Problems with 2003 Chevrolet Avalanche 1500 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Instrument panel has stopped working. none of the gauges work. start vehicle no gauges move. drive and no gauges move, including speedometer

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet avalanche 1500. while driving 60 mph, the vehicle failed to accelerate. the instrument panel gauges fluctuated independently and several warning indicators illuminated. the vehicle also stalled. the contact was able to restart the vehicle, but the failure recurred multiple times. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the vehicle had electrical issues. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. the approximate failure mileage was 230,000.

I was driving approximately 15 to 20 mph down a hill that was curvy and all of a sudden my truck completely shuts off as i was driving down the hill and almost went into a ditch because the truck just shut off while in drive and luckily i was quick enough to put it in neutral so i could steer it away from the ditch and i turned the ignition over and luckily it turned on while in neutral otherwise i would of crashed into the ditch. then it shut off again about 30 seconds after and luckily i was able to put it in neutral again so i could steer and coast down the hill because it wouldn't start up the second time when it all shut off. i was stranded at the bottom of the hill near a light so i tried to start it again and it would keep trying to turn over but wouldn't start again. i was stranded in the middle of the road and had to call aaa to tow my avalanche to my house. this could of killed me if i wasn't quick enough to figure out to put it in neutral to be able to steer. there should be a recall on whatever made this happen and i still don't know what is wrong with it because it happened late last night and i was looking for recalls and it doesn't show anything on this. *tr

My speedometer and several gauges have been acting erratically for months, and now the speedometer battery gauge, and the oil pressure gauge have stopped working completely. in researching the problem, i have found out that there was a recall to fix this problem several years ago. i never received notice of this recall. i have lived in the same location since 2001, but have never been notified of the recall. if there was a recall affecting the instrument panel, i would have taken it in. why didn't chevrolet notify all owners? *tr

Rattle form the a/c belt tension-er when accelerating. have changed multiple new tension-ers and there is still the rattle from the belt tensioner. i have found a tsb on the a/c compressor that leads to the issue. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet avalanche 1500. the contact stated that the speedometer failed to provide accurate speed readings. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who confirmed that the instrument cluster needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was contacted and the vehicle was repaired. the failure mileage was 90,000 and the current mileage was 108,965.

During trip from nc->tx->fl->tx i was stopped for speeding (75 in 60 on i-10 in la) -- i do *not* knowingly speed. i began watching my speed to try to understand why this happened. the problem repeated several times on this trip, and i was able to record a number of photos of the precise problem. after driving for more than a couple of hours (probably why i never noticed this before), the speedometer will begin a very slow drift downward. since i had been on 70mph roads for quite some time, i apparently adjusted my speed control up to maintain what i thought was 70. then, when i reached iberville parish in la, i noticed the speed limit was now 60; but when i looked down, the speedometer was close enough to 60 that i didn't realize anything was wrong until a trooper flagged me down. in no position to argue, i was puzzled -- until i reached tx when i noticed the speedometer dropping ever so slowly. i had no real idea of my speed, so i just stayed with traffic. a few days later, on the tx->fl leg, the problem resumed after a few hours. this time, i got the idea to start the gps on my blackberry phone. surprise! my real speed was definitely faster than indicated. so i began taking pictures of the speedometer and phone. i have a series of photos proving the failure. what is also interesting is that stopping and turning off the engine for a moment, the speedometer started working again for a while. ############### over a year ago, i had a one-time issue with the speedometer. it indicated much faster than i was going -- maybe 50 while stopped. when restarting the engine, i noticed the needle "stepping" backwards for less than a second. out of curiosity, i stopped and started the engine about 8 times -- each time the needle stepped backwards a few mph, until it eventually fully retracted back to 0 and worked fine until this long trip. *tr

I purchased a used as-is 2003 chevy avalanche 1500 and i didn't notice until a couple of hours later that the speedometer wasn't working. i don't when it failed. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet avalanche 1500. while driving approximately 55 mph, the contact noticed the entire instrument panel and gauges failed to operate. the vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. the contact stated the instrument panel cluster would need to be replaced. the manufacturer was notified of the defect. the approximate failure mileage was 200,000... updated 08-07-12 *bf

I was driving my truck and the speedometer was reading 60 and when i look down again it was reading 120. i stop and started again then i realize that it was not reading now. my fuel, rpm, oil pressure gauges stop also. i had a mechanic look at it and they said it was the cluster. i research and i notice that all these vehicle is having the same problems. i think that chevy should be responsible for this defective item. i brought this truck new and i didn't think that i would be having any problems like this. i replaced the part but guess what, its doing the same thing after six months. now the door chime will not stop when the door is close and while im driving so i don't drive it. *tr

Speedometer quit working. *tr

Speedometer failed on my sons 2003 chevy avalanche. read where this is a prevalent problem. why in the world has this not been the subject of a recall. i am reporting this to congress. *tr

The temperature is not functioning. the gauge did a 360 rotation and stuck in the final position. i have seen some web posting which say people have received a recall and my make/year are listed, but i do not see the recall listed on your site. is this a recall item? *tr

Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6) my 2003 chevy avalanche z-66 has just now developed speedometer problems and i am sorry it is a safety issue and concern but general motors has brushed it off as no case closed. my speedometer started acting weird,it only works for short distance driving then either shows last speed obtained or zero. my example for gm is this: no other gm vehicle i purchase ever had this problem and even though you may not think of it as a safety issue perhaps you might rethink this thought by getting into a vehicle where the speedometer sporadically works then stops working all together while you are driving. perhaps gm can tell me how they would/could tell the speed they are going when this happens 0 reading so that i can tell the law enforcement personnel who pulled me over for speeding or driving under the limit that i tried to judge my speed but my gm speedometer stopped working and gm said it wasn't a safety issue. it's a defect and gm has a limit of 70,000-80,000 miles or 7 years which ever occurs first...this is a cop out. i even wrote and addressed an email to [xxx]to no avail. i would like to copy and paste my letter so that you will see that i am seeking a free repair/ replacement including free labor for a new ipc. it is a defect they admit and it is a safety issue and concern that affects many vehicles besides mine no matter how many miles the vehicle has on it. god..this is an american car company, have they not learned anything about loyalty? *tr

I believe the same problem with the gm key/ignition switch is more common then what is being reported. the avalanche 2003 has had the same loose ignition switch for years. our key system has to be jiggled and forced to the start position 80 percent of the time. the ignition switch will also move the off position while the vehicle is moving and the key will fall out.

Speedometer stopped working. *tr

Speedometer stuck at 52 while stopped. will not accurately measure rate of speed. speedometer zero's at 52. odometer appears to function correctly. no apparent cause other than defective equipment. car make: chevrolet year: 2003. model: avalanche 1500 4 door. mileage 102,000. *tr

When driving my chevrolet 2003 avalanche my speedometer would stick and eventually fall to zero. after further investigation i have found that a majority of this model from 2003 -2004 have this problem. *tr

Speedometer on 2003 chevrolet avalanche not working, stuck at 120mph. i consider this a safety issue. other cluster gauges -- tachometer and fuel gauge -- have also failed. complete cluster needs to be replaced. gm will not correct problem because it is out of warranty. there was a tsb issued by gm to repair the cluster. however, the tsb only requires gm to repair vehicles (at their expense) with less than 70k miles. my vehicle has over 110 miles. is this problem any less of a safety issue for me than it is for those with less than 70k miles? gm is charging $500 to repair the most important instrument in the car. speedometer failure is clearly a safety issue that should be corrected. the vehicle?s mileage should not be a determining factor as to whether gm or the owner have to pay for the repair. a speedometer should last for the expected life of the vehicle, not just 70k miles. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet avalanche 1500. the contact stated that while driving at approximately 65 mph, the speedometer seemed to be defective. the speedometer failed periodically which caused the cruise control to fail. the vehicle had not been inspected but the dealer, when called, stated that the contact would be responsible for any repair expenses. the contact called the manufacturer who offered no assistance. the failure mileage was approximately 130,000. the current mileage was approximately 155,000.

2003 chevy avalanche caught on fire from defective wires behind radio panel that shorted. burned all the wiring and smoked the vehicle. *tr

Engine stalls shortly after starting. unable to get any response after the initial stall (it would not crack). battery cables must be disconnected from the battery and reconnected after two to three minutes in order to restart the vehicle. no engine trouble code displayed after the incident. *tr

Speedometer on 2003 chevrolet avalanche not working, stuck at 120mph. complete cluster needs to be replaced. i never received any recall notice after purchasing vehicle in 2003. gm will not correct problem because it is out of warranty. *tr

I own a 2003 chevrolet avalanche, my speedometer is stuck at 50 mph, i cannot accurately gauge my speed, i also have a service air bag light that will not go off. these are some serious safety issues and a recall should be issued. *tr

Www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov. *tr

I have 79,000 miles on my 03 avalanche and about a month ago the speedometer started failing at around 78,000 miles. researched this problem online and found there was a fix for this defect up to 70,000 miles or 7 years. was told i would have to pay for it myself! why!! this is a safety defect that shouldn't have a mileage or year stipulation on it!! if you read all the complaints, this happens over the 70,000 or 7 years stipulation with many other owners!!! i've owned many trucks and never had a speedo or cluster problem!! this should be recalled with no mileage or year restraints on it!! very dissatisfied customers out there about this!! this is a safety issue defect that the consumer shouldn't have to pay for!! *tr

My speedometer isn't working properly. it gets stuck while i drive and i don't know the speed of my truck when i drive and i seen that this is a known issue to chevrolet. *tr

Speedometer does not read zero while vehicle is stopped. it reads approximately 60 mph. *tr

While driving my 2003 chevrolet avalanche z66 the speedometer stops & starts working. i feel this is of great concern for my safety as well as the others around me. i visited my local dealer only to find that will be covered under a recall as long as i have under 70,000 miles. i have exceeded the mileage and am expected to pay an estimated $1000.00 to repair the problem. this is a non-wear & tear item that should be covered by chevy despite mileage. *tr

The speedometer on my 2003 avalanche sticks at random points and then indicates an incorrect speed which is very unsafe. for example it will stick at 45 mph and then increase from there as the vehicle sped is increased. or it may slip to some other indicated speed from one moment to the next. very unsafe. i checked the internet and this problem is being talked about by many, many consumers. i believe that you should issue a recall to require gm (chevrolet) to fix this problem. thank you. *tr

2003 avalanche speedometer fluctuates. *tr

At approximately 91k miles the speedometer began to intermittently fail, then at approx. 96k miles, the tachometer began having the same issues. i've noticed on multiple bulletins where hundreds to thousands of people are having this same issue and we're all curious to know why gm has not been instructed to issue a recall. gm has stated (via customer service reps) that knowing your speed is not a safety concern. i pose the question then, why do we have speed limits? of course your speed is a very important safety concern or it wouldn't be regulated. they need to replace these defective products they've put on the road & reimburse those that have already paid to have the repairs completed. putting a mileage limit on this issue is absurd considering that most people experiencing this issue either got the letter from gm after the 70k mile mark or don't experience the defect until afterwards. since when does safety have a mileage limit? *tr

The instrument panel to include the speedometer, oil pressure, and battery gauge have stopped working on my 2003 chevrolet avalanche. being unable to tell the speed of my vehicle is a safety issue that i have been unable to get gm to resolve. the vehicle has not been involved in any type of accident the speedometer just started going from 10 miles per hour to 100 miles per hour. i called gm service, went to the local dealership and called the dealership where the vehicle was purchased. i received no help even when i tried to explain that not being able to tell the speed of the vehicle was a problem. *tr

All of a sudden i realize that my speedometer is not working and other gauges on my panel are not working correctly. i can not understand why there are only complaints and no defect investigations on this website. since this is a safety issue i would have though there to be more of a concern. thus we question why there are so many deaths on our highways. i also received a service issue from chevrolet but my avalanche is over the mileage specified. like many of the other complaints i read. there is an obvious defect with the part so why is the no investigation? does someone have to die first? *tr

The speedometer will stop working after a short time of driving. the needle will either slowly fall to zero or not work all together. cruise control is not affected by this failure. chevy has issued a warranty extension, but it ends at 70k miles. my truck has 78k. i would like a recall to be issued after reading that many other owners of the same model truck are reporting the same problem. *tr

My 2003 chevy avalanche has a known defect with the instrument cluster. all gauges on the vehicle can stop functioning without notice. this results in the driver begin unable to see the vehicles speed or any other information about the vehicle including what gear the vehicle is in or even whether the vehicle is in "park". in my case the gauges failed during a snow storm in colorado, which made difficult driving conditions much more dangerous. this is a serious safety issue which could result in both injury and property damage. apart from the obvious issue of not seeing essential vehicle information, drivers could inadvertently put their vehicle in the wrong gear such as reverse rather than park. gm acknowledges that this is a know defect with these vehicles but refuses to correct it unless the vehicle has less than 70,000 miles. gm represents that your office concurs with their approach, which would be a surprise to me since this is not a wear part, is known defect with these vehicles, and presents s serious safety issue. gm has certainly done a calculation is exclude as many vehicles as possible from their proposed "fix" and is appallingly unconcerned about the safety risks associated with this defect. *tr

Just driving my truck to work and the speedometer just quit working now when driving you never know how fast you are going it might stop at 50mph and the next time you drive it will start from there i have not yet had this serviced as i feel this is a major safety issue, and apparently it is a well known problem with chevy's but they will not stand behind it. i have even gotten a speeding ticket over this . *tr

Speedometer failure on 03 chevy avalanche. apparently there was a lawsuit against gm because they used inferior parts within the instrument cluster that are prone to fail. they have since settled the suit in late 2007 and agreed to fix all vehicles with less than 70k miles. however, what about the rest of us with more than 70k miles that are driving without a speedometer because gm is charging $500 to repair the most important instrument in the car, the one that should last the life of the vehicle according to the lawsuit...... i've even gone so far as to try to find the parts for the speedometer, but they are not available. you have to purchase the entire instrument cluster as a unit. if that is not enough, i can purchase the cluster for $275 and install it myself, but the unit has to be programmed to the vehicle in order to work. this programming will cost $150.00 by the dealership. so basically, gm has everyone in my situation hostage for negligence on their part. it is only a matter of time before i get a speeding ticket or worse, hurt somebody in an auto accident because i am not aware of my speed of travel. *tr

I have a 03 chevy avalanche and the speedo is not functioning properly. it does not register the right mph on the gauge, sometimes it registers at different speeds example is that when you are doing the speed limit it will register 120 mph and when you are stopped it says your are going 50 mph. this is a product defect and i think gm should recall this problem. the only thing that they have done is extend the warranty on this to 70,000 miles, so if you are over this mileage then you have to buy a new cluster for 300+ dollars. this is not right gm should stand good for their defect...they have recognized this problem by extending the warranty so they know this is a problem and should stand good for it. *tr

Speedometer started sticking, wouldn't reset to 0, shows between 40 - 80 mph when sitting still. *cn

Shortly after 75, 000 miles the speedometer in my 2003 chevrolet avalanche started to register incorrect readings. at a idle it would register that i was going 60 mph. at approximately 65 mph it would register that i was going 0 mph. there was no rhyme or reason. *tr

Problems with instrument cluster. speedometer stuck at 30. other problems have occurred with oil pressure reading incorrectly. today, the speedometer is stuck at 30 and it won't move. *tr

My speedometer in my chevrolet avalanche has started to malfunction. it will often read 40 mph when at idle and during driving speeds on the freeway it extends much over 120 mph and will stick there as i decelerate. this has caused me to get multiple speeding tickets as i have no accurate reading of my speed. i called the local chevrolet dealership as well as gm direct and they stated that since it was not a defect that is related to "safety" issues that they have not recalled it and expect upwards of 400$ for a replacement gauge cluster. there are numerous other consumers throughout the internet who have reported identical problems with this same vehicle. *tr

I have a 2003 chevy avalanche. it has about 70,000 miles on it. just last week the speedometer started going haywire. it will read anywhere from 20 to 60 mph when stopped. when driving it will read anywhere from 70 to 110 mph. it is constantly changing so there is no way of knowing how fast you are really going. it is very dangerous to drive if you do not know haw fast you are going. i looked all over the internet to see if it was something simple i could fix. there seems to be alot of people with the same problems not only with the avalanche but with gm models in general for the 2003-2006 years. if it is such a problem there should be a recall. i will be printing the complaint forums and taking it to the dealer to see what they will do. *tr

I have a 2003 chevrolet avalanche that i purchased new from the dealer. it has approximately 104,000 miles on it. the problem is that my speedometer is acting erratically. some times it will say i am doing 120 mph on the highway or city street and sometimes it will not move at all. when i turn off my vehicle, it is often stuck at some speed such as 65mph. i can hear a physical grinding noise in the speedometer itself. this does not seem to adversely affect the odometer. i cannot reliably tell what speed i'm going, and my vehicle will not pass the texas state inspection with this problem. i contacted the dealer, and was told by the service advisor that this was extremely common, but that there is no recall. they said it will cost over 500.00 to fix this problem. i researched it on the internet and found literally hundreds of cases of this exact same problem. i pointed this out, and the dealer said basically that chevrolet will not address this issue. *tr

Speedometer started jumping all over until it finally quit one week later. *tr

All the gauges on my tec are going crazy. you can not tell how fast you are going or how much gas you have left or if your oil is okay or if your radiator is hot or not. gm sent a letter advising they had extended the warranty to 7 year or 70,000 miles, guess what my avalanche is 80,000 and they will not fix it. *tr

Faulty speedometer and gas gauge. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet avalanche 1500. while driving approximately 30 mph, the speedometer displayed 100 mph. the contact stated that the speedometer decreased from 100 to approximately 5 to 10 mph. the failure has occurred several times since september of 2007. the vehicle has not been repaired. the current mileage was 50,000 and failure mileage was 48,000.

Since purchasing this truck on 02/01/2007, there have been multiple problems with the transmission, engine, and electrical system that have not gotten resolved, however they do seem to get worse. the worst of these problems has occurred while driving on the northeast extension of the pennsylvania turnpike. while attempting to pass another vehicle in the left lane the engine "shut off". i was doing approx. 60-65 mph when this occurred during the am rush hour. after losing engine power i somehow made it safely to the right hand shoulder and let the truck "coast" to a stop. the power steering was not working, nor were the power brakes. after finally stopping, the truck did restart and i slowly continued on my way to work. the truck was taken to a dealership, and for almost (2) weeks the truck sat there while they tried to figure this out. after getting the truck back, the same problem occurred, and it went back to the same dealership. since then it has been ok, except i have lost dashboard lights, radio lights, and also the cruise control indicator light, they claim other problems, however these issues were never a problem before they worked on the truck. now i have air-bag lights flash at me while driving, and the transmission is slipping, this was the first problem with the truck that i reported on 03/14/2007 to the dealership that i purchased this truck from. i have already paid over $1500.00 i repair costs, only to have them tell me it will cost approx. another $800.00-$1000.00 to correct the air-bag, and transmission issues. these should be covered by my warranty, except the dealership insists i pay for the repairs. i have paid enough, and i am at my wit's end with this truck, and the dealership. i feel that i can no longer "safely" drive my family around in this truck, and i still have many years of payments left. ( i have never been late on a payment) please help me, i feel as though i have been sold a "money pit". *tr