2006 Chevrolet Avalanche 1500 problems
NHTSA has received 63 complaints about the 2006 Chevrolet Avalanche 1500, and 16% of them involve brakes. Next are drivetrain & axles (14%) and air bags (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 63 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 16% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 6 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 2 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 83,000 miles 48 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 10 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 3 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 3 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 5 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 9 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 1 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 6 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 7 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 4 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 48 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 83,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 6 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 2 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2006 ranks 8th most-complained-about out of 10 model years of the Chevrolet Avalanche 1500 with enough data (24 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
I was recently involved in an accident where I passed out while operating my vehicle. I believe that carbon monoxide poisoning was the contributing factor that caused this accident. Faulty exhaust manifold fasteners seems to be an issue that could have caused this accident. I was shocked to see that there is no recall for this problem. I have incurred numerous personal expenses due to the accident, but feel lucky that there were no serious injuries or fatalities.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet avalanche. The contact stated that while starting the ignition, a strong burning odor emitted inside of the vehicle. The contact noticed that the heater blower wire harness and resistor melted. The contact replaced the resistor personally but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet avalanche 1500. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 55 MPH, there was smoke coming from the vehicle and it suddenly caught on fire without warning. The fire department extinguished the fire. The contact did not disclose if a police/fire report was filed or not. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was deemed destroyed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 147,000.
I backed out of my driveway stopped my truck like always put it in d to drive heard a loud clunk noise and now I have 1 and 2 gear only to use the truck was stationary was on a main road I changed the transmission fluid screens filters everything flushed it out and still the same thing a lot of people are saying it's the sprag unit I have no idea what that is I have only hauled a few things with it when we were moving we only moved eight miles down the road used a trailer and the tow gear that is on the truck.
Driving down the road the truck engine will be running with no abnormal sounds, smells, leaks but will act as if not in gear. Rpm's will rev but truck will not move. Only after putting truck in park (lots of grinding noises) then pressing the 4wheel button then back to 2wheel (sometimes through two cycles) the truck will back into gear and operate properly. Took it to a transmission shop put it on the diagnostic machine and no error codes were given to give reason why the transfer case disengages randomly.