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Opinion on 2011 I looked at today.

carnut

PM 2018
Full Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2002
Messages
675
Location
Back in Pittsburgh, Pa!!
So I went to look at my first possible choice for a new to me Av today in Ohio. It was a black on black Z71 in a small used car lot. 128k miles, for $14500. Overall looks decent, but I have some concerns. Please let me know what you all think, and are they deal breakers.

Issues:
1- Dash cracks, 4 of them, on top of dash. someone tried to epoxy or RTV over two of them. Looks like black turds sitting on dash.

2- Sunroof THUMPS and headliner moves when it first opens like something is out of alignment. The pop up action is fine, it's just when it drops down to retract into the roof when opening. Dealer kept saying it was because it was sitting for so long.

3- Weather strip along floor of driver door threshold torn up and rusting metal showing in gap between plastic molding and rubber.

4- Here's the biggie! Has the 2 speed transfer case. Truck was in 4HI when i got there. Tried to put it in 2WD, but indicator light never came on. Put it in AUTO 4WD, and it took a while for the light to come on. 10 seconds or longer. Back to 2WD, no light. Back to Auto, another wait, then flashing light for about 5 seconds before it turned solid. Go into 4HI light comes on real fast. Could never get the 2WD light to come on. Now, I did not get to test drive it as I was pressed for time to get to work. My biggest concern is that the transfer case is messed up.

I used to have a '96 S-10 Blazer 4WD that had a similar issue. It that case, the actuator (cable?) would stick if I didn't use 4WD for a while. In that case, I was able to crawl underneath and manually move the actuator to free it up. Don't know if this is a similar condition or not.

Now the price comes in at $1600 below KBB, and about $4000 under NADA so price-wise it looks good to me, but issue #4 has me really concerned. I'm not in a huge hurry to buy right now, but an Av with the options i "must" have is kinda hard to come by. What i want is a 2009 to 2013 LT with Z71, heated leather seats with seat position memory, what they call " full featured power seats". Don't care about nav, rear seat entertainment or 20" wheels. I'll take any color exterior I can get, but I prefer either black or dark grey interior. The  light tan interior I don't ike, but would take only as a last resort.

OK, so what do you all think? Is issue #4 a deal breaker or not? And has anyone had the same issue with their sunroof?
 
1 - known issue /fix= new dash or dash pad
2 - Not normal andtells me something is about to go bad very soon.
3 - replacement seal probably $100 or less replacing is easy and if surface rust a little sanding and spray primer and top coat
4 - Dreaded Transfer case issue - see our problem section drivetrain for many threads on transfer case issues.

I would keep looking or make them fix transfer case - or lower price $2k so you can fix Transfer case.
 
In Massachusetts,  I just looked at a 2005 Z71. In pristine condition.  124000 miles the gentleman was only asking 8500 firm.  I would keep looking , or drive over here and check this one out.
 
Run away, don't walk. With that Tcase acting like that, it could be many different issues from the actuator to the Tcase itself. Could be an endless money pit. As far as the sunroof, In Ohio here they are pretty much kept closed during the winter months so you can figure 4-5 months of them not operating. I had 3 avys, all with sunroofs, NONE of them every made that sound or moved the headliner just from "sitting on the lot", i.e. all winter long.
 
ohiobellboy said:
Run away, don't walk. With that Tcase acting like that, it could be many different issues from the actuator to the Tcase itself. Could be an endless money pit. As far as the sunroof, In Ohio here they are pretty much kept closed during the winter months so you can figure 4-5 months of them not operating. I had 3 avys, all with sunroofs, NONE of them every made that sound or moved the headliner just from "sitting on the lot", i.e. all winter long.

Thanks for all the input. I have decided to bypass that one. I found another Av at a chevy dealer in harrisburg, but it was gone in two days. So I'm still  in the hunt. I've got time to wait until the right one pops up again.

As an FYI, the one skid plate I've found in the chevy parts catalog so far is the same part number for all years, as are the roof rack cross rails. That's one of the benefits of being a GM employee, access to the electronic parts catalog (no prices tho), and service information. I also found out I can actually look up the build information from the VIN! Very helpful to know what options the truck came with without having to go the dealership.
 
carnut said:
So I went to look at my first possible choice for a new to me Av today in Ohio. It was a black on black Z71 in a small used car lot. 128k miles, for $14500. Overall looks decent, but I have some concerns. Please let me know what you all think, and are they deal breakers.

Issues:
1- Dash cracks, 4 of them, on top of dash. someone tried to epoxy or RTV over two of them. Looks like black turds sitting on dash.

2- Sunroof THUMPS and headliner moves when it first opens like something is out of alignment. The pop up action is fine, it's just when it drops down to retract into the roof when opening. Dealer kept saying it was because it was sitting for so long.

3- Weather strip along floor of driver door threshold torn up and rusting metal showing in gap between plastic molding and rubber.

4- Here's the biggie! Has the 2 speed transfer case. Truck was in 4HI when i got there. Tried to put it in 2WD, but indicator light never came on. Put it in AUTO 4WD, and it took a while for the light to come on. 10 seconds or longer. Back to 2WD, no light. Back to Auto, another wait, then flashing light for about 5 seconds before it turned solid. Go into 4HI light comes on real fast. Could never get the 2WD light to come on. Now, I did not get to test drive it as I was pressed for time to get to work. My biggest concern is that the transfer case is messed up.

I used to have a '96 S-10 Blazer 4WD that had a similar issue. It that case, the actuator (cable?) would stick if I didn't use 4WD for a while. In that case, I was able to crawl underneath and manually move the actuator to free it up. Don't know if this is a similar condition or not.

Now the price comes in at $1600 below KBB, and about $4000 under NADA so price-wise it looks good to me, but issue #4 has me really concerned. I'm not in a huge hurry to buy right now, but an Av with the options i "must" have is kinda hard to come by. What i want is a 2009 to 2013 LT with Z71, heated leather seats with seat position memory, what they call " full featured power seats". Don't care about nav, rear seat entertainment or 20" wheels. I'll take any color exterior I can get, but I prefer either black or dark grey interior. The  light tan interior I don't ike, but would take only as a last resort.

OK, so what do you all think? Is issue #4 a deal breaker or not? And has anyone had the same issue with their sunroof?
I know this vehicle has been passed on - but for the record...?..  When you press a new function on the 4WD selector switch, the TCCM flashes the LED for the new function until the feedback from the encoder motor position switch tells the TCCM that the shift has taken place - and then the TCCM drives the light to comes on steady in the button for the new mode.  If the shift does not occur, the TCCM returns the LED light in the buttons to the previous mode.  If the light in the 2WD button simply goes out when you press it (doesn't flash) and other modes work, then I would suspect the vehicle is actually going into 2WD and the LED in the 2WD button or (possibly) the TCCM is malfunctioning.  So maybe $150 max in parts.  Could use to chew them down.
 
Thank you all for your comments and help. I have decided I'm not rushing into anything now and I think I'll be a bit picky in what I choose. I've been looking in the Cleveland and Pittsburgh area using carfax, gargurus, Edmond's, autotrader, cars.com, auto.com, and truecar. So far I haven't found one with everything I want, but I've come close.

I'm looking from 2009 to 2013, but would prefer 2011 and up.

In case you're curious, my unicorn is a Z71 with heated full featured leather seats (power recline, lumbar and memory), power pedals, power fold mirrors, auto dim mirrors. 2 Speed transfer case, 3:42 gears, K5L heavy duty trailer pkg. Sunroof and roof rack.

I would prefer the ebony interior and any colors except white or black. However neither a missing roof rack, nor either color feature would be a deal breaker. I would also prefer the 18" wheels over the 20's.

Mileage would have to be under 150K, closer to 100K would be best.

I REALLY want the Z71, but if an LT with the right options came up, I might jump on it instead.

I really don't want navigation or rear seat entertainment screens.

Also must haves are remote start and home link for opening the garage door, but I think those were standard on the LT and up?

So there you have it. I have a feeling if I find what I want I better jump on it fast.
A salesman at my local Chevy dealer made an interesting observation. He said those who have Avs don't want to give them up, and when they do, they want another Av to replace it. And they lament they don't make them any more.
 
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