Airbag inflator rupture on the 2009 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
When airbag inflator rupture gets reported
Owners of the 2009 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 report airbag inflator rupture at a median of 77,500 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 60,000 miles and a quarter after 110,000 miles, from 36 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 80,000 miles. It is the 1st most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 27,500 miles at the tenth percentile to 165,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 137,500 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
14% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27,500 miles | 60,000 miles | 77,500 miles | 110,250 miles | 165,000 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $0–$0 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
This mode is classified as critical, which means a failure can leave the car unable to stop, steer, or stay out of the way of traffic. It is weighted accordingly in the risk score.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 15 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2018, at a median of 5,000 miles, and latest on the 2006 at 190,000 miles.
By volume the 2008 carries the most reports, with 350; the 2009 has 143. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
I have various cracks in my dash. There is a large one in the middle of the dash. This one occurred just this year (2016). But the other is more concerning, especially since it is up against the passenger airbag. This one has existed for several years (2014 or earlier). I didn't think about this being a problem until the takata airbag recall came up. I am worried that should I get into an accident, that the cracked plastic will become loose debris, and cause additional harm to any passengers. An interesting thing I've noticed is a popping noise coming from the dash. This occurs after I have been driving with the air conditioner on for a while. When I perform a google search, this seems to be a fairly common problem. In fact, there is a facebook group that has about 5000 members - https://www.facebook.com/groups/gmdashcrack/ - this is how I found out about this website. I am uploading 2 pictures. The image ending in 27, is the center crack. You'll notice that it is split completely for the full depth of that piece. The image ending in 32, is the crack that sits next to the passenger airbag. I am unable to determine if these cracks…
I have various cracks in my dash. There is a large one in the middle of the dash. This one occurred just this year (2016). But the other is more concerning, especially since it is up against the passenger airbag. This one has existed for several years (2014 or earlier). I didn't think about this being a problem until the takata airbag recall came up. I am worried that should I get into an accident, that the cracked plastic will become loose debris, and cause additional harm to any passengers. An interesting thing I've noticed is a popping noise coming from the dash. This occurs after I have been driving with the air conditioner on for a while. When I perform a google search, this seems to be a fairly common problem. In fact, there is a facebook group that has about 5000 members - https://www.facebook.com/groups/gmdashcrack/ - this is how I found out about this website. I am uploading 2 pictures. The image ending in 27, is the center crack. You'll notice that it is split completely for the full depth of that piece. The image ending in 32, is the crack that sits next to the passenger airbag. I am unable to determine if these cracks…
A few days ago while detailing the interior of my truck, l noticed several cracks in the dash where the takata airbags deploy. I only have 69,000 miles on this vehicle. It has been garage kept. I took it to our local delership & the advised it was out of warranty & nothing could be done. I would like to add, l just received my recall notice of the deteriorating airbag recall for this vehicle. I'm fearful to drive this truck for fear of dash pieces & early airbag deployment. Dealership was contacted yesterday & l was advised by paul, a service writer, the parts to repair this recall are not available. I asked about what would happen if the takata inflators airbags deployed & l or passenger was killed or hurt? My response was there is nothing that could be done at this time.
Also reported on the 2009 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
Other body or interior problem
Other electrical problem
Other engine problem
Control module (ECM/PCM/BCM) failure
Fuel pump failure
No-start or intermittent start failure
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 143 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does airbag inflator rupture happen on the 2009 Chevrolet Silverado 1500?
Across 36 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 77,500 miles. A quarter were filed before 60,000 miles and a quarter after 110,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is airbag inflator rupture on the 2009 Chevrolet Silverado 1500?
143 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 4.8 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed