• If you currently own, previously owned or want to own an Avalanche, we welcome you to become a member today. Membership is FREE, register now!

I have been compiling a list of problems 1500 z71 2005 160k miles

Lanch0872

Full Member
Joined
Nov 5, 2020
Messages
18
Location
Columbia, MD
I just bought my truck and am running into a few problems that I think I can fix myself with some of the other forum posts.
1. Seat heater short (lots of posts)
2. lift gate lock (saw a post on this)
3. when I accelerate while turning from a stop (think at a stop sign turning left or right) a grinding sort of noise appears and the dash say "traction control active". This is weird to me because I am on pure dry land and not hauling anything. Anyone seen this before?
4. my drivers door will lock with the FOB, and normally will unlock (all the doors unlock) but when it is cold it wont. Seems like some sort of lubricant could help with this. But has anyone experience this?
5. My lights are always stuck on "auto" and basically always on. This is just annoying that even during the day they are on.
6. the service airbags light is on too. not sure what to think about that.
 
Last edited:
I just bought my truck and am running into a few problems that I think I can fix myself with some of the other forum posts.
3. when I accelerate while turning from a stop (think at a stop sign turning left or right) a grinding sort of noise appears and the dash say "traction control active". This is weird to me because I am on pure dry land and not hauling anything. Anyone seen this before?
4. my drivers door will lock with the FOB, and normally will unlock (all the doors unlock) but when it is cold it wont. Seems like some sort of lubricant could help with this. But has anyone experience this?
5. My lights are always stuck on "auto" and basically always on. This is just annoying that even during the day they are on.
6. the service airbags light is on too. not sure what to think about that.
3. Wheel bearing on its way out? Does it growl at a certain speed, or is it worse when turning left vs right (or vice versa)? Either that or a speed sensor would be my guess.
 
It only seems to happen when I am accelerating from a stop while turning. That is the only time I notice the growl and the indicator on the dash that says "traction control active". This seems plausible as maybe they would slip while I am hitting the gas.
3. Wheel bearing on its way out? Does it growl at a certain speed, or is it worse when turning left vs right (or vice versa)? Either that or a speed sensor would be my guess.
 
It only seems to happen when I am accelerating from a stop while turning. That is the only time I notice the growl and the indicator on the dash that says "traction control active". This seems plausible as maybe they would slip while I am hitting the gas.
Get the truck in air and check for play. My last one to go out was barely growling, but super obvious when pushing/pulling the tire at the 12 & 6 position. Dead-stop acceleration while turning will put more side-load stress on the bearings than just about any other maneuver.

Edit, unless your tires are bald and just slip when you go around corners. Every now and then I'd get traction control response on corners before I got new tires.
 
Last edited:
Get the truck in air and check for play. My last one to go out was barely growling, but super obvious when pushing/pulling the tire at the 12 & 6 position.
Thanks, I am an IT guy. I have zero clue what you are saying :) If you were to tell me to create a new VLAN and assign ports to it, I would be right with you! I think you are saying get it lifted up and try and manually push and pull on the tire by putting my hand at the 12 and 6 position
 
Thanks, I am an IT guy. I have zero clue what you are saying :) If you were to tell me to create a new VLAN and assign ports to it, I would be right with you! I think you are saying get it lifted up and try and manually push and pull on the tire by putting my hand at the 12 and 6 position
You are exactly right. If you can move the wheel in that direction, back and forth, the bearing is shot. You'll know when 1 of the 4 feel different. You can also spin the wheel listening for odd noises in a wheel versus the others.

Since you're an IT guy, I know you can troubleshoot and follow directions so you'll be in good shape!

Check out this video, maybe check out a few other similar ones too
 
I am an IT guy, as well.

Doesn't prevent me from turning wrenches, however.

The front wheel bearing hubs contain wheel speed sensors as part of the assembly.

When the assembly wears out, the sensors often begin to fail and the computer will throw the kind of error messages you describe.

Given the age and mileage of your tuck, I am surprised the hubs have not already been replaced as some point.

It's probably time, if not.

Depending on where you live and if rust is a factor or not, this is a job that can be done my most owners.

However, it does take some work and if you are not so inclined, you can always have the job done for you.

I have always replaced my own.

If I know these parts are reasonably old, I just replace the things and dispense with troubleshooting the sensors.

But, that's just me.
 
I am an IT guy, as well.

Doesn't prevent me from turning wrenches, however.

The front wheel bearing hubs contain wheel speed sensors as part of the assembly.

When the assembly wears out, the sensors often begin to fail and the computer will throw the kind of error messages you describe.

Given the age and mileage of your tuck, I am surprised the hubs have not already been replaced as some point.

It's probably time, if not.

Depending on where you live and if rust is a factor or not, this is a job that can be done my most owners.

However, it does take some work and if you are not so inclined, you can always have the job done for you.

I have always replaced my own.

If I know these parts are reasonably old, I just replace the things and dispense with troubleshooting the sensors.

But, that's just me.
Agreed on replacing the hub instead of diagnosing failing speed sensors!

I'm IT too guys, small world, ha.
 
If I know these parts are reasonably old, I just replace the things and dispense with troubleshooting the sensors.
I am interested in giving it a go and may try it. I've been good about replacing easy stuff, but get a little weary when it comes to things that make the truck stop. I don't know how old the existing ones are. The parts don't seem to be more than $150 on 1aauto. It is probably worth it to just replace them. Thanks. Just like with RAM they look the same but have different speeds. There are different options on 1aauto. But I am sure I can figure that out. Thanks for the reply.
 
Whatever you do, do not go cheap on the replacement parts.

OEM are probably the best, and most expensive replacement parts.

There are, however, good aftermarket parts available.

There are several good brands and several poor brands.

Moog parts have been good for me over the years.

Others may chime in with the brands they prefer.

Once again, depending upon if there are rust issues where you live, this job can be fairly doable with the right tools and in your driveway.

OR, rust can make it damned near impossible.

Luckily for me, rust is not generally an issue where I live.
 
OEM or Timken for me for a bearing. Although I'm sure there are other decent ones out there. My fronts are both Timken now, but I've got less than 10k miles on them, so can't speak to longevity yet.

Video that shows the whole process in case you determine the wheel bearing is bad:

A high torque impact will be your friend. Borrow one if you don't have it, it'll make the whole job so much simpler.
 
OEM or Timken for me for a bearing. Although I'm sure there are other decent ones out there. My fronts are both Timken now, but I've got less than 10k miles on them, so can't speak to longevity yet.

Video that shows the whole process in case you determine the wheel bearing is bad:

A high torque impact will be your friend. Borrow one if you don't have it, it'll make the whole job so much simpler.
Thanks I watched this exact video as I was shopping for these parts. My only real concern is the tools, time, and patience it will require for me to do the work. It certainly does not look difficult. But since it is my primary driving vehicle the thought of getting it up and wheels off only to find them really rusted on makes me cringe a little. I may still do it, but for now I am just going to live with it until the weather turns warmer again.
 
find a friend who can turn some wrenches... and buy some beer...
 
What's the deal with all theIT guys owning avalanches. I'm an IT guy as well with an 05. My tailgate lock mechanism is broken anyone know of a good place I can get just the little tailgate bar. I do not need the entire lock assembly.
 
What's the deal with all theIT guys owning avalanches. I'm an IT guy as well with an 05. My tailgate lock mechanism is broken anyone know of a good place I can get just the little tailgate bar. I do not need the entire lock assembly.
Good question. There is certainly little to zero tech inside of the 05. Heck my XM barely works.

But for that bar, check out 1aauto or even ebay.
 
I've found that I might be able to replace my entire front seat with a new one for $150 rather than spend the time pulling the covers off to replace the heading element, which also will cost about $50. I found some information that there might be two kinds of seats. A95 or AN3. Since my truck has what I think is the 2 position driver memory... is it safe to say that I have an AN3 seat?

A95 - Seats, front bucket, includes 6-way power driver and front passenger seat adjusters, front passenger manual recline, front passenger manual lumbar, adjustable outboard head restraints and storage pockets

AN3 - Seats, front bucket, includes 12-way power driver and front passenger seat adjusters, 4-way power lumbar control, power bolsters, heated seat cushions and seatbacks, 2-position driver memory, adjustable outboard head restraints, floor console and storage pockets
 
You should have a sticker in your glovebox listing all the factory options your AV came with so just look there to see which code your AV has and compare to thread on RPO codes on this site.
 
You should have a sticker in your glovebox listing all the factory options your AV came with so just look there to see which code your AV has and compare to thread on RPO codes on this site.
Thanks I saw that in there but didn't know what it meant exactly. I will check it out. I also just found this site which seems cool.
 
Another tidbit you may already know, if you email socialmedia@gm.com with your VIN and ask nicely they will send you a full build sheet, which is an easy way of deciphering all those RPO codes. They replied within 5 hours when I reached out.
 
Thanks I watched this exact video as I was shopping for these parts. My only real concern is the tools, time, and patience it will require for me to do the work. It certainly does not look difficult. But since it is my primary driving vehicle the thought of getting it up and wheels off only to find them really rusted on makes me cringe a little. I may still do it, but for now I am just going to live with it until the weather turns warmer again.
I've done mine and a co-worker's. Surprisingly the co-worker's originally from TX was rustier than my Ohio truck.
You can jack up one wheel and check it without any special tools. Just remember that once you take the wheel off the brake rotor is a little loose, don't mistake movement of it for the bearing. Grab the lug bolts and lift up and down and forward to backward and see if there is any play in it. If you do want to take the brake off to check more thoroughly you can then spin the hub and listen for noise, it should spin smooth and quiet.

The brake caliper bracket takes a torx wrench, which is annoying because its one of the few torx bolts on the truck. I carry a set of wrenches for just in case and I didn't want to have to carry a torx wrench. So went to a couple different parts places and found Advance Auto had replacement bolts with hex heads so the torx socket can stay at home now because a plain old wrench can fit for emergency repairs.

You will also need the big socket for the axle nut, you can take the cap off to measure ahead of time. You'll need a nice big breaker bar and torque wrench.

The three bolts holding the hub on I couldn't get a socket to fit so I had to use an open end wrench so you need to make sure you have that as well.

The difficult part then was getting the hub loose, it sits slightly inside the steering knuckle and while mine came out easily, the co-workers too a lot of hammering to remove (around 4:20) on the video. I's suggest spraying in some pb blaster around the inside to see if it will loosen the rust.

once you have it out run some sandpaper/Emory cloth/ wire brush in a drill or dremel around the inside and then put a little bit of grease on to help prevent water/rust getting in between. If you replace and/or lube the caliper bolts you can use the same grease you used for them.

So that's my tricks for making it easier:
1. Check, spray pb blaster, make sure you have the tools first.
2. let the pb blaster work a few days.
3. clean up the rust before installing new
 
Back
Top