My speedometer recently started malfunctioning. It read 20mph when I was driving at least 50mph, then it read 90+MPH when I was actually driving 30mph. Finally, my speedometer gave out and is "stuck" in the 120+MPH position. Thankfully, I have a GPS navigation system that has a gauge on it so I know my rate of speed. I contacted gm and they refused to remedy this "widespread" problem. They said that my "special coverage" has ended (referring to the 2008 class action suit that prompted it). I am very upset! I have read many, many forums and found that this is a very common issue. My mechanic says they replace them "all the time" and charges $700-$1,000 to fix it. In my opinion, there should be a recall on the instrument cluster panel. I just don't understand why gm won't step up and fix it free of charge.
2005 Chevrolet Suburban electrical complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 36 of 36, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Our speedometer just all of a sudden stopped working,from time to time it looks like it is working but it is not going the speed that it says. Since this started our oil gauge,and now fuel gauge has stopped working.
On august 3rd, 2012 my 2005 chevrolet suburban 1500 first showed signs of the instrument panel cluster failing. The tachometer showed a reading of 5,000 rpms with the engine idling. This continued for a few days and then seemed to go back to normal. About a week later the speedometer began to indicate incorrect readings. By september 6th, 2012 I had noticed it would sometimes show a speed of 120 MPH while going an actual speed 50 MPH or sometimes show 29 MPH while going 50 MPH. For a while it was moving the needle below 0mph. I can no longer rely on the gauges of this vehicle with only 65,000 miles on it.
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning blower not fully functional on all blower speeds, runs continuously with the ignition off. Discharges battery with ignition keys removed, and has a burning smell.
I went to washington auto show today 2/4/2012 and one of your rep gave me a card about your service. I came home and check out your website and found out you have been receiving complaints about instrument panel of chevy suburban. I bought a 2005 chevy suburban in march 2005 from win kelly chevorlet in clarksville, md. About middle of last year I noticed that my speedometer is always stuck, running high than the speed I am driving and just exactly as being described by other owners of these vehicles. What is the department doing to help with this manufacturer's defect and have it corrected rather than we consumers being saddled with unexpected repair cost?
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet suburban.the contact was driving approximately 45 MPH and noticed the speedometer, fuel and oil gauges failed to operate. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 69,000.
Instrument panel - cluster device -- panel/ speedometer went dead. Gm service dealer told us, " the entire truck could die and stop working as a result. "
My 2005 chevrolet suburban has 79,985 miles and this week while driving route 95 (70 MPH highway in the south) from new jersey to south carolina my speedometer started showing a much higher speed then I was traveling. I was using my GPS at the time and it said I was doing 69 MPH while my gauge showed a constant climb till it reached 120 MPH and flat lined beyond that point. This was a 1600 mile round trip and if I had not had my GPS with me I would not know how fast or slow I was going. I was waiting for something else to go wrong. While in south carolina I went to recalls on the internet with 2005 gm SUV's and found a whole bunch of similar complaints, yet gm (chevrolet) has not done anything that I could find. I returned home today and called my local chevrolet dealer and explained to the service department what had happened and they said they never heard of this and gave me an appointment for next monday 1/3/2011 to bring in the SUV. Since this car is out of service I am holding my breath as to what the bill could be. This is a very dangerous thing, I could be not looking at the gauge and be running right into a high speed error and putting my family in harms way. Can anyone help?
2005 chevrolet suburban. Consumer states defective speedometer. *tgw consumer sent in duplicate letter on 3/25/2010. *kb the consumer stated the speedometer was stuck at 120 MPH. The consumer was informed her vehicle was not a part of the recall, as her vehicle identification did not fall within the range. The second problem with the vehicle was the transmission. The consumer stated the vehicle had to be towed to the dealer, due to the interal failure of the transmission. *jb updated 04/12/10.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet suburban. While driving approximately between 55-60 MPH, the speedometer displayed inaccurate readings. While traveling at any given speed the failure occurred without warning. The authorized dealer stated that the instrument cluster required replacement. The vehicle has not been repaired at this time. The failure mileage was 55,000. The VIN was not available. The current mileage was 56,000. Updated 11/16/10.
In ,may 2009 my speedo was out of whack says im driving 100mph down street, buried at 120mph on highway. Came back to life later but now its hit or miss if it works. I have to use my magellan for speedo now and chevy dealer said if I was under 70k they could fix it for free but since im at 85k and they say I have to pay in full (approx $750.00) and chevy never told me about this I learned of the problem from a friend.
Erratic speedometer...often the needle sticks at 120 MPH when only going about 30...sometimes at 40 when actually not moving at a stoplight. It reads erratically all of the time. Started about 2 years ago (75,000 miles). Very costly to repair, so I keep my portable GPS running to get actual speed.
As I have read this is a recurring problem. My speedometer on our 2005 chevrolet suburban 67,000 miles quit working. On a long trip it would only show 45-60 MPH. I know I was going alot faster. When I accelerated it would slowly jump up to speed. Several times the oil pressure gauge was affected also. We had the cluster replaced at the dealership. Luckily we had an extended warranty. In my opinion this is a safety concern from dec 08 until may of 09 it happened 10 times.
Erratic speedometer... Says the vehicle is moving 120 MPH when in a village and 30 on the highway... It reads erratically all of the time. Started about 2 months ago (78,000 miles) this is a huge safety issue. Is chevrolet going to fix this problem? I have read numerous similar complaints.
My oil pressure gauge started reading "0" in november 2008 but there is nothing wrong with my oil. (mileage approx. 49,000) I check it often and have the oil changed regularly. In february 2009 my speedometer started registering inaccurately. First, it would say I was going 40 MPH at a dead stop. Currently, it is past the 120 MPH mark and holding. (mileage 52,000) I took it to a chevy dealer for diagnostic evaluation. I was told it was the dashboard circuit board and that it would be $500 to replace it. The service manager told me that this part had been recalled on the 2003-2004 models but not the 2005. That I could pay for the repair and if it was recalled I could be reimbursed. This is a huge safety concern especially with young teenage drivers. It seems obvious to me reading through all the complaints for the 2005 model and the recalls of previous years that the 2005 model should be recalled as well.
Speedometer stopped working. It is stuck on 30mph. There is no way to tell what speed you are traveling at.
The speedometer in my 2005 chevrolet suburban just stopped working. The needle is indicating 30mph all the time. This initially lead to me thinking I was going slower than I really was until I figured out that it wasn't working properly.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet suburban. The contact stated that the speedometer displays inaccurate readings on the instrument panel. He cannot determine the appropriate speed, which is a safety issue. The dealer stated that the instrument control cluster needed to be replaced at the cost of $600. The manufacturer stated that because a class action lawsuit does not include the contact's vehicle year, they would not assume any responsibility for the repair. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure mileage was 54,000 and the current mileage was unknown. Updated 5/26/09 *cn the speedometer is broken and the electrical communication makes a buzzing sound. Updated 05/28/09.
I have a 2005 chevrolet suburban. The speedometer has been going out for some time. It will either not register or register off so that the person driving has no idea of speed. I have contacted chevy and my dealer and have been informed that chevy knows of the issue but will only cover replacement through model year 2004. There is a class action suit to try to force coverage of additional years.
The speedometer on my 2005 chevrolet suburban stops working at random times. It started approx. One week ago at 73000 miles. Since it is out of warranty, chevrolet will not pay. There is a class action lawsuit filed for my vehicle.
My speedometer on my 2005 chevy suburban went out and the dealer say it would cause $500 dollars to replace it I thought that was ridiculous I went on line and seen that other people was having the same problem with their gmc vehicles there all to be a recall on the speedometer gmc is getting a bad reputation.
Speedometer would go up when I increased speed but would not go back down when the vehicle slowed down. I was able to get the speedometer to reset to zero by repeatedly starting and turning off the vehicle. Over the course of the next month the needle would do the same thing. I could reset it the same way. As of now its pegged at the bottom and I cannot reset it.
2005 chevy suburban speedometer does not show the right speed. First is was up by 30mph eventually it settled down to 10 MPH and that is where its stuck, it does not show my proper speed any more.
The speedometer on my 2005 chevy tahoe has been acting erratically. Sometimes it will work normally. Other times, it will not register at all. Additionally time it will read erroneously when driving traffic speeds. The selection process did not allow me to register a tahoe, only a suburban, which is why the vehicle information looks as it does.
Speedometer was ticking up and down rather than smoothly increasing and decreasing. We used cruise control when on a trip and then the speedometer started malfunctioning. Since this occurred, the speedometer has been stuck past 120 MPH on multiple occasions when we were going about 30. This is certainly a safety hazard for which a recall should be issued. This could cause an accident if it malfunctions while you are driving and you are unable to determine how fast you are going. You would tend to drive slower and you could be rear-ended by someone else who was either speeding or doing the correct speed limit. I was surprised to see the number of complaints about this problem and chevrolet has not stepped up to the plate and acknowledged that it is a manufacturer defect. I found out accidentally that when you start the vehicle, the speedometer resets by 5mph. I would have to start the vehicle repeatedly to get it back to zero. Although this is not good for the starter, this was my only option at the time. I just saw something on the internet that said to put the vehicle in reverse and then try to start it. By doing this it would reset the speedometer by 5mph every time without engaging the starter. This did work, but when I drove the vehicle the next time, the speedometer did not work at all. I tried resetting the speedometer again by putting it in park and starting, but to no avail. After trying many more times to reset by starting the vehicle, the speedometer started to work. This is unacceptable at every level. The consumer should not have to beg and plead to get a manufacturer defect fixed. What will it take to cause chevrolet to fix this defect, accidents or fatalities? If you look at the website http://www.topix.com/forum/autos/chevrolet-tahoe/t2bgkbgi55eknu77c/p3 you will see this is a common occurrence.
I have had nothing but electrical problems ever since I bought this car. I didn't even have the car for a month and the dash lights and head lights would dim on and off brought the car in to where it was purchased from and had my car for a week and replaced control module car still proceed to do the same thing brought it in to another dealership told me that this was normal because car had PCM after 4 months of going back and forth with these dealerships car was finally fixed due to a recall in a screw and wire not being grounded correctly. Now my car is in the dealership with numerous electrical problems and are trying to say that car was hit by lighting car would not start burning smell came from underneath hood of car. Now car does not run over 15 MPH with dying out battery only hold charge of 10 volts.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2005 Chevrolet Suburban?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history