I am looking to buy a pick up truck, and I love the functionality of the Chevy Avalanche. I want to know how long does Chevy engine last? Is an Avalanche worth buying with 150,000 miles on it?
“Is it worth buying with 150,000 miles on it?” Depends on how much you pay for it. What’s the asking price?
“How long does the engine last?” Depends on how well the previous owner(s) maintained it. How often did they change the oil, coolant, transmission fluid, etc?
The asking price is $11k, its 2002 4wd, from looks of the pictures its in fair condition.
Why worry
about the motor, get a Honda Ridgeline.
Right. The Asian Car Myth Is Alive And Well.
CSA
The OP wants a truck not a glorfied minivan.
It’s worth no more than $8000 from a private seller, even if it is loaded.
Don’t go by a picture. Examine the Avalanche, and, if it passes your expenses, pay a professional mechanic to do a thorough inspection. If the seller balks at this, run the other way.
If the truck passes a mechanic’s thorough inspection, then start bargaining.
You HAVE seen an Avalanche before, right? It’s the Chevy equivalent of the Ridgeline
How long does a Chevy engine last? The LS series V8s in those trucks can last just as long as any other engine, given a proper level of maintenance. A few years ago, I worked on a Chevy Suburban, which is also on the same light duty truck platform the Avalanche is built on. The 5.3L LS motor, the 4L60E transmission, and pretty much everything else on the truck had 481,000 well maintained miles on them, without ever having any major work done. 150,000 miles is nothing to worry about, as long as there has been proper maintenance done to the vehicle, be it a Chevy, Honda, or anything else under the sun.
Actually, the Ridgeline was Honda’s answer to the Avalanche. The main difference is that the Avalanche is built on the platform of a half ton pickup. The Ridgeline is built on the platform of the Honda Odyssey minivan. If the vehicle is going to be worked harder than your typical minivan, the Avalanche would be a much better choice, particularly for towing. The current edition of the Ridgeline is rated to tow up to 5,000lbs (1,500lbs more than the Odyssey), compared to the Avalanche’s 8,100lbs rating.
The same myth that has GM’s PU truck diesel made by Asians and a history of captive imports from Asian parts re-branded with GM names. Still hanging on to the myth that GM is American and not multinational.
In all reality, the Avalanche has a much more durable engine than the Ridgeline. The Ridgeline has the 3.5L V6, lifted from the Odyssey parts bin, along with pretty much everything else in the Ridgeline, while the Avalanche has the LS series V8, complete with its six bolt mains and traditional, bulletproof, chain-driven pushrod valvetrain system. The same engine has seen duty in all Chevy trucks, as well as the Camaro and Corvette, since the late '90s.
Odyssey platform does not mean it’s not reinforced with an integrated frame and fully as capable as any compact truck (except Tacoma) to which it must be compared. I know several typical prior GM/Ford half ton PU owners who never used the full capability of their trucks and went to a Ridgeline,and happy they did. Compared to a Ranger, it’s a Humvee. It’s not a v8, but it runs circles around ANY compact PU in GMs stable including their dreadful Canyon in overall performance. Is a GM v8 more durable for towing and plowing than a 6 ? Sure, but GM doesn’t produce a decent truck 5 or 6 cyl with the longevity of a Honda 6. Ford, perhaps !
Yeah, I’m well aware of the Ridgeline. It’s a unibody, “reinforced” unibody, but still a unibody. It has no low range transfercase, it has an engine that makes more horsepower than torque. It can tow a whopping 5000 pounds. Curiously it still gets the same mileage a full sized Avalanche than can tow 8000 pounds and haul 300 pounds more than the Ridgeline. The Ridgeline has a significantly lower MSRP. But chances are the Chevy dealer will haggle quite a bit more than the Honda dealer will.
Spoken by someone whose read the literature but never driven and used both (GM half ton) within their capabilities. The Ridgeline actually does better off road than the standard 4wd half ton GM 8 cyl in standard form and does get significantly better mileage than GM in the real world.
I would agree if the OP was actually going to tow 8K; if not, those I know who have them are impressed buy the overall abilities of the Ridgeline compared to any PU and prefer them over the under utilized full size.
Keep looking find a low mileage one, seems like you like the truck and their for get attached and keep it for a while. Get something that you can just follow up on maintenance and not something that is looking to be over hauled. 150k on a Chevy is alot if the truck was someones tow queen or some else daily beater/hauler. Granted maintenance is key on a motor but everything else around it is suspect on a Chevy at that age, but if your willing to spend the money comfortably go ahead. Id take it in to Chevy and get a 150point inspection apon purchase they will look it over like a fine tooth comb then the basic shop, their hit or miss.
Spoken by someone whos driven and sold both. They real world fuel mileage between the Ridgeline and a full sized domestic pickup with the small V8 is about they same, quick look at the final drive ratios gives you an idea of why that is the Rideline sports a 4.53 ratio while the Avalanche and other GM pickups typically have a 3.42 or 3.73. This is necessary for the Ridgeline, since it’s engine, like most Honda engines, is short on low end torque.
The Ridgeline is for people who like the idea of having a truck, but really don’t need one.
IF You keep comparing it with the full size PU. It has to be compared with the 6 cyl.
You’re making up false comparisons.
Compared to the 6 cyl Chevy/GMC, there mileage is similar but the GM has only 195HP. The v8 gets 15 highway compared to the 20 highway 6 of the Ridgeline.
Ridg has the same 1500 lb payload capacity of the 6 and the 8 GM. Your quick looks are just that.
The Ridgeline 6 has similar torque that the GM/Chevy 6 which has the same mileage…not the v8. Spouting superior low final drive ratios is a non issue comparing archaic 4.3 motor designs of the GM/Chevy 6 cyl,who produce only 195 hp because of their lack rpm capability.
Tow capacity, weight capacities of 6 cyl are the same.
Ridgeline is a legit compact truck that compares well with the 6 cyl base motor of full size pick ups in EVERY way. Plus handles, rides, accelerates and handles off road better than 6 cyl 4wd full size.
OP DOES NOT state his intended use which makes all the difference.
“You keep comparing it with the full size PU. It’s to be compared with the compacts.”
Then why are you comparing it to a Chevy Avalanche? The Avalanche is based on a full size pickup. We can stop this debate at any time, since as you noted, there is really no comparison between these two vehicles aside from their appearance and concept. The Ford Explorer Sport Trac would be a better comparison to the Ridgeline than the Avalanche. Honda does not have a full size truck offering on which to base a real truck. As FoDaddy said, the Ridgeline is for people who like the idea of having a truck but don’t really need one. the Ridgeline is good for hauling gardening supplies home from the Home Depot, but if you are going to tow anything larger than a utility trailer or work it hard on a construction site, you need a real truck that is born with a real truck chassis and a real truck powertrain.
By the way, the Avalanche is not available with a six cylinder engine. The smallest, least powerful engine ever offered in it is a 5.3L V8 with 290hp.
There is no comparison between the Avalanche and the Ridgeline. They are two completely different vehicles.