2005 Chevrolet Avalanche 1500 Powertrain (other) Problems

AT 80K I PUT MY TRUCK IN REVERSE AND HEARD A CLUNK SOUND AND IMMEDIATELY IT WOULDN'T SHIFT GEARS ANYMORE. I WENT AND HAD THE TRANSMISSION REBUILT WHICH LASTED ROUGHLY 10K MORE. NOW, THE TRUCK WON'T SHIFT YET AGAIN AND THE FILTER WAS CHANGED AND THE REAR OUTPUT SEAL. CURRENTLY, WHEN I DRIVE SINCE ITS MY ONLY VEHICLE, ONE MINUTE IT WILL SHIFT FINE BUT AFTER I TURN THE ENGINE OFF AND ON AGAIN, IT WILL NOT SHIFT FROM FIRST AND THE AGAIN, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON!

NHTSA ID

11061265

Incident

Jan 6, 2018

DRIVING DOWN COUNTY RD STOPPED AT STOP SIGN. STARTED TO TAKE OFF IT STARTED SLIPPING THEN QUIT PULLING COMPLETLY.PUET IT IN ALL DRIVES 1,2,3, & D NOTHING HAPPENED CUT ENGINE OFF PUT IT IN DRIVE IT STARTED OUT LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED FOR SHORT DISTANCE THEN SAME THING AGAIN.

NHTSA ID

11014868

Incident

Aug 12, 2017

Mileage

110,000 mi

WHILE CRUISING ON RT 101 AT 65 MPH, VEHICLE AUTOMATICALLY DOWNSHIFTED INTO SECOND GEAR FOR NO REASON. IN RESPONSE, I WAS FORCED TO DECELERATE TO 35 MPH. TRIED EXPLICITLY PLACING VEHICLE IN THIRD INSTEAD OF "D" FOR DRIVE, BUT, THE DRIVE TRAIN WAS UNRESPONSIVE. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, A "HOT TRANSMISSION" MESSAGE APPEARED ON DASH AND I PULLED OVER AND CHECKED FLUIDS. FLUIDS LOOKED GOOD. DROVE VEHICLE HOME IN SECOND GEAR WITHOUT ISSUE. UPON INVESTIGATION, I DISCOVERED THAT MY AVALANCHE WAS BUILT WITH A WIDELY RECOGNIZED DESIGN FLAW AND UNDERSIZED TRANSMISSION. VARIOUS SOURCES SUGGESTED I FILE COMPLAINT THIS ADDRESS: HTTPS://WWW-ODI.NHTSA.DOT.GOV/VEHICLECOMPLAINT/INDEX.XHTML. *TR

NHTSA ID

10679380

Incident

Jan 27, 2015

Mileage

94,459 mi

SERVICE 4WHEEL DRIVE MESSAGE APPEARS. I HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM REPAIRED NUMEROUS TIMES. NO CODES ARE LISTED IN THE ONBOARD COMPUTER. TECHNICIANS CANNOT IDENTIFY THE FAILING COMPONENT. THEY REPLACE PARTS UNTIL THE MESSAGE GOES AWAY. THE VEHICLE SHIFTS INTO 4 WHEEL DRIVE WITHOUT WARNING. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME NUMEROUS TIMES. THIS HAPPENS DURING HIGH HUMIDITY OR RAINY CONDITIONS. NUMEROUS TSB HAVE BEEN ISSUED. ONE COMMON CAUSE IS WIRING HARNESS CONNECTOR THAT IS PRONE TO FAIL DUE TO MOISTURE. CHEVY HAS NOT ISSUED A SAFETY RECALL. *TR

NHTSA ID

10587502

Incident

Nov 1, 2007

Mileage

36,000 mi

WHILE DRIVING ON A 1200 MILE TRIP, THE MESSAGE "SERVICE 4WD" APPEARED AND MY 2WD YELLOW INDICATOR LIGHT WENT OUT. I CALLED ONSTAR AND THEY PERFORMED A SYSTEM DIAG. COULD NOT PULL ANY CODES, SO THEY CONNECTED ME WITH GM. THE CUSTOMER SERVICE PERSON AT GM TOLD ME TO RESET THE WARNING LIGHT AND IF IT CAME ON AGAIN TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO A CHEVY DEALERSHIP. THE NEXT DAY THE LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN AND I TOOK IT TO A DEALERSHIP. THEY WANTED $990.00 TO FIX THE PROBLEM. I DID NOT HAVE THAT KIND OF MONEY WHILE ON MY TRIP. THEY ALSO WOULD NOT VERIFY IF THE VEHICLE WAS SAFE TO TAKE ON A 1200 MILE TRIP BACK HOME. TODAY (3 DAYS LATER, AND AFTER I DROVE ANOTHER 1200 MILES BACK HOME), THE SERVICE 4WD LIGHT IS BACK ON AND NOW A RED LIGHT IS SHOWING IN THE NEUTRAL POSITION OF THE TRANSFER CASE. I LOOKED IN THE OWNERS MANUAL HOW TO GET THE TRUCK OUT OF THE NEUTRAL POSITION IN THE TRANSFER CASE AND PERFORMED THESE ACTIONS. NOT SURE WHAT WILL HAPPEN TOMORROW WITH THE TRUCK. IN MY OPINION, THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN AN OPEN RECALL AS I HAVE NOTICED MANY OTHER AVALANCHE OWNERS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. MY CONFIDENCE IS SHAKEN NOW WITH MY GM TRUCK. *TR

NHTSA ID

10536406

Incident

Aug 8, 2013

Mileage

94,600 mi

CLUNK WHEN GOING INTO DRIVE, ALSO SHIFTS HARD WHEN DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. *TR

NHTSA ID

10444802

Incident

Jan 22, 2012

Mileage

45,000 mi

WENT TO PULL OUT OF A PARKING LOT, GAVE IT A LITTLE GAS AND NOTHING. ENGINE IDLED UP BUT IT WOULD NOT MOVE. WENT DOWN THROUGH THE GEARS BUT STILL WOULD NOT MOVE. HAD TO PUT IT IN REVERSE AND BACK INTO A PARKING SPACE AND CALLED A TOW TRUCK. $2900 DOLLARS LATER THE TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED WITH GENUINE GM REBUILT TRANSMISSION. *TR

NHTSA ID

10443360

Incident

Oct 12, 2011

Mileage

81,000 mi

TRAVELING HOME FROM WORK ON THE INTERSTATE AT REGULATED SPEED (65MPH). AS I STARTED TO ACCELERATE TO MAINTAIN SPEED GINGO UP A HILL, THE MESSAGE "TRANSMISSION HOT" CAME ON THE IN-DASH DISPLAY AND ENGINE BEGAN REVVING AS IF NOT IN GEAR. I COULD NOT ACCELERATE AND HAD TO TURN ON FLASHERS AND MERGE TO SAFETY LANE ON RIGHT. I CONTINUED TO SLOW DOWN UNTIL I COULD ENGAGE THE TRANSMISSION AGAIN AT AROUND 30 MPH IN 3RD GEAR. AS SOON AS I STARTED TO ACCELERATE PAST 35-40 MPH, THE TRANSMISSION SLIPPED AGAIN AND WOULD NOT ENGAGE ANY GEAR. THIS HAPPENED ALL THE WAY HOME SO WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A 20 MINUTE DRIVE TURNED INTO AN HOUR. I COULDN'T GET ABOVE 35-45 MPH WITHOUT THIS HAPPENING EACH TIME WHICH MADE NAVIGATING THE HILLS OF NORTHERN VA IN THE RAIN NOT VERY FUN FOR ME NOR THE HUNDREDS OF FRUSTRATED DRIVERS BEHIND AND BESIDE ME. AS I PULLED INTO THE DRIVEWAY AND PARKED, I COULD NOTICE A 'BURNT AND SOUR" SMELL...MOST LIKELY TRANSMISSION FLUID. I DIDN'T SEE ANY LEAKS OR DRIPS BUT THE ENGINE WAS EXTREMELY HOT AS WAS TRANSMISSION AND TRANSFER CASE. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING OFF AND ON FOR A FEW MONTHS NOW BUT IN VERY LIMITED OCCASIONS AND NEVER FOR MORE THAN 10-20 SECONDS SO I HAVEN'T CONTACTED A SERVICE STATION BUT WILL DEFINITELY DO SO THIS WEEKEND AS I AM UNABLE TO LEAVE WORK DURING THE WEEK FOR THIS ISSUE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10439010

Incident

Dec 7, 2011

Mileage

78,000 mi

THE SERVICE 4WD STARTED APPEARING IN THE DRIVER INFORMATION DISPLAY INTERMITTENTLY. TAKING THE VEHICLE IN FOR SERVICE GAVE NO RELIEF. THE VEHICLE STARTED ACTING ERRATICALLY, SLIPPING IN AND OUT OF GEAR INTERMITTENTLY. IT WASN'T SAFE TO DRIVE ANYMORE, IE STRANDED AT STOP LIGHTS OR AFTER SLOWING FOR TRAFFIC IT HAD NO ACCELERATION. IT BECAME CLEAR AT THIS POINT THAT THE PROBLEM WASN'T GOING TO BE ABLE TO BE DIAGNOSED AT A REPAIR FACILITY, WITHOUT REPLACING PARTS NEEDLESSLY AND THEN TEST DRIVING THE VEHICLE UNTIL IT WORKED AGAIN . I STARTED CHECKING ON LINE AND FOUND MANY OF THESE VEHICLES EXHIBITING THE SAME BEHAVIOR AND TRACED THE PROBLEM TO A DEFECTIVE ENCODER MOTOR WHICH FIXED THE PROBLEM I FEEL THE WAY THE VEHICLE ACTED WITH THIS PROBLEM IS A VERY UNSAFE CONDITION AND SHOULD HAVE A FAIL SAFE BUILT INTO IT TO AT LEAST PREVENT COMPLETE LOSS OF ACCELERATION. AT THE VERY LEAST OWNERS SHOULD HAVE BEEN WARNED OF THIS POSSIBLE SITUATION SINCE THERE ARE TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETINS OUT ON THIS CONDITION. *TR

NHTSA ID

10361814

Incident

May 30, 2010

Mileage

115,000 mi

"SERVICE 4WD" STARTED TO BE DISPLAYED ERRATICALLY IN THE DIC. 4WD SYSTEM STARTED TO FUNCTION ERRATICALLY 4WD CONTROL SWITCH WITNESS LIGHTS LIGHT ERRATICALLY OR DO NOT LIGHT AT ALL. 4WD LOW RANGE ENGAGED BY ITSELF UNEXPECTEDLY WHILE DRIVING - THIS WAS A SERIOUS ACCIDENT HAZARD, FORTUNATELY IT OCCURRED AT LOW SPEED AND AT A PLACE WHERE THE VEHICLE COULD BE STOPPED SAFELY. GENERAL MOTORS HAS ISSUED TSB 05-04-21-003C (APRIL 15, 2008) FOR THIS CONDITION HOWEVER OWNERS WERE NOT NOTIFIED ABOUT IT OR THE POTENTIAL ASSOCIATED ACCIDENT RISK. RESEARCH ON THE WEB AT VEHICLE OWNER CLUBS SHOWS THIS CONDITION TO BE A VERY FREQUENT PROBLEM FOR GM VEHICLES USING THE THIS TYPE OF 4 WHEEL DRIVE. FURTHER RESEARCH ON THE SAME SITES SUGGESTS THAT THE SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM WAS A CHALLENGE TO GM AND IT WAS A "HIT-AND-MISS" APPROACH WITH MULTIPLE TRIPS TO THE DEALER TO GET IT RESOLVED. THIS MALFUNCTION COULD BE CAUSE A SERIOUS ACCIDENT IF IT HAPPENS AT INTERSTATE SPEEDS IN HEAVY TRAFFIC OR ON A SLIPPERY STEEP MOUNTAIN ROAD ( JUST TO GIVE A FEW EXAMPLES). *TR

NHTSA ID

10275379

Incident

Jun 30, 2009

Mileage

79,000 mi

I OWN A 2005 AVALANCHE WITH 2000 MILES ON IT. WHEN TURNING SHARPLY WHILE IN 4 WHEEL DRIVE, GOING FORWARD OR IN REVERSE, THE TRUCK BOGS DOWN AND STOPS. THERE IS NOTHING IN THE OWNERS MANUAL ABOUT THIS. THIS IS A DANGEROUS CONDITION FOR SOMEONE WHO DOES NOT REALIZE WHAT WILL HAPPEN. IF I WERE TO MAKE A U TURN THE VEHICLE WILL COME TO A STOP IF THE WHEELS ARE TURNED TWO SHARPLY. MY DEALER DID NOT EVEN KNOW ABOUT THIS UNTILL I BROUGHT IT TO HIS ATTENTION.THE DEALER WENT OUT ON HIS LOT AND DROVE AN AVALANCHE IN 4 WHEEL DRIVE TO DETERMINE IF I WAS NUTS OR NOT. WELL I AM NOT NUTS AS THIERS DID EXACTLY WHAT I SAID. THE DEALER THEN CONTACTED GENERAL MOTORS AND WAS TOLD THIS CONDITION IS NORMAL SO THE U JOINTS AND GEAR BOX WILL NOT BE DAMAGED. IF THEY SAY IT IS NORMAL TO LOCK UP WHY DON'T THEY PUT IT THE OWNERS MANUAL? SOMEONE IS GOING TO BE SERIOUSLY HURT OVER THIS CONDITION AND IT WILL BE MORE THAN U JOINTS OR GEAR BOX.

NHTSA ID

10123833

Incident

Apr 1, 2005

Mileage

2,000 mi