Here's about my disappointment with my 2004 Avalanche which I purchased on July 28, 2004 with 137 miles on the odometer. I purchased the value guard GM protection plan. Of course, the vehicle was great for the first 37,990 miles. My first problem came on 10/31/06, only 2 years 3 months after purchase date. My tailgate handle broke while opening it handle replacement was $568. To my surprise and apparently also to the representative from the dealership the existing spoiler had to be torn off and replaced with a new one to access the handle. That was an additional $186 plus labor. I question the designers of the tailgate assembly. Why would anyone design parts that would have to be destroyed in order to service another part" in fact, why would any part that would normally be used frequently by a regular trucker break so easily" of course, neither the warranty nor the GM protection plan covered this. The next problem occurred on 12/27/06 at 41,901 miles, my windshield wipers wouldn't shutoff. Into the dealership we went and $334 later a wiper board was replaced. No warranty again covered this problem. I no sooner got home and had to return on 12/28/06 at 41,944 miles. Now my dashboard light service 4 wheel drive was on. This time I was told the transfer case encoder shorted out and $779 later it was fixed. I might have used the 4-wheel drive 8-10 times at the most. At that time, I'd owned this vehicle for 29 months, that's pretty sad!! today with the latest episode, I tried to lower my front passenger side window and it wouldn't work. The other 3 windows work fine. I waited and tried again later still no luck. I hear a clicking sound but no action.this probably means another visit to the dealer.

- Laurel, MD, USA

On several occasions, my tailgate would slam open on the rear bumper after accelerating. Because of the vehicle was still under manufacturer warranty, I brought it to the dealer to have it checked. Without even looking at it, I was told that the tailgate must be slammed shut (hard) because of the weather stripping. I tried this for a couple of weeks but still no difference. I took it to another dealer and in a matter of minutes, they readjusted the latches and I haven't had that problem since.

- Doral, FL, USA