2010 Chevrolet Avalanche Air Bags Problems
Owners have filed 53 complaints with NHTSA about air bags problems on the 2010 Chevrolet Avalanche, 48% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 70,500 miles. The words owners use most often: “takata air bags” (17% of reports).
- 53air bags complaints
- 70,500median miles at failure
- 0mention a crash
- 0mention an injury
- 3related recalls
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Takata air bags: mentioned in 9 of 53 complaints (17%)
- Passenger airbag: mentioned in 8 of 53 complaints (15%)
At what mileage do air bags problems happen?
Based on 28 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
None of the 53 complaints report a crash, fire or injury.
Chevrolet Avalanche air bags complaints by model year
| Model year | Air Bags complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 Avalanche | 22 | 27% | 49,000 |
| 2012 Avalanche | 6 | 17% | 38,900 |
| 2011 Avalanche | 55 | 43% | 68,000 |
| 2010 Avalanche | 53 | 48% | 70,500 |
| 2009 Avalanche | 41 | 54% | 75,500 |
| 2008 Avalanche | 132 | 51% | 80,000 |
| 2007 Avalanche | 225 | 60% | 104,000 |
| 2006 Avalanche | 1 | 9% | 51,778 |
| 2005 Avalanche | 11 | 15% | 44,750 |
| 2004 Avalanche | 9 | 5% | 39,500 |
| 2003 Avalanche | 14 | 7% | 78,000 |
| 2002 Avalanche | 22 | 5% | 65,450 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (3)
Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module
Problem: 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.
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's number for this recall is N212328800.
Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module
Problem: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2013 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL 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 2010 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and 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." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2009 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C."
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 24, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 11, 2021. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328790.
Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module
Problem: 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.
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.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
Airbag recall has been open since 2016 without a remedy.
Tl* takata recall. The contact owns a 2010 chevrolet avalanche. The contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 16v381000 (air bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the…
This recall has been pending since gmc filed a petition for inconsequentiality with nhtsa. The status provided to owners is information which hasn't been updated since 2017. It's almost 2021. This is ridiculous. What was bhtsa's decision on the petition filed in 2017?

Frequently asked questions
Do all 2010 Chevrolet Avalanches have air bags problems?
No. NHTSA has 53 owner complaints about air bags for the 2010 Chevrolet Avalanche (48% of the 111 complaints for this model year). Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the 2010 Chevrolet Avalanche air bags?
Yes: 3 safety recalls list air bags. Check your VIN on NHTSA.gov to see whether the fix was done on your car.
At what mileage do air bags problems start?
The median reported mileage is 70,500 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.
What do owners say about air bags problems on the 2010 Chevrolet Avalanche?
The most frequent phrase is “takata air bags”, in 9 of 53 complaints, followed by “passenger airbag” (8).
See all 2010 Chevrolet Avalanche problems or air bags problems across all Avalanche years.