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2004 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 electrical complaints

Page 2 of 4: complaints 11 to 40 of 84, newest first, as owners wrote them.

See the summary of 2004 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 electrical problems: which part fails, at what mileage and related recalls.

Filed Jan 23, 2012 · Electrical · 91,717 miles · IA

Speedo does not read correct, it gets stuck at various numbers...while driving or parked on or off (speed can be plus or minus actual speed by 5-55 MPH at any given time. And you never know when, also the oil pressure gauge will go past the marked limit when the truck is off, no key in the ignition.

Filed Aug 21, 2011 · Acceleration, Electrical · 350,000 miles · PA

2004 chevrolet suburban goes into reduced power engine w/o reason change the engine, because high miles, change transmission, change throttle body,change gas pedal module, change catalytic converter spend over 4,000 on the truck without counting the accident can occur in the interstate 78 west because of the lost of power, dealers don't know what is the problem neither the local mechanics can you please take action in this matter and read at edmonds.com and see all the complains about the same problem

Filed Jul 6, 2011 · Electrical · 118,253 miles · VA

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.

Filed Jul 6, 2011 · Electrical · 110,000 miles · AL

Our 2004 chevrolet suburban lt has approximately 115k miles. Periodically the entire instrument cluster, with the exception of a couple of lights, stops working. No gauges, no speedometer, etc. Sometimes when this happens the driver information center displays strange and random characters, sometimes the dic section is all blue, and sometimes it is blank. I have tried disconnecting the battery to reset the computer. This seemed to work one time, but the rest of the time this had no effect. There doesn't seem to be any pattern (day/night, hot/cold, etc.) as to when this malfunction will occur, or when it will return to normal. We are in day 2 of an instrument panel failure at this time.

Filed Feb 25, 2011 · Electrical · 82,000 miles · MD

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet suburban 1500. The contact stated that the speedometer gauge and fuel gauge would not display an accurate reading whenever the vehicle was in operation. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for a diagnostic testing where they detected that the needle within both gauges was stuck and informed that the instrument panel would need to be replaced to correct the problem. The manufacturer previously issued a voluntary recall associated with the instrument panel however the contact did not receive the notification. The vehicle was not included in the recall due to the excessive mileage, although the manufacturer stated that they would consider extending the special coverage under the recall. The contact was waiting upon a response from the manufacturer regarding the repair. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.

Filed Jan 24, 2011 · Electrical · 60,669 miles · VA

Gauge failure, specifically the speedometer, on the instrument panel. The speedometer works intermittently and also gets stuck at a speed > than 75 MPH when my vehicle is going much slower than that and then registers > 120mph when I am going around 60-65 MPH.

Filed Jan 19, 2011 · Electrical, Transmission · GA

Transfer case had to be replaced before 70000 miles due to bearing. Passenger air went out and only blew hot after a battery change, had to replace entire air system. Air system went out again with 2nd battery replacement, but dealer was able to "reset" it. Speedometer only works sometimes. Binding noise in steering column , has been lubed numerous times while waiting for chevy to issue a recall according to dealer. This vehicle is driven under 15000 miles a year.

Filed Jan 11, 2011 · Electrical · TX

2004 chevy suburban with approximately 125000 miles had instrument cluster failure with the oil pressure gauge and the alternator or charging system gauge after a drop in the ambient temperature. Took to dealership who said the entire cluster must be replaced.

Filed Dec 3, 2010 · Electrical · CA

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.

Filed Oct 20, 2010 · Electrical, Visibility · 85,000 miles · CA

2004 chevrolet suburban air conditioning intermittently blows hot air only on the driver's side using the dual zone AC control. Gm has no idea how to fix this issue. While researching found thousands of chevy owner all with the same complaint and with no real fix. There seems to be some connection between the battery/loss of power and the climate control module being defective.

Filed Jul 1, 2010 · Electrical · LA

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... Http://www.wthr.com/global/story.asp?s=7434450.

Filed Jun 2, 2010 · Electrical · 81,100 miles · TX

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.

Filed Jun 2, 2010 · Electrical · 150,000 miles · IL

2004 1500 suburban stalls without warning. No service codes to point to troubles. A search online shows the amount people having trouble. Changed crank positioner sensor, plugs, and injector cleaner. No change no help from dealer without spending thousands. It is stalling on busy streets and highways no accident yet but very close calls. It happens now every day mostly after warmed up and stopping and speeding up again. I read online that ca has a recall but nothing nation wide. I don't have the resources to trade or spend thousands for a defect that is a safety hazard.

Filed May 17, 2010 · Electrical · 74,000 miles · SC

Speedometer does not give accurate readings, and often stops working completely.

Filed Mar 21, 2010 · Electrical · 90,000 miles · TN

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.

Filed Mar 18, 2010 · Electrical · 60,000 miles · GA

2004 chevy suburban - about a year or two ago my speedometer started acting up. It would say I was doing 10 MPH when I was on the highway or I could be going 30 or 35 and it would say I was going 110 MPH. This went on for months before it finally just quit working. I have to drive with a GPS just to know how fast I'm going. I have heard and read of many other cases exactly like this. Seems to me this should be a recall for a defective speedometer. I don't have the $400 or $500 they want to fix it.

Filed Mar 14, 2010 · Electrical · 92,000 miles · NV

While driving I notice my speedometer not working on my 2004 chevy suburban. My wife called henderson chevrolet. They asked what our mileage was. It was 92,000 miles. They said it would cost over $800.00. I never knew there was a recall on the speedometer cluster till I put a search in on the internet. Can someone help us?

Filed Mar 12, 2010 · Electrical · 60,000 miles · CT

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.

Filed Feb 19, 2010 · Electrical · 60,000 miles · FL

Defect horns in 2004 chevy suburban 1500, we had to replace it 2 times and others are having the same problems.

Filed Feb 10, 2010 · Electrical · 36,000 miles · IA

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.

Filed Jan 9, 2010 · Electrical · 88,488 miles · CA

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.

Filed Dec 18, 2009 · Electrical · 101,000 miles · SC

2004 chevrolet suburban speedometer reading is inaccurate, reading anywhere from 20 to 50 MPH too high. This is a hazard while driving due to inability to accurately gauge speed, causing tendency to drive too slowly. Run risk of traffic ticket. Chevy dealership acknowledges that this is common problem but only provides special issue service for vehicles between 70,000 to 80,000 miles on odometer.

Filed Oct 20, 2009 · Electrical · 86,450 miles · CA

Speedometer does not work. Unsure of my speed very unsafe.

Filed Sep 23, 2009 · Electrical · 78,000 miles · TX

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.

Filed Jun 13, 2009 · Electrical · 80,000 miles · TX

The speedometer on my '04 chevy suburban has become erratic, and progressively gets "faster" and faster until it registers 120mph setting still. Repeatedly turning the car on and off will reset the speedometer, but it recurs within a few days.

Filed Apr 28, 2009 · Electrical · 45,000 miles · CA

I noticed while I was driving that the speedometer seemed a little off and I was correct it starts at 10mph and while driving its about 13 MPH off.

Filed Apr 26, 2009 · Electrical · 99,000 miles · MN

2004 chevy suburban speedometer fails sporadically. Will stick at anytime without notice. Showing up to 120 miler per hour while parked. Cannot ascertain exact of speed of vehicle. Wper haps effects odometer and hour meter.

Filed Apr 21, 2009 · Electrical · 76,000 miles · TN

Speedometer stopped working when odometer read 76,000 miles. Does not work at all. Currently read 120 MPH. Dealer will not fix as warranty has expired. Speedometer stopped working due to poor quality, not improper use.

Filed Apr 15, 2009 · Electrical · 80,119 miles · IL

Instrument cluster went dead no speedometer nothing.

Filed Mar 30, 2009 · Electrical · 105,000 miles · LA

Speedometer quit working on 2004 suburban.

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