2002 Chevrolet Avalanche problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Service Brakes (48) · Service Brakes, Hydraulic:antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip (39) · Service Brakes, Hydraulic (32)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Chevrolet Avalanche model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
312 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (0)
No recalls on record for this model year (campaigns announced since 2010).
Service bulletins (277)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Equipment:electrical 2016-02-23 · PIC5953A · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that may have an issue when using bluetooth voice recognition with an iphone. technician should work with the customer to insure the phone contacts to not have any emojis loaded to any contact.
Equipment 2016-02-11 · PIP5226A · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about finding needle bearings during an oil change. technician will gain access to the roller rockers to inspect them. only replace the roller rocker that is missing needle bearings. be sure to clean the oil drains to
Equipment:electrical:navigational System(Global Positioning System) 2016-01-27 · 03-08-46-004R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this informational bulletin provides information on part restriction and ordering process information for onstar vehicle communication interface modules (vcim) (gmna only)
Engine And Engine Cooling:exhaust System:emission Control:catalytic Convertor 2015-11-30 · PIP5232B · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about gasoline powered cars, mid-size trucks, light duty trucks, and heavy duty trucks with premature catalytic converter failures. it is recommended to inspect for a poor crimp on the grounds ring terminal at the engi
Seat Belts:front:buckle Assembly 2015-08-03 · 09-09-40-001C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this informational bulletin provides information to advise dealers about seat belt buckles not operating and/or seat belt warning light illumination, as well as difficulty latching and unlatching the buckle or the buckle release button sticking.
Fuel System, Other 2015-05-27 · 05-06-04-035E · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this informational bulletin provides dealership personnel with information on flexible fuel vehicles (ffvs) and the usage of e85 fuel in gm vehicles.
Showing the 6 most recent of 277 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2023-11-09 · Service Brakes“the contact owns a 2002 chevrolet avalanche. the contact stated while attempting to stop the vehicle, the brake pedal was firm, and vehicle kept accelerating unintendedly. several warning lights were illuminated. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. the contact was informed that the failure was due to a faulty abs modul…”
2022-02-14 · Service Brakes, Air:antilock:abs Warning Light · 142,000 mi“the contact owns a 2002 chevrolet avalanche. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the abs and oil warning lights illuminated. additionally, the speedometer, the 4-wheel drive function, parking brake, and headlights failed to operate as needed. the instrument panel light failed to illuminate, the gear shifter did not displa…”
2015-12-29 · Service Brakes · 7,900 mi“brake lines are made out of defective materials gm knows they have a problem the lines rust out prematurely . the first one blew out i was backing in a parking space pedal went to the floor. the second one blew at a traffic light pushed on the brake went thru the red light dodged traffic .the third on the interstate traffic was stopping suddenly pu…”
2015-09-03 · Service Brakes · 86,000 mi“when traveling at low speeds, >5mph, the abs activates and vehicle continues on to the point of entering traffic. this occurs frequently and without warning, at stop signs and even just pulling out of private driveway into traffic. my local mechanic ran a diagnostic test and indicated that a front speed sensor was at fault. after investigating nume…”
2015-08-04 · Engine · 90,000 mi“while driving at 65 mph the engine cut out. could be the crankshaft position sensor. the truck is a 2500 with an 8.1l engine. similar issues that the 2001 was recalled for. same engine and cps as the 2001 but not included in the original recall. this has happened several times at various speeds. …”
2015-01-07 · Service Brakes · 93,000 mi“while driving my truck and towing a trailer, i lost almost all my braking power. had to down shift and use the emergency brake to stop. found that a brake line from the master cylinder to the anti-lock brake module (which is mounted under the drivers seat, great place) had rusted through and blew out. found all the brake lines are severely corroded…”
2014-11-25 · Service Brakes · 67,880 mi“brake pedal went to the floor upon braking. had to downshift to low gear and apply what little brake i had left taking approximately 200 feet to stop. luckily there was no vehicle in front of me or it would have been a rear end collision. slowly returned home about a mile away and upon further inspection found the hard brake line right front passen…”
2014-11-13 · Service Brakes · 95,000 mi“applied brakes to stop and pedal went to floor. upon inspection found brake line ruptured due to excessive corrosion. vehicle required 100% replacement of all brake lines. *tr…”
2014-10-28 · Air Bags · 145,000 mi · 💥 crash“clear dry day. accident occurred when vehicle his a side of a building. air bags did not deploy resulting in injury. *tr…”
2014-10-25 · Service Brakes · 106,000 mi · 💥 crash“the brake line that goes the length of the truck from the front to the rear brakes corroded through and resulted in the failure of the brakes on my truck. i had to steer off the road and into some brush and a drainage ditch to stop the vehicle and avoid hitting cars in front of me. *tr…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.