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Air bagsPart report

2012 Chevrolet Avalanche Air bags Problems

Complaints
6about this part
Share
17%of 36 total for the year
Median mileage
38,900miles
Trend
Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.

NHTSA recorded 6 complaints about the air bags of the 2012 Chevrolet Avalanche, 17% of the 36 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 38,900 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers. 2 recall campaigns on record are filed under a similar system.

Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“The steering wheel is difficult to turn or control, went to dealership to fix the problem. After the dealership allegedly fix the problem, we had continued problems with the steering (controlling the steering wheel) and then the transmission caused the vehicle to jump or skip gears, causing the vehicle to be difficult to control. Took it back to the dealership and they were to busy to help us. All of the aforementioned defects caused my husband to lose control of the truck and ultimately flew off the road and vehicle flipped over (roll over).”

NHTSA complaint #10604372, filed 2014-06, 26,000 miles

“Service airbag light came on when I released the emergency brake while on a hill, te vehicle only had 21,000 miles on it when this happened, dealer says it will cost about $1,000 to replace the sdm due to a failed current in the sdm, this vehicle has never been in an accident or air bags deployed, the warranty just ran out but still well below the allotted mileage. The dealer says the air bags will not work in the event of an accident.”

NHTSA complaint #10809418, filed 2015-12, 21,000 miles

“The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Avalanche. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V054000 (Air Bags) however, the VIN was updated and now displayed that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The contact mentioned that the vehicle was taken to the dealer for the recall repair. The failure recurred. The vehicle then was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the air bag needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. …”

NHTSA complaint #11429670, filed 2021-08, 171,000 miles

Related recalls

Related service bulletins

Air bags: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
20132227%
2012617%
20115543%
20105348%
20094154%
200813251%
200722560%
200619%
20051115%
200495%
2003147%
2002225%

Other parts of the 2012 Chevrolet Avalanche

Other or unknown
17 complaints
Engine
3 complaints
Transmission and drivetrain
3 complaints
Steering
2 complaints
Body and structure
2 complaints
Vehicle speed control
2 complaints
Wheels
2 complaints
Brakes
1 complaints
Electrical system
1 complaints
Exterior lighting
1 complaints
Fuel system
1 complaints
Suspension
1 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2012 Chevrolet Avalanche

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology