NHTSA Complaint #10102229 — 2002 CHEVROLET AVALANCHE

I OWN A 2002 CHEVROLET AVALANCHE, THAT I COULD NOT GET INSPECTED DUE TO THE PARKING BRAKE NOT HOLDING. UPON HAVING THE VEHICLE SERVICED FOUND THAT A RETAINING CLIP ASSEMBLY FAILED, CAUSING THE PARKING BRAKE SHOES TO ENGAGE AT SOME POINT IN THE LAST YEAR AND WEAR THE SHOES DOWN, DAMAGE THE DRUM / ROTOR ASSEMBLY, AND CAUSE CHIPPING / CRACKING WITH THE REAR BRAKE PADS DUE TO THE HEAT GENERATED BY THE RETAINING CLIP ASSEMBLY FAILURE. I CONTACTED GM AND WAS TOLD THAT THIS WAS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY, AND MY DEALER ALSO SAID THE SAME THING, THAT THESE ARE 'WEAR AND TEAR' ITEMS THAT I WAS FULLY RESPONSIBLE FOR. THEY SAID THAT THERE IS NO WAY TO TELL IF THE CLIP HAD FAILED OR IF I HAD DRIVEN WITH THE PARKING BRAKE ENGAGED, WHICH NEVER HAPPENED. I FOUND A PREVIOUS TSB WAS REFERENCED TO THIS ISSUE (020526002A) AND NHTSA# 10000172, WHICH WERE SIMILAR. THE TSB INDICATED REPLACING THE RETAINING CLIP WITH A NEWLY DESIGNED ONE. WHICH TELLS ME THIS WAS A DESIGN FLAW WITH THE RETAINING CLIP ON MY 2002 VEHICLE, WHICH HAS NOW RESULTED IN A COSTLY REPAIR (BRAKE SHOES X2, RETAINING CLIP X2, DRUM / ROTOR ASSEMBLY X2, BRAKE PADS X2 (PRIMARIES) THAT IS OVER $800. I'VE FOUND MANY OTHER AVALANCHE AND SILVERADO OWNERS ALSO HAVING THIS SAME PROBLEM, SOME ARE BEING COVERED BY WARRANTY, SOME ARE NOT. I FEEL THAT THIS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED BY GM AND A RECALL ISSUED BEFORE THIS $8 RETAINING CLIP PART WINDS UP COSTING OTHER CUSTOMERS OVER $800.*AK