RecallRepo

2008 Chevrolet Avalanche Recalls

Recalls on record Updated July 2026

The 2008 Chevrolet Avalanche has 4 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 5,421,100 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 323 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the air bags. Last updated July 5, 2026.

Recall campaigns

AIR BAGS 21V052000 2021-02-05 557,023 affected
Defect

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,…

Consequence

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…

AIR BAGS 21V050000 2021-02-05 2,641,272 affected
Defect

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…

Consequence

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…

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 10V240000 2010-06-04 1,365,070 affected
Defect

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…

Consequence

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…

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 08V441000 2008-08-28 857,735 affected
Defect

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…

Consequence

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;…

Complaints by component

AIR BAGS
132
7crashes8injuries
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
53
STRUCTURE:BODY
31
3injuries
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
21
2fires
ENGINE
15
1fires
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES
13
STRUCTURE
11
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)
6
STEERING
6
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
5
Total complaints323

What owners report

Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.

“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…”

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM · reported 2023-11-01

“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…”

ENGINE · reported 2023-11-01

“Both air bags deployed for no reason driver and passenger”

AIR BAGS · reported 2023-06-26

“Both air bags deployed for no reason driver and passenger”

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM · reported 2023-06-26

“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…”

TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM · reported 2023-04-01

“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.”

UNKNOWN OR OTHER · reported 2022-05-06

“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…”

AIR BAGS · reported 2022-03-15

“The dashboard cracked and pieces have broken off. This break is extremely dangerous if a crash were to happen as many parts are exposed.”

UNKNOWN OR OTHER · reported 2022-01-19

Defect investigations

Investigation EA08010 Opened 2008-06-12 · closed 2008-09-08

NON-CRASH ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES

IN A LETTER DATED AUGUST 27, 2008, GENERAL MOTORS CORP. (GM) NOTIFIED NHTSA THAT IT WILL CONDUCT A SAFETY RECALL (NHTSA RECALL NUMBER 08V-441) TO ADDRESS A SAFETY RELATEDDEFECT THAT CAN RESULT IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE IN APPROXIMATELY 850,000 VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A HEATED WINDSHIELD WASHER FLUID OPTION.THE…

Investigation EA08010 Opened 2008-06-12 · closed 2008-09-08

NON-CRASH ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES

IN A LETTER DATED AUGUST 27, 2008, GENERAL MOTORS CORP. (GM) NOTIFIED NHTSA THAT IT WILL CONDUCT A SAFETY RECALL (NHTSA RECALL NUMBER 08V-441) TO ADDRESS A SAFETY RELATEDDEFECT THAT CAN RESULT IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE IN APPROXIMATELY 850,000 VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A HEATED WINDSHIELD WASHER FLUID OPTION.THE…

Investigation EA08010 Opened 2008-06-12 · closed 2008-09-08

NON-CRASH ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES

IN A LETTER DATED AUGUST 27, 2008, GENERAL MOTORS CORP. (GM) NOTIFIED NHTSA THAT IT WILL CONDUCT A SAFETY RECALL (NHTSA RECALL NUMBER 08V-441) TO ADDRESS A SAFETY RELATEDDEFECT THAT CAN RESULT IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE IN APPROXIMATELY 850,000 VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A HEATED WINDSHIELD WASHER FLUID OPTION.THE…

Investigation EA08010 Opened 2008-06-12 · closed 2008-09-08

NON-CRASH ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES

IN A LETTER DATED AUGUST 27, 2008, GENERAL MOTORS CORP. (GM) NOTIFIED NHTSA THAT IT WILL CONDUCT A SAFETY RECALL (NHTSA RECALL NUMBER 08V-441) TO ADDRESS A SAFETY RELATEDDEFECT THAT CAN RESULT IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE IN APPROXIMATELY 850,000 VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A HEATED WINDSHIELD WASHER FLUID OPTION.THE…

Investigation EA08010 Opened 2008-06-12 · closed 2008-09-08

NON-CRASH ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES

IN A LETTER DATED AUGUST 27, 2008, GENERAL MOTORS CORP. (GM) NOTIFIED NHTSA THAT IT WILL CONDUCT A SAFETY RECALL (NHTSA RECALL NUMBER 08V-441) TO ADDRESS A SAFETY RELATEDDEFECT THAT CAN RESULT IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE IN APPROXIMATELY 850,000 VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A HEATED WINDSHIELD WASHER FLUID OPTION.THE…

Investigation EA08010 Opened 2008-06-12 · closed 2008-09-08

NON-CRASH ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES

IN A LETTER DATED AUGUST 27, 2008, GENERAL MOTORS CORP. (GM) NOTIFIED NHTSA THAT IT WILL CONDUCT A SAFETY RECALL (NHTSA RECALL NUMBER 08V-441) TO ADDRESS A SAFETY RELATEDDEFECT THAT CAN RESULT IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE IN APPROXIMATELY 850,000 VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A HEATED WINDSHIELD WASHER FLUID OPTION.THE…

Investigation EA08010 Opened 2008-06-12 · closed 2008-09-08

NON-CRASH ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES

IN A LETTER DATED AUGUST 27, 2008, GENERAL MOTORS CORP. (GM) NOTIFIED NHTSA THAT IT WILL CONDUCT A SAFETY RECALL (NHTSA RECALL NUMBER 08V-441) TO ADDRESS A SAFETY RELATEDDEFECT THAT CAN RESULT IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE IN APPROXIMATELY 850,000 VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A HEATED WINDSHIELD WASHER FLUID OPTION.THE…

Investigation EA08010 Opened 2008-06-12 · closed 2008-09-08

NON-CRASH ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES

IN A LETTER DATED AUGUST 27, 2008, GENERAL MOTORS CORP. (GM) NOTIFIED NHTSA THAT IT WILL CONDUCT A SAFETY RECALL (NHTSA RECALL NUMBER 08V-441) TO ADDRESS A SAFETY RELATEDDEFECT THAT CAN RESULT IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE IN APPROXIMATELY 850,000 VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A HEATED WINDSHIELD WASHER FLUID OPTION.THE…

Investigation EA08010 Opened 2008-06-12 · closed 2008-09-08

NON-CRASH ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES

IN A LETTER DATED AUGUST 27, 2008, GENERAL MOTORS CORP. (GM) NOTIFIED NHTSA THAT IT WILL CONDUCT A SAFETY RECALL (NHTSA RECALL NUMBER 08V-441) TO ADDRESS A SAFETY RELATEDDEFECT THAT CAN RESULT IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE IN APPROXIMATELY 850,000 VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A HEATED WINDSHIELD WASHER FLUID OPTION.THE…

Investigation EA21002 Opened 2021-09-17 · open

Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture

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…

Investigation EA21002 Opened 2021-09-17 · open

Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture

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…

Sources & methodology

Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2008 Chevrolet Avalanche as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.