The 2009 Chevrolet Avalanche has 5 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 5,283,079 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 96 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the air bags. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
AIR BAGS21V0520002021-02-05557,023 affected
Defect
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2009 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona,…
Consequence
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 23, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were…
AIR BAGS21V0500002021-02-052,641,272 affected
Defect
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2007-2011 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, Yukon XL, and 2009-2011 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, GMC Sierra 2500 and Sierra 3500 vehicles originally sold, or ever…
Consequence
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 22, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were…
AIR BAGS21V0530002021-02-05692,526 affected
Defect
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2013 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California,…
Consequence
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 24, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were…
GM IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2006-2009 BUICK, LUCERNE; CADILLAC DTS; HUMMER H2; MODEL YEAR 2008-2009 BUICK ENCLAVE; CADILLAC CTS; MODEL YEAR 2007-2009 CADILLAC ESCALADE, ESCALADE ESV, ESCALADE EXT; CHEVROLET AVALANCHE, SILVERADO, SUBURBAN, TAHOE; GMC ACADIA, SIERRA, YUKON, YUKON XL; SATURN OUTLOOK; AND MODEL…
Consequence
IT IS POSSIBLE FOR THE HEATED WASHER MODULE TO IGNITE AND A FIRE MAY OCCUR.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL PERMANENTLY DISABLE AND REMOVE THE HEATED WASHER FLUID MODULE. AN UPDATED PAGE FOR THE OWNER MANUAL WILL BE PROVIDED AND INSERTED IN THE OWNER MANUAL TO DOCUMENT THAT THE FEATURE HAS BEEN PERMANENTLY DISABLED AND REMOVED FROM THE VEHICLE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JUNE 11, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT…
GM IS RECALLING 27,188 MY 2009 CADILLAC ESCALADE, ESCALADE HYBRID, ESCALADE ESV, AND ESCALADE EXT; CHEVROLET AVALANCHE, SUBURBAN, TAHOE, TAHOE HYBRID, AND COLORADO; AND GMC YUKON, YUKON HYBRID, YUKON XL, AND CANYON VEHICLES. THE FUEL SYSTEM CONTROL MODULES MAY HAVE A CONDITION IN WHICH AN ADHESIVE SEPARATION OF THE…
Consequence
WATER IN THE MODULE COULD CAUSE A SHORT OR OPEN CIRCUIT, ILLUMINATION OF THE SERVICE ENGINE SOON LAMP, SETTING OF DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES OR THE ENGINE MAY BE HARD TO START, MAY NOT START OR MAY STALL INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL INSTALL A NEW FUEL SYSTEM CONTROL MODULE FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 18, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CADILLAC AT 1-866-982-2339, CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438 AND GMC AT 1-866-996-9463 OR AT WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM.
Complaints by component
AIR BAGS
41
1crashes
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
28
1injuries
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
4
STRUCTURE:BODY
4
1injuries
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
4
1crashes
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
2
STRUCTURE
2
STRUCTURE:INTERIOR PANELS:DASHBOARD
2
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)
1
ENGINE
1
Total complaints96
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“The contact owns a 2009 chevrolet avalanche equipped with cooper tires, tire line: discoverer rugged trek, tire size: 275/55/r20, dot number: (not available). The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, an abnormal noise was heard coming from the front passenger’s side tire.…”
“2009 chevrolet avalanche. Consumer writes in regards to airag safety recall. The consumer stated the parts necessary to complete the recall repair have not become available. The consumer was placed on awaiting list at the dealership to be contacted when the part arrives.”
“2009 chevrolet avalanche. Consumer writes in regards to takata airbag safety recall. The consumer stated the airbag could not be replaced without destroying the dashboard. The consumer would have to incur the cost of the dashboard replacement and repair. The consumer stated this was unsatisfactory.”
“The passenger side air bag was replaced under a current recall (n212328790) however, once they fixed the issue at love chevy (inverness, fl), the air bag light stayed on. It has never shut off and after speaking with the dealership as well as chevrolet, they refuse to fix the issue they caused. I…”
“The passenger side air bag was replaced under a current recall (n212328790) however, once they fixed the issue at love chevy (inverness, fl), the air bag light stayed on. It has never shut off and after speaking with the dealership as well as chevrolet, they refuse to fix the issue they caused. I…”
“The passenger side air bag was replaced under a current recall (n212328790) however, once they fixed the issue at love chevy (inverness, fl), the air bag light stayed on. It has never shut off and after speaking with the dealership as well as chevrolet, they refuse to fix the issue they caused. I…”
“The contact owns a 2009 chevrolet avalanche. The contact stated that he received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 21v052000 (air bags) and the vehicle was taken to the dealer for the recall repair. The contact stated that upon picking up the vehicle from the dealer, he noticed that the…”
“The contact owns a 2009 chevrolet avalanche. The contact stated that he received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 21v052000 (air bags) and the vehicle was taken to the dealer for the recall repair. The contact stated that upon picking up the vehicle from the dealer, he noticed that the…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationEA21002 Opened 2021-09-17 · open
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant…
InvestigationEA21002 Opened 2021-09-17 · open
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2009 Chevrolet Avalanche as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.