2011 Chevrolet Suburban Air Bags Problems
Owners have filed 66 complaints with NHTSA about air bags problems on the 2011 Chevrolet Suburban, 45% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 65,000 miles. The words owners use most often: “takata air bags” (18% of reports).
- 66air bags complaints
- 65,000median miles at failure
- 2mention a crash
- 1mention an injury
- 2related recalls
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Takata air bags: mentioned in 12 of 66 complaints (18%)
- Dashboard cracked: mentioned in 8 of 66 complaints (12%)
- Passenger airbag: mentioned in 5 of 66 complaints (8%)
At what mileage do air bags problems happen?
Based on 27 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 66 complaints, 2 mention a crash, 1 an injury.
Chevrolet Suburban air bags complaints by model year
| Model year | Air Bags complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Suburban | 1 | 2% | — |
| 2023 Suburban | 2 | 2% | — |
| 2022 Suburban | 4 | 3% | — |
| 2021 Suburban | 6 | 3% | 9,500 |
| 2020 Suburban | 2 | 5% | 1,500 |
| 2019 Suburban | 2 | 3% | — |
| 2018 Suburban | 4 | 5% | 10,000 |
| 2017 Suburban | 4 | 3% | 70,000 |
| 2016 Suburban | 6 | 3% | 55,000 |
| 2015 Suburban | 11 | 3% | 46,000 |
| 2014 Suburban | 15 | 25% | 55,000 |
| 2013 Suburban | 28 | 24% | 57,900 |
| 2012 Suburban | 25 | 25% | 67,000 |
| 2011 Suburban | 66 | 45% | 65,000 |
| 2010 Suburban | 52 | 44% | 88,000 |
| 2009 Suburban | 38 | 36% | 95,000 |
| 2008 Suburban | 96 | 45% | 100,000 |
| 2007 Suburban | 146 | 50% | 121,250 |
| 2006 Suburban | 3 | 13% | 105,000 |
| 2005 Suburban | 10 | 8% | 86,489 |
| 2004 Suburban | 13 | 6% | 90,000 |
| 2003 Suburban | 18 | 6% | 55,000 |
| 2002 Suburban | 12 | 4% | 68,000 |
| 2001 Suburban | 20 | 5% | 100,000 |
| 2000 Suburban | 7 | 2% | 40,500 |
| 1999 Suburban | 14 | 2% | 133,000 |
| 1998 Suburban | 4 | 2% | — |
| 1997 Suburban | 8 | 2% | 129,053 |
| 1996 Suburban | 16 | 4% | 174,000 |
| 1995 Suburban | 18 | 4% | — |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (2)
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 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.
This is not connected with a specific crash in this vehicle. It is a defect with all vehicles with this seat. There is known common defect with the stitching on the side of the front seats covering the airbag. The stitching is designed to come apart if an airbag is deployed. The defective stitching…
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact later received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V050000 (Air Bags) which she associated to the failure. The vehicle was taken to the…
Takata Recall. The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V054000 (Air Bags) however, the dealer informed the contact that the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a…
Frequently asked questions
Do all 2011 Chevrolet Suburbans have air bags problems?
No. NHTSA has 66 owner complaints about air bags for the 2011 Chevrolet Suburban (45% of the 148 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 2011 Chevrolet Suburban air bags?
Yes: 2 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 65,000 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.
What do owners say about air bags problems on the 2011 Chevrolet Suburban?
The most frequent phrase is “takata air bags”, in 12 of 66 complaints, followed by “dashboard cracked” (8).
See all 2011 Chevrolet Suburban problems or air bags problems across all Suburban years.