2011 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 problems
Owners have filed 108 complaints with NHTSA about the 2011 Chevrolet Suburban 1500. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 30% of complaints. Next are body & structure (17%) and drivetrain & axles (5%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 108 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 30% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 1 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 1 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 80,000 miles 72 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 | 4 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 7 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 14 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 10 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 20 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 9 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 7 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 72 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 80,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 80,000 miles (16 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 1 complaint mentions a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 1 injury reported. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 87% 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 2011 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 15 model years of the Chevrolet Suburban 1500 with enough data (79 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.
While commuting to work on interstate 15, northbound on february 1, 2017, with my two sons in the vehicle, I smelled smoke. I pulled over to investigate and realized the front passenger seat was on fire (pictures attached). I noticed the switch for the heated seat was on, so I turned it off. I then proceeded to the chevrolet dealership in butte, mt (approx. 15 miles) and had them disconnect the electrical to the seat and ensure it was not still burning.
While in park in our driveway, engine turned off, and keys in my hand the suburban rolled backwards down our driveway, knocking me down and rolling over my leg where it then stopped in the middle of the street. 911 was called and I was transported from the scene to the hospital where I was admitted. We are highly concerned about this incident
Dashboard is cracked. I understand there is a lawsuit about it. Our vehicle is not part of takata air bag recall even though it has spent plenty of time in the southern states that are part of the recall.
Dashboard is all cracked around side airbag and may affect deployment. Dash is also cracked at on driver side. Cracks just appeared no accident, regular around town driving.