Noticed one day oil pressure gauge was pegged (high). Thought it must be a sending unit. After quick dealer diag learned it's a common problem with the instrument cluster. Was told it needed to be replaced (dealer wanted $500+). Several weeks later noticed further issues with the cluster - speedometer doesn't operate as intended - very sporadic when it does work.
Just went down the road heading to work, when suddenly I looked down and the thing was stuck at 100 MPH. When I came to a stop it was at 80 MPH. Eventually it seized at "130" MPH (past the 120 mark) and stayed there. I took the dash out, and the motor was completely seized. De-soldered the motor and replaced, voila! No more stuck dash. Still would have been nicer if it was covered under a warranty/recall thing.
received a notice (not a recall) but chevrolet would fix the problem if car had 62,000 miles or less. I had taken the car in and could show the speedometer had gone out within the mileage range but chevrolet would not fix the problem. By this time our vehicle had 80,000 miles. So not a happy camper.
We have driven chevrolet auto mostly suburbans since we married in 1960 - Think it is time to change. Service to an account means a lot.
I was not yet done paying off my vehicle when the speedometor was not working. I took the suburban back to the dealership and the service gentleman told me it was the cluster in the dash board the part was appx. $450.00 plus parts and labor.
The hole dashboard just stopped working.the gas gauge,all of the gauges,and my water pump light is on so the dash is messed up.i need 2 know how fast im going and how far i can go.we really come 2 like r cars until stuff like this happens,i need my gauges.i think it wrong 4 big business 2 make money off of us the little people.i mean don't we pay enough with the monthly payments,oil changes,brakes,and so they should do some things just because it came off the line as a default.i don't have money 2 keep paying 4 there(Chevy dealers)mess ups.fix ur cars right cause i don't have money 2 pay 4 there mistakes.
speedometer,oil pressure gauge,fuel gauge,voilt meter gauge,do not work.transmission jerks,steering rattles.the fan motor has a mind of its own.it may be made in America but its not made for Americans.no wonder gm is in so much trouble.
I have had the problem with my Suburban's speedometer gradually creeping up until it reads above 120 mph. I noticed that when I start the car, the speedometer will jump down about 10 mph. So for a while I would just start the car a number of times until the speedometer was down to 0. This would work for a while, but I was concerned about the wear and tear on the starter.
So, I decided to take apart the instrument cluster and see how it works. Turns out, each needle is controlled by a "stepper motor". This is a motor that is designed to take electrical pulses to work. There is a pulse up input and a pulse down input. Each gauge uses the identical stepper motor.
My stepper motor for the speedometer was showing some wear. It could increase easily, but would stick a bit when decreasing. This would cause the indications to get higher over time.
Take a look at the needle when you slow down - does it move smoothly, or sort of jerky?
If its jerky, then you have a worn out stepper motor.
The cool thing is that these stepper motors are fairly cheap and easy to replace. I found some guy on ebay selling lots of 10 for about $43 bucks. You can de-solder the existing one from the instrument cluster circuit board and just solder the new one back in it's place.
I am currently waiting for the stepper motors to arrive. If it works, I will post a followup with pictures and instructions for doing it yourself...
The oil pressure gauge was intermittently working then pegged all the way to the right about a year ago when my friend owned the vehicle. Chevy will replace your cluster up to 75000 miles for free. His miles at the time were 84000. He took it in and his extended warranty company said the gauge cluster was a "performance part" and wouldn't replace it under warranty. I read here how to fix it yourself and it took less than an hour to complete: http://www.fullsizechevy.com/forums/general-discussion/tech-articles2/254501-03-06-instrument-cluster-stepper-motor-replacement.html
The parts cost $15 a stepper motor on Ebay or $45 for all 6. I replaced only one, but bought all 6. Figured it was good insurance, and alot cheaper than $550 the dealer wanted!
The worst thing about this is when I was at the dealership they commented that they replace these all the time even on the 2007 suburbans but yet no recall?????????
I have heard on lots of Chevrolet Suburbans that the instrument panels have gone out. My speedometer is the only thing that has went out and it costs $550.00 to fix this. Also fuel tank went out and had to fax that. Never a Surburban again.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Noticed one day oil pressure gauge was pegged (high). Thought it must be a sending unit. After quick dealer diag learned it's a common problem with the instrument cluster. Was told it needed to be replaced (dealer wanted $500+). Several weeks later noticed further issues with the cluster - speedometer doesn't operate as intended - very sporadic when it does work.
- Jason L., Avoca, MI, US