2010 Chevrolet Avalanche problems
Owners have filed 147 complaints with NHTSA about the 2010 Chevrolet Avalanche. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 36% of complaints. Next are body & structure (11%) and electrical system (5%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 147 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 36% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 0 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 1 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 62,000 miles 106 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 6 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 6 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 35 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 26 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 13 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 15 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 4 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 106 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 62,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 70,000 miles (28 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 1 injury reported. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 95% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2010 ranks 8th most-complained-about out of 11 model years of the Chevrolet Avalanche with enough data (53 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Interior door handle (driver's side) chrome overlay peeled 2010 chevy avalanche lt. Owner opened door and cut finger on handle release when it was lifted up as car was parked in a parking lot. It is razor sharp. GM was contacted and would not pay for door handle to be fixed despite injury directly resulting from faulty door handle. Vehicle has approximately 91,500 miles. With further inspection chrome overlay surrounding temp control also has peeling noted and is also very sharp.
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 chevrolet avalanche. The contact stated while driving approximately 80 to 85 MPH, he noticed that the door locks began to open and close, the rpm's reached 1,000, and the vehicle suddenly shifted into first gear until it decreased to a normal speed. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer who advised him that they would replace two modulators. The vehicle was repaired; however, within an hour of leaving the dealer the identical failure occurred.
The dash is cracked around the passenger side airbag. Upon checking the internet I found this is a common problem on chevrolet trucks. I am concerned that the structural integrity of the air bag may be compromised in the event of the air bag deployment. It may be possible that pieces of the airbag could break off and strike the occupant in the passenger seat or it may deflect the air bag altogether.
The top of the dash is cracking, above the instrument panel hump on the drivers side. The vehicle is well taken care of; oil changes done every 3k miles, all fluids changed at correct intervals, premium gasoline, never taken off-road, never driven over 80 MPH, etc. It seems that the crack developed through no fault of my own and appears to be a manufacturing defect.
Thus far, nothing has "happened" with my vehicle, but there has been a recall in effect for the airbags in my vehicle for well over a year and nothing has been done to replace the airbags. I am also having some electrical problems with my truck not shutting off when I remove the key, and the interior dome lights will not turn on when the button is pressed (this has all began since the recall was initiated but not taken care of).