Problems with 2004 Chevrolet Tahoe ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Speedometer on 2004 chevrolet tahoe no longer is accurate. it reflects 120 mph when the vehicle is not moving. *nm

My 2004 chevy tahoe has a defective speedometer. at 37,500 miles, conveniently just after warranty expired, the speedometer needle started jumping erratically, and then a few days later, it quit working completely. i have been informed by 2 local dealers in the s.f. bay area that it will cost approx $600-900 to repair, and i will be without my vehicle for up to a week. unfortunately, i cannot be without it b/c i work full time and am a single mother. i did see on ebay that there is a person that can repair the cluster and it is a whole lot cheaper than taking it to the dealer, but i would be without the whole cluster for quite some time. this is dangerous! i have been driving for several months not having a clue as to how fast i am actually driving, and it makes me really nervous. i cannot afford the $600-900 to have it repaired, and feel that gm should be forced to recall and repair this problem immediately! come on, this has affected thousands of people already! *jb

I have an 2004 tahoe with 37,000 miles on it and the speedometer does not register the correct speed. when sitting at a complete stop the speedometer will still register that i am still moving. have spoken to the gm dealership, and they were aware that there was a problem, but gm will not address it. looking at other complaints on the web. there were hundreds of gm owners with this same safety related problems covering many different gm vehicles. *ak

2004 chevy tahoe - the speedometer is completely erratic while driving and does not read the correct mph. it fluctuates all over the place and does not settle back to zero. very dangerous issue!!! *jb

Speedometer is not registering correct speed. started reading inaccurately and now does not read at all. our 2004 chevy tahoe is being taken to the dealership to be repaired. vehicle considered out of warranty due to miles and did not purchase extended warranty. *jb

I own a 2004 chevy tahoe which has 46k miles. my speedometer is acting erratically. it will not drop lower than 70 mph, often not dropping below 80 and even 90 mph. it will top out on the freeway and even driving down streets. i am being told this is common and being quoted having to replace the entire cluster at over $1k out of pocket. please have chevy recall this dangerous malfunction that is obviously a common occurrence. please make them pay for their poor workmanship and protect hard working consumers who simply cannot afford to pay for chevrolet's poor workmanship. *jb

2004 tahoe speedometer is pegged full scale while parked in driveway with engine off. noticed several others having same speedometer related problems on internet forums. this is a safety issue that should be addressed immediately through a recall by the manufacturer. *nm

Speedometer would freeze at 50 then 70 then 35 and now just stuck on 0. 54000 miles on the vehicle. $3-500 repair job. makes imports look good. *nm

Speedometer will drop to zero or show an inaccurate reading while driving. can not drive safely or legally if the speed of the vehicle is unknown. gm should consider this a recall issue. *jb

My recently purchased 2004 chevrolet taho z71 has approximately 40,000 miles on it. the speedometer is grossly inaccurate and functions erratically when it does function. shows 30 mph even when parked, but that value jumps around. no trigger event, it just started doing it. consequences are that i don't know what my real speed is and this creates a hazard in traffic. i have not had time to research the problem. based upon my searches i see this is a common problem with a number of gm vehicles. gm needs to issue a recall and fix this problem rather than soaking up our money in repair costs. *jb

My '04 chevy tahoe's speedometer, with only 40,000 miles, just quite working and is stuck on 55 even when it sits on the garage. after seeing hundreds of similar complaints on-line, it appears to be a widespread problem with similar gm models. *jb

Speedometer, voltage gauge, and tachometer gauges are not working properly. *nm

Started vehicle november 14,2006 speedometer is showing at between 70 mph and 120 mph when at full stop. unable to figure out how fast i am going. internet is showing that a lot of gmc suv and truck owners from 2003-2006 are having this issue. dealers and mechanics are charging between $600-$800 to repair. *nm

As i have read in prior complaints that have been filed on this web site, the speedometer on my vehicle also does not register correctly. i know of at least 4 other tahoe owners, and 1 3/4 ton z71 owner (all 2004 models who have experienced the same problems with their vehicles. i am a single mom and given what i have paid for my vehicle used i simply cant afford to pay the extra 400 dollars to fix the problem that obviously began during manufacturing. (why else would multiple vehicles all over the country have the same issue.) *tr

Speedometer indicated much higher speed than indicated (anywhere from 50 to over 120 miles per hour when completely stopped, or over 120 mph when driving at about 70 mph actual. was reset by repeated restarting the engine (which lowerred the minimum indicated speed by 7-10 mph per start). drove 120 miles with gps confirming speedometer's indicated speed, but i'm not comfortable issue is resolved. 2004 chevy tahoe lt, approx 30,000 miles. never involved in any accident, no body/mechanical/electrical repairs or modifications. *nm

My husband and i own a 2004 chevrolet tahoe with 30,000 miles currently on it. we were driving home from supper last night when our speedometer quit working. we were doing 65 mph down a local highway when my husband looked down at his speed and the speedometer read 35. we stopped at a red light and the speed dropped to 0. when we accelerated, the speed stayed at 0 when we were doing at least 35. we then pulled over, turned the car off, recranked the car and then began driving. still nothing. i have to say that this is definitely impacting our safety. we have no idea how fast we're driving. i googled the problem and found around 100 other gmc/gm car owners with the same problem. they are stating it costs between $500 and $700 to repair the problem and many times the problem still exists after the repairs. we have not contacted our local dealer because it is the weekend. we plan to call on monday morning to find out the cost to fix the problem. *nm

I have a 2004 chevrolet tahoe that the speedometer registers incorrectly or not at all. when the needle moves it moves with a jerky motion. *jb

Speedometer reads 40 mph when actually travelling 70 mph. *nm

At 37,000 miles, the speedometer on my 2004 chevy tahoe has stopped working. reading erratically or not at all. *nm

On october 27th, the speedometer on my 2004 chevy tahoe began to stop working. my vehicle has 49k miles on it. the speedometer gets stuck at various points and will peg out at over 120. on many occasions, it will not come off of zero. if you turn the car off and restart it, it will drop the needle about 5 mph, but will never zero itself back out. i called the dealership (bill heard chevrolet, collierville, tn) the day that it occurred. i was advised that this was a common occurrence and was a problem with the instrument panel cluster. i was also advised that it would cost around $600-$700 to repair. after doing some research, i have discovered that this seems to be a defect in gm trucks and suv's. it is extremely dangerous! i asked the dealership if there was a recall and was advised that there was not. this is not just happening to me. i truly believe that gm should issue a recall to have this instrument panel repaired. people expect reliability when they invest this type of money into a vehicle and they are not getting it from gm or it's parts. *nm

Speedometer ticking and showing incorrect speed. sometimes sticking on higher number and then on lower numbers and often not working at all. *nm

My speedometer malfunctioned while i was driving. i was unable to tell my accurate speed. i had to take my vehicle to the dealership and have the instrument cluster replaced with an instrument cluster that had been repaired. i was without my vehicle for two days. i have an extended warranty and therefore had to pay my portion ($100.00).*jb

At 36,000 miles speedometer failed and read wrong speed and then locked at 140 mph. t 40,000 miles the right front wheel speed sensor failed and the braking was reduced. *ak

Speedometer no longer works. reads to high, often staying at max speed or above while driving 55 to 65 mph. reads ~50 mph while sitting still. vehicle has miles. *nm

Our tahoe has 46295 miles on it. last week, the speedometer became erratic. it sometimes works, but often shows speeds of 50-80 mph while the truck is in idle, and much higher when the truck is moving. after talking with many dealers, repair shops and other gm drivers, this is apparently a common problem that has not been addressed by gm. apparently, the issue is with the instrument console, and other gauges may or may not be working as well. this is both a safety concern and a vehicle concern, as i may not know my correct speed, level of gas, etc. *nm

The speedometer started going way below the actual speed i was going. i'd have to turn the engine off and restart it and keep doing this until it gets back to normal. this went on for several weeks where it was fine, then it would drop below 0 at a stop sign, then would show 10 mph when i was actually doing about 35. now it's doing just the opposite. the other night i looked down at the speedometer and almost panicked because it said i was going 90 mph! i was actually doing around 50. this is a very serious safety issue and gmc should recall. *nm

2004 chevy tahoe speedometer failure - a common problem and unsafe. this ought to be a factory recall issue. speedometer reads double speed, half speed or zero. *jb

2004 chevy tahoe speedometer and associated gauges read erratic. ongoing problem, speedometer never goes below 80 mph, even when standing still. don't want to pay the suggested $500-600 to fix when gm should pay for it. i consider this to be a considerable safety risk. *nm

The original equipment battery, ac delco 72 month battery cracked 26 months into the warranty spilling acid onto the washer fluid bottle mounted below the battery. the acid melted the o-rings in the pump assemble for the front and rear wipers causing a leak. the pump assembles have to be replaced at a cost of over $200. the vehicle is out of warranty and ac delco is not responsible for incidental damage. someone should pay for repairs on my vehicle. *jb

2004 chevrolet tahoe. speedometer, fuel gauge went out with 75,000 miles on it. dash lights going out, air conditioner vents just falling apart. *tr

I have a 2004 chevrolet tahoe z71. at 40,500 miles the speedometer has started acting erratically, registering speeds up to 70 mph when the vehicle is at a standstill and registering a variety of speeds (none of which are correct) when the vehicle is in motion. my dealership insists that they have never heard of this problem before, however, i have seen on various web sites where there are literally thousands of owners of tahoe and yukon that are experiencing this problem...it is unsafe. *nm

Speedometer and tachometer both went to zero , and ceased functioning currently can't tell speed of travel. *jb

Dt*: the contact stated while traveling 65 mph, smoke flowed from under the hood. the vehicle was pulled over and the hood was raised. there was a fire in the fuse box that was extinguished with water. a police report was taken. the vehicle was towed to the dealership where the entire wiring for the vehicle was replaced. once the contact took possession of the vehicle, the warning lights illuminated and the audible warnings buzzed. the vehicle was taken back to the dealership who determined there was a short in the wiring system, but there was no repair.

I drive a 2004 tahoe ls. i am a salesman and drive quite a bit and have racked up around 95,000 miles to this day. while driving, about a year ago, i noticed my speedometer acting erratically. the needle would jump or lurch past each number as it ascended through the numbers on the speedometer. it was more noticeable in the 55 to 75mph range. the speed was still accurate so i viewed it as a non-issue. however, as time went on the accuracy began to degrade as i started noticing the speedometer would stop at 40 mph while i was driving highway speeds. the degradation has continued up to now where i am lucky if the needle even moves off of 0 mph. when the needle does move it freezes at about 15 mph forcing me to guess at my speed by monitoring the tachometer. this is a pretty dangerous situation and i would like to assume gm would look to remedy this situation quickly. the alternative is for the consumer to foot the bill of a $500-$1100 repair cost for a manufacturer's defect as many dealers already know that the "cluster needs to be replaced". this is a well-documented issue for gms built in the 2003 to 2005 model years which we, as consumers who have already invested at least $40,000 on these vehicles, need to see remedied. p.s. the 07 ford expedition and expedition el appear to be very nice

Speedometer is acting erratic, sometimes showing 35 mph when actual speed is somewhere around 70 mph. other times it shows 0 mph. i'm concerned about this and wonder if there are other problems. *nm

Speedometer sticks at 25-30 mph over what the actual speed should be...never resets to 0 when the vehicle is off...i list this as 1 failure because it never corrected itself after the initial failure. *jb

Electrical panel does not work properly. have not had a correct reading in months.

Around 37,000 miles my speedometer began acting up. it will read anything from 0-120 mph at any speed. this has became a major safety concern when traveling at highway speeds and the speedometer reads 70 mph, but until you pass another vehicle and get a sense of your actual speed that i realize the speedometer is stuck, and i really am traveling closer to 85 or 90. gm has told me that the entire speedometer would have to be replaced at my expense. a cost of around $450. *nm

We have seen dozen of incidents in the past few months where the speedometer began ticking, became jerky, or stopped working all together. sometimes it will display a speed obviously lower than the actual speed (like 30 on the highway where we are going at least 55). other times, it will sit at 0 while the car is cruising down the road. this problem is intermittent. sometime stopping and restarting the car fixes it. we will go a week or more without the problem and sometime we see it multiple times in one day. we have not repaired the issue yet. internet searching indicates the average repair cost to be between $500 and $1,200. similar searching also indicates that this has been seen by at least hundreds of people on variations of the tahoe (suburban, avalanche, etc). there is even someone on ebay who has a hole business around fixing broken instrument clusters for these vehicles. *jb

2004 chevy tohoe, the speedometer gets stuck and says you are going 100mph

Speedometer defect: gauge does move some of the time but does not read actual speed this suddenly occurred on long trip. *tr

Speedometer suddenly began to register incorrect mph. 0 mph sometimes is 30 mph or 40 mph or up to 70 mph. this happens suddenly you will look down and it will show you are going 110 mph when you are really going 60-70 mph. took it into the deal and was told they have had more than several of this same problem. cost to repair was going to be approximately $500, was told no recall has taken place, but they believe this was a defect and we should keep the receipt. we decided at this point to hold out and see if there is a recall as the speedometer works correctly approximately 50% of the time at this point. *nm

Speedometer does not work correctly. *jb

2004 chevrolet tahoe has a speedometer that does not work properly. very erratic readings throughout speed range. *nm

The speedometer on my 2004 chevrolet tahoe broke suddenly while driving. it went to a "0 speed" of 40 mph. in other words, while moving at 25 mph my speedometer read 65 mph. i had to immediately slow down and was forced to move off the roadway because i was a hazard to other traffic. this was the second such incident. in january 2005 the exact same thing happened as i was traveling at the posted speed limit of 70 mph. i slowed for traffic and as i accelerated back to the posted speed limit my speedometer read over 100 mph. i did not know my speed and was forced to pull to the side of a major freeway. that speedometer was replaced under warranty. however, the replacement only lasted 32194 miles and 15 months. besides the obvious danger in having a speedometer fail suddenly, there is the inherent concern that even if i was involved in even a minor fender-bender, the police investigating the accident would inaccurately find i was driving 40 mph above my actual speed and the burden would be on me to prove otherwise. an almost impossible task. *nm

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 chevrolet tahoe. the contact set the cruise control at 60 mph when he noticed the speedometer increased to 120 mph. he deactivated the speed control and pulled off the road. when he turned off the vehicle, the needle remained at 120 mph. the following day, the speedometer fluctuated from 100 to 0 and began working normally for over one year before the failure recurred. the contact received a letter from general motors stating that the special extended warranty for the instrumental cluster panel would be repaired for free within 7 years or 70,000 miles, whichever came first. the vehicle is over 70,000 miles. the manufacturer advised him to take the vehicle to a dealer for a diagnosis. the current mileage was 79,400 and failure mileage was 64,000. updated 12/04/07

Speedometer malfunctioned and no longer works on my 2004 tahoe. *tr

My speedometer started acting erratically, showing the incorrect speed or no speed at all, compared to the actual velocity of the vehicle. and now it simply no longer works and i cannot tell how fast i am going. *jb

I bought this vehicle brand new in 2005. after appox. 5 yrs, the instrument panel started slowly not working. at first it was the speedometer, then fuel gauge and now the entire instrument panel is useless. not one gauge is working. i have researched and found the same issues with the 2004 chevrolet tahoe. i, for one, see this as a dangerous situation as well as completely against the law to be driving a vehicle without a speedometer. this is now the only vehicle that i have and i have to depend on this vehicle to drive my family around in. i don't have the means to have this issue fixed and due to the same issue with many of the same vehicles, i think chevrolet should be held responsible before someone gets either stranded or hurt due to their negligence. *tr

My odometer stopped functioning on my 2004 tahoe z71. i brought it into the dealer under warranty. the dealer advised me that this was happening to all of the tahoe's and they were back logged trying to get the parts. it took over a week to get my tahoe back. the dealer said that they repaired my cluster. the hour meter has 279 hours less now than it did when i brought it in. the mileage had 4 more miles on it. i called and advised the dealer that the hour meter had 279 hours less and asked him if they repaired the cluster or replaced it? he said they repaired it. so i called my brother in-law who's been a mechanic for chevy for over 29 years. he said that they had to replace the cluster and just reprogrammed the mileage and hours. why would the dealer make a false statement to me and tell me that they repaired the cluster when they must have replaced it? also, why hasn't this been a recalled by chevy? it's a safety hazard and is happening to all the tahoe's. i have only driven it home, so i can not tell you if the problem has been permanently corrected.*jb