Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| PARKING BRAKE | |||
| 02/20/2011 | 15000 | ||
| 2002 chevy avalanche parking/emergency brake issue. its inspection sticker time again and for the 7th year in a row i am dumping my wallet into the e brake. i understand stuff needs to be replaced over time but this is not right. this year all new cables and new adjustment screw kit....and behold still no holding power need new shoes again. this for something that is never needed in practical sense. | |||
| 12/03/2010 | |||
| Emergency brakes continue to fail although rarely used. repairs never last. it is impossible to repair a design flaw. nhtsa is just like the sec in that they have dropped the ball on this one. this is a very,very common failure on the avalanche. the emergency brake is now called a parking brake on the complaint form and most people stop at brake,hydraulic instead of scrolling further down. the form should have the selection---brake,emergency , but it doesn't. therefore , there is no emergency. | |||
| 04/30/2010 | 25000 | ||
| 2002 chevy avalanche, parking brake wears out and fail with out being used. replaced under warranty and it failed again within 3 months, has not worked since. i feel my safety is at risk, but cannot afford to repair every 3 months. | |||
| 12/27/2009 | 134700 | ||
| At the end of december, we were traveling down the highway at approximately 55 mph. i went to apply my brakes and the pedal went completely to the floor. i realized that i had no brakes. i down shifted and coasted to the nearest garage. after a thorough investigation, the mechanic informed me that the entire brake system needed replaced. at a hefty price, i replaced it all. the old parts are not available. | |||
| 03/04/2010 | 20000 | 1 | |
| Parking brake fails to hold vehicle in any attitude. system is poorly designed and is typical of gm suvs and light trucks. system design and execution is a safety hazard. *tr | |||
| 06/23/2009 | 160000 | 1 | |
| My emergency brake failed almost causing my car to roll into traffic. the emergency brake should be there when you need it. *tr | |||
| 11/18/2003 | 15000 | 1 | |
| The parking brake has not worked since 2003 on my 2002 avalanche which has 53000 miles on it . had it checked out and could not find the cause. *tr | |||
| 11/01/2007 | 92000 | 1 | |
| Parking brake failure - does not work - due to premature corrosion technician at dealer stated this is a common problem with the avalanche. the cost to repair the parking brake and all the affected parts is approx. $ 600.00. technician stated this should be a recalled item. *tr | |||
| 12/03/2007 | 58602 | 1 | 09/03/2002 |
| I was refused an annual inspection because of no emergency brake. i was then informed that 2002 series of chevrolet truck had a common problem with emergency brake failure. i was then told chevrolet did a silent recall on trucks with a standard transmission and paid for the repairs. however i have an automatic transmission and the repairs cost $525.88. also i was told to set the brake to insure that it wouldn't fail in the future. nothing in owners manual tells you to set em. brake so it wouldn't wear out by not being set in order to keep it aligned to prevent wear. *tr | |||
| 12/27/2007 | 3 | ||
| General motors service bulletin #02-05-26-002 2002-2003 chevrolet avalanche 1500 series models i have this problem and gm or the dealership tells me 'tough luck' this is !@#$% and they need to address this parking brake issue!!! every repair person i take to knows about this issue so it's not something obscure!! *tr | |||
| 01/28/2007 | 1 | 01/26/2007 | |
| Tl*- the contact stated that the 2002 chevrolet avalanche had parking brake shoe. problems. the contact stated that the rear shield came off and had exposed the parking brake shield to the elements. the emergency brake pad wore out, and the emergency brake didn't work. the contact replaced all of the brakes in the vehicle. the contact had the emergency brake adjusted, and the service mechanic stated that this is not common with the avalanche vehicles. *ak | |||
| 09/22/2002 | 1500 | 1 | 09/16/2002 |
| Failure was/is inevitable. parking brake shoes are poorly secured, they are allowed to float inside of hat of rotor. drivers side has the retaining clip oriented (upside down) where the floating brake shoe is kept in contact with hat area of rotor by gravity at all times. what is worse, is that the area of the shoe having no pad is in contact. this caused the metallic portion of the shoe to grind over a 1/4 into hat area of rotor. bought new and after 1 month, emergency brakes failed, had to rely on transmission in park. dealership said i must use emergency brakes frequently to keep adjusted...not true, there is no adjustment w/o pulling rotor off. *nm | |||
| 10/01/2005 | 0 | 1 | 12/25/2001 |
| Alot of squeezing in parking brakes. parking brakes didn't work, check breaks, rt. brake pad burnt out. release system doesn't release. had to remove pads. i am currently driving around w/o emergency brake ring pads. *nm | |||
| 07/15/2006 | 4 | ||
| Parking brake doesn't work. *nm | |||
| 10/25/2005 | 45000 | 2 | 01/05/2003 |
| The parking brake on my 2002 avalanche has corroded. the chevy dealership wants $500.00 to fix it. gm has changed the parts, which requires a complete change of the entire parking brake system. this is a defect that should have been recalled. *nm | |||