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Overview

The Chevrolet Avalanche is a four door SUT (sport utility truck) that can accommodate five or six passengers. The Avalanche has entered production in 2001 and until now it reached its second generation in 2007. The name Avalanche derives from the dangerous and sudden collapse of mountain snow packs known as an avalanche.

First generation of the Chevrolet Avalanche was built and introduced in 2001 as a 2002 model year car and stood in production until the March 2006 when second generation Avalanche was introduced. It was built on GM's GMT805 platform, which belongs to GMT800 family platform on which the Chevrolet Silverado, Hummer H2, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade EXT are also based.

Variants

Chevrolet offered the Avalanche with two engines, both V8s. The entry level Avalanche 1500 featured a 5.3 liter Vortec V8 that produced 285 horse power and a maximum 325 lb/ft of torques. The engine was connected to a four speed automatic. The drive was either rear wheel drive or optional with selectable high/low four-wheel drive. The tow capacities of the Avalanche 5.3 are 8200 lbs (3690 kg) for the rear wheel drive version and 7900 lbs (3555 kg) for the all wheel drive version; payload capacities as Chevrolet stated are 1313 (590 kg) pounds with 2WD, 1266 (570 kg) pounds with 4WD. As for the fuel consumption, the Chevy Avalanche 5.3 returned an average of 12 mpg city and 18 mpg highway.

Second engine in the Chevrolet Avalanche lineup was the massive 8.1 liter Vortec V8, rated to produce 320 horse power and a staggering 445 lb/ft of torque. The engine comes with four speed heavy-duty automatic transmission that featured overdrive and Tow/Haul modes. The Chevrolet Avalanche 2500 was available only with four wheel drive. In place of the 1500 model's five-link rear suspension with coil springs and automatic load leveling, the 2500 rides on two-stage, heavy-duty leaf springs. The towing capacity of the Avalanche 2500 was 11,900 lbs (5360 kg) with a payload rating of 1807 lbs (820 kg). In terms of fuel economy the Chevy Avalanche 2500 returned 10 mpg city and 13 mpg highway.

The 2WD Avalanche 1500 was offered with Z66 on road suspension package that included locking rear differential, tuned suspension with load leveling rear shocks, 17" alloy wheels with all terrain tires, traction control, rubber floor mats with yellow Chevrolet logo and Z66 decals on rear quarter panels. Both the Avalanche 1500 and 2500 with 4WD could get the Z71 off road suspension that included: locking rear differential, specially tuned shocks and springs, 17" alloy wheels with P265/70R17 all terrain tires, skid plates, high capacity air cleaner, rubber floormats with yellow Chevrolet logo and Z71 decals on rear quarter panels.

Chevrolet offered the "North Face" trim for the Avalanche 1500. The trim was created in cooperation with the outdoor clothing/equipment maker, and included: driver's and passenger's 6-way power bucket seats with green and black accents and The North Face logo, seatback storage pocket, floor console with rear air conditioning vents, locking rear differential, specially tuned shocks and springs, 17" alloy wheels with P265/70R17 all terrain tires, skid plates, high capacity air cleaner, floor mats, green and black door trim panels and white instrument cluster with The North Face logo, engine block heater, two waterproof "Water Duffalo" bags and two "Summit Pod" daypacks that hook on to the front seatbacks.

Additional Information

The Chevy Avalanche had a few recalls, among which a recall was made for Avalanche 2500 produced in 2004, 2005 and 2006; on certain trucks equipped with an 8.1 liter V8 (RPO L8-VIN G) engine have a condition in which the engine fuel rail pulse damper retainer clip may fracture resulting in inadequate retention of the damper, if the damper comes loose, a fuel leak may result, that in the presence of an ignition source, could result in a fire.

Another problem was noticed just after the Avalanches introduction, owners complaining about the cladding on their vehicles, that over time exposure to heat and sunlight would cause a chalky faded appearance. GM together with Gatorback Coatings developed a coating that could be applied to the cladding to restore it to a like-new shine.

Avalanche was nominated for the North American Truck of the Year award and was Motor Trend magazine's SUV of the Year for 2002.

From 2001 to 2006 there have been built a number of 390,915 units of which 52,955 were built in 2001, 89,372 units in 2002, 93,482 units in 2003, 80,566 units in 2004, 63,186 units in 2005 and 11,415 in 2006.