2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Silverado 1500 years
- About as many complaints as other years 15th of 32 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 4 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- 4 out of 5 stars
Owners have filed 563 complaints with NHTSA about the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. That ranks 15th out of 32 Silverado 1500 model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is air bags (306 complaints, 54%), typically at around 70,000 miles. Complaints mention 22 crashes, 4 fires, 30 injuries. There are 4 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 2 defect investigations involving it.
- 563owner complaints
- 4safety recalls
- 2NHTSA investigations
- 22complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Bags problems | 306 | 54% | 70,000 | “takata air bags” (28%) | — |
| Unknown or Other | 115 | 20% | 68,456 | — | — |
| Structure problems | 72 | 13% | 88,500 | “side air” (8%) | — |
| Engine | 40 | 7% | 116,000 | — | — |
| Electrical System | 26 | 5% | 75,000 | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 18 | 3% | 88,000 | — | — |
| Suspension | 18 | 3% | 6,976 | — | — |
| Power Train | 17 | 3% | 33,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes | 13 | 2% | 74,000 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 11 | 2% | 4,930 | — | — |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 10 | 2% | 72,453 | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 8 | 1% | 63,903 | — | — |
| Steering | 8 | 1% | 75,000 | — | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 7 | 1% | 105,724 | — | — |
| Visibility | 4 | 1% | 11,700 | — | — |
| Wheels | 4 | 1% | 22,500 | — | — |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 3 | 1% | 31,130 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 3 | 1% | 114 | — | — |
| Tires | 3 | 1% | 89,000 | — | — |
| Traction Control System | 3 | 1% | 125,000 | — | — |
| Back Over Prevention | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 1 | 0% | 48,000 | — | — |
| Lane Departure | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 1 | 0% | 2,524 | — | — |
| Seats | 1 | 0% | 86,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Air | 1 | 0% | 28,000 | — | — |
| Visibility/wiper | 1 | 0% | 50 | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 recalls (4)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
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.
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.
Suspension:rear:axle:spindle
Problem: 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.
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.
Suspension:rear:axle:spindle
Problem: 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.
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.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
NHTSA defect investigations
- Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture (EA21002) — opened Sep 17, 2021, still open.
- Pedestrian alert sounds (DP22005) — opened Jan 27, 2023, closed Aug 7, 2023, led to recall 22V063000.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
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…
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, several warning lights illuminated. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle was shaking. The vehicle was driven to the contact's residence. The vehicle was later taken to an…
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a dealer sale. At the time of purchase, the mileage was 103,000. However, at the time of the vehicle registration, it was discovered that the mileage…
Was sold with a warranty and was not fulfilled, and on top of that we found out they rolled the odometer back over 50k , then found out it has a spilt frame
Hello Our 2011 Chevy Silverado looks like it was sitting in a lake. The rusted frame has a hole and has failed Pennsylvania Inspection. The whole underside of the vehicle frame is peeling away the body of the truck is very clean. Truck has 60,000 miles and is garage kept. We were shocked to see the…
Other Chevrolet Silverado 1500 years
← 2010 Silverado 1500 · 2012 Silverado 1500 →
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Silverado 1500 | 117 | 3 |
| 2025 Silverado 1500 | 106 | 0 |
| 2024 Silverado 1500 | 314 | 2 |
| 2023 Silverado 1500 | 387 | 3 |
| 2022 Silverado 1500 | 647 | 6 |
| 2021 Silverado 1500 | 844 | 8 |
| 2020 Silverado 1500 | 742 | 12 |
| 2019 Silverado 1500 | 1,093 | 10 |
| 2018 Silverado 1500 | 521 | 7 |
| 2017 Silverado 1500 | 714 | 7 |
| 2016 Silverado 1500 | 797 | 12 |
| 2015 Silverado 1500 | 1,110 | 11 |
| 2014 Silverado 1500 | 1,436 | 6 |
| 2013 Silverado 1500 | 301 | 2 |
| 2012 Silverado 1500 | 216 | 2 |
| 2011 | 563 | 4 |
| 2010 Silverado 1500 | 363 | 3 |
| 2009 Silverado 1500 | 444 | 3 |
| 2008 Silverado 1500 | 914 | 3 |
| 2007 Silverado 1500 | 849 | 2 |
| 2006 Silverado 1500 | 359 | 0 |
| 2005 Silverado 1500 | 525 | 0 |
| 2004 Silverado 1500 | 797 | 0 |
| 2003 Silverado 1500 | 805 | 0 |
| 2002 Silverado 1500 | 509 | 0 |
| 2001 Silverado 1500 | 468 | 0 |
| 2000 Silverado 1500 | 614 | 0 |
| 1999 Silverado 1500 | 587 | 0 |
| 1998 Silverado 1500 | 361 | 0 |
| 1997 Silverado 1500 | 555 | 0 |
| 1996 Silverado 1500 | 7 | 0 |
| 1995 Silverado 1500 | 3 | 0 |
See all Chevrolet Silverado 1500 problems by year, every Chevrolet model, or the Chevrolet VIN decoder.
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500?
Owners most often report air bags, unknown or other, structure problems. The top one, air bags, accounts for 306 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500?
Yes, 4 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Silverado 1500 model years, the 2011 has about as many complaints as a typical year, and NHTSA rates it 4 out of 5 stars overall in crash tests. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.