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2013 Chevrolet Avalanche 1500 Recalls & Complaints

1

open safety recall on record

Serious

38 owner complaints filed · Severity Index 0.05 · updated 2026-08-07

The recalls

Serious13V001000

Steering:Column Locking:Anti-Theft Device

As a result, the vehicle may shift from Park with the ignition key removed or the ignition key in the OFF position.

Remedy & full details

GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the affected vehicles and replace the steering column as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on January 21, 2013. Chevrolet owners may call 1-800-630-2438. Cadillac owners may call 1-866-982-2339. GMC owners may call 1-866-996-9463.

General Motors (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT; Chevrolet Avalanche, Express, Silverado HD, Silverado LD, Suburban, and Tahoe; and GMC Savana, Sierra HD, Sierra LD, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles, manufactured between November 7, 2012, through December 18, 2012, for failing to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 102, "Transmission Shift Lever Sequence, Starter Interlock, and Transmission Braking Effect", and FMVSS No. 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention." The vehicles may have been built with a fractured park lock cable or a malformed steering column lock actuator gear in the lock module assembly.

Complaint volume

38 this model-year 9 median, same year

Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.

What owners reported happened

1Crashes
0Fires
0Injuries
0Deaths

Across 38 complaints. Severity Index 0.05.

Severity Index weights each complaint's reported outcome (death ×10, injury ×4, fire ×3, crash ×2) and divides by total complaints. It measures how severe reports are, not how often faults occur.

What owners report most

Unknown Or Other11 · 29%Air Bags6 · 16%Structure · Body6 · 16%Steering2 · 5%Structure2 · 5%Electrical System2 · 5%Exterior Lighting2 · 5%Fuel System, Gasoline1 · 3%
  1. Unknown Or Other — 11 reports
  2. Air Bags — 6 reports
  3. Structure:Body — 6 reports
  4. Steering — 2 reports
  5. Structure — 2 reports
  6. Electrical System — 2 reports
  7. Exterior Lighting — 2 reports
  8. Fuel System, Gasoline — 1 reports
  9. Power Train — 1 reports
  10. Suspension — 1 reports

What to do

  1. Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
  2. Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
  3. Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.

Other model years

2002 (2) · 2003 (2) · 2004 (2) · 2005 (2) · 2006 (2) · 2007 (1) · 2008 · 2009 · 2010 · 2011 (2) · 2012 · 2013

Numbers in brackets are open recall campaigns for that year.

Questions

Does an open recall mean the car is unsafe to drive?

Not usually. NHTSA issues a "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory when a defect is dangerous enough to keep you out of the car — those are flagged Critical above. Everything else should be repaired promptly but is not an immediate stop-driving order.

Do I pay for recall repairs?

No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to fix a safety recall free of charge, including parts and labour, whether or not you are the original owner.

Why are there complaints but no recalls?

Complaints are unverified reports filed by owners. They can prompt an investigation, but many never become recalls — either the fault isn't safety-related or it isn't widespread.

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