2002 Chevrolet Avalanche 2500

On January 11, 2011, ODI opened EA11-001 to investigate allegations of premature brake line corrosion failure in model year (MY) 1999 through 2003 General Motors (GM) full-size pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles sold or registered in the following region of the United States that NHTSA has viewed as salt states for investigations of corrosion related issues:Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin.The subject vehicles represent the first five MY's of GM's GMT800 platform production, of which approximately 2,038,504 vehicles were sold in salt states (the subject vehicles).The GMT800 platform includes the following vehicles:1999-2007 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 1500, 2500 and 3500 series pick-up trucks; 2000-2006 Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon sport utility vehicles; and 2002-2006 Cadillac Escalade and Chevrolet Avalanche sport-utility vehicles.General Motors produced a total of approximately 10,427,062 GMT800 vehicles for sales in the United States, including almost 5 million that were sold in salt states.Although there are over 60 different brake pipe routing configuration used in GMT800 vehicles, with the exception of the rear crossover pipes in MY 200x-2007 vehicles that changed from rear disc to drum brakes, all of the vehicles use brake pipes from the same supplier with a common double-wall, brazed steel pipe design with a combination of hot dip Zinc-Aluminum corrosion protection coating and Aluminum paint outer layer known in the industry as AlGal (ASTM-B750). ODI analysis of field data regarding GMT800 vehicles identified a total of 3,645 complaints of brake pipe corrosion failures, including 107 alleging crashes, and 40 injuries.Though only 20% of total GMT800 production, due to age and region the subject vehicles account for a disproportionate share of the failure experience; with 2,702 of the complaints (75%), 88 of the crashes (82%) and 20 of the injuries (50%) reported in those vehicles.Analysis of the complaints showed strong correlations to vehicle age and region.For vehicles with less than 8 years of service, the complaint rates were minimal for all regions.In the salt states the failure rates begin to climb as the vehicles advance in age, particularly in the Northeast corner of the United States.The complaint rates in the salt states go from less than 0.1 incident per thousand vehicles (IPTV) at 7 years in service to over 1.0 IPTV after the 12th year of service for the subject pickup trucks and utility vehicles.Most of the failures reported to ODI occurred in vehicles with more than 10 years in service.ODI?s investigation did not identify any specific defect conditions that were causing or contributing to the brake pipe failures.Nor did the analysis isolate the problem to any subject vehicle sub-populations when analyzed by vehicle type or production range.The investigation found that vehicles experiencing brake pipe corrosion failures were likely to have general patterns of excessive corrosion on the majority of the brake pipe assembly and appear to be occurring due to expected wear out for the brake pipe coating material used in the subject vehicles and the environmental conditions in severe corrosion states.A safety-related defect has not been identified at this time.Accordingly, this investigation is closed.The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist.The agency will monitor t

COMPLAINT REPORTS ALLEGE POOR WELD QUALITY AND/OR BENDING OF THE SUBJECT VEHICLE ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT TRAILER HITCH RECEIVER.THE AGENCY'S INVESTIGATION INCLUDED ANALYSIS OF MANUFACTURER AND AGENCY INCIDENT REPORTS, REVIEW OF POLICE REPORTS, ANALYSIS OF THE AGENCY'S FATAL ANALYSIS REPORTING SYSTEM, A VEHICLE OWNER SURVEY, INSPECTION OF TOW VEHICLES/HITCHES AND ANALYSIS OF FAILED PARTS.INCIDENTS OF WELD FAILURE WERE RARE AND ASSOCIATED WITH VERY LOW-SPEED DRIVING (TURNING, BACKING AND SUDDEN STOPPING).INCIDENTS OF BENDING WERE ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROPER TRAILER HITCH ADJUSTMENT OR OVERLOADING. A SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT HAS NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED AT THIS TIME AND FURTHER USE OF AGENCY RESOURCES DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE WARRANTED.ACCORDINGLY, THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED.THE CLOSING OF THIS INVESTIGATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FINDING BY NHTSA THAT A SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT DOES NOT EXIST.THE AGENCY WILL MONITOR THIS ISSUE AND RESERVES THE RIGHT TO TAKE FURTHER ACTION IF WARRANTED BY THE CIRCUMSTANCES.SEE DOCUMENT SEARCH FILE FOR ADDITION INFORMATION.

GM PROVIDED ADDITIONAL DATA REGARDING ALLEGATIONS OF FAILURE OF THE TRAILER HITCH.ODI REVIEWED THAT AS WELL AS OTHER DATA PROVIDED BY PEER MANUFACTURERS.BASED ON OUR REVIEW, ODI FINDS THE NEED TO FURTHER INVESTIGATE THIS ISSUE.THIS PRELIMINARY EVALUATION IS UPGRADED TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (EA07-013) FOR FURTHER ASSESSMENT AND STUDY OF THIS ISSUE.

WITH MY AVALANCHE, I WAS TOWING A TRAILER WITH A CAR LOADED AND TRAVELING AT LESS THAN 10 MPH, I APPLIED THE BRAKES TO SLOW FOR A TURN AND LOST NEARLY ALL THE BRAKING POWER. I PULLED TO THE SHOULDER AND NOTICED THAT ONE OF THE BRAKE LINES FORWARD OF THE ABS MODULE LOCATED INSIDE THE LEFT FRAME RAIL DIRECTLY BENEATH THE DRIVERS SEAT HAD RUPTURED DUE TO CORROSION. FURTHER INSPECTION SHOWED ALL BRAKE LINES IN THAT AREA WERE COVERED WITH CORROSION. ALL BRAKE LINE WERE REPLACED WITH NEW STAINLESS STEEL LINES AFTER RESEARCHING THAT THIS VERY COMMON PROBLEM WAS NOT AUTHORIZED FOR RECALL. REPAIR COST: $950.00. IT WOULD APPEAR THAT BRAKE PROBLEMS OF THIS FREQUENCY AND MAGNITUDE SHOULD HAVE BEEN SUBJECT TO RECALL AS IT IS APPARENT THAT IT IS A DESIGN FLAW AND VERY DANGEROUS.

NHTSA ID

11002916

Incident

May 1, 2017

Mileage

98,000 mi

2002 CHEVY AVALANCHE 2500 WITH 8.1 ENGINE DIES WITHOUT WARNING AT DRIVING SPEEDS. THE BATTERY LIGHT COMES ON, AFTER THE VEHICLE SHUTS DOWN, BUT NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND NO WARNING WHATSOEVER. THE VEHICLE JUST SHUTS DOWN. WHEN THIS HAPPENS THERE IS NO POWER STEERING AND NO BRAKES FOR THIS 7000 POUND VEHICLE. SOMETIMES, ONCE PULLED OVER AND SHUTTING EVERYTHING OFF AND TRYING TO RESTART IT WILL RESTART, SOMETIMES TAKING UP TO 10 MINUTES OF TRYING TO CRANK IT INTERMITTENTLY BEFORE IT WILL RESTART. IT HAS DONE THIS, OFF AND ON, AT RANDOM INTERVALS OVER THE YEARS I HAVE OWNED IT. I HAVE READ ON THE INTERNET OTHERS FROM WHO HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM AND MOST LIKELY SOLUTION SEEMS TO BE THE CRANKSHAFT POSITION SENSOR WHICH SOME SAY HAS BEEN RECALLED ON THE 2001 MODEL ENGINE FOR THE SILVERADOS, BUT CANNOT FIND ANYTHING FOR THE SAME 2002 ENGINE, WHICH IS THE SAME ENGINE. THIS IS DANGEROUS AND FRIGHTENING ENOUGH AT "BACK ROAD" SPEEDS, BUT CONSIDERABLY MORE SO AT MAJOR HIGHWAY SPEEDS AS THE VEHICLE LOSES ALL POWER WHEN THE ENGINE SHUTS DOWN, LEAVING THE DRIVER UNABLE TO STEER, BRAKE OR IMMEDIATELY RESTART THE VEHICLE LEAVING IT STALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSTATE THERE IS NO CODE IN THE ECM SO THE DEALERS HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO DIAGNOSE IT. DOES SOMEONE HAVE TO DIE BEFORE SOMETHING IS DONE?

NHTSA ID

10959893

Incident

Mar 6, 2017

Mileage

35,000 mi

MY SON WAS DRIVING MY 2002 AVALANCHE WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR WITHOUT ANY PRIOR WARNING OR DASH LIGHTS. ALTHOUGH HE DID GO THROUGH THE INTERSECTION HE WAS TRYING TO STOP FOR THERE WAS NO TRAFFIC AND NO ACCIDENT. THE PROBLEM WAS A BRAKE LINE FAILING.

NHTSA ID

10906167

Incident

Sep 11, 2016

Mileage

200,000 mi

SATURDAY JANUARY 23, 2016 DURING A SNOW STORM MY 2002 CHEVY AVALANCHE 2500 VIN# [XXX] LOST ALL BRAKE CONTROL DUE TO FAILED AND CORRODED BRAKE LINE UNDER DRIVER SIDE DOOR AT RETAINER CLIP ON SIDE OF FRAME WITHOUT ANY WARNING SIGNS OF SOFT PEDAL OR INTERMITTENT BRAKING. THIS IS THE SECOND TRUCK DRIVEN A 2004 1500 WITH THE SAME FAILED LINE IN SAME PLACE ON FRAME. JUST BEFORE THE BRAKE LINE FAILED THERE WAS A SMALL CAR IN FRONT OF ME WITH TWO SMALL CHILDREN IN THE BACK SEAT THAT TURNED RIGHT IF THEY CAME TO A FULL STOP I WOULD HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO NEGOTIATE AROUND THEM THAT COULD HAVE RESULTED IN INJURY AND OR DEATH OF THE OTHER OCCUPANTS IN THE CAR. I DO THINK THAT THIS IS A BIG SAFETY CONCERN FOR ALL NOT JUST DRIVERS OF THE AFFECTED TRUCKS BUT ANYONE OR OBJECT IN ITS PATH. I ASKING FOR GM TO RECALL ALL AFFECTED VEHICLES FOR A REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT OF ALL BRAKE LINES AT THE COST OF GENERAL MOTORS WITH BRAKE LINES COATED LIKE THE POLY ARMOR LINES TO AID IN THE RESISTANCE OF CORROSION. THE CURRENT LINES ARE ONLY MADE OF STEEL WITH NO TOP COATING AND ARE ROUTED IN DIRECT SPRAY OFF OF TIRES AND ROAD WITH NO SPLASH SHIELD TO PROTECT LINE FROM SPRAY OR FOREIGN OBJECTS FROM STRIKING LINES. SINCERELY [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

NHTSA ID

10823359

Incident

Jan 23, 2016

Mileage

104,000 mi

THE ENGINE SHUTS OFF WHILE DRIVING. THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN IDLING FOR SEVERAL MINUTES AND AFTER PULLING OUT ACROSS THE HIGHWAY THE ENGINE SHUT OFF. AFTER TRYING FOR AT LEAST 10 MINUTES IT RESTARTED. THOUGHT THIS WAS AN ISOLATED INSTANCE, BUT HAS NOW HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES AT VARIOUS SPEEDS AND EVEN WHEN IDLING AT A STOP LIGHT. *TR

NHTSA ID

10630223

Incident

Sep 1, 2014

Mileage

68,000 mi

I PUT THE TRUCK IN PARK AND WAS UNABLE TO PUT IT BACK INTO GEAR. *TR

NHTSA ID

10625831

Incident

Mar 7, 2014

Mileage

110,000 mi

THE AVALANCHE IS OUR TOW VEHICLE (ONLY) WHICH IS WHY IT HAS SO FEW MILES FOR A 2002 MODEL YEAR VEHICLE. NORMALLY IT IS TOWING A 9000 POUND 28 FOOT TOY HAULER, BUT JUST BY PURE LUCK IT WAS TOWING A SINGLE AXLE FLAT BED TRAILER WITH THE CAB FOR A 1935 CHEVROLET PICKUP ON IT BACK FROM THE BODY SHOP. I PULLED INTO THE DRIVEWAY AND TRIED TO STOP AND THERE WERE NO BRAKES. TRIED TO APPLY THE PARKING BRAKES AND THE CABLE SNAPPED. STOPPED BY DRIVING UP A HILL INTO THE GRASS. TOOK THE AVALANCHE TO THE DEALER WHERE THEY TOLD ME THE BRAKE LINES ALL HAD TO BE REPLACED AND THEY WERE NO LONGER AVAILABLE FROM THE MANUFACTURER. IN THE COURSE OF GETTING THE BRAKE LINES OUT THEY FOUND THAT THE FUEL LINES WERE ALSO LEAKING AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. THE TOTAL BILL FOR REPAIR WAS $2900.00, PLUS THE VEHICLE WAS OUT OF SERVICE FOR 6 WEEKS. GRANTED THE VEHICLE IS 12 YEARS OLD, BUT I HAVE A 1963 STUDEBAKER THAT STILL HAS SOLID BRAKE AND FUEL LINES. IT IS ONLY BY THE GRACE OF GOD THAT THE AVALANCHE WASN'T TOWING A 9000 POUND 28 FOOT LONG TRAILER AT 70 MPH WHEN THE BRAKES FAILED. THERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHT, NO INDICATION AT ALL THAT THERE WAS A PENDING PROBLEM. SOMEONE COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED. THESE VEHICLES NEED TO BE RECALLED, AND I NEED TO BE REIMBURSED FOR THE REPAIRS. *TR

NHTSA ID

10560552

Incident

Nov 16, 2013

Mileage

62,313 mi

BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR, USED EMERGENCY BRAKE TO STOP. FOUND BRAKE LINE UNDER DRIVERS DOOR RUSTED THROUGH AND GUSHING FLUID. *TR

NHTSA ID

10558051

Incident

Dec 31, 2013

Mileage

131,000 mi

This PI communicates the requirement to provide a pico file to receive diagnostic assistance from TAC.

This service bulletin explains how to measure for oil consumption and possible reasons for loss of oil.

This service bulletin explains how to measure for oil consumption and possible reasons for loss of oil.

Vehicle Wide Programming (VWP) is a new process to update software on GM Vehicles. It provides the ability via a single selection within Techline Connect to first identify which modules need updating and then proceed to updating affected modules (with some exceptions). The updating of modules is completed in parallel instead of the technician needing to update one module at a time. This allows a more streamlined approach for dealers and customers.

GM is receiving damaged (cracked or broken) transmission cores returned to the reman facilities. The damage is being caused either in the removal process by the technician, or inadequate packaging or shipping. This bulletin advises the dealers to be more careful not to damage the transmissions during removal and to package the core properly for return.

This service bulletin advises of a new fuel injection cleaner kit used for decarbonizing the intake valves to correct conditions of rough idle, Crank no start, extended crank or misfire, MIL with DTCs, and explains how Top Tier fuels should be used to reduce carbon build-up.