2013 Chevrolet Avalanche problems
Owners have filed 105 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Chevrolet Avalanche. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 21% of complaints. Next are body & structure (18%) and electrical system (4%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 105 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 21% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 2 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 6 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 57,000 miles 69 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 | 9 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 21 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 15 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 10 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 5 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Of the 69 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 57,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 49,000 miles (10 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 2 complaints mention a crash; 6 injuries reported. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 85% 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 2013 ranks 7th most-complained-about out of 11 model years of the Chevrolet Avalanche with enough data (59 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 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.
In December of 2020 we took our vehicle cannon dealership,the 2013 avalanche had a recall to repair a part for the takata air bag,on January 17,2022 we had and accident, some one pulling a cow hauling trailer pull out in front of us and we hit into the cow trailer,and the air bags didn't deploy.we got injured,and we are still under the doctor,we had $9000 worth of damage,would have been worse if my husband hadn't hit brakes and we were sliding all across the highway we just couldn't avoid hitting the cow hauling…
I had an auto accident that totaled my vehicle (2013 Chevy Avalanche). It was t-boned by the other vehicle with significant damage from the front quarter panel to the rear quarter panel. All on the driver's side. NONE of the airbags deployed in my vehicle. The other vehicle that hit me had all of the air bags deployed. I had my passenger airbag replaced, based on a manufacturers recall, this past summer 09/26/2025 at a certified Chevy dealer.
The dashboard cracked soon after I purchased the vehicle and the dealership said that it's not a safety issue for them to look into. It's such a distraction while driving when this shouldn't have happen being I bought this vehicle for the stand up value and reputation of chevy. I got into my truck after being parked in my job parking lot after a long day at work and to come out to see my dashboard cracked.
The dash is cracked at multiple places including up to the airbag. I was told by the people who repairs windshield that this is a know problem for avalanche, silverado suburban. This is clearly a manufacturer defect and should be a recall they are quoting me a $1497 repair fee to replace the dash at the dealer. I contacted chevrolet for assistance. They offered a $130 good will....
3rd brake light holding water (condensation) inside. Replaced under warranty 5 times. Vehicle not garaged (sits outdoors all the time) still leaks, not under warranty any longer. First repair 18 sept 2014, second repair 25 nov 2014, third replacement may 15, 2015, fourth replacement july 15 2015, fifth dec 3 2015