general problems of the 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche

2 tire tread separations - 3 days apart from each other. First on on driver side rear tire. 2nd on the passenger rear tire. Tires are a used - good condition purchase. First incident required my auto to be in for repairs for 29 days. 3 days later the rear passenger side tire tread separated.

The contact owns a 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche 2500 equipped with hercules line all track tires (n/a), size 265/75/r16, dot jenkecl, serial nss-010733. While driving 45 mph, the passenger rear tire failed causing damage to the rear bumper. The contact planned to have the vehicle repaired and to contact the manufacturer. The current and failure mileages were approximately 87,000.

In the past 60 days I have had two blowouts andf a flat tire on the original goodyear tires of 2002 avalance. Near multicar collison last week. Firestone said "looks like tires rotten inside" sears said "we have had a quite a few avalances in lately".

Standard tires issued with vehicle were offroad wrangler hp which have very poor rain handling capabilities. I was not notified of this or given option of switching to highway tires with better rain capability. As a result of the poor control of vehicle in rain, front edge was damaged when entered parking lot and was trying to turn on wet pavement and slid into wall when steering was non-responsive due to tire sliding instead of turning. Speed was less then 10 mph. I have found several articles on internet indicating should either replace those tires or have them "siped" to achieve better control in rain. Since my Avalanche is two wheel drive I never thought much if any about offroad use or that the standard tires would be so geared up for offroad use as to make them handle poorly in rain. Capitol Chevrolet service manager confirmed this information with me. I have 40 years experience driving in the north under all conditions with military and civilian vehicles and have never had this kind of problem before with any vehicle with any kind of tire. Military vehicle tires are very offroad oriented but never had this kind of problem in rain. Thanks.

At 7,500 miles I had a blow out on the interstate and had to use my spare, then realized it was a smaller size. I drove to my dealership and they gave me a new tire, and said all of these trucks came with a 16 inch spare. I now have 30,000 miles and now need all new tires. I usually get new tires about every 60,000 miles. I went to the dealership to ask why my tires were wearing so bad and they were not willing to help or discuss this issue.

Passenger tires were supplied with z71 off-road package. I took these tires off-road, and tore a hole one. All4 tire dealers in montrose, CO including the goodyear dealer, said that these are passenger tires, not off-road tires, and that they will be damaged by taking them off-road in the mountains. Chevy's photos on their web page show the Avalanche fording streams, driving over rocks, and driving in the mountains. The owner's manual discusses driving over rocks and logs, "bouncing the car" and having one or more wheels off the ground as things that might be encountered in "off-road" driving. Still, they deliver the nearly 3-ton truck with passenger tires, not light truck tires. Had I not punctured the dire, but only separated the ply, I could have had a serious accident driving the 400 miles back to my home. The off-road package includes skid plates, heavy duty shocks, a tow package, the all-important z71 decal, and upgraded tires. It turns out that the upgrade is not to a stronger tire, just a tire that's 1 inch bigger. Still, the implication is that it is suitable for the off-road use described in the owner's manual and in their advertisements. The safety issue is that these tires are more susceptable to damage when used of-road, and subsequent to failure later at high speed when the driver returns to the highway than tires more appropriate to the task, such as a light truck tire.