CarComplaints.com Notes: It didn't take long for the cladding to fade, discolor, and in some cases crack. Cladding is the protective plastic piece that runs along the outside of vehicles, and exposure to both heat and UV rays give the Avalanche's cladding a chalky, faded appearance.
Owners have said the problem is especially bad on the panels near the cargo bed. Eventually, GM agreed to a one-time treatment of ArmorDillo, a protective treatment similar to what you find in any auto shop. Unfortunately, that would only help for 6 months (on average).
Eventually, GM offered another coating solution for owners within the 3 year / 36,000 mile original warranty under TSB:04-08-111-001C.
7.2
pretty bad
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
7,750 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Clunking sound and clunking feel felt in steering wheel when turning it. It has happened on and off from truck new until recently when it is all the time at 58,000 miles. I went to dealership and they tested truck and new exactly what problem was. The service advisor told me that GM has known about a problem with the intermediate steering shaft since 2003 and has issued several fixes for it from greasing shaft, new types of grease, etc. And now has finally came up with a new type of shaft to replace the old one. Problem is that my vehicle is now out of warranty and I have to pay for the new shaft. It is going to cost me about $300 to fix. Since GM has known about this for so long, they should have issued a recall and fix it for free. Some people may not have the money to fix it, so may just let it go, therefore leading to a major steering issue and an accident. GM should issue a recall immediatly and correct this manufacturing defect on vehicles it effects.
GM has had an ongoing problem with intermediate steering shafts that loosen and rattle in their Avalanche models. This may also apply to the 1500 series pickups as well but I'm not sure since I haven't kept in tune to those owners as I have Avalanche owners. The dealer remedies the situation, based upon GM's service bulletins, by shooting the shaft full of grease to take out any play in the steering. However, this lasts anywhere from 5K - 15K miles. I have had two Avalanche's and both have had the same problem. I also know numerous other Avalanche owners who have the same issue. I don't know of any failures but I'm also not happy with GM's lack of a fix for this problem and I'm afraid an accident is more sooner to happen than a satisfactory fix from the manufacturer.
- Flower Mound, TX, USA
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- Grasonville, MD, USA