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NHTSA vehicle safety data

2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Recalls, Ratings & Complaints

The 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 has 4 NHTSA recall campaigns and 565 owner complaints on file as of November 3, 2026. Recall repairs are usually free at an authorized Chevrolet dealer.

NHTSA recall and complaint data for the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, plus NCAP crash-test ratings. Recall data is refreshed daily from NHTSA.

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2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 owner complaints

Owners have filed 565 complaints with NHTSA about the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, describing incidents dated November 1, 2010 to October 23, 2026.

Most-cited components

  • Air Bags 306 complaints
  • Unknown or Other 115 complaints
  • Structure 72 complaints
  • Engine 43 complaints
  • Electrical System 27 complaints
  • Electronic Stability Control (ESC) 18 complaints

Of the 565 complaints on file, 22 report a crash and 4 a fire; across all 565 complaints, owners report 30 injuries and 1 death (owner-reported, not verified by NHTSA).

Newest complaints

  • ODI #11774105 · Filed

    On September 17, 2026, the vehicle suffered two critical failures. First, the transmission shifter linkage detached while being placed in DRIVE due to failure of a plastic shifter cable bushing, locking the car in NEUTRAL. Second, minutes late while loading the disabled vehicle onto a flatbed tow…

  • ODI #11773259 · Filed

    Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that after retrieving a Carfax report, it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a dealer sale. At the time of purchase, the mileage was 115,519. The Carfax report indicated that…

  • ODI #11749950 · Filed

    AFM/DOD lifter failed while driving which causes multiple systems to go offline including Traction Control, stability control, ABS just to name a few. This happened while coming off freeway which can be a safety risk as vehicle was at higher speeds. This is a known GM problem with 5.3l engines and…

Read all 565 complaints

Owner-reported

2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 mileage at failure

261 of the 565 complaints on file for the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 give the vehicle's mileage when the problem happened.

Mileage at failure by component, from owners' complaints to NHTSA
Air BagsMedian 70,000 milesMiddle half 45,000–115,000 milesBased on 95 complaints

A component's median is its 50th percentile, and its middle half runs from its 25th to its 75th percentile.

Owners give the mileage themselves, often as a round number, and NHTSA doesn't check it. A complaint that names several components counts under each one, and mileages that can't be right, such as 999,999, or 50 miles on a five-year-old car, are left out.

These figures describe the complaints owners filed. They don't predict when a particular vehicle will have a problem, and vehicles that never had one aren't counted.

Most complaints NHTSA received since May 17, 2021 give no mileage. So that they aren't undercounted, each one received since then that gives a mileage also stands in for those that gave none, which can put a component's median above most of the mileages it is based on.

Mileage from NHTSA's complaints file of October 31, 2026. How these figures are worked out

NHTSA defect investigations

NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 in 2 investigations. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.

Open and recently closed NHTSA defect investigations

Passenger Frontal Air Bag Inflator May Explode

NHTSA #21V054000 · Air Bags — Frontal — Passenger Side — Inflator Module · NHTSA notice

Reported February 5, 2021 · General Motors, LLC

Potentially affected: 1,778,128 vehicles

Repair completion: 63.26% (latest rate the manufacturer reported to NHTSA; dataset updated November 3, 2026)

Manufacturer campaign N212328800 · Owners notified May 11, 2021 · Recall influenced by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation

Recall group: Takata airbag inflators

Defect description

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, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL and 2010-2013 Cadillac Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of AK, CO, CT, ID, IA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MT, NH, NY, ND, OR, RI, SD, UT, VT, WA, WI, and WY or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger frontal inflators containing phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.

Safety consequence

An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.

Manufacturer remedy

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's number for this recall is N212328800.

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Passenger Frontal Air Bag Inflator May Explode

NHTSA #21V050000 · Air Bags — Frontal — Passenger Side — Inflator Module · NHTSA notice

Reported February 5, 2021 · General Motors, LLC

Potentially affected: 2,641,272 vehicles

Repair completion: 44.01% (latest rate the manufacturer reported to NHTSA; dataset updated November 3, 2026)

Manufacturer campaign N212328760 · Owners notified March 1, 2021 · Recall influenced by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation

Recall group: Takata airbag inflators

Defect description

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, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." These vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger frontal inflators containing phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.

Safety consequence

An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.

Manufacturer remedy

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.

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

REAR AXLE CROSS PIN FRACTURE

NHTSA #11V007000 · Suspension — Rear — Axle — Spindle · NHTSA notice

Reported January 6, 2011 · GENERAL MOTORS CORP.

Potentially affected: 30,566 vehicles

Manufacturer campaign 10426A · Owners notified January 11, 2011 · Vehicles built November 18, 2010 – January 3, 2011 (per NHTSA)

Defect description

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.

Safety consequence

THE DRIVER MAY NOT BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND A CRASH COULD OCCUR WITHOUT WARNING.

Manufacturer 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.

Notes

THIS RECALL CAMPAIGN IS AN EXPANSION TO 10V-643.GM'S SAFETY RECALL NO. 10426A.OWNERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO <A HREF=HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV>HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV</A> .

REAR AXLE CROSS PIN FRACTURE

NHTSA #10V643000 · Suspension — Rear — Axle — Spindle · NHTSA notice

Reported December 17, 2010 · GENERAL MOTORS CORP.

Potentially affected: 1,262 vehicles

Manufacturer campaign 100426 · Owners notified January 11, 2011

Defect description

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.

Safety consequence

THE DRIVER MAY NOT BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND A CRASH COULD OCCUR WITHOUT WARNING.

Manufacturer 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.

Notes

GM SAFETY RECALL NO. 100426.OWNERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO <A HREF=HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV>HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV</A> .

Other Chevrolet Silverado 1500 model years

Check your 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 VIN

Not every recall applies to every VIN in a given year. Enter the 17-character VIN from your Chevrolet Silverado 1500 at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether your specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.

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