Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIGITAL INSTRUMENT PANEL | |||
| 03/20/2008 | 80000 | 1 | |
| We own two chevrolet vehicles that are experiencing the all too common problem with defective and/ or erratic operation of speedometers. one is a 2003 silverado k-2500 h-d with approx 87,000 miles. we have owned this vehicle for 2 years this month, and the problem started just after bringing it home. it was bought used, so problem may have been around for much longer. the second is a 2003 tahoe lt with approx. 67,000 miles. this vehicle was purchased used also; in may 2008. the speedometer began malfunctioning in fall 2009. this is apparently a very common, and potentially seriously dangerous problem. we feel this is a manufacturer defect in material and workmanship, and not an expense to repair that should be wholly the responsibility of loyal vehicle owners. who should be responsible if this causes, at best only expensive citations, and at worst possible fatal or serious accidents? *tr | |||
| 01/01/2008 | 40000 | 1 | |
| Speedometer reading way off bounces up and down. *tr | |||
| 06/16/2008 | 54000 | 1 | |
| 2003 chevrolet silverado 2500 hd 4x4 6.0l has a speedometer that malfunctions. general motors is saying the problem lies in the stepper motors in the speedometer cluster itself. general motors is not fixing this problem on their vehicles for free. *tr | |||
| 09/14/2007 | 147000 | 1 | |
| We were driving home from a football game when we noticed we were apparently driving faster than the speedometer stated, it read 65mph,but the rpm's did not match and we were blowing past other vehicles on the highway and from that point had to guess how fast we were traveling. this has happen a few times and now the speedometer does not work at all. gm sent out letters stating a possible instrument panel gauge needles may stick,flutter or become inoperative & may cause inaccurate readings. gm refuses to recall or fix our vehicle/truck for free-they claim too many miles, i have proof this has happen to other trucks with miles at on or about 40,000, 90,000 and our vehicle at or about 147,000 at the time it malfunctioned. it is apparent that this is a safety issue and the malfunctions occur at various mileages on these trucks and gm will not repair our vehicle at their cost. the trucks in question are year(s) 2003,2004 & 2002 chevy silverado. it is very dangerous to drive our truck and not know how fast we are traveling. *tr | |||
| 08/15/2006 | 65000 | 1 | 09/20/2003 |
| I own a 2003 chevrolet silverado 2500 hd. in august 2006 my oil pressure gage started to malfunction. it would intermittently read no oil pressure even though the oil level was adequate. i took the vehicle for a fuel system servicing to a gm dealer in san antonio tx and asked them to check the oil pressure problem. the service manager stated the problem was a pressure switch. i asked it to be repaired along with the fuel system servicing. at the time my vehicle had approximately 65,000 miles. the service department failed to attempt a repair on the oil pressure gage even though the other items were repaired. i elected not to let them keep my vehicle longer to affect the repair. approximately 2 months later i took the vehicle to another dealer and asked it to be repaired. the service manager informed me the actual problem was the instrument panel. it would cost approximately $700 to replace. i elected not to have it replaced due to the cost. at this time my vehicle had 71,000 miles. in the summer of 2007 my speedometer started to malfunction by displaying the wrong speed or sticking at zero. i again took the vehicle to the dealer who again said it was the instrument cluster. shortly after, i received a letter from gm stating this was a known issue and it would replace or repair the malfunction free of charge on any vehicle with less than 70,000 miles. i contacted my local gm dealer to see if my vehicle could be repaired under this since it originally malfunctioned when there was less than 70,000 miles on the vehicle. the service manager contacted gm and then told me they would not since my vehicle has more than 70,000 miles and gm does not consider this a safety issue. my vehicle currently will not pass a state of texas safety inspection because the speedometer does not work. i am making a complaint because i believe this is a safety issue and should be a full recall. *tr | |||
| 02/08/2008 | 71236 | 1 | 09/01/2002 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet silverado 2500 hd. while driving 70 mph, the speedometer increased to 115 mph and remained in that position. as of february 8, 2008, the dealer had not inspected the vehicle. the current and failure mileages were 71,236. | |||
| 01/10/2008 | 1 | ||
| Intermittent failure of instrument/gauges cluster causing unknown driving speeds and unable identify possible engine problems and un able identify fuel level. intermittent failure occurred for two years until totally failure occurred. *tr | |||
| 02/08/2005 | 48000 | 3 | 08/04/2003 |
| 2003 silverado instrument cluster is failing. first, 2 yrs ago, it was the tach failing now it is the speedometer and the others are not functioning correctly at times. i did receive a letter from gm 2 weeks ago went to the dealer, they would not do anything because i have 87000 mi on it. call gm and they said it is up to the dealer. that doesn't sound right! is there anything that can be done? did gm put it to us again? *tr | |||
| 04/01/2006 | 30000 | 20 | 07/15/2005 |
| While driving down the interstate on cruise control, the speedo will start to climb to over 120mhp. after several ignition cycles the speedo will come back down and work fine for awhile. this problem usually occurs while driving on the interstate. problem is very intermittent-has happened several times and always corrects itself before i can get it in for repair- i have talked to several other owners with the exact same problem- the first time this problem occurred the truck only had 30,000 miles on it. dangerous problem---when towing heavy loads. *tr | |||
| 09/25/2007 | 72259 | 30 | 08/28/2007 |
| Speedometer does not indicate proper speed. can be at 0mph when traveling at 55mph. or can be at 30mph when traveling at 55mph. *tr | |||
| 08/09/2007 | 53500 | 20 | |
| I have a 2003 chevy 2500 h.d. crew cab truck. in aug of 2007 my speedometer started acting up. it would stop at 20 mph when i was at a dead stop. i can start the vehicle and it will go down 5 mph for every time i start the vehicle. when i hit 0 it will be fine for a while. it is getting worse every time i do it. from reading on the internet i'm not the only one! *jb | |||
| 09/14/2007 | 116600 | 1 | 02/20/2003 |
| The instrument panel on my 2003 chevrolet silverado 2500hd has quit working. there was not warning that it was going to fail. while driving all the needles across the panel were stuck at zero. no speedometer, gas gauge, tachometer, temperature. i believe this could be a very hazardous condition and should be investigated. *tr | |||
| 12/28/2006 | 15 | ||
| One day gauge cluster abruptly stopped working while i was driving on the freeway. and speedometer showed a reading of 0.0 mph. *ak | |||
| 06/01/2006 | 45000 | 100 | 05/15/2003 |
| I have a 2003 chevy silverado 2500 hd duramax 4-dr that the speedometer just started going intermittently whacko on with the last year (conveniently just outside of normal warranty) judging from all of the posts i see scattered across the internet about this it is cleary a manufacturers defect and should be recalled asap. | |||
| 05/15/2005 | 25000 | 2 | 05/21/2003 |
| Clunking noise from steering column. 1st failure at 25,000 mi and dealer replaced shaft. 2nd failure at 50,000 mi and gm refused to replace or pay. i had to pay for some new lube kit to prevent noise and wear. | |||
| 12/15/2006 | 60000 | 10 | 11/12/2002 |
| Tl* - the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet silverado 2500 hd. the speedometer registered 120 mph even when the power had been turned off. the failure mileage was 60,000. the contact had an appointment with the dealer/manufacturer to have the problem diagnosed. the current mileage was 63,000.*ak updated 04/05/07*jb | |||
| 03/02/2007 | 42000 | 3 | |
| 2003 chevrolet silverado 2500hd speedometer doesn't return to zero when stopped. registers inaccurate readings as much as 60 mph off. *jb | |||
| 10/01/2006 | 35000 | 9999 | 09/11/2003 |
| Speedometer sticks, displays incorrect speed. unable to determine correct speed. have not fixed yet. happened 1 week after warranty expired. *jb | |||
| 02/02/2007 | 58500 | 1 | 02/11/2006 |
| I filed the formal request below to chevrolet / gm regarding a defective speedometer in my 2003 chevrolet silverado. this is a well known and a well documented problem, and i believe it to be a severe nationwide safety issue which needs to be addressed to avoid possible injury or death. general motors will not repair the problem. some information is removed to meet the word limit of this complaint form. gm service request: 71-482347989 silverado safety hazard - a problem i am experiencing with my wife's 2003 silverado 2500 hd is extensive and dangerous. the speedometer is often stuck at random speeds when at rest, and when in motion is unreliable. information that i have reviewed on several sites indicates that there is a known problem with the stepper motors in the instrument cluster that handle all gauges on this vehicle, and that there are several tsbs that are related to this problem in several gm vehicles. nhtsa also has several dozen, if not hundreds of reports of this problem. there are also several petitions in progress to demand recalls and / or media investigations. although my vehicle is out of warranty, this appears to be a defect worthy of a recall. we specifically traded up to this vehicle because wife hauls a horse trailer with two or three horses through mountainous terrain to horse events for her, my daughter, and my daughter's friends. the safety implications of unreliable gauges are many-fold, whether it is gathering too much downhill speed because of an incorrect speedometer, running out of gas while towing a loaded horse trailer down a steep slope because of an incorrect gauge, overheating the transmission or engine because of an incorrect temperature reading, etc. there are several sources of information documenting this issue. a few examples are as follows: (most examples removed to meet word limit): http://www.topix.net/forum/autos/chevrolet-silverado-1500/tr5qab2mn19bl1d2j/p4 *jb | |||
| 11/13/2006 | 38000 | 57 | 07/05/2003 |
| Speedometer displays erroneous speeds, usually too fast. *jb | |||
| 02/06/2007 | 32800 | 6 | 02/06/2004 |
| During normal highway and or city driving, the speedometer will register a rate of speed higher then actual. this speed has been recorded as anywhere from 5 to 50 mph high. when the speedometer is reading high, upon stopping, the speedometer will remain at the amount of speed that it is registering high. for example, if traveling at 30 mph and the speedometer reads 50 mph, when the vehicle is stopped, the speedometer will still read 20 mph. once this problem starts, it is very consistent on its regularity. a simple solution is to repeatedly turn the vehicle off and restart it. the speedometer will drop 5 mph with each cycle until it reaches 0 mph. however, the problem will likely reoccur on the trip that i am about to make. my coworker is having the exact same problem in a very similar vehicle. upon contacting the service department at my local dealership, i was told this problem had been seen on other occasions and the solution is to replace the instrument cluster at an approximate cost of $600.00. *jb | |||
| 01/13/2007 | 57000 | 9999 | 07/21/2003 |
| Erratic speedometer readings. driving on the interstate at 55 mph with cruise control engaged. posted speed limit increased to 65. used the cruise control to increment my speed. speed increased, speedometer reading did not increase, but kept getting lower. stayed with speed of traffic but speedometer reading slowly fell to 35 mph. stopped, shut off the vehicle and waited 5 minutes. upon restart, speedometer appeared to be functioning correctly. got back on the interstate and up to 65 mph. when i decelerated while exiting the interstate, the speedometer remained at 65 mph. parked in my driveway, the speedometer reads 65 mph. when driven, speedometer increases immediately from 65 mph and higher. *nm | |||
| 12/05/2004 | 45000 | 700 | 05/30/2003 |
| The speedometer in my 2003 chevrolet silverado 2500hd suddenly stopped working. the normal speed shown now is over 120 mph while moving or stopped. on rare occasions the speedometer will register a lesser speed for a short period of time but the normal speed shown is 120 mph or higher. the odometer works without a problem as well as all other electrical functions of the speedometer other than actual speed. per my most recent contact with a general motors dealer service department (mr. goodwrench) that dealer is seeing an average of one similar vehicle per day with the same problem. not knowing the actual traveling speed of the vehicle will certainly lead to traffic accidents and injuries if this has not already happened. i've now had two estimates to repair the speedometer. the first estimate was in 12/2004 and the estimate was $1,000.00+ and approximately 6 weeks in the shop. the 2nd estimate was in 12/2006 by an out of state dealer (who says he gets one new repair daily) and the cost was approximately $500 but it would take several days to determine what component part was needed and since i was traveling interstate on a year end vacation i couldn't wait for the repair. this dealer suggested someone should contact your office because they felt a non-operational speedometer was a major safety problem with the potential for severe injury or death. *jb | |||
| 12/27/2006 | 1 | 09/01/2002 | |
| Speedometer reads 42 mph in the driveway. 120+mph on the highway. 2003 2500 hd silverado 47,000 miles. *jb | |||
| 12/22/2006 | 86500 | 10 | 12/22/2006 |
| 2003 chevrolet silverado gauge cluster hang ups speedo gets hung up and gives faulty readings. *nm | |||