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What don't you like about you Avalanche?

The fading black plastic on the sails and bed covers. I keep thinking to paint them. It looks sooo sharp when it's black.
 
The fading black plastic on the sails and bed covers. I keep thinking to paint them. It looks sooo sharp when it's black.
try the Cerakote brand trim restore. they are individually sealed wet wipes essentially. but they bring the trim back to factory color, and protect them with a layer of ceramic. i used their kit on all my cladding, and used their headlight restore kit. they make great products!
 
try the Cerakote brand trim restore. they are individually sealed wet wipes essentially. but they bring the trim back to factory color, and protect them with a layer of ceramic. i used their kit on all my cladding, and used their headlight restore kit. they make great products!
Nailed it, this stuff works amazing. Unfortunately I have an early one so the panels were grey and not black, but Cerakote really brought the color back and has for over a year now. You will need two boxes minimum, maybe three.
 
As mentioned above, the Cerakote Ceramic Trim Coat Kit - Quick Plastic Trim Restorer - Guaranteed Restoration to Last Over 200 Washes – A Ceramic Coating, Not a Dressing is a really good product.

The Amazon link above has enough packets in two boxes to treat my entire 2003 cladded Avalanche with a couple of packets left over.

The kit you can buy at Wal-Mart has a few less packets per box, so be aware.

Below are pictures of my 2003 cladded Avalanche after having been treated with the Cerakote.

When I bought the truck back in 2020, the plastics had never been treated by the only previous owner since new and were all chalky and splotchy.

The bed panels were practically white with chalk.

I think everything came out looking pretty good.

IMG_4662.JPG

IMG_4660.JPG
 
Nailed it, this stuff works amazing. Unfortunately I have an early one so the panels were grey and not black, but Cerakote really brought the color back and has for over a year now. You will need two boxes minimum, maybe three.
i actually had typed out "...bring the trim back to black" but then was reminded that the 02 was light grey, and even my 03 is technically dark grey, not black. so i retyped the sentence to be "...bring the trim back to factory color" HAHA. but as we can see from @EXT4ME 's photos, the "dark grey" looks almost black after the Cerakote treatment.

i dont have any good compare photos of my cladding before and after, but i do have this photo showing off what their headlight restore kit is capable of. drivers headlight restore.jpg
 
Both the trim restore and the headlight restore products from Cerakote are amazing. I used the latter on my MX-5 just a few days ago and it was a crazy-simple process and the results were fantastic.

I can't speak to the trim restore on an Avy but I imagine, as the pictures above show, it will work wonders. My Black Diamond has body-color cladding so I haven't had a need. I did use Cerakote wipes on the bed panels and it has been fantastic - it was a heck of a shoulder workout too. I also used Cerakote on my Jeep Wrangler many years ago - notorious for fading fender flares and even with driving through ponds and rocks and snow and trees and streams and whatnot (I actually used my jeep for it's intended purposes), the coating held up great.

This is not a paid endorsement but I'd love to do that! 😂
 
I'm not especially fond of how dang sensitive the computer & electronics are. Not only are grounding points susceptible to corrosion but the ecu relies too heavily on the grounding sensor.
Making adding electronic modifications to battery more difficult.
Second battery tray has me thinking of adding any lights or wench to bumper wire up to separate battery.
I do like others idea for rear electric window. Would be nice feature but weight would make removing rear wall heavier add difficulty.
The oil pan also I wish was more easily removed, so much needs removing on my 07 4x4 I quit on trying to seal small leak.
Front axle, cross bar, swey bar, and I found that the hydraulic lines for steering also block removing oil pan.
I'm wishing I knew a programmer was needed to do many DIY fixes.
Even adding reverse camera to factory nav/stereo needs reprogramming to get it working.
 
I'm not especially fond of how dang sensitive the computer & electronics are. Not only are grounding points susceptible to corrosion but the ecu relies too heavily on the grounding sensor.
Making adding electronic modifications to battery more difficult.
Second battery tray has me thinking of adding any lights or wench to bumper wire up to separate battery.
I do like others idea for rear electric window. Would be nice feature but weight would make removing rear wall heavier add difficulty.
The oil pan also I wish was more easily removed, so much needs removing on my 07 4x4 I quit on trying to seal small leak.
Front axle, cross bar, swey bar, and I found that the hydraulic lines for steering also block removing oil pan.
I'm wishing I knew a programmer was needed to do many DIY fixes.
Even adding reverse camera to factory nav/stereo needs reprogramming to get it working.
talk about the electronics being sensitive to grounds , i wonder if my truck shudders and the rpm needle likes to jump up and down ever so slightly from a bad ground along with my lights are being pulsating......
 
talk about the electronics being sensitive to grounds , i wonder if my truck shudders and the rpm needle likes to jump up and down ever so slightly from a bad ground along with my lights are being pulsating......
That could be, the trucks do crazy things especially if alternator or battery not working exactly 100%.
Grounding points I've especially had to locate and clean on mine. Still debating if I need to cut factory crimp loops off , strip coating & if clean uncorroded copper.
Solder new loops, hear about crimp only & welding tack to attach.
But I don't know if slight resistance soldier connection will make any difference.
Most electronics & circuit boards use soldier so that seems more myth than true to me.
I've read a few posts similar to your lights flicker issue, but not all had same cause.
Good luck, I'd try a auto store free battery check & hopefully they can check alternator same time.
Avalanche pcm senses battery charge through ground sensor & can lower disengage alternator clutch.
Gas economy features free up horsepower lol but headaches when any troubles.
 
My rpms are dipping low aswell, but no lights flickering. I bought smoke machine tester to locate possible evap air leak.
Replaced gas cap, purge valve with wire jumper/adapter, and the whole air hose assembly wrapping around gas tank.
I cracked the connection lifting gas tank with it plugged in 🤦‍♂️. Luckily I didn't force it but the pressure b4 I realized must have cracked it.
Lesson learned almost 200$ + more time DIY repairing I will never forget that hose connects after tank in place.
Picture of a junkyard Avalanche I tried finding parts on someone forced tank up smashing the hose.
Anyhow I've got a feeling my Avalanche is communication bus B? Pcm, BCM, TCM all show intermittent communication codes. Was on my brother inlaws odb2 scanner in other codes. Why a scanner has trouble codes & other codes I think is stupid.
It's driving much better but still notice not quite right. Once I rule out air leaks, I'll start tracing the wires from PCM to BCM and to TCM.
See rpm dipping under idle about 500 during stopping, like the torque converter let's go neutral a second late. As soon as converter releases idle jumps back up to normal speed.
I read in another post about power relay to ECU/PCM same computer and fuses.
Fuses I'd think are good or burned not a middle ground on those.
But relays I can guess could be partially working, I should try new.
Stocked up on extra from wrecked Tahoes/Avalanche in pick a parts.
 

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canbus computers and nodes have to have at least 9VDC.
IF it ever drops below that then they can reboot but not all may reboot and this can cause all sorts of issues with many things.
 
That could be, the trucks do crazy things especially if alternator or battery not working exactly 100%.
Grounding points I've especially had to locate and clean on mine. Still debating if I need to cut factory crimp loops off , strip coating & if clean uncorroded copper.
Solder new loops, hear about crimp only & welding tack to attach.
But I don't know if slight resistance soldier connection will make any difference.
Most electronics & circuit boards use soldier so that seems more myth than true to me.
I've read a few posts similar to your lights flicker issue, but not all had same cause.
Good luck, I'd try a auto store free battery check & hopefully they can check alternator same time.
Avalanche pcm senses battery charge through ground sensor & can lower disengage alternator clutch.
Gas economy features free up horsepower lol but headaches when any troubles.
yeah im watching a ton of vids on youtube about ground points on chevy trucks........you are right, they all have different answers, resolves but come to the same solution........some i can relate to with my truck and some dont even come close to what my truck has for grounds........but they are making me understand what is going on and how trucks are wired.......im not completely adept to the wiring of trucks but enough to figure out stuff hopefully.......i like the vids that tell you how to check grounds with a multi meter...i never knew how or understood that stuff....takes the fright of me poking around and getting zapped or doing damage to the trucks electical system......i like the vids who make new ground points and bypass the tough to get to original points, that might be a route i take.......have a great day
 
When I had my 2005 I Didn't have a single complaint except for the lack of Bluetooth connectivity and a rearview camera as standard.
Now that I have 2007 I have found a few things. The horrible pcv setup and the fact the GM never offered to replace the valve covers free of charge. The Bose system in the 2007 isn't as good as prior units. The locking clamps for the bed cover seem to be weaker than in prior years. The lack of steps into the bed on noncladded models.

The only other complaint is the lack of in-bed camper support for Avalanches I don't mean the shells but slide-in campers themselves.
 
I love the truck but here are a few complaints:

1) Discontinued the 2500 model. (I wanted one... couldn't find a decent used one)
2) Bed and mid-gate not water tight/proof. (Drain holes inside cab and the water I find after it rains in the drain area, emphasize this point.)
3) Wish the rear window powered down into the mid-gate. (I've read why but they have engineers who should've figured out how to defy physics >:D)
4) Chevy's underpowered brakes. (No excuses)
5) All locks, saddle bags and tailgate, should have been connected to the power lock system. (Have a 2006)

Other than that.... Its an awesome truck. I realize 4&5 can be knocked off the list with aftermarket brakes and a mod, but they should have been standard, along with the first 3!
What mod can lock and unlock saddle bags?
 
add power lock kit to lock and unlock saddle bags - look in MOD: EXTERIOR section and go way back to 2003 or so when it was first done.

also would be tied into adding power tailgate lock
 
I love the truck but here are a few complaints:

1) Discontinued the 2500 model. (I wanted one... couldn't find a decent used one)
2) Bed and mid-gate not water tight/proof. (Drain holes inside cab and the water I find after it rains in the drain area, emphasize this point.)
3) Wish the rear window powered down into the mid-gate. (I've read why but they have engineers who should've figured out how to defy physics >:D)
4) Chevy's underpowered brakes. (No excuses)
5) All locks, saddle bags and tailgate, should have been connected to the power lock system. (Have a 2006)

Other than that.... Its an awesome truck. I realize 4&5 can be knocked off the list with aftermarket brakes and a mod, but they should have been standard, along with the first 3!
I have 07 everything locks at the same time when the button is pressed now
 
Omg, after driving 400+ miles, I can now say that my biggest pain is the dang fuel tank line, it took me almost 20 minutes to get 20 gallons in and I rotated the pump 90 degrees, and even did the suggested back bumper burp..what a pain..:E:
 
Omg, after driving 400+ miles, I can now say that my biggest pain is the dang fuel tank line, it took me almost 20 minutes to get 20 gallons in and I rotated the pump 90 degrees, and even did the suggested back bumper burp..what a pain..:E:

Common and fixable.

:) (y)
 
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