bags (43% of complaints, typically around 68,000 miles). It is 6th of 14 Avalanche model years by number of complaints and has 3 recalls.
Most common 2011 Chevrolet Avalanche problems
Air bags
55 complaints · 43%Half of these problems showed up before 68,000 miles.
My dashboard cracked in two places, by the passenger airbag and over the instrument cluster. As near as I can tell it occurred when my wife was driving on a highway. Highway 99 from athens, al to salem, al. We are afraid that, if anything occurs to cause the airbag to inflate it will send shards of plastic flying…
Cracked dash above instrument cluster and on the passenger air bag. Chevrolet refuses to fix a known manufacture defect if this vehicle is ever in an accident the risk of death or serious bodily injury is extremely high.
Other or unspecified
44 complaints · 35%Half of these problems showed up before 67,000 miles.
Cracked dash above instrument cluster and on the passenger air bag. Chevrolet refuses to fix a known manufacture defect if this vehicle is ever in an accident the risk of death or serious bodily injury is extremely high.
My dashboard cracked in two places, by the passenger airbag and over the instrument cluster. As near as I can tell it occurred when my wife was driving on a highway. Highway 99 from athens, al to salem, al. We are afraid that, if anything occurs to cause the airbag to inflate it will send shards of plastic flying…
Body and structure
23 complaints · 18%Half of these problems showed up before 50,000 miles. Parts named most often: body.
I bought my 2011 Avalanche at the end of 2011. The dash has developed two huge cracks that run all the way through to the seam in two places. It seems to be free floating on the dash board. This makes for terrible noise while driving besides seemingly being unsafe. I am not sure what is under that section on the dash…
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Avalanche. While driving approximately 30 MPH, the contact heard an abnormal noise coming from inside the front of the vehicle. Approximately one month later, while driving approximately 30 MPH, the noise recurred and the dashboard was cracked. The vehicle was taken to the dealer…
Transmission
9 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 52,000 miles.
I have began to notice when slowing down (foot off the gas and coasting with foot on brake, or brake applied) at any area where my speed decreases to less than 15 MPH that my Avalanche will seem to sort of lunge forward. The first time I experienced this I believed it was related to me and ignored it. The next couple…
At times when the vehicle is slowing down/down shifting (more common when going up a grade) it will suddenly lunge forward (before coming to a stop) even with your foot on the brake. It seems to happen when downshifting from 2nd to 1st gear and sometimes it catches me off guard. This is a very dangerous situation…
Engine
9 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 71,000 miles.
Traveling at 65mph in -25 degrees f, our check engine light and stabilink traction control lights came on. Dash display said vehicle would lose power and our engine shut-down. We pulled over on a snowy highway and read blogs and found our throttle body sensor would crack and fail at extreme cold temp. We started…
Engine runs rough at idle when engine light, service stabilitrak light and traction control off lights all come on. Upon acceleration, only engine light remains on. Will repeat at lower idle.
Brakes
4 complaints · 3%The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Avalanche. While driving 35 MPH and attempting to engage the brakes, the vehicle did not slow down and the ABS failed. As a result, the contact's vehicle crashed into the rear end of another vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained unknown injuries, but did not…
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Avalanche. While the vehicle idled, the stablilitrac and ABS warning indicators flickered. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but they could not duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was…
Electrical
4 complaints · 3%Parts named most often: wiring, instrument panel.
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Avalanche. The contact stated that the dashboard of the vehicle was cracked on the front passenger side around the air bag and the driver side of the steering wheel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure.…
Odometer fraud. The contact purchased a 2011 Chevrolet Avalanche. The contact stated that while attempting to register the vehicle, it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 127,000, and at the time of registration, it was…
Speed control
3 complaints · 2%I have began to notice when slowing down (foot off the gas and coasting with foot on brake, or brake applied) at any area where my speed decreases to less than 15 MPH that my Avalanche will seem to sort of lunge forward. The first time I experienced this I believed it was related to me and ignored it. The next couple…
I own a 2011 Chevrolet Avalanche ltz and at times when the truck down shifts it will lunge forward. I really need to have my foot firmly pressed on the brake to keep the truck from possibly hitting something or someone in front of me. It does not do it all the time and it's rather random. I feel that is worse then it…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2011 Chevrolet Avalanche recalls
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on february 22, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on march 1, 2021. Owners may contact chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; and gmc customer service at 1-800-462-8782. Gm's number for this recall is n212328760.
Full defect summary
General motors, llc (gm) is recalling certain 2007-2011 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext, chevrolet avalanche, silverado 1500, suburban, tahoe, gmc sierra 1500, yukon, yukon xl, and 2009-2011 chevrolet silverado 2500, silverado 3500, gmc sierra 2500 and sierra 3500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of alabama, california, florida, georgia, hawaii, louisiana, mississippi, south carolina, texas, puerto rico, american samoa, guam, the northern mariana islands (saipan), and the u.s. Virgin islands or "zone a." additionally, gm is recalling certain 2007-2008 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext, chevrolet avalanche, silverado 1500, suburban, tahoe, gmc sierra 1500, yukon, yukon xl vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of arizona, arkansas, delaware, district of columbia, illinois, indiana, kansas, kentucky, maryland, missou
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on february 25, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed to 40 VIN owners on may 11, 2021. A second owner notification letter was mailed to all other owners on january 24, 2022. Owners may contact chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; and gmc customer service at 1-800-462-8782. Gm'
Full defect summary
General motors, llc (gm) is recalling certain 2014 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, chevrolet silverado 2500, silverado 3500, suburban, tahoe, gmc sierra 2500, sierra 3500, yukon, and yukon xl vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of al, ca, fl, ga, hi, la, ms, sc, tx, pr, as, gu, the mp, and vi or "zone a." additionally gm is recalling certain 2011-2014 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, chevrolet silverado 2500, silverado 3500, suburban, tahoe, gmc sierra 2500, sierra 3500, yukon, yukon xl and 2011-2013 cadillac escalade ext, chevrolet avalanche, silverado 1500, and gmc sierra 1500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of az, ar, de, dc, il, in, ks, ky, md, mo, ne, nv, nj, nm, nc, oh, ok, pa, tn, va, and wv or "zone b." additionally, gm is recalling certain 2010-2014 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, chevrolet silverado 2500, silverado 3500, sub
Electrical: ignition
Risk: If stuck in the "start" position, the ignition may suddenly snap back into the "accessory" position, causing a loss of engine, steering, and braking power, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash. If the vehicle is in a crash, the air bags may not deploy, increasing the risk of occupant injury.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the ignition lock housing, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on february 12, 2015. Owners may contact gm customer service at 1-800-458-8006 (cadillac), 1-800-222-1020 (chevrolet), or 1-800-462-8782 (gmc). Gm's number for this recall is 14696 for the original equipment, and 14912 for the service replacement parts.
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext, chevrolet avalanche, silverado hd, silverado ld, suburban, tahoe, gmc sierra ld, sierra hd, yukon, and yukon xl vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the ignition lock actuator may bind, making turning the key difficult or causing the ignition to get stuck in the "start" position.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Desiccated air bag inflator rupture
Summary
From 2000 through 2017, takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("psan") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004l. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 blomquist report at www.NHTSA.gov/sites/NHTSA.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substa
Questions about the 2011 Chevrolet Avalanche
- What are the most common problems with the 2011 Chevrolet Avalanche?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: air bags (55 complaints, typically around 68,000 miles); other or unspecified (44 complaints, typically around 67,000 miles); body and structure (23 complaints, typically around 50,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2011 Chevrolet Avalanche have?
- 3 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from February 5, 2021 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2011 a bad year for the Chevrolet Avalanche?
- It is 6th of 14 Avalanche model years by number of complaints, with 127 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.