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Watch Out For That Car Wash!!

M

materski

GUEST
:8:
Well, trying to keep my Green 2003 looking good (read lose 5 lbs of road salt), I took my Av to the car wash for the third time. My top storage box lid (left side) was not locked. It opened in the car wash and bent the sh#t out of the two hinges. It is a one piece item that cost $600

My thoughts are to have a body shop try to bend or configure new hinges. I also sent a note to Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Assistance through the www.chevy.com page. Any other thoughts!?!?
 
Hmmm, never heard of this one. I go through carwashes all the time in the winter without locking the top boxes. Maybe your latch was out of adjustment and had barely caught?
 
I had my blow open going down the highway :cry: Broke the steel cable that keeps the lid from opening all the way back(passenger side) Actually helps make the compartment a little more accesesible for me because now the daylight can go inside when I have it open. I can see the crud I have in there :) At this point I don't plan on fixing it. :rolleyes:
 
I thought i had your solution, but, the one on Ebay for $20 looks like it is a 2002.

Maybe you can buy it and paint it.
Or use the hinges


Sorry to hear about your damage.
 
I will check out the e-bay solution...
hopefully the hinges are removable
without damaging anything... thanks
for the thought
 
I had mine blow open while on the highway as well. No damage, but I am wondering if there is a defect ???
 
T read somewhere else where the hinge was damaged in a car wash also. I believe they had managed to bend it back somewhat like new. Not sure couldn't find the thread.
 
2 things I have noticed about the top box side compartment lids:

1. You can be fooled sometimes into thinking it is actually closed and locked. You have to almost slam it down for the lock to activate. One time, I was driving around thinking both compartments were locked. I came home and while cleaning around it, accidentally "lifted" the lid up! Yup, the lock was locked but the lid was open the whole time! ? :8: ?So easy for anyone in a parking lot to just quietly lift it up and five finger discount whatever it is inside. So now, I "slam" it down to hear the lock engage, then turn the key.

2. I have Mag Lites on both sides and the weight of the flashlight helps in bringing the lid down. I just can't imagine a top box compartment lid with a Mag Lite doing this on the highway.....

maglite2.jpg


I am sure that when Stan's AV went through the carwash, the rolling brushes "lifted" the lid up and did its damage this way. Looking at the picture, there's a lot of hinges and parts that can easily be bent out of shape this way :cry:
 

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Stan WP NY said:
:8:
Well, trying to keep my Green 2003 looking good (read lose 5 lbs of road salt), I took my Av to the car wash for the third time. My top storage box lid (left side) was not locked. It opened in the car wash and bent the sh#t out of the two hinges. It is a one piece item that cost $600

My thoughts are to have a body shop try to bend or configure new hinges. I also sent a note to Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Assistance through the www.chevy.com page. Any other thoughts!?!?
Click to expand...

The Car Wash should have insurance to cover vehicle damage.
 
If they're anything like the car washes around here then their insurance is a sign out front that says "Not responsible for any damage done to your vehicle".
 
kodio said:
If they're anything like the car washes around here then their insurance is a sign out front that says "Not responsible for any damage done to your vehicle".
Click to expand...
Can they do that? I thought that these signs were just to dissuade you from trying... but I didn't think they could really hold up their hands and say "no responsibility".
 
Everytime I lock my side storage compartments I lift up to make sure they are locked . . . I don't want to have to replace any of those pieces or anything I have inside the compartment.
 
I think that the car washes around our area state that they are not responsible for aftermarket items. Carefull with those mods!
 
Stan WP NY,
I had the same thing happen to me!! Except my lid was locked. What happened was as my AV was rolling through the automatic washer...the ribbon like things that wash your car..well it got caught in between the leading edge of the lid. And as my ride moved along...it slowing lifted my lid up and eventually it pop opened.
My hinges are totally bent. It's really difficult to replace the hinge because it is mounted in such a way that you have to completely remove the cargo box. Anyone can check...these hinges are bolted on. Anyways...I spent a great deal of time trying to bend the hinges back to the stock position...I got real close...but not close enough. Email me if you have a good solution...I ain't gonna pay $600. As of now my right lid sits about 1/8 higher and it sticks out about 1/8 inch. Man that'll ruin my aerodynamics!! ;D I now either wash it myself or take it to a 100% hand wash place or the touchless ones...I don't need the other lid to get jacked. Everyone should becareful with the auto car washes that have the ribbon things that hang down and agitate the surface of your car...

-Lew
 
The car wash in my area puts a strip of masking tape on the front top seam of both covers. They told me they had a lid get ripped off by the soft fingers that drag along the truck in the wash . After watching my truck going through the wash I could see how this could happen. I now carry a roll of duct tape in my box for other washes I go to.

:) :) SMILEY
 
Hey All,

I just happen to catch this recent post. A non-locking top-box (driver-side) was one of the first things Iwent back to the dealer for. I was at a gas pump admiring and tinkering with my AVY when I inadvertanly lifted the "locked" top. i tried and tried and TRIED to get it locked but couldn't. I thought about when i had been in it, and how it may or may not have been locked, and realized that it may NEVER have been locked since i bought it. I took it back to the dealer and they ended up having to order a whole new part because they said they couldn't even adjust it to lock... maybe yours are all the same way. Possible manufacturing defect or factory misalignment?

The repair was covered under warranty- didn't cost me a cent.
 
Wow you folks have got some good heads up on the car wash thingy. I don't think I would have ever trusted one anyway... but now I know I wont!
 
I dont recommend any car washes where you have to use a brush. Had a 95 Z28 and washed it. There was rocks in the brush, and I didn't see them until too late. The rocks scratched the crap out of my paint job. Always spray the brush out REAL good before using. Or do it my way and hand wash that baby. My 2 cents
 
I have not fixed my lid yet...
If anyone knows how to take these hinges off, please share. Right now I need to find time to stop at a qualified body shop and see what they think.

Any suggestions on how to write GM to see if they will help with this costly problem due to a possible defect in their product?
 
I don't know if this was a factor in any of the previously mentioned incidents but I have noticed that when you go to lock the top boxes, if you push a little to hard on the key ( and it doesn't take much pressure) you will open the door while locking it. You can't really tell that you have done this unless you try to lift up on the door after it is locked. I am in the habit of always trying to lift the door after I lock it to make sure I didn't open the latch. If you do open the latch just close the door like normal and it will be latched and locked.

-Mark
 
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