KnownCarProblemsHome › Chevrolet › Silverado 1500 › 2011
2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 563 complaints with NHTSA about the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, most often about the air bags (54% of complaints, typically around 70,000 miles). It is 14th of 27 Silverado 1500 model years by number of complaints and has 4 recalls.
Most common 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 problems
Air bags
306 complaints · 54%Half of these problems showed up before 70,000 miles. Parts named most often: frontal, side/window.
The dashboard has cracked at the top left of the passenger side airbag. This was noticed the other day while driving. Vehicle is very well cared for.
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. While driving 45 MPH, the contact crashed into a tree. The seat belt failed to retract without warning and the air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed and no injuries were reported. The vehicle was towed, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer…
Other or unspecified
115 complaints · 20%Half of these problems showed up before 68,500 miles.
One morning, my daughter and I was getting in the truck so I could drop her off at school. We got about a mile down the road and started hearing a rattle. Once we made it to a stop sign, I looked around in the truck and found the problem. There are 2 cracks going down the right side of the gauge cluster on the dash.…
Dash cracks at passenger side air bag is this a problem if the bag went off will the broken piece of dash board go with it. Also loose body side moldings had repaired under warranty and came off again luckily it didn't come off while driving.
Body and structure
72 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 88,500 miles. Parts named most often: body, frame and members.
Drivers side inside handle broke. Was attempting to exit the vehicle, when the lever broke off in my hand. Had to roll window down to open the door from the outside. I would be unable to exit the vehicle quickly in an emergency.
The dash is cracking at the passenger side airbag and could possibly present a hazard if an accident would occur. The vehicle has not been in an accident and has always been garaged. The truck is mostly used for highway driving. The vehicle is also not driven daily and has 84,000 miles on it and is 9 years old. The…
Engine
43 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 111,500 miles. Parts named most often: engine.
The engine in this vehicle burns/vaporizes oil at a rapid pace. I have a 2011, 114k miles, and had to replace the pistons to the tune of $5400 - Chevrolet would not help with costs. 6 yr old vehicle, just over 100k miles and have to replace the pistons.. I had kept up all scheduled maintenance at the dealership. Have…
Traveling down highway at 60mph the tracsion control light came on and the engine light started blinking followed by the truck starting to miss hard. Got to friends house changed #1 spark plug all better now at least for 1,000 miles then will have to change it again. Went through this with the last one we traded for…
Electrical
26 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 75,000 miles. Parts named most often: wiring, instrument panel.
Battery died due to headlights coming on while car was parked. Lights can not be shut off from switch, opening the hood I detected electrical smell. I removed the fuse box cover and noticed water collecting and stains. I pulled several fuses and found three that melted. All this happened after a ice storm followed by…
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that the engine would not immediately start when the ignition key was turned. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 14v827000…
Suspension
18 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 7,000 miles. Parts named most often: rear.
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the front end of the vehicle and wheels began to shake violently when the brakes were applied. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who stated the front rotors were out of round and turned downward. The brake rotors…
Rear axle has a gvwr of 3950 lbs the vehicle a 2plus 1 rear spring pack, 3 different spring suppliers rate this spring pack at 1425l or 1500 lbs each for a combined rate of either 2850 or 3000 lbs per pair. Which makes the factory rating of 3950lbs either 1100 or 950 lbs higher depending on the spring supplier. Using…
Stability control
18 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 88,000 miles.
Stability control alarm blinking ,traction control alarm blinking,, speedometer going erratic, brake lite staying in alarm,cruise control dropping out,power loss temporarily. Shifting between gears (auto xmission) was very rough.this was an electrical system that grew steadily worse. Gm dealership had to replace the…
While driving, the stabiltrak,ABS lights come on and the vehicle powers down and barely moves. This has happened on several occasions, mostly during cold weather, although it has happened in warm weather at highway speeds, creating a dangerous situation while trying to maneuver out of traffic. On one occasion, the…
Transmission
17 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 33,000 miles. Parts named most often: driveline.
Just seconds after having come to a complete stop, the transmission shifts while rpms increase causing the vehicle to overcome the brake pressure and truck to move forward abruptly. This caused me to roll out into the lane of oncoming traffic and strike a vehicle as it was passing.
This is a dealer demo vehicle, first 2235 miles were demo. During my first morning (12hours after picking up at dealer) of ownership I was descending down a hill with the cruise on, and the vehicle proceeded to over speed approximately 5-7mph. I travel this hill both ways to/from work daily and this happens everytime.…
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 Silverado 1500 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
Suspension: spindle
Risk: The driver may not be able to maintain directional control of the vehicle and a crash could occur without warning.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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.
Suspension: spindle
Risk: The driver may not be able to maintain directional control of the vehicle and a crash could occur without warning.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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.
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
Pedestrian alert sounds
Summary
Nhtsa received a petition on or about july 18, 2022, requesting that federal motor vehicle safety standard (fmvss) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the united states. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under odi number 11486072. Fmvss 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 kg or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after march 1, 2021.on january 27, 2023, NHTSA opened defect petition (dp) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matt
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 Silverado 1500
- What are the most common problems with the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: air bags (306 complaints, typically around 70,000 miles); other or unspecified (115 complaints, typically around 68,500 miles); body and structure (72 complaints, typically around 88,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 have?
- 4 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 Silverado 1500?
- It is 14th of 27 Silverado 1500 model years by number of complaints, with 563 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.