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2009 Chevrolet Avalanche Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 76 complaints with NHTSA about the 2009 Chevrolet Avalanche, most often about the air bags (54% of complaints, typically around 75,500 miles). It is 9th of 14 Avalanche model years by number of complaints and has 5 recalls.
Most common 2009 Chevrolet Avalanche problems
Air bags
41 complaints · 54%Half of these problems showed up before 75,500 miles.
Gm has not made parts available to complete this repair. Their website says the NHTSA is still reviewing the need, so no action on their part is planned. Please get gm to complete the repairs on their vehicles.
Instrument panel "airbag" warning light (red continuously on) illuminated. After first incident initial engine ignition start bit (built in test) clears airbag fault for no more than 1 minute every start sequence at which time it triggers a "red dash warning icon light." I took vehicle to dealer who claimed necessary…
Other or unspecified
28 complaints · 37%Half of these problems showed up before 62,000 miles.
I have two cracks in my dash, one at the top left corner of the passenger air bag and one over the instrument cluster. I also have broken supports in the front section of the dash. This is a known issue that is documented on a facebook page called "07-13 gm cracked dash safety hazard for all trucks". This is a safety…
Dash is cracked by the passenger front airbag. Truck only has 72k miles but dash cracked previous to 50k miles. I believe this crack could either cause shards from the dash or the airbag to fail if deployed.
Body and structure
8 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 69,000 miles. Parts named most often: body, interior panels.
The dash on my 2009 Chevrolet Avalanche has cracked in two places. One over the gauge cluster and one crack over the passenger air bag. This problem has affected more 2007 + silverados, tahoes, avalanches , escalades and more. If the passenger air bag deploys with the broken dash, it will send plastic shards flying…
I have the same safety concern many other owners are having. My dashboard is cracked in multiple spots, mainly around the airbag and instrument cluster. I believe this would affect the airbag from deploying properly or send sharp pieces of the dashboard into the cabin if impacted. I have contacted gm several times…
Speed control
4 complaints · 5%The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Avalanche. While the contact was stopped with the vehicle in drive the vehicle suddenly accelerated without warning causing the contact to crash into a garage door. The acceleration could only be stopped by placing the vehicle into the park gear. The vehicle was taken to the…
Cracked, broken dashboard. Cracked in 2 corners of the passenger air bag. Crack goes all the way across to the drivers side. A section around the speaker has completely broke off. Cruise control no longer workers. Some speakers work sometimes, other times other ones work. Makes horrible rattling sound. Dealership says…
Electrical
4 complaints · 5%The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Avalanche. The contact stated that while driving approximately 75 MPH the vehicle stalled, then automatically restarted independently. All of the warning lights in the vehicle illuminated after the failure and the door locks began erratically functioning. The vehicle was taken to the…
Especially when ignition key switch is engaged it will stick and cause the starting motor to remain engaged requiring turning the switch back to off position then trying to restart the vehicle. Being careful not to hold the ignition switch key in the position necessary to engage the starter any longer than absolutely…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2009 Chevrolet Avalanche recalls
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on february 23, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on september 20, 2021. Owners may contact chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, and gmc customer service at 1-800-462-8782. Gm's number for this recall is n212328780.
Full defect summary
General motors, llc (gm) is recalling certain 2009 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext, chevrolet avalanche, silverado 1500, silverado 2500, silverado 3500, suburban, tahoe, gmc sierra 1500, sierra 2500, sierra 3500, yukon, and yukon xl vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of arizona, arkansas, delaware, district of columbia, illinois, indiana, kansas, kentucky, maryland, missouri, nebraska, nevada, new jersey, new mexico, north carolina, ohio, oklahoma, pennsylvania, tennessee, virginia, and west virginia or "zone b." additionally, gm is recalling certain 2007-2008 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, and escalade ext, chevrolet avalanche, silverado 1500, suburban, tahoe, gmc sierra 1500, yukon, and yukon xl vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of alaska, colorado, connecticut, idaho, iowa, maine, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, mo
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on february 22, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on march 1, 2021. Owners may contact chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; and gmc customer service at 1-800-462-8782. Gm's number for this recall is n212328760.
Full defect summary
General motors, llc (gm) is recalling certain 2007-2011 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext, chevrolet avalanche, silverado 1500, suburban, tahoe, gmc sierra 1500, yukon, yukon xl, and 2009-2011 chevrolet silverado 2500, silverado 3500, gmc sierra 2500 and sierra 3500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of alabama, california, florida, georgia, hawaii, louisiana, mississippi, south carolina, texas, puerto rico, american samoa, guam, the northern mariana islands (saipan), and the u.s. Virgin islands or "zone a." additionally, gm is recalling certain 2007-2008 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext, chevrolet avalanche, silverado 1500, suburban, tahoe, gmc sierra 1500, yukon, yukon xl vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of arizona, arkansas, delaware, district of columbia, illinois, indiana, kansas, kentucky, maryland, missou
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on february 24, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on may 11, 2021. Owners may contact cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; and gmc customer service at 1-800-462-8782. Gm's number for this recall is n212328790.
Full defect summary
General motors, llc (gm) is recalling certain 2013 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, and escalade ext, chevrolet avalanche, silverado 1500, silverado 2500/3500, suburban, tahoe, gmc sierra 1500, sierra 2500/3500, yukon, and yukon xl vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of alabama, california, florida, georgia, hawaii, louisiana, mississippi, south carolina, texas, puerto rico, american samoa, guam, the northern mariana islands (saipan), and the u.s. Virgin islands or "zone a." additionally, gm is recalling certain 2010 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, and escalade ext, chevrolet avalanche, silverado 1500, silverado 2500/3500, suburban, tahoe, gmc sierra 1500, sierra 2500/3500, yukon, and yukon xl vehicles originally sold, or ever registered in the states of arizona, arkansas, delaware, district of columbia, illinois, indiana, kansas, kentucky, maryland, missouri, ne
Electrical: electrical system
Risk: It is possible for the heated washer module to ignite and a fire may occur.
Fix: Dealers will permanently disable and remove the heated washer fluid module. An updated page for the owner manual will be provided and inserted in the owner manual to document that the feature has been permanently disabled and removed from the vehicle. The safety recall began on june 11, 2010. Owners may contact buick at 1-866-608-8080, cadillac at 1-866-982-2339, chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, saturn at 1-800-972-8876, gmc at 1-866-996-9463 and hummer at 1-800-732-5493 or at the owner center at www.gmownercenter.com.
Full defect summary
Gm is recalling certain model year 2006-2009 buick, lucerne; cadillac dts; hummer h2; model year 2008-2009 buick enclave; cadillac cts; model year 2007-2009 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl; saturn outlook; and model year 2009 chevrolet traverse vehicles equipped with a heated washer fluid system (hwfs). A recall was implemented in 2008 to add a fuse to the control circuit harness to address the potential consequences of a printed circuit board (pcb) electrical short. However, there have been new reports of thermal incidents on hwfs modules after this improvement was installed. These incidents resulted from a new failure mode attributed to the device's thermal protection feature. The significance varies from minor distortion to considerable melting of the plastic around the hwfs fluid chamb
Fuel system: fuel system, gasoline
Risk: Water in the module could cause a short or open circuit, illumination of the service engine soon lamp, setting of diagnostic trouble codes or the engine may be hard to start, may not start or may stall increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will install a new fuel system control module free of charge. The recall began on may 18, 2009. Owners may contact cadillac at 1-866-982-2339, chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438 and gmc at 1-866-996-9463 or at www.gmownercenter.com.
Full defect summary
Gm is recalling 27,188 my 2009 cadillac escalade, escalade hybrid, escalade esv, and escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, suburban, tahoe, tahoe hybrid, and colorado; and gmc yukon, yukon hybrid, yukon xl, and canyon vehicles. The fuel system control modules may have a condition in which an adhesive separation of the room temperature vulcanizing (rtv) seal between the seal and the housing may allow water to seep into the module.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Desiccated air bag inflator rupture
Summary
From 2000 through 2017, takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("psan") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004l. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 blomquist report at www.NHTSA.gov/sites/NHTSA.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substa
Questions about the 2009 Chevrolet Avalanche
- What are the most common problems with the 2009 Chevrolet Avalanche?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: air bags (41 complaints, typically around 75,500 miles); other or unspecified (28 complaints, typically around 62,000 miles); body and structure (8 complaints, typically around 69,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2009 Chevrolet Avalanche have?
- 5 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from February 5, 2021 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2009 a bad year for the Chevrolet Avalanche?
- It is 9th of 14 Avalanche model years by number of complaints, with 76 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.