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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 5
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
67,096 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2004 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 electrical problems

electrical problem

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2004 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 Owner Comments (Page 1 of 3)

problem #53

Aug 222018

Silverado 2500

  • 215,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Check engine light came on and "low engine power" flashed where the odometer is. This caused the RPM's not to go over 2800. Code reader claims O2 sensors or throttle control module or catalytic convertor issues. We discovered it was none of the above. To fix problem change 3 relays located under hood in fuse box. Relay #8864. Then clear codes, should fix issue unless code persists. Relays will cause a fire if not changed out asap.

- Cassopolis, MI, USA

problem #52

Feb 102018

Silverado 2500

  • 107,000 miles
Many of the vehicles in this family suffer from random electrical shorts and or poor electrical grounding relating to the drive by wire throttle actuator. The result is that the vehicle will go into 'reduced engine power' mode randomly. In this mode the vehicle will idle but not accelerate or drive. This issue is well documented on message boards with no consistent fix. This condition exposes an extreme hazard as the vehicle can loose power at any time. This is a serious safety issue that should be investigated. I have had my vehicle loose power on the interstate and on high speed 2 lane roads with no shoulder and heavy traffic on 4 occasions. Numerous attempts to repair the issue have been unsuccessful.

- Davis, CA, USA

problem #51

May 202016

Silverado 2500

  • miles
May 2016 installed 5 years warranty battery. Battery dead every three month. Charged battery. Installed new battery last week. Battery dead today. Had alternator tested. (fine) notice dashboard light where read milage looked like this after truck off #######. only green light will not turn off

- Collinsville, IL, USA

problem #50

Aug 182010

Silverado 2500

  • 40,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Instrument panel/cluster is no longer functioning. Speedometer, tachometer, oil pressure gauge and so on are erratic and giving false readings. Dealer is not willing to assist. Please advise, rc, esquire.

- Pasadena, CA, USA

problem #49

Dec 182015

Silverado 2500

  • 78,344 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado. The contact heard an abnormal noise coming from the driver seat. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the ECM box was damaged and needed replacement. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The contact also stated that the same failure occurred in December of 2015. The approximate failure mileage was 78,344.

- Farmington, MO, USA

problem #48

Dec 152014

Silverado 2500

  • miles
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado. The contact stated that the instrument panel failed on the vehicle. The odometer worked, but the fuel gauge and all other gauges failed. The dealer stated that the entire instrument cluster needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.

- Jacksonville, AL, USA

problem #47

Sep 052014

Silverado 2500

  • 55,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado. While driving approximately 35 mph, the inside of the vehicle emitted smoke and the contact smelled burning wires. The failure occurred on several occasions. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 55,000.

- Sandusky , ID, USA

problem #46

Oct 222013

Silverado 2500 4WD 8-cyl

  • 61,000 miles
The dash instrument cluster failed and does not read a correct temperature nor does the oil gauge read correctly. There is a clicking sound within the instrument panel continuously. The vehicle was taken in for service at the GM company. It was determined that the cluster is failing and the reading are not correct on the dashboard panel are nor right. It will require replacement. GM says that the special recall for this problem is expired and they will not fix my truck. The special recall expired in 2011.

- Fayetteville, NC, USA

problem #45

Apr 122014

Silverado 2500

  • 60,139 miles
The oil pressure gauge on my instrument cluster is faulty. I was driving down the interstate at about 75mph when I notice it was pegged out. I immediately pull off to the side of the road and turn my truck off thinking something was wrong with my oil pressure when I found out that it was the gauge that was faulty. After doing some research on the internet, I found out that a lot of people were having problems with their instrument clusters.

- Omaha, NE, USA

problem #44

Apr 232014

Silverado 2500

  • 175,000 miles
I bought a 2004 Chevy Silverado from medved and I feel it has a problem and GM says it's working as designed. My problem is the message module led's are so dim they can't be read in the daylight and the instrument cluster has been replaced 3 times by medved to try and fix the problem. The P N R D D3 D2 led"S are just fine. They told me to take it to another dealership to see if they can fix it. I took it to [xxx] and a 18 year service tech said it doesn't get any better and GM should have sent out a recall but didn't. information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). This could be a safety issue if you can't read the warnings and other messages that appear on the module while driving.

- Aurora, CO, USA

problem #43

Mar 072008

Silverado 2500

  • 80,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Chevrolet sent me a notice of guage failure in 2007, and said they would replace them if they were not working as long as the milage was under 80000. The problem was when they sent me the notice my guages were working, they continued to work until after I had 82000 then they stopped working. I called the dealer and told them and they said I was over the miles req. I understand there were a lot of trucks that had the same problem.

- Glenpool, OK, USA

problem #42

Feb 192013

Silverado 2500

  • 141,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the fuel gauge, tachometer and the battery charge indicator failed. Also, the speedometer would only operate sporadically. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure and current mileage was 141,000.

- Knoxville, TN, USA

problem #41

Dec 022011

Silverado 2500 8-cyl

  • 46,746 miles
The instrument panel stopped working on my 2004 Chevrolet Silverado. I found lots of complaints on this problem online. When I called the local dealer to see about getting my vehicle fixed they advised even though the mileage was old it was 4 month to old to be covered by the fix. They know they sold vehicles with bad instrument panels but are not fixing the problem.

- Millington, TN, USA

problem #40

Nov 012011

Silverado 2500 8-cyl

  • 40,000 miles
Tachometer, speedometer and temperature gauge failures.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

problem #39

Jun 302011

Silverado 2500 8-cyl

  • 113,000 miles
Well I bought the 2004 Silverado truck in June of 2011 and I noticed that the speedometer stutter a little bit going each way. Then just recently I experienced the speedometer just stop working by getting stuck at 30mph. I pulled over the truck and turned it of to maybe reset the system but even with the trucked turned off the speedometer was still at 30mph. I tried hitting the dash a couple of times to see if that would work. It didn't work so I tried driving some more and the speedometer said I was doing 90mph when I was only going 65mph because I had another person on the road tell me they were going 65pmh. I even tried to hit the brakes multiple times to get the needle to drop below 30mph. It particially worked by making it go down but then it got stuck at 10mph even with the truck turned off. So I came home and checked the recalls for my model truck and year and apparently there was a recall for this problem but only for vehicles under 70000 miles which I think isn't right because its a failure with your electrical clusters that you know is there but wont fix which makes it not look good for you designers. I am a diesel mechanic and I would tell people that this is a safety hazard.

- Liverpool, NY, USA

problem #38

Dec 012008

Silverado 2500

  • 142,000 miles
The speedometer stopped showing accurate speed, odometer still works. We took the truck in for service and found that it the failure was a common occurrence, but not covered under any warranty or recall. The cost of repair was approximately $500. We now use garmin for speed control.

- Topeka, KS, USA

problem #37

Mar 082011

Silverado 2500

  • 80,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado. The contact stated the instrument panel failed. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and they removed the instrument panel for inspection. Once the instrument panel was installed back in the vehicle, the panel operated as normal with the exception of the oil pressure warning gauge. The dealer did not replace the instrument panel with a new one nor were there any repairs performed. The contact spoke to the manufacturer and was told that the failure was a common issue with the year, make and model but the manufacturer was only willing to assist with repairs on those vehicle with 75,000 miles or less. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 80,000 and the current mileage was 82,000.

- Souix Falls , SD, USA

problem #36

Mar 022011

Silverado 2500

  • 129,217 miles
Speedometer stopped working. Odometer is still working.

- Goose Creek, SC, USA

problem #35

Jan 032011

Silverado 2500

  • 120,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 2500. The contact was driving 60 mph when the speedometer failed and indicated that he was traveling 90-100 mph. The dealer was contacted but the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but would not provide any assistance. The failure mileage was 120,000.

- Angleton, TX, USA

problem #34

Apr 052007

Silverado 2500

  • miles
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 2500. While driving 65 mph he placed the cigarette lighter in the ash-tray. Next, smoke was expelled from the cigarette lighter housing. He pulled over to the side of the road to inspect the vehicle. Upon inspection, he saw flames underneath of the hood near the fuse box. The fire department extinguished the flames. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a collision center. The cause of failure has not been determined. The failure and current mileages were unknown. The VIN was unavailable.

- Madera, CA, USA

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