2004 Chevrolet Avalanche Steering Problems

“There was a loose sounding noise in the steering column. Upon my investigation I found out that many GM's are having the same problem. Also because of the intermediate steering shaft being lose I could not tell that the right front wheel bearing was bad to the point the hub had to be replaced. This could have had catastrophic results (fatality). Upon talking to various employees I was told that GM has had a design problem and that they now have changed to a different shaft. …”

“The front left wheel sounds like it is bouncing, rattling and loose. This has been diagnosed as an intermediate steering shaft needing to be repacked and the steering gear box needs to be replaced. This problem has existed since I purchased the vehicle. It has been repaired twice under warranty. Now that the warranty has expired, GM refuses to pay for the repairs. Gm claims this is not a safety issue. However, I am concerned that it will become one since this is a steering problem. It is clearly a design defect since many other Avalanche owners have the same issues.”

“My 2004 Avalanche started making knocking sounds when turning corners - took it to the dealer and $700 later and a new steering yoke the knock was squelched (not gone) and the speedometer coincidentally started moving like a second-hand on a watch (jerky) - took it to the dealer and they want $525 for a new cluster that they say is not common - looking on the web, I found this to be a very common problem with avalanches and the waiting list can be in the hundreds before me - if this is so common, why isn't there a recall and why does the dealer deny the number of occurrences?”

“4 takata recall the contact owns a 2004 chevy Avalanche with a set of capitol precision trac ll tires on it. While pulling off in the vehicle and driving around 35 MPH you could feel the back end shaking and wobbling like the lug nuts were loose. The vehicle was pulled off the road to investigate the shaking issue where was found that the tires tread was separating making humps and waves in the tread. This happened on the highway at 92,207 miles on vehicle and 7, 319 miles on 265/70r17 capitol precision trac ll tires. …”

“Dt: the contact complained about rack and pinion steering problem. The vehicle clanged while changing gears. When putting pressure on the accelerator pedal and driving between 60 - 70 MPH he could hear a whining sound. When he released the accelerator pedal the noise stopped. The dealership replaced the driveshaft but, this did not correct the problem.”