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2002 & 2003 Owners who bought in 2003

Trafficman

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:welcome:  2002 Forrest green leather and all the options.  Factory everything, still I do need upgrade the factory shocks and a new or rebuilt transmission...  :E: How about the rest of ya?
:wave:    (y)   :cool:   :D
 
I'm the original owner of an 03, bought in March of 03.

Transmission started slipping a bit on shifts a bit after over 200k miles of mostly highway driving.  I put in another that I rebuilt about a year ago that's probably got about 15k miles on it by now.
 
Still have mine and I drive it like I stole it everyday  (y)
 
Good Morning,
I have just over 220k on my 2500. The worst thing that happened is that the fuel pump went out. That was about 75k miles ago.

Durwin
 
Bough my 02' Z71 in early 2002.  136k miles so far.  Starting to rust on me over the rear wheels and the back bumper under the cladding is just about gone. 
 
Trafficman... I think you would get more responses if you rephrased "2002 & 2003 Owners who bought in 2003". Unless that's what your looking for. Allot of us picked ours up in 2001 and 2002...


If not then I still have my 2002 2500 Avalanche that I bought in November of 2001 with 214,000 miles and running strong. Hopefully I will get another 214,000 out of it...


Randy
 
Bought and 03 Z71 new at the end of 02.  265,000 miles and still going....not as much since I gave it to my son.  Bought a 13 Z71 in December...Fairway Metallic. 
 
still have mine..  :love: :love:
2002 Onyx Black 240K last week, several minor repairs, alt, fuel, water, power steering pumps, front shocks, plugs, wires, etc etc..
 
:B: Still have mine also.
2002 NFE, Usual stuff....motor @ 55K, fuel pump, alt, batt, 3 sets of tires, window regulators.
Not too bad for it's age. Also been towing since new, 28ft trailer, 21ft Boston Whaler.

Dave
 

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I bought my Sunset Orange 2002  :B: in August of 2002.  Has 155,000 miles and still looks good.  Replaced the transmission at 150,000, but beyond that have had no issues. Was looking at new trucks and decided to keep.
 
I bought my 2003 Z66 full load Arrival Blue in Feb 2003. Now has 193,00 KM. Just rebuilt trans to fix a 2 to 3 bad shift that it had since about 30,000 KM. Replaced both front door window actuators, all shocks at 170,000 KM and the fuel pump at 150,000 KM. Truck still runs like new and I have three more I use as toys. All are full load with cladding.
 
2003 Dark Grey North Face bought i June of 2003, sat in dealer showroom until I returned from deployment and I picked it up in November of 2003.  What scar tissue does she have?

Disc changer jammed and wont play, swap or eject discs
Rear window trim Cracked passenger bottom corner
Rear window seal falling off, just glued it back on, hoping it sticks
Bed cover seals, water management system shot, everything gets wet back there when it rains
Front suspension bushings need replacement, squishy steering
Brakes - Feel like I am trying to stop a motor home, been that way since she was new.  I tried slotted rotors and upgraded pads, no improvement.  I am back to factory pads and rotors.  Just had to replace a caliper because the bleeder valve welded itself into the caliper (probably from me over tightening it with the 17 times i bled them trying to get the pedal to feel right)
Engine, sound and powerful
Tranny, hesitates on shifts between 2nd and 3rd sometimes, but is not degrading.

Truck has been very reliable, the only thing that really bugs me are the damn brakes.  If anyone has made their brakes have a firm pedal and actually stop the truck like it should, please let me know how you did it.

Ron
 
I bought mine new '03 as well.  Have about 112k on it I think.  Heres my list of issues (all repaired)...  just about everything but the transfer case I did myself.  A lot of these things are easy/cheap to repair...  I still love the truck and keep her in tip top condition.

- Transfer Case leak due to pump rub at 90k or so.. this was an expensive repair and the one i'm the most pissed at GM for...
- Drivers side front wheel bearing failed around 75k
- drivers side passenger window actuator
- drivers side back and bottom heated seat elements
- rear window trim cracked
- tailgate lock mechanism jammed
- o2 sensor driver side front
- Intermediate steering shaft (warrantied the first 2 times, then I eventually paid to get the new design model which is going strong)
- drivers side rear chromatic view mirror broke down chemically inside
- sun roof gutter drain hose got blocked and soaked headliner
- PRND321 gear indicator lights went dark due to cold solder joints in resistors
- drivers side door rattling due to worn out padding on a window guard
- 4wd transfer case position sensor (on order... i've yet to replace it)
- removed and re-sealed bed panel gaskets with silicone (this helps a lot when you finally start to leak)
- factory ac delco battery positive post broke and the acid leak killed my windshield washer fluid reservoir (warranty)
- left torsion bar bushing
- gatorback / rr  bed panel stuff to restore black cladding...  


Other than that its just been things you would have to do to any car...    rear brake padsx2, rotorsx1 (front are still original), spark plugs, wires, oil and fuel filters, fluids...

Oh and BTW, my brake pedal needs to be pushed down harder than most other vehicles I've driven as well...  don't know if this is fixable...   but it helps you get a strong right calve muscle! lol

 
I bought my Z66 new in '03. It's my daily driver and I use it for everything from going to the dump to going to my yacht club. It tows, it hauls, it truck camps, it's very comfortable for long trips and it's extremely useful in every way.

It's been pretty reliable but a month ago the alternator went out on Alligator Alley in the middle of no-friggin-where Everglades. Had to be towed to a dealer 41 miles away and I rented a car to continue our trip. That's the only breakdown it's had, but I've replaced lots of things over the years. Mostly preventive maintenance but brakes and shocks all had to get replaced. Engine and tranny are sound. I hope to keep maintaining it well and getting another 100,000 miles out of it which would probably take me another 15 years.
I would have no hesitation in driving it to Alaska right now. Just gas it up and hit the road. It's as faithful as a labrador retriever and it's just waiting to go adventuring. :drive:

I seriously considered trading it in on a new one when GM decided to stop making them, but why? It's everything anyone could want in a truck.





 
Cool Rod said:
I seriously considered trading it in on a new one when GM decided to stop making them, but why? It's everything anyone could want in a truck.
Nice to see all you 2002 drivers still on board with the truck. Thank you for writing!

On a reoccurring basis, I think that I should dump the AV (2006 with 140K miles) and get something else, but them am always reminded that the darn thing has yet to need ANYTHING outside of normal wear-and-tear.  I was telling my beautiful young bride that we should look at a Suburban, Escalade, or Excursion because they have more seats. Her response was, "why?"

Only wish I had rear door lights like you 2002 folks.  :p
 
2002 bought in dec 2001. 110k miles. On my third set of tires, third set of brakes, second battery. I replaced most of the interior radio, window bulbs, now the hvac lights are going out. Possibly rust starting above right rear wheel. Rust hole in door jab area on rear passenger door opening. Cracked rear window frame, fixed with jb weld, then fixed again, then fixed with rtv. Window washer motor leaking and replaced. Oil changes every 3 to 4 k miles. Original motor, trans, differentials, cv joints, u joints. Replaced left front tie rod end and wheel bearing. Air conditioning still works great, never serviced. Paint and plastic still look great. Only one door ding, no scratches. I think all the exterior lights are original except the head light bulbs. Original exhaust.

I have a long drive now and use another car most of the time, use the avalanche for hauling and winter snow. My 17 year old drives it to school and his job (and no, it is not his car, it's mine, he is just using it when I don't need it). I have trained him well, he always gets an end parking spot towards the back of the school lot. No scratches or dings. He did drive on a road that had just been sealed, I spent about 20 hours getting all the tar off the plastic. I always armorall the plastic in the wheel wells and it was a job to get the road tar off of those. Had to pull the wheels off to get in there.

Still drives very nice.
 
2003 Daily Driver with 173K miles.

PerfectReign, I would find a pair of those rear door lights.
Do a bit of trimming and wiring and you be good to go.

I got the door lights of a Celica and did that on my 74' Corolla.
 
RENORCR said:
PerfectReign, I would find a pair of those rear door lights.
Do a bit of trimming and wiring and you be good to go.
It is on my list...

Right now making sure the '00 Jetta TDI is good to go, since it has become my DD. 

 
Bought mine new in 03 , 82K, still has original tires and brakes , thing still runs like it was new, 1500 plain jane  :B:
 
Mine is an 02 Z71.  I bought her used, in Feb 04 with only 26K on the clock.  She's over 177,000 now, its my daily driver.  I've had to replace the belt tensioners, water pump, AC compressor, rebuilt the whole front suspension, replaced the rear window under warranty, and that's about it.  The tranny is just starting to slip in 1st, and my window is cracked again.  Only leaks in the car wash though, so no biggie.  My rear axle is making noise, pretty sure its one of the axle bearings, and I have GMT900 brakes to go on the front.  Need to replace the front seat cushions as well. 

It has been the best vehicle I've ever owned, and it is nearly perfect.  I only want for more power.  She has towed and hauled everything I've asked of her, but more torque is never a bad thing.  A 2500 w/ a Duramax is my absolute dream vehicle.
 
I bought my '03 Z66 LA (Limited Availability) Yellow new back in June of '03.  I've got 95,000 miles on her and she's been great so far.  Origianl brakes, 2nd battery, and just purchased my 3rd set of tires.

I had to replace the gage cluster when it failed (not the failure that was covered by the recall).  Other than preventive maintenance, she's really had no issues.  I do have a bit of surface rust showing up at the left rear mount for the roof rack which I'll be addressing very soon.  The headliner needs to be reglued in the front (will do that when doing the roof repair).  It also makes an annoying squeking sound that comes and goes.  Sounds like it is from the HVAC system.  I'm able to drown it out with the stereo.  6-disc changer gets tempermental from time to time...but that's it. 

It has been the perfect adventure/traveling vehicle for me and I'm hoping to get another decade out of her. 

I do agree with Hitman...I'd love to have a Duramax and the Allison tranny, but that's just a pipe dream.
 
      I bought my 03 in August of 2003.  I actually knew about the AV before they started production.  I was in need of a new vehicle in 2000 and wanted the AV so bad, but it was still quite awhile before they would start leaving the production line.  So I settled on a 2000 GMC Sierra Z71 extended cab with an 8 foot bed.  It was a nice truck but it was so much longer than the AV and not as maneuverable.  Once I started seeing AV's on the street, I was envious but felt it too stupid to get rid of a 2 year old truck.  So in 2003 when the WBH models came out, I couldn't hold off any longer.  Sold the GMC to CarMax turning a slight profit and purchased my 2003 WBH Dark Grey Metallic Z71 with leather, sunroof, and Bose. 
      My AV now has 108,000 miles on it and it has done everything and more than my big old GMC.  I brought all three of my boys home from the hospital in the AV and hope to be able to hold onto it for 10 more years.
 
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