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.
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed at night, the instrument panel gauges, and warning lights functionality became inoperable. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.
The entire control panel on the dash will go out including: Speedometer, RPM, gas, oil, etc. When this happens the message center, including the odometer, is blank also. At first this happened periodically upon starting up the vehicle it would not come on but would come own a few minutes after driving. Then it started not coming on at all.
The speedometer gives a false reading that could cause operation of the vehicle at an unsafe speed. This first happened while driving with my family. I noticed that the speedometer seemed to be giving a false reading. Using a gps my wife was able to confirm that I was unknowingly traveling at a speed very different than the speed limit. The issue is intermittent. The dealer says this is a known problem but will not fix it despite the obvious safety concerns.
On my Chevrolet Suburban 2004; speedometer failed. My speedometer does not work any more. It no longer calculates speed. It is stuck pointing (resting) past fastest label of 120mph.
- Springfield, VA, USA
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I started the homeward segment of an 800 mile trip on July 4th weekend. Speedometer appears to be working correctly because I made it through the first police radar checkpoint without any problems. I exited the interstate and entered a 4 lane highway. After driving an estimated 50 miles for the day I was stopped by the state police. He said that his radar had me going 74 in a 55 speed zone when me speedometer indicated 55 mph. When the officer informed me of my speed, I looked at my speedometer and saw the needle was below 0 mph. The scary part of this is that I did not realize that I was going over the speed limit, probably because I was acclimated to the higher interstate speed, my speed odometer indicated I was traveling the speed limit, and up until this time I had no indication that my speedometer was not working properly. I continued with the trip and used my gps to keep me at a safe speed the rest of the trip. I compared the speedometer mph with the gps mph many times throughout the rest of the trip. The speed odometer went down to 0 mph when I was driving 65 mph after driving an estimated additional 40 miles. After driving an additional 30 miles the speed odometer was indicating the correct speed. The speedometer malfunctioned about 70% of the trip. It would alternate between not working correctly and working correctly throughout the trip. I took the vehicle to the Chevy dealer the first business day back home. The dealer said the whole instrument cluster must be replaced. I authorized the dealer to replace the instrument cluster and the defective instrument cluster is going back to be refurbished. This failure compromised not only my safety but also my family's safety and the safety of other drivers. Researching the internet, I am finding this problem seems to be widespread.
The speedometer quits working or gets jumpy and sporadic in when and how it works. Vehicle only has 57000 miles on it. The only event that we thought caused it was the really cold temperatures but its warmer now and completely quit working. It is everytime we are in the vehicle driving that it doesn't work. We have not got it fixed yet. Researching problem first to make sure no recalls were done on it first.
2004 Chevy Suburban speedometer stuck and max speed with 72,300 miles. I also own 2004 Chevy Tahoe with oil pressure gauge stuck at maximum with 92,000 miles.
Speedometer has completely failed on my 2004 Chevrolet Suburban. This is a known, widespread problem that GM refuses to acknowledge as a safety issue... and refuses to make good on... despite the fact that they have already been compensated by the parts supplier. It's time for the department of transportation to step in, declare this as a safety issue (which it is), and encourage General Motors to make good on these faulty parts... irrespective of the arbitrary mileage cutoff they have imposed. Additional background on the issue, from a media source... www.wthr.com/global/story.asp?S=7434450.
Gauge for speedometer gets stuck or doesn't measure at all. Contacted the dealer and they said my vehicle was above the 70K amount & 80K. I have never been contacted on this issue. But yet I get mailings for service work. The failure is ongoing.
Speedometer sticks then at idle it says you are going 70 mph. If you start and stop the vehicle multiple it comes down 5 miles per hour and eventually you get back to zero. However, it will do this again and again and needs to be fixed because you can't tell you how fast you are going and I almost lost is on a 45 mile hour turn speedo said I was going 120 but in reality after stopping the Suburban I figured out I was doing about 55. This happens at all mileage and is a defect. Chevy recalled, I believe, up to 30,000 miles. Owners say it happens at 20,000; 40,000; 50,000, and well any mileage. I had 90,000 when mine started. I read one person who at 90,000 got his fixed free. Chevy wouldn't fix mine. This is a safety issue that needs to be called. Please help. I reported to Chevy but they wouldn't fix. Internet says it can happen to any of the gauges in the cluster. There is a guy in Oregon that replaces the 6 stepper motors. Chevy should do this for us. I've owned Chevy's all my life (I"M 49) but if they don't fix this I'm done. I'd rather have a Toyota at least they are recalling. Do a google search - everyone is having this problem.
Speedometer (pin or needle) freezes and periodically fluctuates. The driver is unable to determine the speed the vehicle is traveling. Upon approaching a hill, curve or bad weather the driver is able to negotiate speed properly, making this very dangerous and unsafe.
Fuel gauge and speedometer on GMC/Chevy Suburban, 2004 year. This is the second time I have had to replace the gauge cluster and GMC/Chevy dealer insist this is not a safety issue and not their problem. Since replacing the fist cluster, there have been many more complaints noted on the internet. This is clearly not an exceptional defect. The failure has come after about two to three years of use, and is worse in winter, but occurs inconsistently year around. I have not yet had an accident, but I did run out of gas in a rural area in the winter because the gauge said I had half a tank when it was infact empty. Speed is an issue in icy road conditions because it is very difficult to know if your speed is appropriate for the conditions when the speed shows zero or bounces around inconsistently. The failure has occurred at about 30K miles for each cluster. Lack of support by GM on this is disconcerting. Please assist.
My 2004 Chevrolet Suburban with 88,000 miles has a faulty speedometer and I am unable to tell what speed I am going at all times! I have a 4 year old and a 6 year old in the car with me often and this causes me great concern over the safety of my family and I.
The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban. While driving the speedometer displayed inaccurate information. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for inspection. The technician stated that the instrument panel cluster needed to be replaced. No repairs were made. The failure and current mileages were 132,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Bought my 2004 Chevy Suburban in Feb. 2008. It had 75,000 miles on it. Drove it for a month and the speedometer would fluctuate 3-4 mph at highway speeds and the work fine for a week or so before acting up. At 92,000 miles speedometer went totally out, reading 0 one minute and bouncing to 120 the next. Now it just sits on zero for most of the time. Would not know if it ever read the correct mph if it wasn't for the gps. Have not replaced anything yet. But will have to shortly because the Texas safety inspection is due in November. I think this is why the previous owner traded it in and didn't tell any one.
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Suburban 2500. The contact stated that the cluster in the vehicle was faulty and the instrument panel failed. As a result, the contact does not know how fast she is driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for repair, which would cost between $500-$600. The manufacturer stated that the warranty was expired on the vehicle and would have to be repaired at the contact's expense. There were no recalls for the failure. The failure mileage was 87,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Brownfield, TX, USA