Owners have filed 2,484 complaints on the Chevrolet Avalanche, covering 2002–2013. The system named most often is Air Bags (652 reports). Worst years by volume: 2002, 2007, 2003; cleanest: 2006, 2012, 2013. 109 reports describe a crash, 23 a fire, 4 a death. On average the car was 6.6 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Chevrolet Avalanche
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 2,484 Avalanche complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Air Bags 652 Read
Takata airbag deployed and impacted accident.. My vehicle was moving when I was hit and airbag deployed. I've since had 2 unsuccessful back surgeries and I continue unceasingly to receive medical treatment. I am disable retired. There is a washington dc police report, pictures, insurance claim paperwork, investigation…
In December of 2020 we took our vehicle cannon dealership,the 2013 avalanche had a recall to repair a part for the takata air bag,on January 17,2022 we had and accident, some one pulling a cow hauling trailer pull out in front of us and we hit into the cow trailer,and the air bags didn't deploy.we got injured,and we…
I had an auto accident that totaled my vehicle (2013 Chevy Avalanche). It was t-boned by the other vehicle with significant damage from the front quarter panel to the rear quarter panel. All on the driver's side. NONE of the airbags deployed in my vehicle. The other vehicle that hit me had all of the air bags…
Service Brakes 421 Read
My 11 year old tuck brake line leaking badly under driver side when I pump brakes and failed to stop and it hit my garage doors when I got home. It has less than 80,000 miles on it. Corrosive and rusty lines or something more
Brake failure. Exiting parking lot onto city street brakes failed causing collision. Automotive repair: brake line corroded. Lines to weak to repair. Replace brake lines per gm kit. Remove and replace all metal brake lines front and rear, per brake line kit
Driving in heavy traffic on I 95 south on the way to vacation, brakes failed when I attempted to slow down. I rear ended another vehicle. Had truck in shop for week and found several problems with lines and 2 leaks. I heard that there is a known metal defect with 2001-2004 brake lines. I can't find any recall…
Electrical System 301 Read
My wife drove the truck to walmart to get a couple of items with her were my son in law and daughter. Once arriving there(approx. 3 mi) they noticed some smoke coming from under the hood. My son in law opened the hood to discover a fire, he then ran into walmart where an employee grabbed a fire extinguisher and put…
The contact owns a 2007 chevrolet avalanche 1500. While making a right turn at 10 mph, the contact stated that it smelled as if something electrical was burning. There was no smoke present. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who stated that the driver information center was not functioning properly. The…
Vehicle caught on fire, while parked in apartment parking lot, engine not running. Vehicle was parked for at least 30 minutes, before being notified that it was on fire
Structure 198 Read
Our new 2007 chevrolet avalanche was involved in a major accident (not our fault) and it sustained frame damage. After using a gm dealer for repairs to our vehicle and returning it three times it still was returned to us in an unsafe condition which put our family in a potentially position which could of caused…
I hit someone in the back of his car and did a lot of damage on my truck and my air bags did not open. The repair shop also ? Why. The front of my truck was pushed back approx. 6 to 10 inches
Vehicle hit a tree and airbags did not deploy
Power Train 107 Read
The contact owns a 2012 chevrolet avalanche. The contact stated that while standing at the rear driver's side door with the vehicle parked and the engine running, the vehicle rolled away at approximately 20 mph. The contact was knocked over and sustained several injuries including a concussion and soft tissue…
When slowing down the vehicle surges forward even when brake is being applied. It does not appear to be related to engine surge as it does with sudden gear change as if the vehicle is speeding up from a stand still. This occurred as I was turning into a parking space which caused the vehicle to veer uncontrollably to…
When I am slowing down to a stop the transmission will suddenly make the vehicle surge forward quickly. If I not just as quick to apply a firm brake I risk hitting the car or pedestrians near me which has happen on several occasion. On one occasion, as I was turning into a parking space the vehicle suddenly surged…
Engine And Engine Cooling 76 Read
The contact owns a 2007 chevrolet avalanche 1500. While driving 55 mph, the instrument panel lights flickered on and off then the vehicle shut off. In addition, there was smoke inside the vehicle and fire coming from underneath the dash. The fire department extinguished the fire; however, the fire destroyed the…
Shortly after refueling the vehicle the consumer smelled a fuel odor. He stopped the vehicle and as he pulled the hood release he saw flames shooting up onto the windshield. A police officer nearby attempted to put the fire out using a fire extinguisher. A second police officer arrived and emptied his fire…
Reduced engine power , engine dies no power steering or power brakes almost rear ended on I-25. Trouble code says p2135 throttle body has happened 20 times or more in 8 months. Dealer where purchased say they never heard of this problem then said new wiring harness might fix it,knew the price without looking it up?…
Steering 76 Read
The contact stated while driving 20-35 mph, the vehicle violently vibrated. Total control was lost of the vehicle causing the vehicle to veer into the other lane resulting in the vehicle hitting the side of a mountain. The air bags did not deploy. Prior to this incident, popping noises were heard while turning the…
I was driving west on peters rd in middlefield when I hit a patch of black ice putting the truck into a skid which put me in the ditch I hit a mailbox and a culvert (drain pipe) head on tearing up the whole front end of the avalanche it hit right on the sensors but the air bags never deployed
While making a turn at a low speed vehicle rolled over, and air bags did not deploy. Dealer notified
Tires 51 Read
The contact stated while driving 70 mph the passenger side rear tire had tread separation without warning causing a crash. The vehicle was totaled and was towed to the dealer where it remains. The insurance agency was alerted and determined the tire delaminated. A police report was filed. The tire is a goodyear…
Standard tires issued with vehicle were offroad wrangler hp which have very poor rain handling capabilities. I was not notified of this or given option of switching to highway tires with better rain capability. As a result of the poor control of vehicle in rain, front edge was damaged when entered parking lot and was…
I hadn't put 3000 miles on these tires all four tires started to separate from the tire and they warped and a knot came on the side of the tires.tire # 305-40-22,its a manfacture defect in the tires
Avalanche years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 8 | 1 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 12 | 10 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 5 | 2 | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 3 | 2 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 14 | 1 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 13 | 4 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 45 | 3 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 489 |
| Average complaints per series | 5.1 |
| Worst single series | 40 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.6 years |
A model average of 5.1 hides a worst series at 40. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
- No ads, on every page
- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Avalanche?
By complaint volume, 2002, 2007, 2003 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Avalanche years are the cleanest?
2006, 2012, 2013 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Chevrolet Avalanche have?
2,484 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2002–2013. Of those, 109 describe a crash and 23 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.