This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
I have a 2003 Chevrolet Avalanche that I purchased new from the dealer. It has approximately 104,000 miles on it. The problem is that my speedometer is acting erratically. Some times it will say I am doing 120 mph on the highway or city street and sometimes it will not move at all. When I turn off my vehicle, it is often stuck at some speed such as 65mph. I can hear a physical grinding noise in the speedometer itself. This does not seem to adversely affect the odometer. I cannot reliably tell what speed I'm going, and my vehicle will not pass the Texas state inspection with this problem. I contacted the dealer, and was told by the service advisor that this was extremely common, but that there is no recall. They said it will cost over $500 to fix this problem. I researched it on the internet and found literally hundreds of cases of this exact same problem. I pointed this out, and the dealer said basically that Chevrolet will not address this issue.
The accessory lights on my steering wheel that operate radio volume, souce, on-star, etc are not all working. I was told at bradshaw Chevrolet that they have had to repair alot of these and would not be included as recall. This is a safety hazard and you can't see at night which button to select. Also now the light for my mileage and engine operation has faded out until I can barely read it.
My speedometer started reporting errors in speed and now shows 60 mph when parked and immediately goes off scale when driven at any speed above 30 mph.
- Old Hickory, TN, USA
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2003 Chevy Avalanche speedometer fails. Fuel gauge fails. No way to know how fast you are going. Don't know how much fuel is in vehicle. Have to reset system numerous times throughout the year. Dealer quoted $700 plus to fix. Problem started soon after warranty expired. Too many failure instances to recall accurately.
Instrument cluster went bad at 42,000 miles. After reading some of the other complaints about the instrument panel, how do I know if my speedometer is working right.
The cluster which provides for the temperature gauge and speedometer went out, and Washington and Oregon had recalls on this, but not California, and I would like to know why in those states and not California.
Speedometer displays erroneous speeds. Most of the time less than what the vehicle is actually traveling which creates a public safety hazard. There is no indication to the driver of a problem. All other indications are normal. It was not until a gps with speed indicating capability was installed in the vehicle that the erroneous speedometer indication was known. Further investigation reveals the speedometer operates correctly until the dash/instrument panel heats up. At this point the indicated speed can gradually vary, sometimes drastically from actual vehicle speed unknowing to the driver. After reviewing the NHTSA site, this does not appear to be an isolated incident and because of the public safety implication of a speeding vehicle, at the minimum I recommend a notice be sent to all current owners of this type of vehicle advising them this condition may be present or occur in the future. This vehicle is currently awaiting repair parts.
Speedometer on my 2003 Z71 Avalanche works erratically or not at all. A significant safety issue I went to the dealership from who I bought my vehicle. Dealership said there was no recall on speedometer (instrument clusters) for my type of vehicle and that they could not replace the cluster as part of "goodwill" by GM because they have not been instructed to do so. They were not aware of the fact that many Avalanche and other GM SUVS have identical problems (usually a bad stepper motor in the instrument cluster). Cost to replace cluster is about $350-$400 including labor. Given the nature of the failure and how widespread it is, I think the NHTSA engineers should investigate this problem and perhaps tell GM they need to recall these vehicles before accidents occur. I have to estimate my speeds on a vehicle with only 58000 miles on it. I have talked with my Chevrolet service department and they said this is becoming very common. GM should issue a recall to get this fixed.
The speedometer on my 2003 Avalanche went bad. It would work for a while and then would fail to show the true speed, usually recording 10-20 mph when I was going 70. This was a daily occurrence. I finally had it replaced in Feb, 2006. It started in December, 2005.
Speedometer failure on a 2003 Chevy Avalanche. The speedometer is pegged out at top speed at a constant. Occasionally it will bounce around, but it is never accurate.
My speedometer in my 2003 Chevy Avalanche is very erratic. It sticks, it says that I am going 40 to 50 mph higher than I am and sometimes it works just fine. I have read about over 400 other owners of GM trucks with the same problem.
2003 Chevy Avalanche where speedometer just quit and is now pegged at 120 mph when parked. This is a safety issue because really have no idea of what speed I am going. Based on many other GM owners I know that have had this problem, GM needs to put a recall on the instrument cluster. Two people I know have had it quoted as a $600 fix. This is insane.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Arlington, TX, USA