2003 Chevrolet Tahoe: jerking or lurching

Filed Dec 1, 2011 · Electrical · 180,000 miles · NC

I have noticed several complaints about this issue and it appears gm does not care. My speedometer is never correct. It runs 20-30 MPH over (and sometimes under) what we are actually doing. This first was noticed several weeks ago (prior to actually failing) when it appeared that the needle would jerk (or step action) up or down, I know chevrolet sent out a notice on this a year or so ago, but my vehicle was beyond their (gm) mileage requirement. I feel that their "bean counters" knew this at the time and it was against the american consumer. Anyway, this should be a safety concern by not only gm, but dot as well simply on the fact that one does not know how fast they are going. If caught off guard - thinking they are going 70 MPH but doing 90 MPH, loose control or run into someone. On the opposite side, doing 70 MPH, glance down and see that they are doing 90 MPH, they may hit the brake too hard to slow down and loose control or get rear ended. I could go on more with this issue, but it will probably not help (except add to the piles of complaints you are already receiving), so I'll quit for now. Thank you and please "light a fire" under gm's corporate people before someone gets killed over this.

Filed Feb 5, 2010 · Brakes, Electrical · IN

In nov of 2008 we started having problems with the speedometer. Took it to our dealer and they replaced the ipc and it did not fix the problem, after we got the tahoe back we started having problems with the cruise control as well. The speedometer becomes jerky and if we use the cruise the tahoe speeds up and we have to turn cruise off to stop it from speeding out of control. Also when the speedometer becomes jerky the service brake system alarm goes off after it makes it hard to stop. (we have almost rear ended someone several times.)recently 12-2009 our service engine light is on. We have taken the tahoe to our dealer and replaced several parts and nothing seems to make these problems go away. Please help as we have three kids and one on the way. The parts we have replaced are as follows: the front brake sensor and hub, the instrument panel cluster, ebc electronic brake control module and the fuel filter. Which is everything recommended by our dealer. I just want it fixed!!!!

Filed Jul 18, 2009 · Electrical · CA

My speedometer will become jerky and show various random speeds (commonly 0 MPH and 30 MPH) while I am driving. This can be very dangerous when the speedometer reads a speed that is nowhere close to the actual speed that the vehicle is moving. (additionally, my fuel gauge sticks at various times.) initially, this occurred only a couple of times, but has now become more frequent. I have contacted my local dealer to discuss the repair of this defect and I was told that because my vehicle now has over 70,000 miles that I must pay the full cost of repair. As I believe that this is a critical safety issue, I feel that chevrolet should repair my safety defect regardless of mileage.

Filed Mar 14, 2009 · Electrical · 118,000 miles · SC

Speedometer in 2003 tahoe failing to give accurate speed. Speed does not register at all sometimes. Needle to speedometer is "jerky" when it does work. Have not had repaired yet because I was searching out possible solutions when I discovered that numerous tahoe owners are having the same problem. If the manufacturer is admitting there is a problem them why should "we" have to pay for it. Especially after discovering the cost ( from $500-$575). Please help!

Filed Feb 14, 2008 · Electrical · 100,000 miles · WI

My 2003 chevy tahoe has 100, 100 miles. The speedometer has suddenly been acting up. The needle jerks up/down instead of smooth movement. Occasionally I will be on interstate driving over 50 MPH but needle is at 20-30 MPH. Just today my needle won't go below 15mph when I am fully stopped & in park. Researching the problem has LED me to find many more people are experiencing the same thing with their gmc vehicles from 2003/2004.

Filed May 15, 2007 · Acceleration · 72,000 miles · GA

2003 chevyrolettaho. Speedometer not working correctly. At times the speedometer will register speeds that are between 20-70 MPH in excess of actual speed, and at others will register speeds that are 10-40mph below actual speed. Other times the speedometer appeared to read correctly. Operation is jerky at all positions. The actual speed was unkown since this instrument cannot be trusted. This has been happening off and on every couple of days for 5 months.

Filed Feb 13, 2007 · Electrical · 45,300 miles · NC

I own a 2003 chevy tahoe. I visited the dealer in november 2005 with a failing speedometer. It seemed to stick on cold mornings and resulted in high readings. The movement was very jerky and there also seemed to be a rhythmic clicking sound coming from the cluster. The vehicle was still under warranty at this time. The dealer was unable to find a problem, but 'reset' the cluster at no charge. After a few weeks, the speedometer seemed to be working again except under very cold conditions. It is now 2/13/2007 and the speedometer is sticking again. It reads about 70 MPH when the vehicle is parked. I took the vehicle to the dealership and they state that the cluster needs to be replaced (at a cost of $500+). The vehicle is no longer under warranty, so I am checking with the service manager since this is a proven, pre-existing condition per my visit in 2005. I should have an answer on that on 2/16/2007. I searched the internet and on a single site, topix.net, I found over 400 entries of customers experiencing the same problem on gmc and chevy trucks and suvs. This is a very unsafe condition (not being able to gauge speed)!

Filed Feb 6, 2007 · Electrical · 18,500 miles · FL

Gauges in instrument cluster are failing. Speedometer is jerky if it works at all. Oil pressure is pegged all the way to the right. Engine temp is max. Dealership wants to charge over $500 to fix. Checked internet many others have the same problem.

Filed Jan 21, 2007 · Electrical · 32,700 miles · CA

I have a 2003 chevy tahoe (33k miles) and the speedometer just broke this weekend. It now rests in peace to the extreme right of the gauge. In my opinion, this is an obvious danger to the driver because I cannot accurately judge speed. For the past couple weeks, when starting the truck I noticed an odd clicking noise that stopped once the engine was at optimum temperature. The speedometer had also been a little jerky during this time too. When I called the local dealership, they said the solution would be to replace the entire instrument cluster, which would be $400. I'm taking the truck into the dealership tomorrow to have it fixed and hope gm will refund the money I spent to have the item fixed in the future. This truck is only three years old and having this kind of problem is frankly purely defective in nature.

Filed Dec 29, 2006 · Electrical · NC

2003 chevrolet tahoe- speedometer began erratic jerking, finally began reading either faster or slower than actual, errors ranging from 5 to 90 MPH!