What breaks most · 2000 to 2013 model years
Chevrolet Avalanche problems by year
Owners have filed 1,673 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Chevrolet Avalanche across model years 2000 to 2013. Three years stand out: 2002 for brakes (hydraulic) complaints, 2007 for air bags complaints and 2003 for brakes complaints. The quietest years are 2000, 2001 and 2006.
- Years to check closely: 2002, 2007, 2003
- Fewest complaints: 2000, 2001, 2006
- Complaints on file
- 16732000 to 2013, all trims
- Worst year
- 2002442 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 7510 fires · 75 injuries · 3 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 65kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 45Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 0 | Brakes (hydraulic) (1) | |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | Engine and cooling (1) | |
| 442 | 38 | 4 | Brakes (hydraulic) (115) | |
| 204 | 10 | 6 | Brakes (51) | |
| 164 | 6 | 6 | Electrical system (60) | |
| 70 | 2 | 3 | Electrical system (21) | |
| 11 | 1 | 1 | Powertrain and transmission (4) | |
| 286 | 5 | 4 | Air bags (163) | |
| 186 | 6 | 4 | Air bags (88) | |
| 53 | 3 | 5 | Air bags (27) | |
| 89 | 0 | 4 | Air bags (45) | |
| 104 | 2 | 3 | Air bags (42) | |
| 25 | 2 | 3 | Unknown or other (12) | |
| 35 | 0 | 2 | Unknown or other (16) |
What fails on the 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 26% |
115 | 12 | Shop all brakes (hydraulic) parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Body and structureDoors, latches and body hardware | 15% |
67 | 1 | Shop all body and structure parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| BrakesBrake pads, rotors and calipers | 12% |
53 | 5 | Shop all brakes parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Parking Brake | 8% |
37 | 0 | — |
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 8% |
35 | 0 | Shop all engine and cooling parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Tires | 8% |
34 | 1 | — |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 5% |
24 | 0 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Air bags | 5% |
22 | 21 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
As i was slowing to down to park at a bank, brake peddle went right to the floor with almost a complete lose of braking. Proceeded directly to a repair shop. I was informed that due to severe rust on underside of vehicle, all brake lines needed to be replaced as one had blown.
-
The dashboard has numerous cracks that will send shrapnel flying when the airbags deploy. The pieces of the dash could be deadly in an accident with propelled by the force of the airbag.
-
Brake line failure: i had a ruptured steel break line failure while applying normal breaking pressure on the pedal. After further inspection of break lines, i found all break lines were rusted and in danger of also rupture.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 30, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Chevrolet Avalanche years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2002, 2007, 2003 carry the most filings on the Chevrolet Avalanche. The 2002 alone has 442 complaints, led by brakes (hydraulic).
What is the most common Chevrolet Avalanche problem?
On the 2002 model year, the most-reported component is brakes (hydraulic) with 115 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Chevrolet Avalanche problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Chevrolet Avalanche complaints that include mileage is about 65,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.