2011 Chevrolet Aveo Problems
Compared with other Chevrolet Aveo years
Fewer complaints than typical for this model
31/100 0.6× a typical year · 50 = typical
- Complaint rate is 0.6× that of a typical Chevrolet Aveo year, weighted for crashes, fires, injuries, recalls and mileage, and allowing for the era and for how long each year has had to collect complaints.
- 18 of its 77 complaints were filed by the end of 2013.
- Most reported problem: Engine stalls or loses power while driving (25 complaints, median 45,000 mi).
Based only on NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations. Not adjusted for how many vehicles were sold, and not a reliability rating. How this is calculated
- Complaints
- 77filed with NHTSA
- Median mileage
- 56,322miles, 64 complaints with mileage
- Recalls
- 0campaigns on record
- Trend
- FallingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.
- NHTSA crash rating
- —no overall rating published
- EPA fuel economy
- 29 mpgcombined, 1.6L 4-cyl FWD · 27 city / 34 hwy
Sources: NHTSA records for the 2011 Chevrolet Aveo (complaints, recalls, investigations), NHTSA crash tests, EPA fuel economy. Report an error
What owners report
Owners of this model year most often describe the engine losing power or stalling while driving, frequently with the check engine light on and often with no fault found at the dealer. A second common theme is coolant loss and overheating, with complaints describing hoses, caps, and the coolant reservoir failing and head gasket work being recommended. Complaints span a wide mileage range, from a few thousand miles to well past 100,000, and several describe repeated visits without a confirmed diagnosis.
- Engine
Engine stalls or loses power while driving
- 25 complaints (32%)
- median 45,000 mi at 3.8 yrs old (23 state mileage)
- filed 2011–2017
Complaints describe the engine quitting or the vehicle dropping speed without warning, at anything from residential-street speeds to highway cruising, sometimes with the check engine light coming on. Owners say restarting often restores normal operation until it happens again, and many report that dealers could not reproduce or diagnose the problem; some had the computer reprogrammed or the throttle body or wiring replaced. In several complaints the loss of power also takes out power steering and power brakes. Reported from under 10,000 miles to past 100,000 miles, with many clustered between roughly 13,000 and 70,000 miles.
What to check: Ask whether the throttle body, engine computer, and wiring harness have been serviced, and whether any stored fault codes were found. On a test drive, note any hesitation or sudden drop in power, and have a scan tool read pending codes.
2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records
“Vehicle looses power while at cruising speed with no warning. Has happened several times over the past 24 months. Dealer can not duplicate issue. This is a random occurrence and hard to duplicate. Acks like it is vapor locking. I suspect a defect in the fuel injection system. Fortunately I have not been in high speed traffic when this happens.”
NHTSA complaint #10605636, filed 2014-06, 60,000 miles“The car has lost power while driving on 3 occasions so far over the past 3 years. Each time this happened, I have been driving between 25-45 MPH in a residential/suburban area. I have had to roll to a stop and pull over on a busy road. My gas nor breaks worked at all while this was happening. I turned my car off, then on, and it worked like normal again.”
NHTSA complaint #11056738, filed 2017-12, 55 miles - Engine cooling
Coolant loss and overheating
- 15 complaints (19%)
- median 68,000 mi at 5.7 yrs old (13 state mileage)
- 1 mention a crash, fire or injury
- filed 2012–2020
Owners describe the coolant reservoir emptying, overheating at speed, and white smoke or a burning smell, traced variously to split hoses, a damaged cap, a cracked reservoir, or a failed thermostat. Some complaints say head gasket work or a camshaft repair followed. Several owners report the problem returning after thermostat replacement, and a few mention that coolant mixed with transmission fluid and damaged the transmission. Most often reported between about 19,000 and 80,000 miles, with some at higher mileage.
What to check: Check coolant level and condition when cold, look for residue or cracks at the reservoir, cap, and hoses, and ask whether the thermostat or any cooling parts were replaced. Look for milky or discolored transmission fluid.
2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records
“I have been to the shop so many times since I bought this car. The first time out of nowhere it started smoking white smoke and overheated the engine and come to find out the tubing in the car had exploded. Then got everything fixed and now still having the same problem with overheating and white smoke but now a burning smell. It's something new every time. I found this response o. …”
NHTSA complaint #11296778, filed 2020-01, 76,000 miles“My coolant reservoir has been emptied suddenly on 4 occasions. One one occasion, while driving on the highways, my car overheated, and was found to have no coolant. After filling it, letting the car cool, and driving 10 minutes down the road, it had overheated and was empty again. That time, and once before, it was the hose. Another time, the cap was damaged, and was allowing coolant to evaporate. The most recent time, there is a crack in the reservoir, allowing the coolant to leak. However, my overheating warning did not come on. …”
NHTSA complaint #11056739, filed 2017-12, 68,000 miles - Air bags
Airbag warning light on or airbags not deploying
- 7 complaints (9%)
- median 80,000 mi at 4.3 yrs old (5 state mileage, few)
- 2 mention a crash, fire or injury
- filed 2014–2020
Owners report the airbag warning light staying on, sometimes tied to a passenger seat sensor or an erratic signal, and in a few complaints the airbags did not deploy in a collision. Several were quoted high repair costs for sensor replacement. In one case a dealer attributed the light to an activated cell phone in the vehicle. Reported from about 15,000 miles to nearly 190,000 miles, with most between 70,000 and 100,000 miles.
What to check: Confirm the airbag light is off with the key on and that no airbag codes are stored. Ask whether the passenger seat sensor or any airbag components have been replaced.
2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records
“My granddaughter was driving the vehicle and was the only one involved in the accident friday, july 25 2014. . She was critically injury, and is still in the hospital. It looks like the air bags did not deploy and for unknown reason the vehicle left the road and hit a utility pole. As everyone reported a similar problem/accident.”
NHTSA complaint #10626017, filed 2014-08, 80,000 miles“The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet AVEO. The contact stated that the air bag light remained illuminated in the vehicle. The vehicle was diagnosed as having an erratic signal, which caused the air bag light to illuminate. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 98,350.”
NHTSA complaint #10818543, filed 2016-01, 98,350 miles - Brakes
Brake pedal goes soft or brakes fade
- 5 complaints (6%)
- median 30,600 mi at 2.0 yrs old (5 state mileage, few)
- 1 mention a crash, fire or injury
- filed 2012–2019
Complaints describe a spongy pedal that travels to the floor with reduced stopping power, a hard pedal with almost no braking when the wheel is turned fully, and in some cases a brake hose or rear brake shoe failure. One owner reported the master cylinder being replaced and later a dealer finding the brakes working normally, and another described an intersection collision. Dealers in these complaints either replaced parts or could not duplicate the condition. Reported from under 10,000 miles to about 70,000 miles.
What to check: Press the pedal firmly and hold it to check for creep toward the floor, inspect brake hoses and rear shoes for cracking or separation, and ask about any prior brake hydraulic repairs.
2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records
“Right front brake hose blew out leaving me with no brake while driving on a city street. Unable to stop had no brakes had to swerve in order to keep from hitting car in front of me. Mechanic said in his 35 years as a mechanic never seen this happen and to make a report as this could kill someone.”
NHTSA complaint #11186186, filed 2019-03, 70,000 miles“When turning vehicle all the way to left or right brakes fail to operate correctly. The brake pedal becomes hard and gives you less than 10% braking function. Is not intermittent, it happens every time vehicle is turned completely to left or right and the brake is applied.”
NHTSA complaint #10462906, filed 2012-06, 6,700 miles
Buying note. Have a pre-purchase inspection focus on cooling system pressure, stored engine and airbag codes, and the brake pedal feel, since owners commonly describe repeat visits without a confirmed diagnosis. Service records showing recent work on the throttle body, cooling parts, and ignition lock are worth asking for.
Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.
NHTSA recorded 77 consumer complaints for the 2011 Chevrolet Aveo. 64 of the complaints include a mileage, and 41% of those were filed for vehicles with under 50,000 miles; the median is 56,322 miles. Of all complaints, 10 involved a crash, 1 a fire, 4 an injury, 1 a death, according to the filers. NHTSA lists 0 recall campaigns and 1,079 technical service bulletins for this model year. Compared with the other 3 Chevrolet Aveo model years that have at least 25 complaints and are old enough to compare, this one scores 31 out of 100, where 50 is a typical year for the model (fewer complaints than typical for this model). The comparison allows for the era and for how long each year has had to collect complaints, but not for how many vehicles were sold.
Which parts are reported most
Complaints can name more than one part, so the counts add up to more than the total. Select a part to see its complaints, recalls and bulletins.
- Engine22 29%
- Electrical system15 19%
- Vehicle speed control11 14%
- Other or unknown8 10%
- Air bags7 9.1%
- Brakes7 9.1%
- Engine cooling6 7.8%
- Fuel system6 7.8%
- Steering6 7.8%
Also reported: Wheels (4), Body and structure (3), Seat belts (2), Suspension (2), Exterior lighting (1), Tires (1).
Example complaints
Engine: “I was driving on a backroad going about 30 MPH. My engine shut off causing me to lose my power steering and power brakes. I was able to get the car into a parking lot and pull my emergency brake. I then shut off and restarted my car. It started fine. It is now at a dealership where they can find nothing wrong. Although it is still stalling on them as well.”
NHTSA complaint #10667426, filed 2014-12, 62,000 milesElectrical system: “Arrived at home put my car in park and my key was stuck in the ignition and unable to shut my car off. Had to pull fuse to the computer and disconnect negative side of battery. Took it to a shop they advised no communication with shifter. Shop drilled out my old ignition lock cylinder and replaced with a new key lock cylinder. Seems to be working as of now after a $518.74 bill.”
NHTSA complaint #11206278, filed 2019-05, 131,996 milesTransmission and drivetrain: “At 60k miles the speedometer stopped working. Vehicle runs fine but not having a speedometer is a safety hazard. There are only a few transmissions that have this problem where the speedometer in operated by a plastic gear inside the transmission. I had to replace the transmission cost me 1600 dollars and the 9 months later that gear let go also. Again I had to change the transmission. The car will not pass inspection without the speedometer working. This is a faulty design and should have been recalled.”
NHTSA complaint #11074169, filed 2018-02, 70,063 milesVehicle speed control: “Purchased this car with less than 30,000 miles from a local dealer. Problems including power loss and over heating within first few days of purchase. Chevy dealer repair we continue to have the same issues currently. Chevy escalates and says not a known issue, we should pay thousands to repair head gasket even though there tech support says to damage to gasket is not showing up when tested. Dangerous small vehicle that looses power for unknown reason and overheats for unknown reason. So far it can not be repaired. Many consumer blogs and same complaints. Thousands of blogs.”
NHTSA complaint #10980267, filed 2017-04, 100,000 milesMileage when problems were reported
41% of the 64 complaints with a mileage were filed for vehicles with under 50,000 miles; the middle half falls between 33,861 and 75,980 miles.
Complaints by year filed
Trend: falling. Complaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.
Crash test ratings
NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings for the 2011 Chevrolet Aveo. Frontal results are shown driver / passenger; rollover shows the star rating and NHTSA's estimated risk of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.
| Version | Overall | Frontal | Side | Side pole | Rollover |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AVEO4 · hatchback FWD | not rated | — | — | — | 4 · 13.3% risk |
Source: NHTSA New Car Assessment Program (5-Star Safety Ratings), nhtsa.gov/ratings.
Fuel economy and running cost
EPA ratings for each 2011 Chevrolet Aveo version. Annual fuel cost is the EPA's estimate at its current fuel prices for 15,000 miles a year (55% city driving).
| Version | Engine | Transmission | City | Hwy | Comb. | Fuel / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aveo FWD | 1.6L 4-cyl | 5-speed manual | 27 | 34 | 29 | $2,300 |
| Aveo FWD | 1.6L 4-cyl | 4-speed automatic | 25 | 33 | 28 | $2,400 |
| Aveo 5 FWD | 1.6L 4-cyl | 5-speed manual | 27 | 34 | 29 | $2,300 |
| Aveo 5 FWD | 1.6L 4-cyl | 4-speed automatic | 25 | 33 | 28 | $2,400 |
Source: U.S. EPA and Department of Energy, fueleconomy.gov. Ratings are for comparing vehicles; real-world mileage varies with driving and conditions.
Recalls and investigations
NHTSA lists no recall campaigns for the 2011 Chevrolet Aveo in the data used here. A recall can apply to some vehicles of a model year and not others, so check a specific vehicle by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Technical service bulletins
TSBs are manufacturer notes to dealers about known repair procedures. They are not recalls and do not by themselves mean a vehicle has a fault. 1,079 on record; the latest 10 are shown.
- 11037253Sep 4, 2026Other or unknown. This preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email GDS2 session logs into Technical Assistance.
- 11030974Apr 1, 2026Other or unknown. This preliminary information communicates information about how to determine if a wheel and tires size change is available.
- 11030092Mar 9, 2026Other or unknown. This Preliminary information communicates the steps on how to save a GDS2 Session Log and upload to a Technical Assistance Case in CX Connect.
- 11030091Mar 9, 2026Other or unknown. This preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email GDS2 session logs into Technical Assistance.
- 11027601Jan 8, 2026Other or unknown. This preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email GDS2 session logs into Technical Assistance.
- 11025755Nov 20, 2025Other or unknown. This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that have had multiple repair attempts that are being performed on customer’s vehicles that exhibit…
- 11023091Sep 9, 2025Other or unknown. New Vehicle Monitoring Programs Section in IVH
- 11022084Aug 14, 2025Other or unknown. This preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email GDS2 session logs into Technical Assistance.
- 11021792Aug 7, 2025Other or unknown. This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that have an intermittent no crank, no start, or start stall concern with the security light coming…
- 11019693Jun 9, 2025Other or unknown. This preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email GDS2 session logs into Technical Assistance.
Other model years of the Chevrolet Aveo
| Year | Complaints | Median mi | Recalls | Crash ★ | MPG | Score (50 = typical) | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 77 | 56,322 | 0 | — | 29 | 31 · Fewer | Falling |
| 2010 | 66 | 46,750 | 1 | — | 30 | 32 · Fewer | Falling |
| 2009 | 169 | 43,000 | 1 | — | 30 | 81 · More | Stable |
| 2008 | 163 | 59,747 | 1 | — | 27 | 63 · Typical | Falling |
| 2007 | 216 | 52,000 | 2 | — | 27 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 2006 | 189 | 58,500 | 1 | — | 26 | Not compared (before 2008) | Rising |
| 2005 | 235 | 63,000 | 1 | — | 27 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 2004 | 206 | 60,000 | 2 | — | 27 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
All Chevrolet Aveo model years · Best and worst years by complaints
Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2011 Chevrolet Aveo?
Owners of this model year most often describe the engine losing power or stalling while driving, frequently with the check engine light on and often with no fault found at the dealer. The issues reported most often: Engine stalls or loses power while driving; Coolant loss and overheating; Airbag warning light on or airbags not deploying.
How many NHTSA complaints does the 2011 Chevrolet Aveo have?
NHTSA recorded 77 consumer complaints for the 2011 Chevrolet Aveo as of Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
What part of the 2011 Chevrolet Aveo is reported most often?
Engine is named most often, in 22 complaints (29% of the total), followed by electrical system with 15.
Has the 2011 Chevrolet Aveo been recalled?
NHTSA lists no recall campaigns for this model year in the data used here. To check a specific vehicle, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
What gas mileage does the 2011 Chevrolet Aveo get?
The EPA rates the 2011 Chevrolet Aveo (Aveo, 1.6L 4-cyl) at 29 mpg combined, 27 city and 34 highway, with an estimated annual fuel cost of $2,300 at 15,000 miles a year. Other engine and drive versions are rated differently.
At what mileage are problems with the 2011 Chevrolet Aveo reported?
Among the 64 complaints that include a mileage, the median is 56,322 miles and the middle half falls between 33,861 and 75,980 miles; 41% were filed for vehicles with under 50,000 miles.
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Crash ratings are from NHTSA’s New Car Assessment Program. Fuel economy is from the EPA and DOE (fueleconomy.gov).
Complaint counts come from NHTSA’s public complaint database; we count each complaint once. The source records for this vehicle are on nhtsa.gov. Scores and trends are our own summaries of that data, described in the methodology. This page is not legal, safety or repair advice: for a specific vehicle, check its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls and ask a qualified mechanic. See an error? Tell us.