Open safety recalls, the components owners report failing most often, crash-test results and running costs for the 2008 Chevrolet Avalanche, assembled from NHTSA and EPA records.
Everything on this page applies to the model as a whole. Run its VIN to decode that exact car, its engine, trim, assembly plant and factory equipment, alongside these records.
Open a VIN recordRecalls and complaints are filed against a specific model year, so figures differ from one year to the next even within a single generation. See every Chevrolet Avalanche year.
No EPA fuel-economy match for this model. Naming may differ, or it predates EPA records.
NHTSA lists 4 recalls for this make, model and year. Recalls apply to the model, so some may already be fixed on this specific car. A dealer can confirm from the VIN.
Issue: 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, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger frontal inflators containing phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy: 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.
Campaign 21V052000
Issue: 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, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." These vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger frontal inflators containing phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy: 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.
Campaign 21V050000
Issue: GM IS RECALLING 857,735 MY 2006-2008 BUICK LUCERNE; CADILLAC DTS; HUMMER H2; MY 2007-2008 CADILLAC ESCALADE, ESCALADE ESV, ESCALADE EXT; CHEVROLET AVALANCHE, SILVERADO, SUBURBAN, TAHOE; GMC ACADIA, SIERRA, YUKON, YUKON XL, SATURN OUTLOOK; AND MY 2008 BUICK ENCLAVE VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A HEATED WIPER WASHER FLUID SYSTEM. A SHORT CIRCUIT ON THE PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD FOR THE WASHER FLUID HEATER MAY OVERHEAT THE CONTROL-CIRCUIT GROUND WIRE.
Risk: THIS MAY CAUSE OTHER ELECTRICAL FEATURES TO MALFUNCTION, CREATE AN ODOR, OR CAUSE SMOKE INCREASING THE RISK OF A FIRE.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSTALL A WIRE HARNESS WITH AN IN-LINE FUSE FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 12, 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT BUICK AT 1-866-608-8080; CADILLAC AT 1-800-982-2339 OR HTTP://WWW.CADILLAC.COM; CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438; SATURN AT 1-800-972-8876 OR HTTP://WWW.SATURN.COM, GMC AT 1-866-996-9436; OR HUMMER AT 1-800-732-5493; OR THROUGH THEIR WEBSITE AT <A HREF=HTTP://WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM>HTTP://WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM</A> .
Campaign 08V441000
Issue: 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 CHAMBER.
Risk: IT IS POSSIBLE FOR THE HEATED WASHER MODULE TO IGNITE AND A FIRE MAY OCCUR.
Remedy: 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.
Campaign 10V240000
NHTSA frontal crash test
3 open NHTSA investigations into this model. Investigations come before recalls, so these are potential defects not yet covered by one.
Rated configuration: 2008 Chevrolet Avalanche 4-DR w/SAB
The parts named most often across 295 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this make, model and year.
8 crashes · 10 injured
1 injured
4 injured
1 fire
Complaints are self-reported and skew toward problems people find alarming, so read this as where to look rather than as a defect rate.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Avalanche. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V050000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Avalanche. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and independently turned off. After restarting the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 200,000.
Both air bags deployed for no reason driver and passenger
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Avalanche. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the traction control warning light illuminated, and the vehicle became very unstable and difficult to steer. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the traction control system was faulty and needed to be replacement. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 125,000. The dealership was contacted to inspect the vehicle for issues related to traction control but was denied. The contact also bought the necessary parts in an effort to save money but was denied again by the dealership. The contact is still looking for anyone who will help repair the vehicle.
Dash cracked. A/C and windshield defroster throws pieces of broken dash when it falls in Duct and fan. Dealer inspected. Offered to sell new dash cover and labor to install. dealer referred to manufacturer representative. no warning lights.
The dashboard has started to crack near the airbag. In the event of the airbag being deployed, it could potentially send sharp pieces of plastic flying into the passengers face.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Avalanche. The contact stated upon purchasing the vehicle at the used car dealer, he noticed that the dashboard of the vehicle was cracked and the crack was extending towards the front passenger's side air bag location. There was no warning light illuminated. The used dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that it was a known failure; however the vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure had become significantly worse. The contact contacted an unknown Chevrolet dealer to inquire the cost of a dashboard. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Avalanche. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the driver’s side air bag deployed inadvertently without the vehicle being involved in a crash. The passenger’s side air bag also deployed and shattered the passenger’s side windshield. The contact pulled over safely and then the side curtain air bag on the driver's side deployed. The contact was aware that the "Service Air Bags" light would intermittently flash on and off; however, the warning light was not illuminated at time of the air bag deployments. Additionally, the passenger’s side curtain air bag had also deployed. The contact had not taken the vehicle to the local dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 190,000.
The dashboard cracked and pieces have broken off. This break is extremely dangerous if a crash were to happen as many parts are exposed.
DASH BOARD CRACKING ALL OVER SSINCE 2015
2008 CHEVROLET AVALANCHE. CONSUMER STATED THAT THE AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY DURING AUTO ACCIDENT.
Chevrolet has KNOWINGLY AND WILLINGLY placed a dash in my 08 avalanche that is dangerous. The truck has a TK airbag and Chevrolet refuses to fix the issue CORRECTLY. The dash is cracked, as most GM products from 07-13 are, and now the airbags need to be replaced. The dealership advised me that it would come apart, and that I would need to spend 2 grand to have it repaired. GM told me on a recorded phone call that they have had several of these reports and that they do not have a "documented solution" for it. They told me I have to choose between the resale value of my truck or the safety of myself and passengers. They are at fault for the dash, as well as the TK airbag. GM refuses to do anything to make it right after their shotty work.
Showing 12 of 295 complaints.