Owner-reported complaints naming the airbag system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the air-bag system — deployment behaviour, inflators, sensors and warning lights. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2003 Chevrolet Avalanche 1500 submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 12 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
MY AIRBAGS DEPLOYED AS I SLID INTO A VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME. I WAS IN NUMBER TO NUMBER TRAFFIC AND I TRIED CHANGING LANES. MY FRONT LEFT BUMPER TAPPED HIS REAR RIGHT BUMPER. THE OTHER VEHICLE WAS SCRATCHED.
THE DASHBOARD HAS DEVELOPED A CRACK IN THE PLASTIC ON THE PASSENGER SIDE RIGHT NEAR THE AIRBAG AREA.
I HAVE COMPLAINED BEFORE, WANT TO KNOW WHY THIS HAS NOT BEEN RECALLED. LIGHT CAME ON FOR NO REASON. WASN'T IN ANY KIND OF AN ACCIDENT. IT IS DEFECTIVE AND NO ONE WILL HELP GET IT FIXED. THERE ALREADY IS TSB FROM 2006. WE MOVED FROM PENNSYLVANIA TO FLORIDA AND AFTER A COUPLE OF MONTHS IT CAME ON AND STAYED ON.
"SERVICE AIRBAG SYSTEM" DISPLAY ON VEHICLE INFORMATION READOUT FIRST APPEARED AROUND TEN YEARS AGO. BROUGHT TO DEALER MULTIPLE TIMES FOR DIAGNOSTICS AND REPAIR (CODE B0026) BUT HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO CORRECT THIS SAFETY SYSTEM DEFECT. VEHICLE IS WAY OUT OF WARRANTY AND ATTEMPTING TO REPAIR ITEMS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO BE FIXED UNDER WARRANTY DOES NOT SEEM FINANCIALLY SOUND. AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT AND "SERVICE AIRBAG SYSTEM" DISPLAY HAVE BEEN CONSTANTLY ON SINCE 2008. *TR
KEY IGNITION SWITCH IS LOOSE AND CAR WILL SHUT OFF WHILE OPERATING, KEY CAN BE PULLED OUT OF IGNITION WHILE RUNNING. IF VEHICLE SHUTS OFF WHILE OPERATING THEN YOU LOOSE CONTROL OF BRAKES, STEERING, AND ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS. GM IS DENYING THERE IS A PROBLEM. MY VEHICLE IS PROOF THAT THE PROBLEM EXISTS AND THE CHEVY AVALANCHE 2003 HAS A PROBLEM. *TR
FREQUENTLY WHILE IN DRIVE THE SERVICE AIR BAG COMES ON. WHEN THIS LIGHT/INDICATOR COMES ON THIS DEACTIVATES THE ENTIRE AIR BAG SYSTEM WHICH IS A SAFETY ISSUE/DEFECT. THIS NEEDS TO BE A RECALL BY GM/CHEVROLET TO HAVE THIS FIXED IMMEDIATELY. *TR
AIR BAG LIGHT IS ON. WHILE AIRBAG LIGHT IS ON, AIRBAGS DO NOT FUNCTION. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE BY CHEVROLET. HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCE THE SAME PROBLEM. NEEDS A RECALL. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND SHOULD NOT COST THE CONSUMER TO REPAIR. *TR
ON OCCASION THE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT WOULD COME ON, USUALLY WHILE DRIVING. ON SUBSEQUENT STARTS, NO LIGHT WAS DISPLAYED. EVENTUALLY THE LIGHT WOULD STAY ON FOR SEVERAL DAYS. I ASSUMED THIS WAS A MANUFACTURER INITIATED ALERT TO HAVE THE AIRBAGS CHECKED AFTER 100,000 MILES. WHEN I NEXT BROUGHT MY VEHICLE IN FOR AN OIL CHANGE SERVICE, I ASKED THE ADVISER TO HAVE THE AIRBAGS CHECKED BECAUSE OF THE WARNING LIGHT. HE TOLD ME THAT WHEN THE LIGHT WAS ON THE AIRBAGS WERE INOPERATIVE! I TOLD HIM TO GET IT CORRECTED. AFTER 90 MINUTES MY CAR WAS RETURNED WITH THE NOTICE THAT A PRELIMINARY CHECK DID NOT UNCOVER THE CAUSE, AND I WOULD HAVE TO RETURN THE VEHICLE AT ANOTHER TIME AND EXPECT TO INCUR SEVERAL HOURS OF TROUBLE SHOOTING TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE. SINCE MY TRUCK WAS OUT OF WARRANTY, I WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE TO PARTS AND LABOR. I CANNOT UNDERSTAND WHY AN INOPERATIVE AIRBAG SYSTEM IS NOT A SAFETY RECALL ISSUE. PERHAPS IF GOVERNMENT MOTORS WAS PRIVATELY HELD, THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT WOULD FORCE THE MANUFACTURER TO REPAIR ALL SUCH SAFETY RELATED ISSUES. *TR
"SERVICE ABS LIGHT COMES ON INTERMITTENTLY...DISABLING AIR BAGS! *TR
I OWN A 2003 CHEVROLET AVALANCHE, MY SPEEDOMETER IS STUCK AT 50 MPH, I CANNOT ACCURATELY GAUGE MY SPEED, I ALSO HAVE A SERVICE AIR BAG LIGHT THAT WILL NOT GO OFF. THESE ARE SOME SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUES AND A RECALL SHOULD BE ISSUED. *TR
AIRBAG SERVICE LIGHT. *TR
SERVICE AIR BAG LIGHT STAYS ON BEEN THIS WAY FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS CHEVROLET KNOWS OF THE PROBLEM BUT WILL NOT DO A RECALL. *TR
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .