2011 Chevrolet Colorado problems
NHTSA has received 54 complaints about the 2011 Chevrolet Colorado, and 26% of them involve electrical system. Next are air bags (19%) and engine (7%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 54 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 26% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 4 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 4 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 55,000 miles 47 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 | 5 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 4 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 18 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 6 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 4 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 7 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 47 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 55,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 58,000 miles (12 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 4 complaints mention a crash; 4 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2011 ranks 20th most-complained-about out of 21 model years of the Chevrolet Colorado with enough data (29 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 5 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.
Tl* the contact owned a 2011 chevrolet colorado. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH, the contact crashed into an embankment and the front passenger air bag did not deploy. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to an impound lot. The passenger suffered injuries during the crash. The contact stated that the event data recorder indicated that the front passenger air bag was suppressed, which was why it did not deploy. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and the contact was awaiting a response.
The truck struck another larger truck in the driver side door, head on, and the air bag did not deploy causing additional injury to myself.
Vehicle has been through 4 brake control modules, three of were burnt out by the dealer installing the software. My case is not isolated as many many chevy owners are experiencing the same issue. The lack of ABS and traction control is a recipe for a serious accident due to a lack of control and braking ability. I have received nothing but denials of wrong doing or general incompetence from GM. I have a friend experiencing this same problem on a 2020 chevy silverado.
When I started my truck the red air bag warning light was on steady. I went to find out why the air bag light was on it was for the seat belt pre-tensioner. It was in a fault situation. It was giving 2 codes for this but was not told what they were. Upon closer examination it had 2 broken wires inside a rubber boot that leads from the extended cab rear door to the body. I was told this is very common for extended cabs as the wiring is to short and is pinched when the rear door opens and shuts.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet colorado. While the vehicle was parked, it failed to start. A new starter was installed. The manufacturer was notified and was unable to assist. The failure mileage was 77,306.