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Chevrolet Avalanche Problems & Solutions
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Comments
Has anybody found a solution to this problem?
Thanks for your help
was told today there is something wrong in the transfer case. on 3 occasions i have had to take the truck to dealer as the 4x4 service light has come on,they said it was a faulty switch,needed to be re programed,it has had a growling noise from day one i was told the avalanche has alot of road noise thats probably the noise i am hearing ,the auto trac 4x4 also comes on by itself it will switch by itself from 2 wheel drive to auto trac,well now at 49000 miles after complaining several times about the 4x4 its got a problem with transfer case starting at a price range of 700.00 min. to tear down i am gonna fight this one not that i will get anywhere. also this truck has had the speedometer register 90 to 100 mph when you are actually going around 60 it will have a major problem for about three days then go back to normal has happened 3 times so far now that its out of warranty i was told they have had a problem with the cluster but not enough problem to warrant a recall the unit cost about 400 to 450 plus labor. a few other problems to bad they cant get it right the av could be a great truck its very universal.
I have a 2005 Avalanche. When I engage 4 wheel drive high, I get a loud noise from the front end. The noise isn't too bad when the wheels are straight, but when I turn the wheels (even just a bit) I hear a loud noise, almost like something rubbing against something else. I won't use the four wheel drive system until this is checked out because I don't want to damage anything.
I called my dealer, gave him a verbal 'picture' of what was going on, and he said this noise was normal. I disagree. I have had other four wheel drive trucks and have never heard this noise before.
I'm taking the truck to the dealer tomorrow to have it checked out. Has anybody else experienced this with their Avalanche? To better arm myself when I approach my dealer, I'd like to know if any of you have experienced this problem. If so, was there actually a problem which was diagnosed and repaired, or is this a noise I'm going to have to live with?
Thanks! Any replies are much appreciated.
Mark
I am looking at buying a Tahoe and may need a front bumper plastic.
Thanks,
Sean Pendergast
I certainly appreciate your reply. I took my truck to the dealer, and as expected...they said the noise was normal.
When I get off work tonight I'll take a ride in some sand and see how it sounds.
Once again, thanks for your reply.
If you mean a MECHANICAL device, then it depends on what you are talking about.
Most people use them for the diesel vehicles, but i've seen/heard of a few for gas engines.
Well all I can tell you is what I read from the "experts" and they all seem to say the same thing about chips...some work, some don't, and some work but aren't good for your truck.
So how to sort all this out? I think you need to shop carefully, first of all to determine the reputation of the chip vendor, then to ask them HOW they get the performance they claim (are they bumping the timing, or just extending the transmission shift points?) and also how much MPG you might LOSE (I'm a real skeptic about any device that claims to give you more power AND better mpg---that sounds rather contradictory to science).
Then if all this passes muster, I'd try to find someone who has already bought and TESTED the chip over time and get his/her testimonial.
My feeling is that factory engineers are very smart guys and that they don't leave lots of power on the table---and if they do leave a little HP on the table, it's a good idea to find out WHY they didn't add it to the stock vehicle. Most likely answers would be driveability in everyday use, and MPG.
Most people never see the actual posted hp and torque with their vehicles thanks to built in torque management. This retards engine timing with gear changes, gives soft shifts, and other similar tricks. The main reasons for this seem to be related to emissions, driver preference for "soft" shifting, and transmission life.
The 4L60E transmission in current GM trucks is long in the tooth, tracing back to the TH700R4, and wasn't originally designed to handle the power being made by the current crop of V8's. Part of the changes made to allow the bigger engines was softer shifts (reducing the amount of sudden torque load change) and engine retardation during shifts. This also reduces overall fuel efficiency and engine power output.
So, if you don't mind firmer shifts and aren't too "enthusiastic" with your driving you can benefit with a reprogram. You can also shorten your transmissions life if you enjoy yourself too much though.
BTW, GM isn't the only manufacturer doing this. Most of them have similar issues.
I still find it hard to believe that engineers wouldn't leap at the chance to increase MPG by a simple software update. Engineers are DESPERATE for any increase in MPG, so I wonder why they would decline to do this. Makes no sense unless the increase in MPG has some negative effect on something else (like emissions, or engine longevity, etc.).
No one has ever been able to explain this.
Also I'm not always sold on dyno results as there are so many easy ways to cheat a dyno if you are a devious vendor.
You might all find this interesting. Sorry if it's a bit off topic for some of you.
http://www.turbomagazine.com/tech/0402tur_punkdyno/
Interesting tricks with the dyno, btw. :P
There's much more to the story than just increased power output. But I'll try to let things get back on topic here, and just repeat my recommendations to search other truck forums for actual owner experiences. Some have more than just dyno logs (monitoring timing, to demonstrate how hp / torque are chopped by the PCM in some situations, is another example).
Edit: Almost forgot- despite the possible gains (likely 1 - 2 mpg), I haven't done this with my 2004 Silverado. Mostly because I fear that I'd be one of those that can't resist the feeling of extra power and would trash my transmission in a short period of time. I'm fairly certain that doing so voids the warranty.
Have this happened to anybody? How can i corrected? Plese advise !!! Thank you
I too love the looks and the features of the truck. Every year Chevy improves their thoughts. Sunburst Orange is getting many looks. Now I better get a good alarm system before I lose it.
I never plan on getting MPG improvement from it though and if I ever had I hardly noticed it. Same for intake, however you can get a better throttle response with an intake (mainly from an aftermarket tube , not so miuch the filter. FWIW, I just returned from a trek to NY and back. 3600 miles and averaged 21.04. Had a high of 22.1 for two separate fillups. Not bad for a near-3-ton "brick". BTW, We were weren't wasting any time.
I was thinking of adding a Tornado, but I don't know anyone who has one to see if there is a difference in their mpg.
I took the truck in and there seems to be a service bulleting on the front transfercase because the linkage is loose in 2wd. Anyone have any Ideas how to fix, the dealers are worthless. The service manager just told me to live with it.
I also have the same problem. I had an 05 Avalanche and every time I made a turn into a dip the front wheel depending on which wheel went first made a popping noise. I also took it to the dealer 5 times like yourself. They also replaced many items including the steering pump which then made the steering wheel make a hooting noise when turning hard turns. Now the best yet. I got rid of the 05 Z66 and bought an 06 Z66 LT. And guess whay... It does the same thing. I've called GM to no avail. Did you get yours fixed? if so, what did they do?