2011 GMC Sierra 1500 problems, complaints & recalls

2011 GMC Sierra 1500 recalls (5)

• Recall 21V054000Feb 5, 20211,778,128 vehicles
  AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

  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.

  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.

• Recall 21V050000Feb 5, 20212,641,272 vehicles
  AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

  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.

  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.

• Recall 18V267000Apr 26, 20186,154 vehicles
  EQUIPMENT

  General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2009-2014 Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD, 2009 GMC Topkick 5000, 6000, 7000 and 8000 Series and Isuzu F Series, and 2009-2018 Chevrolet Express, and GMC Savana vehicles, equipped with certain Plastic-Handle Fire Extinguishers or Push Button 'Pindicator' Fire Extinguishers. These extinguishers may become clogged, preventing the extinguisher from discharging as expected or requiring excessive force to activate the extinguisher. Additionally, in certain models, the nozzle may detach from the valve assembly with enough force that it could cause injury and also render the product inoperable. For a full list of the affected fire extinguisher models visit: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2017/RMISC-17E062-5427.pdf

  Risk: In the event of a fire, if the fire extinguisher does not function properly, it can increase the risk of injury.

  Remedy: GM will notify owners, instructing them to contact Kidde to get a replacement fire extinguisher, free of charge. The recall began June 11, 2018. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782, and Isuzu customer service at 1-866-441-9638. GM's number for this recall is 18146.

• Recall 11V007000Jan 6, 201130,566 vehicles
  SUSPENSION:REAR:AXLE:SPINDLE

  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.

  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.

• Recall 10V643000Dec 17, 20101,262 vehicles
  SUSPENSION:REAR:AXLE:SPINDLE

  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.

  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.

NHTSA defect investigations

• DP22005Opened Jan 27, 2023Closed Aug 7, 2023led to recall 22V063000

  Pedestrian alert sounds

  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 Marc…

• EA21002Opened Sep 17, 2021Open

  Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture

  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.C…

Recent 2011 GMC Sierra 1500 complaints

Excerpts of the newest owner complaints, lightly cleaned of personal details. Complaints are unverified owner reports.

1. Filed Aug 11, 2026CABrakesElectrical System

   ABS Randomly turns on with the traction control light… All windows except for driver window will not go down and sometimes it does not unlock or lock sometimes. It started the beginning of 2022 and has got worst over the years. It is available for inspection. Safety has been and issue because whenever it rains it can lose control on the road haven’t had the money to fix it so don’t really drive it right now.

   NHTSA complaint #11756351 · source
2. Filed Mar 13, 2026TXBrakesSteeringTransmission & Drivetrain

   Vehicle experienced a catastrophic mechanical failure characterized by a percussive "shotgun blast" noise from the rear chassis, followed by an immediate, total loss of braking power (pedal to the floor) and a violent loss of directional stability. This incident represents an aggravated safety failure of known GMT900 platform defects. The technical chain of causality began with the factory exhaust manifold fasteners suffering a metallurgical shear, a universal defect…

   NHTSA complaint #11724011 · source
3. Filed Sep 11, 2025TXBody & Structure

   The door handle broke off on the driver side the passenger side door handle will not open the door the outside handles are loose and the rear back driver and passenger side will not open their doors.

   NHTSA complaint #11686729 · source
4. Filed Jul 26, 2025MAOther / Unknown

   Frame falling apart the coating peeled off was going to clean it to recoat it but the metal is so far gone took it to a frame shop only to find out it's not drivable anymore GM have to do better with the coating for this trucks

   NHTSA complaint #11676427 · source
5. Filed Jul 8, 2025PABody & StructureOther / Unknown

   2011 GMC Sierra Frame Failed Pennsylvania State Inspection due to Driver Side Frame Rust/hole. The section of the frame must be replaced due to rust(Improper coating... The truck has only 69700 miles on the odometer.

   NHTSA complaint #11672122 · source
6. Filed Apr 18, 2025128,000 miNMElectrical System

   Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2011 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while attempting to register the vehicle, it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of purchase, the mileage was 119,000, and at the time of registration, it was discovered that the mileage was 128,000.

   NHTSA complaint #11655497 · source
7. Filed Sep 16, 2024VTBody & Structure

   My GMC which is well cared for and only has 121,000 miles has a rusted through frame (mid-vehicle, left side) which has made the truck unsafe to drive. The steel used is inferior, my neighbor across the street also has this truck, 2 years newer, and is doing the same thing. As I have researched this issue I have found out that this is a critical failure of the GMC Sierra for several model years due to a failure to protect the steel used in northern states which compromises…

   NHTSA complaint #11614743 · source
8. Filed May 29, 2024MNFuel, Hybrid & EV Propulsion

   Over the past few years squirrels have eaten through the fuel line of the truck just above the fuel tank multiple times. As soon as the ignition switch is turned on fuel gets pumped out very near the exhaust system. The driver may not notice anything wrong immediately causing a very real fire risk. Today is the fourth time I have experienced this issue with this truck.

   NHTSA complaint #11591269 · source

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Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation public data, as of Oct 11, 2026. Complaints are submitted by owners and are not verified by NHTSA or by us; a complaint does not prove a defect exists. View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov Methodology