Front suspension issues, electrical gauges, replacement of fuel tank pump, door latches failing to open on sliding side door making exiting of vehicle impossible, recall of 02v328000 unable to be confirmed as handled by any dealers.
Chevrolet Astro door locks problems
57 of the 2,617 owner complaints about the Chevrolet Astro describe doors won't lock, open or latch, most of them for the 1999 model year.
- owner complaints
- 57
- worst model year
- 1999
- typical mileage
- 82,000
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
By model year
Often reported together
Wipers 4Power windows 4Fuel gauge 4Fire or smoke 4Won't start 3Fuel pump 3Stalling 2Loss of power 2
What owners say
When raining widshield wipers dont work as directed, they do what they want. They stay on after shutting them off. And door locks lock and unlock repeatedly. Wipers also shut off in the middle of line of sifht intermittently. Never works correctly
1997 chevrolet astrovan with electrical door locks. Pulled into sheetz gas and go and went to open the drivers door and it did not open. Tried to push the manual inside door lock but it was totally frozen and would not actuate. Next tried electrical door lock switch. No response on drivers door but there was weak sound from passenger door lock solenoid. It was as if on the passenger side it was suffering from insufficient voltage. Crawled out of passenger seat and got out of car. ' took ignition key and inserted it into drivers door lock. Key would turn to lock (felt the detent of the ) and back to neutral... Key would not turn to unlock position ...would move a little and then freeze. I did not try harder to turn as I felt there was a very good chance the key would break and leave me stranded 40 miles from home... No backup ignition key. Ignition key works the door locks in this model. Went to ntstb web site and searched for other people with same type problem. No luck. Went to google and did same search chevrolet astrovan door won't open and got a number of complaints that had not reached ntstb.. Chevrolet has to know about this problem. If this model has flip up steering wheel, this would not be the problem it is. It is very difficult for older and larger problem to climb out of the bucket seat as the steering wheel traps your legs whereas a bench seat you simply slide sideways. This is an entrapment issue!!!!!! Will see dealer in hour.
This vehicle among other vehicles made by gm and gmc have a defective door latch that fails and will not allow the driver or passenger to be able to open the door from the inside or outside to get out in the case of an accident or vehicle fire. This problem for several years and gm did nothing to recall and fix this problem. This is an extreme safety hazard that should have been corrected. Owners are put at extreme risk for losing their life in an event where they need to exit the vehicle. Please force a recall so that no additional lose of life will occur.
Both front power door locks on driver side and passenger side malfunction intermittently from inside of vehicle regardless of whether or not the engine is running. Secondary problem is the battery draining if left more than 24 hours without being started. Both batteries are one year old, in good condition, and are the right type. The main battery drains first, so when the auxiliary battery is still strong, the engine will start. I feel that the cause of the battery/batteries draining is not the batteries themselves but another source, possibly the front power door locks. The interior lights or exterior lights are not the source of power that is draining the battery/batteries. This vehicle is used and owned by a disabled person in a wheelchair. The vehicle is equipped with an auxiliary battery to accommodate a wheelchair lift, driver's power seat, and power sliding door.
2003 chevrolet astro van. Consumer states the steering knuckle/arm is designed in a way that causes it to come into contact with a wiring harness when the vehicle is turned to the left *tgw over a period of time, the constant contact damaged the wiring harness and allowed the steering knuckle/arm to touch the wires inside the wiring harness. The end result caused damage to other wires. The consumer stated the problem started in february 2011 when making a left turn would sometimes cause the radio and the AC to die. The ABS light and brake light would also come on and the brake pedal would sink to the floor. The dealer was unable to duplicate the problem. Two weeks ago, while pulling out of a parking space, everything died. The engine would not restart and nothing electrical worked. The consumer was unable to exit the vehicle and there was a smell of burning wires. The consumer was finally able to manually push up the door locks to exit the vehicle. *jb the consumer stated he discovered a tsb and found the steering knuckle was not the source of the problem, but the battery cable retaining clips were not properly secured in their retaining holes in the engine cradle frame below the engine oil pan. As a result, the battery cable made contact with the steering linkage components and rubbed through the insulation on the cable. Updated 06/01/11
Potentially dangerous defect in the 2003 chevrolet astro van. The steering knuckle/arm is designed in a way that causes it to come into contact with a wiring harness when the vehicle is turned sharply to the left. Over a period of time, this constant contact damages the wiring harness and allows the steering knuckle/arm to touch the wires inside the wiring harness. The wiring harness is connected directly to the battery so the end result is damage to other wires also sheathed in that wiring harness. Two weeks ago, while pulling out of a grocery store parking space, everything died. The engine would not re-start and nothing electrical worked, from the door locks to the radio. Everything was dead. We could smell burning wires and tried to get out of the vehicle. Because the doors were locked we could not get them open. We had to manually push up our door locks; each of us pushing up the lock of our own door, so that we could get out of the vehicle. Since then when the problem occurred, additional issue was that the ABS light and brake light would come on and the brake pedal would sink to the floor. We came close to rear-ending someone several times. On april 23, 2011, we showed the damaged wiring harness to the mechanic at the chevrolet dealership. Within two hours, we received a call to let us know the electronic control module (ECM) and the anti-lock brake (ABS) module had been damaged. Both had to be replaced at a cost of over $2,100. We contacted general motors customer service this morning. Their response was that they considered this issue to be caused by ?normal wear, based upon the age of the vehicle.? We disagree with their findings. Concern is that this defect can cause damage to important safety items, such as the brakes and door locks. The area of the wiring harness that is coming into contact with the steering knuckle/arm should either be moved or better protected. We don't want other drivers injured.
When my wife returned to our 2004 chevrolet astro van, the vehicle seemed to have a dead battery. The car would not turn over or fire the ignition. After having the battery and starter checked, we were told the battery was drained and they were able to charge the battery. The starter checked good. The car seemed to have a "dead short" when trying to start and/or boost. After replacing all components, the van started, however, when I put my foot on the brakes, there was no brake pressure on the pedal. It appeared that we were losing brake fluid under the vehicle from a ruptured line. We towed the car home to inspect and replace the brake line. Upon inspection, we found electrical arcing where the brake line had grounded on the vehicle frame causing a hole to rupture in the brake line just rear of the electrical unit. What we determined caused the problem was a hot wire that ran between the battery and starter was rubbing on the suspension links on the passenger side of the vehicle. It rubbed through the electrical sheath and caused contact between the frame and the electrical charging system if the vehicle. After contacting gm/chevrolet support, they were "sorry" about the issue and felt the issue was due to a wire clamp that "must be missing." we have temporarily repaired the issue, however, there were no factory wire clamps that were missing. This is a design flaw from chevrolet on this vehicle that has been documented on the internet in various places. Had my wife been driving 55mph, she would have had no brakes due to the issue. Chevrolet simply said the vehicle was a 2004 and they would not take action on a vehicle "that old". Several of the vehicles electrical systems have been disrupted that are associated with the braking system such as door locks, daytime running lights, etc... We want the public warned about this issue so no lives are lost. We have temporarily repaired the issue, however, the original cable and ties are still in place.
The door handles on both the passenger and driver side broke off. The sliding side door lock engaged before the door fully closed breaking the locking mechanism. I have seen several astro as well as safari vans with missing handles. I am having trouble finding replacement doors.
Back door handle broke off the van cannot get in the back of the 2002 astro van.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Chevrolet Astro door locks
Which Chevrolet Astro years have doors won't lock, open or latch problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1999 (11 complaints), 1993 (6 complaints) and 1991 (5 complaints).
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