Owner-reported complaints naming the electrical system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2004 Chevrolet Suburban submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 72 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 72, in the owner's own words
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.
Brake/abs light on and ecbm for abs not working no anti lock brake system and for the electrical vehicle has all kinds of electrical issues had to remove fuse to radio because of it going bonkers and it wouldn't turn off or down sounds like a fax machine or old school dial up internet sounds all the time and siren sounds were coming from radio and speakers only way to make it stop was to pull the fuse and have had to get multiple four wheel alignments because of steering and steering has to much play in it before suburban turns
THE TRUCK FAILS TO RESTART AFTER DRIVING IT AN AT FIRST IT WOULD RESTART AFTER 15 - 20 MINUTES AFTER IT SITS AN NOW IT DOES NOT START AT ALL SO FAR I KNOW IT IS HAPPENING TO MORE THAN 20 VEHICLES INCLUDING THE STATE PATROL 2016 SUBURBANS AND SEVERAL OF THE PICKUPS
INSTRUMENT CLUSTER SHORTS OUT AND GEAR INDICATOR GOES BLANK. NO MESSAGE CENTER INFORMATION WARNINGS ARE DISPLAYED. PART IS DEFECTIVE AND CAR MAKERS SHOULD REPLACE IT. NOT KNOWING WHAT GEAR VEHICLE IS IN CAN LEAD TO DEATH IF VEHICLE LEFT IN NEUTRAL AND ROLLS AWAY. GM NEEDS TO FIX THIS EXPENSIVE PROBLEM. ALSO 4L60E TRANSMISSION ON THESE VEHICLES FAILS AND STARTS SLIPPING BECAUSE OF DEFECTIVE SUN SHELL AND REAL PISTON SEAL. GM SHOULD RECALL ALL THESE BAD TRANSMISSIONS. WARRANTY SHOULD HAVE BEEN FOR LIFE. WHY SHOULD SUCH AN EXPENSIVE PART TO REPAIR FAIL UNDER NORMAL USE? RECALL ! BOTH THESE PARTS FAIL WHEN DRIVING. ALL WARNING OF VEHICLE CONDITIONS ARE SENT TO FAILED CLUSTER. VEHICLE WAS MADE IN MEXICO FOR RE-IMPORTATION AND SALE IN USA AND MAYBE PARTS SUPPLIERS IN MEXICO PROVIDED DEFECTIVE PARTS. MANY PEOPLE HAVE SUFFERED FINANCIAL LOSS TRYING TO FIX THESE PROBLEMS, LASTLY, THE EMISSION SOLENOID NEAR THE TANK ALSO FAILS. VEHICLE MAY NOT PASS EMISSION. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD INTERMITTENTLY BLOW HOT AIR DUE TO A FAILURE WITH THE AIR CONDITIONER BLOWER MOTOR. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE BLOWER RESISTOR MODULE AND THE WIRING HARNESS WERE REPLACED; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 174,000. UPDATED 12/03/15*LJ UPDATED 11/17/2017*CN
WAS DRIVING DOWN INTERSTATE LOOKED AT SPEED IT WAS PEGGED OUT WAY PAST 120 I KNOW I WAS NOT GOING THAT FAST I WAS GETTING PASSED THEN WHEN I STOPPED IT ONLY COME DOWN TO ABOUT 110 SAYS U R RUNNING 100 SITTING STILL. *TR
1ST COMPLAINT: AFTER PASSING A VEHICLE ON A HIGHWAY (THIS REQUIRED THE SUBURBAN TO GO INTO THE PASSING GEAR), THE SUBURBAN'S ELECTRICAL SYSTEM AND ENGINE AUTOMATICALLY SHUT DOWN RIGHT ON THE HIGHWAY. I WAS FORCED TO IMMEDIATELY PULL OVER IN ORDER TO AVOID BE HIT BY PASSING VEHICLE. AFTER WAITING APPROXIMATELY 5 MINUTES, THE SUBURBAN STARTED UP AGAIN. WE STARTED DRIVING AGAIN BUT AGAIN ONCE I TRIED TO ACCELERATE OR PASS ANOTHER VEHICLE THE SUBURBAN WOULD SHUT DOWN AGAIN. AUTO MECHANIC HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO IDENTIFY WHAT CAUSES THE VEHICLE TO DO THIS. VERY FRUSTRATING AND DANGEROUS IF THIS HAPPENS ON A BUSY HIGHWAY OR FREEWAY. 2ND COMPLAINT: CLUSTER PANEL WENT HAYWIRE. SPEEDOMETER STOPPED WORKING, OIL GAUGE NOT READING PROPERLY ETC. EVENTUALLY, THE ENTIRE CLUSTER PANEL SHUT DOWN. HAD TO REPLACE IT AT A COST OF ABOUT $500. 3RD COMPLAINT: DRIVERS SEAT FUNCTIONS AND HEATING MECHANISIM MALFUNCTIONED. THE DRIVERS HEATED SEAT STOPPED WORKING AND THE SEAT CONTROLS MALFUNCTIONED. THE SOME OF THE DRIVERS SEAT CONTROLS STOPPED WORKING OR ARE REVERSED. EXAMPLE; WHEN YOU PUSH THE LEVER TO MOVE THE SEAT FORWARD IT GOES BACKWARD AND VIS VERSA. THE DRIVERS SIDE HEATED SEAT STOPPED WORKING AND IT WILL CANCEL OUT THE PASSENGERS SIDE HEATED SEAT. EXAMPLE; IF THE PASSENGER SIDE HEATED SEAT IS SELECTED, IT WORKS BUT ONCE YOU SELECT THE DRIVERS SIDE HEATED SEAT IT WILL CANCEL OUT THE PASSENGER SIDE AND THE DRIVERS SIDE STILL DOESN'T WORK. AUTO MECHANIC CLAIMED THE DRIVERS SIDE HEATED SEAT ELEMENT WAS BAD. HAD IT REPLACED AT A COST OF $300 BUT STILL DID NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM. THE ORIGINAL HEATED SEAT ELEMENT WAS NOT BAD EITHER. *TR
AT FIRST I GOT A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON WITH CODE P0430, O2 SENSOR LOWER BANK 2, THEN BANK 1. REPLACED THOSE TWO WORK FOR A WEEK THEN RPM AND SPEEDOMETER GAUGE FLUCTUATE UP AND DOWN. I DROVE HOME FROM THE AIRPORT ONE NIGHT AND ALL GAUGE READING WENT ALL THE WAY UP. I WAS TRAVELING ON AN INTERSTATE WITH A SPEED LIMITED OF 55MPH AND THE READING IN MY CAR WAS OVER 120MPH. TOOK TO IN SHOP, SHOP RECOMMEND I NEED SPEEDOMETER SENSOR REPLACED. REPLACED THAT, NOW ALL THE INSTRUMENT GAUGE JUMP UP AND DOWN. SOMETIME ALL THE WAY FULL SOMETIME ALL THE WAY DOWN. FINALLY GOT TIRE OF TRYING TO FIX IT MYSELF AND TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER AND THEY FOUND OUT IT WAS A BAD DASH INSTRUMENT AND BAD CATYLETE-CONVETER. THANKS TO CHEVY IT COST ME HEADACHE, GUESSING TIME, GIVING FALSE READING AND MOST OF ALL THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO GET IT FIX RIGHT. *TR
INSTRUMENT CLUSTER FAILED .TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER ,THEY WANTED $500 TO REPLACE. TOOK IT BACK SEVERAL MONTHS LATER AND TRIED TO NEGOTIATE A LOWER PRICE AND ALSO FOUND THAT THIS HAS BEEN A WIDESPREAD PROBLEM AND THAT SOME CUSTOMERS REPORT ONLINE THAT THEY HAVE GOT THE DEALER TO REPLACE AT NO COST. MY CLUSTER HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED AND I AM SEEKING TO HAVE GM REPAIR IT FOR FREE.. *TR
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. *TR
THE VEHICLE WILL SHUT OFF AT INTERSTATE AND LOW SPEEDS AND SHOW REDUCED POWER AND STABILITY SYSTEM DISABLED. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS, I WAS NEARLY KILLED ON THE INTERSTATE BY AND 18 WHEELER COMING UP BEHIND ME WHEN THE ENGINE SHUT DOWN.. *TR
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. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE GAUGES IN THE INSTRUMENT PANEL WERE INOPERABLE. THE ALTERNATOR AND TEMPERATURE GAUGE WOULD DISPLAY THAT THE VEHICLE WAS OVERHEATING. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THAT THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER PANEL WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED AND THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 67,000. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.
INSTRUMENT CLUSTER FAILED AFTER EXTREME COLD TEMPERATURES, FUEL GAUGE, TEMPERATURE GAUGE, OIL PRESSURE GAUGE AND BATTERY CHARGING SYSTEM GAUGE. GM KNOWS ABOUT THE FAULTY GAUGES AND AS OF THIS DATE HAS NOT MADE A RECALL OF THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. CONSIDERING ALL LEGAL REMEDIES AFFORDED BY LAW AS THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT CAN BE RECTIFIED BY GM BY REPLACING THE AFOREMENTIONED FAULTY FACTORY EQUIPMENT. *TR
I OWN A 2004 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN 1500 WHICH I BOUGHT USED IN 2006. SINCE THE DAY I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE THE BACK DOORS WILL NOT AUTOMATICALLY UNLOCK EITHER WITH DECREASED SPEED OR WITH THE HAND HELD REMOTE. YOU ACTUALLY HAVE TO REACH BACK AND UNLOCK THE DOORS WITH YOUR HAND. NOW, IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS, THE REMOTE STILL WORKS BUT IT IS NOT UNLOCKING ANY OF THE DOORS AND YOU MUST USE THE KEY TO UNLOCK DRIVERS DOOR. I WAS TOLD THERE ARE MOTORS IN EACH DOOR FOR THE LOCKS AND THAT REPLACING THEM ARE EXPENSIVE, SO I'M WONDERING IF THERE HAVE BEEN ANY KIND OF RECALLS FOR THIS PROBLEM. *TR
SPEEDOMETER BEGAN READING INCORRECTLY, PEGGED OUT AT MAXIMUM, DRIFTS AIMLESSLY, THEN STICKS AGAIN. CANNOT GET SPEEDOMETER TO RESET OR READ CORRECTLY. *TR
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. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS TURNED OFF THE DRIVER HEARD A LOUD NOISE UNDER THE DRIVER'S SEAT. THE WIRES UNDER THE SEAT WERE EXPOSED. THE DRIVER ALSO STATED THAT THERE WERE INTERMITTENT FAILURES WITH THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHO REPLACED THE EXPOSED WIRES WITH ELECTRICAL TAPE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 48250. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 48349.
TL* 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.
SPEEDOMETER READS INCORRECTLY. READS SPEEDS OVER 30 MPH WHILE STANDING STILL, 120 MPH WHILE GOING 40MPH, OR NOTHING AT ALL. IT VARIES FROM DAY TO DAY. *TR
INSTRUMENT CLUSTER PANEL IN A 2004 CHEVY SUBURBAN WAS DIAGNOSED BY A GM DEALERSHIP AS DEFECTIVE ON 3/4/2009 WITH 70,400MILES. OIL GAUGE AND BATTERY GAUGE FAILS TO READ PROPERLY OFTEN BOUNCING AROUND/FLUTTERING AROUND DURING VEHICLE OPERATION. GAUGES DO NOT RETURN TO ZERO WHILE VEHICLE IS NOT OPERATING. GAUGE FAILURE WAS NOTED ON 2/10/2009. GM HAS YET TO AGREE TO REPLACE CLUSTER PANEL THOUGH A LETTER WAS SENT TO GM OWNERS REGARDING MATTER. LETTER CLEARLY STATES NOT TO BRING VEHICLE IN TO HAVE CLUSTER PANEL CHECKED UNTIL THERE IS BELIEVED TO BE AN ISSUE. *TR
ENGINE INTERMITTENTLY GOES INTO "REDUCED ENGINE POWER" "TRACTION CONTROL DISABLED" FOR NO APPARENT REASON. ENGINE POWER IS REDUCED BY TWO THIRDS. ISSUE HAS BEEN OCCURRING FOR APPROXIMATELY 2 YEARS NOW. GM/CHEVY DEALERSHIP HAS BEEN UNABLE TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE. I'VE HAD THE CAR IN THE SHOP OVER 20 TIMES SOME TIMES ON A WEEKLY BASIS. THROTTLE BODY, TAC, BATTERY CABLES, AND OTHER COMPONENTS HAVE BEEN CHANGED TO NO AVAIL. SEVERAL CLOSE CALLS ON THE FREEWAY WITH 18 WHEELERS BEARING DOWN ON REAR END WHEN ISSUE HAS OCCURRED. I NO LONGER ALLOW MY WIFE AND KIDS IN THE CAR. I'M SURE SOMEONE WILL EVENTUALLY DIE AS A RESULT OF THIS ISSUE AND MAYBE THEN GM WILL ADDRESS THE ISSUE. HOPEFULLY WHEN IT HAPPENS IT WILL NOT INVOLVE SMALL CHILDREN WHICH IS WHAT SUBURBANS ARE TYPICALLY PURCHASED FOR...TO DRIVE AROUND FAMILIES WITH SMALL CHILDREN. CONSUMERS THINKING THEY ARE PURCHASING A GOOD SIZE VEHICLE THAT WILL KEEP THEIR FAMILY SAFE SHOULD STEER AWAY FROM GM PRODUCTS. *TR
SPEEDOMETER NOT REGISTERING ACCURATELY. WHILE IN NEUTRAL 90 MPH. *TR
MY FAMILY AND I WERE TRAVELING ON THE INTERSTATE IN OUR 2004 CHEVY SUBURBAN WHEN MY SPEEDOMETER STARTED FLUCTUATING FROM 20 MPH TO 70 MPH TO 120 MPH. THE ENGINE DIDN'T SEEM TO CHANGE ITS RUNNING SPEED AS THE SPEEDOMETER FLUCTUATIONS WERE OCCURRING. I ONLY HAVE 40K MILES, AND I'M THE ORIGINAL OWNER. MY WIFE MAINLY DRIVES IT TO TAKE OUR KIDS TO SCHOOL AND THEIR ACTIVITIES, AND ERRANDS. WILL THE DEALER REPAIR FOR FREE? *TR
I WAS DRIVING ALONG THE FREEWAY AND I NOTICED THAT ON THE COMPUTERIZED DASHBOARD, THE SERVICE TIRE MONITOR WAS FLASHING. I WAS DRIVING 50 MPH AND WHEN I LOOKED AT THE SPEEDOMETER, THE GAUGE WENT UP TO 120 MPH AND EVEN THOUGH I TURNED THE ENGINE OFF THE GAUGE IS STILL AT 120 MPH. I ALSO NOTICED THAT THE BATTERY GAUGE IS NOT WORKING, BECAUSE THE GAUGE IS NOT MOVING AT ALL AND WHEN I LOOKED AT THE RPM GAUGE, I WAS ONLY PRESSING THE GAS SLIGHTLY, THE RPM GAUGE WENT UP TO THE MAXIMUM LEVEL. WHEN I WAS COMING BACK HOME FROM WORK THE SAME DAY, WHEN I STARTED THE ENGINE I FELT IT RIGHT AWAY THAT WHENEVER I PUT MY FOOT ON THE GAS, THE VEHICLE IS JUST MOVING SLOWLY, UNTIL IT STOPPED MOVING. I HAVE IT TOWED TO BILL HEARD DEALERSHIP AND THEY FOUND OUT THAT IT WAS THE TRANSMISSION WAS TORE AND ACCORDING TO THE DEALERSHIP THAT I NEED TO HAVE A NEW TRANSMISSION. THIS VEHICLE IS A 2004 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN, BOUGHT IT BRAND NEW. RIGHT NOW WE HAVE 67,880 MILEAGE AND WE ONLY HAVE THIS VEHICLE FOR 4 1/2 YEARS. FEW MONTHS PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT, I RECEIVED A LETTER FROM GM, ABOUT A CONDITION THAT MAY DEVELOP ON THIS VEHICLE WHICH IS WHERE ONE OR MORE OF THE INSTRUMENT PANEL GAUGE NEEDLES MAY STICK, FLUTTER OR BECOME INOPERATIVE AND MAY CAUSE INACCURATE READINGS, INCLUDING THE SPEEDOMETER AND THE FUEL GAUGE. I HAVE KEPT THAT LETTER AND CALLED THE GM AND I WAS ADVISED TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP. I WAS JUST WANDERING, BECAUSE IT ALL HAPPENED IN ONE DAY. I DON'T KNOW IF THIS PROBLEM IS RELATED TO THE TRANSMISSION. *TR
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
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