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My Two Problem Avalanches

Where I stand is that I have been patiently waiting for The Chevy dealer that has it now to remedy the problem. The problem showed itself for the dealer a few times, but as soon as it came, it went. After all the tests everything showed normal, but just today the service manager almost his another car in his lot when the brakes failed. When he tried it again it worked fine. They are all stumped. The hydroboost pump was replaced on the first Avalanch when it failed this past winter. The hydroboost pump powers the steering and brakes. I'm waiting for the 2003 Avalanches to maybe trade this one on a new one. I haven't given up on the Avalanche yet.
 
Stick with it JOE....eventually yu should be happy....

Have you looked into TSB on suburbans....I beleive the avy shares brake components...
 
JoeZ

I apologize for any mention of you being a troll... we have had troll's come on the site and just dump on the AV. This time many of us jumped to an assumption since your 1st post was listing problems with our beloved AV that you were also a troll.

Please accept my apology and we are glad to have you a part of the club and hope your AV problems go away.

Mark
 
JoeZ said:
Where I stand is that I have been patiently waiting for The Chevy dealer that has it now to remedy the problem. The problem showed itself for the dealer a few times, but as soon as it came, it went. After all the tests everything showed normal, but just today the service manager almost his another car in his lot when the brakes failed. When he tried it again it worked fine. They are all stumped. The hydroboost pump was replaced on the first Avalanch when it failed this past winter. The hydroboost pump powers the steering and brakes. I'm waiting for the 2003 Avalanches to maybe trade this one on a new one. I haven't given up on the Avalanche yet.

If I remember correctly a few years ago Chevy had some bad high pressure lines that acted like this sort of problem. The insides of the rubber line had a slit or something that would at times block the flow of the fluid through the lines so there would be no power assist to the hydroboost or power strg gear box.

Ask the dealer to check with Chevy Tech Assist on this.

Good luck, intermittant problems are one the hardest to diagnose.
 
Thanks, Now the point I was eventually trying to get to is that I have a 10 month old daughter that rides with me about half the time. Need I say more. I asked the dealer if he felt my daughter was safe in this vehicle, and he said "Well, I'm not sure." I was hoping to hear that either nobody has ever had a problem like mine and mine is a singled out problem, or that somebody else has and it was repaired. That way I could maybe reference somebody elses fix to the Chevy dealer that has my Avalanche. I have had 15 new vehicles in my life and the last 14 have been Chevies.
 
I find it very disconserting to think that a representitive from GM would say that the AV, or any GM product, would basically become uncontrolable below 15 mph if/when one had to steer and brake at the same time. I would think, that at the very least, this would be a massive liability issue.

Steve in Maine
 
JoeZ,

I am also very sorry for my remarks. I hope everything works out for you.

I can't imagine anoybody actually saying that a loss of control is normal. I think it's time to elevate this issue to somebody else.

Good luck.

-Mark
 
JoeZ said:
Thanks, Now the point I was eventually trying to get to is that I have a 10 month old daughter that rides with me about half the time. Need I say more. I asked the dealer if he felt my daughter was safe in this vehicle, and he said "Well, I'm not sure." I was hoping to hear that either nobody has ever had a problem like mine and mine is a singled out problem, or that somebody else has and it was repaired. That way I could maybe reference somebody elses fix to the Chevy dealer that has my Avalanche. I have had 15 new vehicles in my life and the last 14 have been Chevies.

Hey Joe, just a thought here (as a father also that worries about safety) I truly believe these dealerships are only as good as the mechanics that work there. Maybe a different dealership? If you are in SoCal let me know, my friend owns a dealership and I can hook you up for a 2nd opinion.
 
JoeZ said:
Try these numbers PUFFER
3GNGK23G92G200457
3GNGK23G42G301888
Didn't realize this was a geek board.

From CarFax.com

VIN: ?3GNGK23G92G200457 ?
Year/Make/Model: ?2002 CHEVROLET AVALANCHE K2500 ?
Body Style: ?Crew Pickup ?
Engine Type: ?8.1L V8 MFI ?
Manufactured In: ?MEXICO ?
Search Results: ?2 records found in our database ?

VIN: ?3GNGK23G42G301888 ?
Year/Make/Model: ?2002 CHEVROLET AVALANCHE K2500 ?
Body Style: ?Crew Pickup ?
Engine Type: ?8.1L V8 MFI ?
Manufactured In: ?MEXICO ?
Search Results: ?0 records found in our database ?

 
Joe-Z, I have to admit you must really love the Avalanche. As die-hard as i am about the AV, i would be having 2cnd thoughts by now.
I spoke to my service rep, who treats me like his grandchild, goes above and beyond his call of duty and he checked on his computer and has not found any information on a problem like this. Have you been able to talk to your dealer rep. for the area you live in? I work in safety and am a father as you are and i would not feel comfortable with those problems and my cherished children riding with me. The way people drive down here in Louisiana, brakes are giving a work out each and every day. Sorry about even thinking about the troll thing. Hope things work out for you, maybe a 03 in your future. As much information that is stored in these archives this is really the first i have heard of your problem.
Keep your chin up and hopefully big brother will come through for U.
zeeya
 
Got the Avalanche back today with the blessing of the GM service manager. Asked him about the delaminating pressure hoses and he said that was several years ago and they solved that problem....Hmmmm. Anyway, I took it on the back road where I had the original problem and was driving 12 to 15 mph. This was on dry pavement. I turned very quickly and hit the brakes at the same time. The vehicle plowed almost straight foreward with little braking power and almost no steering assist. The brake pedal was hard. Now that I know this is supposed to be "Normal" I will drive accordingly. Down the road at 30, 40, 50, and above the brakes work fine.
 
Joe,

Did you get a higher-up conformation on this situation??? I find it hard to believe that this is really normal. My 1500 brakes and steers fine at or below 10 mph-is this just a 2500 thing, or do you need a new service tech? I would think insurance companies and others would really be up in arms about this????

Steve in Maine
 
JoeZ

Iam a 2500 owner and after reading your post I was wondering about it. I just went outside to see if I could replicate your problem.

I turned the wheel hard and hit the brakes at the same time.

I tried 5,10,15 and 20 mph.

Sorry to say that mine stopped on a dime no problems.

I felt the brakes grabbing hard and foot pettle was firm but not hard.

The only thing I did notice is that the front end takes a noise dive.
 
I too apolgize for the earler comments and wish you the best of luck on your problems. :-[

I've read numerous time in this site that Cadilac dealers will also take appointments for our Avs. Maybe they can discover something if you can't find another Chevy dealer in your area.
 
I've read (here) that the '03 has bigger, or was it "better"?, brakes than the '02. Perhaps going to an '03 will solve the problem(s).

Now if I only knew what a troll, puffer and geek were, I'd keep following this thread. man, I guess I've been in the cave too long! :cautious:
 
JoeZ said:
........... Only thing is that the brakes and steering failed the night before the appointment and I hit a Peterbuilt dump truck on a back road at low speed. ..................., but GM refuses to fix the problem. They say live with it. .......
First off JoeZ, I am sorry about all the problems you have been having ?:cautious:

I had a thought about something that might help you in your battle w/ GM. You might be able to use Event Data Recovery System data to prove your point. From what I understand even in a low speed crash where the airbags do not deploy the front end contact sensors would still register an event and all speed, brake, throttle and other data would be locked into memory.

A prior thread with some interesting links below:
Topic: Event Data Recovery System

ktr-sa said:
The correct term is Event Data Recorder (EDR). ?IN Avalanches, the EDR is actually part of the Sensing and Diagnostic Module (SDM), the device which actually deploys the airbags and communicates that deployment to OnStar to assist those who can't help themselves after severe collisions. ?:3:

Your owners manual says:

"Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing and
diagnostic module, which records information about
the frontal air bag system. The module records
information about the readiness of the system, when
the system commands air bag inflation and driver’s
safety belt usage at deployment. The module also
records speed, engine rpm, brake and throttle data." :0:

Different GM models vary in the amount of information stored by the EDR. ?Typically, this information is only available in the event of a lawsuit or request from the customer. ?The most it can get is 5 seconds before the impact and a fraction of a second after. ?

This information is extremely useful for safety engineers, and I, for one, am glad it is there. ?There simply is no privacy interest in information that others observe (your crash), and safety engineering progress can only be made on the basis of reliable data. CART and NASCAR use EDRs to improve their safety. :cool:

For more information, generally, visit http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/edr-site/ :)

HTH

p.s. I really don't think I am a GEEK.......am I ???
 
Sorry to hear about all the hard luck youve been going through.
 
Sorry about the Geek remark. I was just fried that I held out a hand for help and was getting stabbed with pins and needles, but we have it all worked out now. :-[
 
JoeZ said:
Anyway, I took it on the back road where I had the original problem and was driving 12 to 15 mph. This was on dry pavement. I turned very quickly and hit the brakes at the same time. ?The vehicle plowed almost straight foreward with little braking power and almost no steering assist. The brake pedal was hard. ?Now that I know this is supposed to be "Normal" I will drive accordingly.
This does not sound "normal" at all. If GM is knowingly sending out vehicles that do this, they are opening themselves up to a huge liability, and a public relations fiasco. I just can't conceive of their legal department knowingly allowing such a truck out the door.

This is just my opinion, but if the dealer has seen it happen, and says "this is normal" in my mind he's saying "I don't know what's wrong and I don't want to fix it." He is also opening himself up to a good lawsuit if something serious should happen.

You've given your dealer a couple of cracks at it. That's good. Now, you should consider taking it to another dealer and getting their opinion. If you don't like what they say, don't get into an argument, elevate the the issue to Chevy district customer relations. I'm sure they will want to hear all about it. If necessary, keep raising it up the chain. Take it all the way to NHTSA or NTSB if you have to. As you go up the chain, remind them that this has already caused an accident!

Stick to your guns, this ain't right. You'll probably end up with a third truck, hopefully the third one will be a charm. If you get one that's half as good as mine, you'll be all set. (Only issue in eight months: metal chips in door seals from roof rack installation)

I'm sorry to hear about your bad luck. You must be the unluckiest person on earth. (Please don't stand next to me in a thunderstorm! ?>:D )

-- SS
 
If this situation with the brakes and steering is normal, your service guy should be able to walk you out to a new Av, get in it with you and show you that all Avs do the same thing. ?If he cant do this, which he wont, he should be hung by his ears and pelted with tomatoes until he learns how to treat customers properly.
 
RCinSoCal said:
Now if I only knew what a troll, puffer and geek were, I'd keep following this thread. man, I guess I've been in the cave too long! ?:cautious:
Think I'm set with the troll and geek.....don't have a clue about puffer???? :cautious:
 
Seems everyone has had quite a battle over this.

Here's my personal opinion. It really sounds to me like the engine lost power because it couldn't take the load of the brakes and the power steering. Now this isn't normal, but I've seen it happen. Ever try to steer a big car or stop one when it dies. It sounds to me that the engine either died or almost died resulting in loss of power assisted steering and power assisted brakes. I would say this is definitely possible and could be the result of a vacuum leak somewhere on the engine or another related problem. ???
 
You loud mouths should read carefully to what kind of Av he has, most of you are 1500 owners and the problems which he maybe having could be 2500 exclusive. Think before opening your mouth...it helps to keep your foot on the ground and outta your choppers.
 
archer007kr said:
You loud mouths should read carefully to what kind of Av he has, ?most of you are 1500 owners and the problems which he maybe having could be 2500 exclusive. ? Think before opening your mouth...it helps to keep your foot on the ground and outta your choppers.
I believe that most of the early responders have already apologized and offered sincere help, no need to re-light the fire now :)

The man obviously has a problem and bad luck to boot - lets see if we can help. ;D
 
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