Saying goodby to my Avalanche, and why

Well to all my fellow Avalanche enthusiast I bid you farewell. I sold my Avalanche today, and it?s currently on its way to North Carolina. I really loved my AV and treated her with kid gloves but GM done pi$$ed off this lifelong GM family.
My first car was a 64 Impala, with many in-between until I got my first Chevrolet pickup in 1987. From there a 87 ? ton, 93 regular cab, 95 extended cab, 05 Avalanche Z71, 13 Silverado double cab, 14 Crew Cab and then finally my 13 LTZ Black Diamond.
Even a 96 Corvette Collector?s Edition was in my stable of GM products.
After I have spent most of my adult life behind the steering wheel of a Chevrolet this straw finally broke the back of my allegiance to the brand. What you say is the straw? The cracked dash on my 13 LTZ 4X4 dash? a cosmetic item they say.
Even with a GM Platinum warranty, which was sold to me as a bumper to bumper warranty, they say the dash is nothing more than a cosmetic item. No help in repairing say a reduced charge in labor, NOTHING. Claimed denied. So to you all I bid you farewell, best of luck with one of the most unique vehicles ever to be produced for the public.

sorry to hear of this and i feel your pain.  i wish you luck

Sorry to hear that, I would have bought a dash mat and called it a day.
But I do understand your frustration.

MS03 2500 said:

Sorry to hear that, I would have bought a dash mat and called it a day.
But I do understand your frustration.

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I actually have a Dash Skin sitting here in the box. I never installed it. I didn't like the idea that if I ever had to pull the gauge cluster I have a major issue.

I understand your position and your frustration.

I hope you have better luck with future purchases.

No need to be a stranger here, though.

This is a fan club, not an owners club.

That cracked dash thing is ridiculous.

Several manufacturers have dropped the ball in that regard.

Our 2006 Cadillac CTS also suffered from the same thing.

Anyway, sorry to see you leave the fold and I wish you the best.

EXT4ME said:

This is a fan club, not an owners club.

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You know that is so true.  After getting rid of my 02 and then 08, I never left this amazing family.  I might not have posted much when I did not havt an AV but that didn't stop me from always checking in. 

I hear you guys. It's a GREAT forum. I have been on forums with a bunch of smart a$$ kids that literally drove me away from the site... and I have proudly worn the Avalanche Forum decal on both of my Avalanches.
For me its the betrayal of GM to its customers; makes me think they went thru bankruptcy to escape some recall issue.
My first car was a 64 Impala, and from there I have owned over a dozen GM cars and trucks. I felt obligated since we had family who worked for GM, so we were loyal to the brand. But this was just not acceptable.
I am actually looking at Ram trucks, although I did spot a sweet GMC Elevation with 15 K on the clock. I still may take a peek at it, but now I am concentrating on Ram and walking thru their maze of towing capacities, LOL.
Its kinda crazy but the older I get the more attached I get to my trucks... was hard to see it go.
This is a great forum for Avalanche trucks...please keep it that way.

You might want to do a search on Youtube for Dodge cracked dash before you jump on that bandwagon.

GM isn't the only one with that problem.

Seems pretty common across many brands these days.

And you are probably not going to get much satisfaction from other manufacturers either, sorry to say.

I appreciate your position on the matter.

But, to be honest, I would buy what I needed to fix my truck and move on down the road.

You know what they say about the devil you know verses the devil you don't.

But, that's just me.

I honestly wish you the very best of luck any way you decide to go.

As it's been said for years on this site. it is a site of fans of the Av not just owners group....No need to loose site friends regardless of what you buy...

Problem as I see it is sometimes there is a negative side for being modern or stylish. Many owners want the curved modern looking dash made out of safety soft material and it has stress on it and not much support so it cracks under sun,pressure and time. Not much choice other then make it out of steel which wold not be as safe or probably not as stylish either. Think of how owners have gotten used to fogged over headlights so they can have stylish curved lights, back in the olden days we never had to replace a headlight lens, only replace when bulb burned out on occasion or if glass hit by rock or in an accident.
I bet next issue will be something like all the electronic sensors and wires affected by road salts used in the snow belt, not much of an issue on old cars but the increased bells and whistles on cars and trucks today will lead to many problems down the road.
As my dad used to say "even Rolls-Royce has a service department" meaning that each brand of vehicle at some point is going to need maintenance and repair......

EXT4ME said:

You might want to do a search on Youtube for Dodge cracked dash before you jump on that bandwagon.

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I am looking at a 2017 Ram Crew. Most of what I found with the dash crack issue are the earlier models say like 1998-2007 Dodge Ram vehicles. This could very well be my last truck at my age so between 3 of them I have located at dealers of the 17 & 18 model year I should be able to find 1 I like. I am in no hurry as we most likely won't be pulling the RV anytime soon with this virus issue we have going around. I don't even know if I can get a test drive scheduled LOL.
I think I will list my dash skin today and see if anyone needs one. Not sure if I can send it back at this point.

I ran by a local Chevrolet dealer to pick up some parts for my cooling system project.

There was a pack of salesmen hovering around that pounced on me as I approached the main building with the parts department.

Bloodthirsty and persistent, they were.

You should have no problem getting one of them to round up some test drives.

Sorry to hear you already sold it. I have a titanium grey dash with two very small cracks (each less than 1 inch and no breakage) you can hardly notice and discovered the YouTube video on how to repair it shortly after I bought a new dash and installed it. I now have the ?old? dash sitting in the GM parts box that the new one came in and am looking to give it away to someone rather than toss it. I would even be willing to do the repair and send pix to ensure it was satisfactory, but alas you have already moved on. If anyone else is stuck in the same boat let me know. All I would ask is that you pay the shipping cost if you want it. I will never sell my Avy. 2007 Ice Edition, sunburst orange with black bow ties and chrome trim including fuel door. She?s too pretty to give up. 117k and lots of life left. Just keep replacing what needs fixing because there isn?t a new model out there that even comes close to what these trucks can do, and why would anybody pay the $60-$80k they want for a top model in 2020? I mean omg!!

Well an update for all my fellow Avalanche luver's out there... It hasn't been all roses with my Ram truck. It is a beautiful deep red Delmonico Red I think... and when I bought the truck I started to show it off to the family. My son-in-law notice some spots on the truck, which I replied to him "ya, its dust". Well, it was not dust as I thought, IT IS PAINT OVERSPRAY!
Its all over the truck and since I know its there it bugs me.
I took it to a detail shop in Maumee Ohio, Eco Shine and Justin said they can remove it, or 90% of it. You will not get it off the plastic.
After dropping it off last Friday I get a Facebook message about 1 pm, "Its coming off, but stubborn" so I think, cool it will look great. Then about 3 pm he calls and said come get your truck, we can't get the paint off. WTH?
So we travel back to Maumee and bring the truck home. Next day I notice the right front wheel, where they were working on my hood and my chrome wheel is discolored. I originally thought they damaged the chrome finish but after 3 hours of polishing with White Diamond and power tools, it looks good again.
So this week I checked out another detail shop near me, and was given a quote of $600 to remove most of the paint. Extremely bummed I went to the dealer and asked what they will do to rectify this situation. They agreed to work on the overspray removal and that's where my 2019 Ram sits currently.
I think the Avalanche Gods are striking back, LOL.

No Tyme said:

Well to all my fellow Avalanche enthusiast I bid you farewell. I sold my Avalanche today, and it?s currently on its way to North Carolina. I really loved my AV and treated her with kid gloves but GM done pi$$ed off this lifelong GM family.
My first car was a 64 Impala, with many in-between until I got my first Chevrolet pickup in 1987. From there a 87 ? ton, 93 regular cab, 95 extended cab, 05 Avalanche Z71, 13 Silverado double cab, 14 Crew Cab and then finally my 13 LTZ Black Diamond.
Even a 96 Corvette Collector?s Edition was in my stable of GM products.
After I have spent most of my adult life behind the steering wheel of a Chevrolet this straw finally broke the back of my allegiance to the brand. What you say is the straw? The cracked dash on my 13 LTZ 4X4 dash? a cosmetic item they say.
Even with a GM Platinum warranty, which was sold to me as a bumper to bumper warranty, they say the dash is nothing more than a cosmetic item. No help in repairing say a reduced charge in labor, NOTHING. Claimed denied. So to you all I bid you farewell, best of luck with one of the most unique vehicles ever to be produced for the public.

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Sorry to hear about your dash NoTyme. I had my 2006 1st gen av for almost 14 years and it was almost problem free with great fit/finish. The dash had zero cracks, even with being in Texas sun. I don't think I ever took a pic of the dash because it was in immaculate shape.

Now I am the third owner of a 2013 Av, and the second owner already replaced the cracking dash and fix the leaking midgate. The vinyl on the door handles is also curling, and the passenger door handle broke off the day I picked it up from the seller. My understanding is that a lot of the issues with the 2nd gen Avs has to do with the fact that they were made during the time GM went through bankruptcy and have inferior fit/finish to the 1st gen ones. The air bags were also better placed on the 1st gen.

However, I am definitely still a fan of then Av and getting over my sellers remorse, so I am and making the best of it...starting to do some mods...which is what we do here in this group

Here is the link regarding the lawsuit related to the cracked dash issue, which can lead to a compromised airbag:

https://www.carparts.com/blog/the-latest-on-the-gm-cracked-dash-issue/

Also, for anyone who needs to check to see if there is an airbag recall on your vehicle:

https://my.chevrolet.com/recalls?evar18=takata_website_chevrolet_silverado1500

And this link shows you a cracked dash being covered with a "dash cover" for a cosmetic fix:

https://www.carparts.com/blog/dash-cover-installation-guide/

Tom

I still miss my Avalanche especially with the issues I am having with my Ram? which is not related to the truck itself but with issues beyond my control.
I discovered 2 day after bringing my Ram home that it was covered with overspray. It looked like dust but it was all over my truck One detailer said he could get it off and after a few hours he called and said come get it I can?t get the overspray off. In the process of using chemicals he discolored my chrome wheel but after a couple of hours with White Diamond and a power buffer it looks good.
I am now dealing with the shop that installed my Bilstein?s without a critical part, a small washer that is needed to keep the shaft of the shock from coming up into my inner fender. The shocks were purchased from Amazon, which is NOT an authorized seller so I have to order the hardware kit from Summit Racing.
Once I get the hardware I will most likely have to fight the shop that installed them incorrectly.
I have to say I like my new truck but the GM Gods are making me pay a price.

EXT4ME said:

You might want to do a search on Youtube for Dodge cracked dash before you jump on that bandwagon.

GM isn't the only one with that problem.

Seems pretty common across many brands these days.

And you are probably not going to get much satisfaction from other manufacturers either, sorry to say.

I appreciate your position on the matter.

But, to be honest, I would buy what I needed to fix my truck and move on down the road.

You know what they say about the devil you know verses the devil you don't.

But, that's just me.

I honestly wish you the very best of luck any way you decide to go.

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Truth. 

All manufacturers have been infiltrated by bean counters right across the board.
Seems as though their only concern is how can they build this product cheaper - while stagnating wages for real working men and women across Canada and the USA...in order for CEOs, far removed from their products, to enrich themselves with insane salaries and bonuses.

Problem is no one cares - they're too focused upon themselves, and not the collective.

If every single automobile owner on the face of this continent told these companies to stuff their junk and start building quality vehicles - and refused to buy another new car again until this took place, they would have no choice but to comply.

How to make our products great again? There's no easy answer. But the fact remains that much of the blame can be foisted onto the consumer - who was too busy with nothing to care - and brainwashed with the mindset that is something is new, it must be better...so they keep buying junk. And if it breaks, who cares? Go buy another brand new POS. 

Well, my issues with my new truck is not related to the construction of the truck but by incidents other that brand but like how in the hell did this truck get covered in overspray. Then there's the fact that the mechanic  who decides to omit some parts from my Bilstein's shocks install... then the fact that the manufacturer of the Bilstein's shocks will not replace the missing parts because Amazon is NOT an authorized seller...WTH? They are new shocks that you manufactured and your QC failed to insert all recommended hardware in the package?
We have owned 15 GM cars, truck or SUV's over the last 35 years and as a faithful customer, to be treated as I was, I said goodbye. I am spending my money for a truck built right here in Michigan NOT in another country and feel I am still supporting my fellow American workers.

And your forum pictures are broke, too.

When it rain, it pours, it would appear.

I really hope you get your new truck sorted out soon.

EXT4ME said:

And your forum pictures are broke, too.

When it rain, it pours, it would appear.

I really hope you get your new truck sorted out soon.

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Funny you said rain. I had to ride my bicycle to the shop that installed the Bilstein's and before I got to the shop the sky opened up on me. Hey I did work that day so I did need a shower, LOL.

No Tyme said:

Funny you said rain. I had to ride my bicycle to the shop that installed the Bilstein's and before I got to the shop the sky opened up on me. Hey I did work that day so I did need a shower, LOL.

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Oh, man.

Will it ever end?

I hope today sees every situation improve.

I surely do hope so... FYI I am collecting up some parts and will post in the next couple of days but since I see you doing so much work on your truck I thought I would give you a little advance notice... I have a pair of Moog coils for first gen that I never installed on my 05 and some other things I will be listing. The coils were purchased on Amazon but I will most likely let them go for just shipping cost due to the weight involved... in case you or someone else are interested.
I also have a pair of seat belt extenders, and insert for the console and lowering shock brackets but all of this is for Gen 2. Maybe someone will need them.

What is the insert for the console?

Tom

RaleighBermudaBlu said:

What is the insert for the console?

Tom

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https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C97MPCW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Will post in for sale in a week or so:
My Chevy Avalanche stuff for sale:

Tow mirrors Fit System 80900 Chevrolet/GMC/Cadillac Towing Mirror - $30 for the Pair shipped



Scraped the coils and sold the shock and shock extenders. All I have left are the snap on tow mirrors.

I agree totally, Just traded my 2013 avalanche in for a 2020 4Runner. I can see the writing on the wall, fuel pump leaking, rusted out and looked like swiss cheese, 80,000 miles. GM is not building a quality product anymore. My father has a 2002 avalanche its holding up fine.