general problems of the 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 2500

Many of the vehicles in this family suffer from random electrical shorts and or poor electrical grounding relating to the drive by wire throttle actuator. The result is that the vehicle will go into �reduced engine power� mode randomly. In this mode the vehicle will idle but not accelerate or drive. This issue is well documented on message boards with no consistent fix. This condition exposes an extreme hazard as the vehicle can loose power at any time. This is a serious safety issue that should be investigated. I have had my vehicle loose power on the interstate and on high speed 2 lane roads with no shoulder and heavy traffic on 4 occasions. Numerous attempts to repair the issue have been unsuccessful.

Driving on the interstate at 65-70 mph truck shut off no power steering no brakes showing "reduced engine power" almost got into a wreck with my 2 year old son and 70 year old grandmother. . . I still owe $10,000 on this hunk of crap. . . It went away after a broken wire was fixed. . . . But as I sit here in my truck at 3 am because I had to move it I started it up and once again reduced engine power. . . Just so frustrating.

As with many other posts here, I too have had problems with both the instrument cluster(bad speedometer and gauge readings, "electrical") and also the transfer case with holes wearing through the case, "pump slap". Everything I have researched has led to issues in both problems. I have since replaced both problems but still nothing back from gm. What a shame that these and all other issues can't be addressed by gm. I have not yet had a problem with the brakes, yet, but I tell you, it will be looked into. These both have happened under normal driving conditions.

I experienced a sudden loss of engine power while travelling at highway speed. I am the original owner of a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 four wheel drive with the duramax diesel and allison transmission. On Sunday, October 4, 2015, shortly after a fuel stop, I was traveling on interstate 24 near paducah, ky. At approximately 65 mph in the left lane with the cruise control set, I experienced a sudden loss of power accompanied by a loud engine rattling, and the check engine light came on. With some difficulty in heavy traffic, I was able to maneuver to the right shoulder of the road. I was able to drive the vehicle at about 25 mph on the shoulder. Since I was just a few miles from the paducah exit, I limped there and into a hampton inn parking lot. Aaa responded and towed the truck to royal oaks Chevrolet in paducah. Since it was a Sunday, the service department was closed. The next morning, the dealership¿s service department pulled up codes po202 and p2149. The service manager reported that there was a service bulletin on this issue and that it would be several days before the repair parts would be available. I later learned that the service bulletin is #05-06-04-047c. The bulletin addresses "a severe reduction in engine power (limp home mode)" I was charged $1,076 for repairs for a known defect that Chevrolet knew about.

When I got into the vehicle to start, the driver information center says "unknown driver". As a result of this condition, I cannot adjust mirrors, roll up windows, or get headlights to work. Also, the gauges for voltage, oil pressure, temperature, and fuel do not work. The radio does not work as well. Because of over engineering and faulty parts I cannot use this vehicle. I have already had the instrument cluster replaced as part of a recall. Many people have had this problem as searched, with no answer. General motors has failed to put in place safety systems or override functions to allow safe operation of the vehicle. Gm is using computer controls which often fail to control important safety functions of the vehicle. I currently have the vehicle at the dealer and they have dismantled the bulk of the truck to diagnose the problem. After two days in the shop, they still have not found the problem. Faulty engineering and poor parts have lead to this condition. I have been a lifelong gm owner, but I will reconsider this moving foward. I am sure my next vehicles will be other brands.

The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 hd. While driving approximately 10 mph, the contact abnormally depressed the brake pedal into the floor board. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was advised that the brake lines were fractured due to corrosion and were leaking brake fluid. The front brake lines were also replaced because they were corroded and leaking brake fluid. The vehicle was repaired. Also the speedometer would not display an accurate reading. The speedometer was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 97,000. Updated 08/02/12.

I re cently purchased in chevy 2500 hd silverado from an individual and the guages on the dash are not working properly. Luckily, the person I bought it from was honest enough to let me know this before I test drove the truck. He told he had already spoke to the local chevy dealer and they said it was a common problem and it could be repaired under warranty if the vechile had under 75,000 miles. The truck had 142,xxx when I got it. I talked to another mechanic and he also verified that this is a common problem with these trucks, as is a hole being eaten up in the transfer case of the 4x4. The repair estimate I got is $350. I think a class action lawsuit should be filed on behalf of all the current owners( or persons that had to pay for this repair) against gm. I am unable to monitor my speed, temp, oil pressure, voltage, fuel or trans temp accurately because of this. If the motor were to burn up due to overheating, I would have no way of knowing it until it was too late. If anyone knows of a lawyer willing to take on a case such as this, I will be more than willing to sign my name due to the fact I am having to pay for the repair to avoid more serious damage to the vechile or a possible of life if the vechile were to catch fire from overheating.

Jan 2011 during a real bad winter we lost the front brakes while driving, multiple brake lines were replaced at a cost of $600+, April 2012 while driving again 25mph the rear brake lines burst!! just had to pay for more brake lines at a cost of $485. The truck now has 117,000 miles and this is not the first issue we have had, the odometer no longer works and had multiple problems with the blower for heat and a/c.

The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 2500. The contact was driving 60 mph when the speedometer failed and indicated that he was traveling 90-100 mph. The dealer was contacted but the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but would not provide any assistance. The failure mileage was 120,000.

The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 hd. While driving at any speed, the contact stated that the speedometer would display the correct speed and then it remained at the same speed regardless of how fast or slow she was driving. The failure began three months ago. The dealer and the manufacturer were notified and advised her that there were no related recalls. The contact did not take the vehicle to the dealer for diagnostic testing due to the cost. The vehicle was not repaired. The current mileage was approximately 96,000. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.

The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 hd. The contact stated that the heater electrical resistor, and connectors melted causing the heater blower to fail. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who replaced the connectors, and resistors. The manufacturer was contacted, but they will not assist with the repair. The failure mileage was 80,000 and the current mileage was 85,500.

Wipers will not turn off. Have to pull fuse to get wipers to turn off. I cannot re-install the fuse unless I stop and get out of the vehicle to do this. If I do not pull the fuse, the wipers will eventually start to damage the windshield. I have read multiple incidents of this online, with no definite fix. Truck has 68,000 miles on it.

2004 chevy Silverado 2500 hd I had speedometer issues prior to the warranty going out. At the time I initially noticed the issue it was taken in for evaluation and I was told it was going to be over 700 dollars to fix. It wasn't 6 months later I got notice that it was covered under a recall. Unfortunately by then the mileage was well out (seeing I traveled for work), and I was still responsible for the bill. I feel its a very unfair process in which I was told it was my responsibility and then had things gone at a faster rate at that time, it would have been covered. I still have this issue as do many others. . Shouldn't it still be covered no matter the miles? it's still safety affiliated!.

The speedometer has gone about 30 mph over speed should be going. It is saying the truck is doing 35mph while parked. This is a problem Chevrolet is aware of but only covers trucks up to 70,000miles. Our is less than 20,000 over. How safe can it be to not know how fast you are going. Has started to do it in the past but now we are stuck not knowing our speed.

Driving at 55 mph, the speedometer needle went to 5 mph, then to 0. Later in the same trip, with the cruise control at 60, (verified by gps), speedometer showed speeds from 50 down to 8mph. No warning before failure, except for a barely noticeable tremor or lack of smoothness in the speedometer needle. The truck has only 36000 miles on it. On next drive, speedometer was ok for the 20 minutes. The drive after, random speeds from startup. No corrective work done yet, but it seems that the servo motor driving the speedometer, or the entire gauge cluster has to be replaced.

Speedometer went crazy. Said I was going 120mph when I was going 60. Come to find out, there are many other people that have experienced this, along with failure of the other instruments in the cluster as well.

Speedometers on my 2004 Chevrolet silverado and my 2004 Chevrolet trailblazer are defective. The silverado does not register the correct speed and the trailblazer does not register at all. Both vehicles have over 70,000 miles and gm refuses to fix them. The speedometer is a safety appliance and should be working correctly, no matter what the mileage of a vehicle. This should be fixed by gm at no expense to the vehicle owner !!.

Speedometer fails to register correct speed. Remains at zero while driving and needle jumps erratically.

The dash board gauges stopped work. I was driving down the road and the gauges dropped down to 0.

Speedometer and tachometer indicate erratic speeds, they will lock up at anywhere from 40 to 120mph and 4 to 6000 rpm, has been acting this way for the last 5 months, usually at highway speeds. Purchased from original owner sept 2008 with 84,000 miles on it, don't know if it was an existing problem or not, dealer says it is out of warranty and is not covered. Safety issue for speedometer, or other gauges should they fail (fuel, oil pressure etc).

I have had multiple issues interior wise with replacing different electrical components in the vehicle going out or not functioning correctly. I replaced the duel heater switch the radio and a/c switches. I also was having an issue with the automatic 4wd shift that would engage on its own. Then my instrument cluster (gauges) started to stick. Different ones at different times. Now till this date the speedometer is stuck at 5 mph. I received a letter from a lawyer stating that a lawsuit had been brought up to get this corrected and to take my truck in but once I had received it and took it in they said that it was 500 miles over the mileage and would not fix it. I would think that this is still a safety issue and part of the state of texas inspections. Need some help please to get this rectified.

2004 chevy silverado instrument cluster sticks and reads a constant 120+ mph. Started to stick at around 75 mph for a month. Now is stuck on 120+ mph and will not move even when truck is restarted or flashing computer.

The speedometer in my 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 has begun intermittently showing speeds that vary widely and do not indicate actual road speed. The speedometer fails to return to zero at rest and has shown speeds more than 40 mph in excess of estimated actual speed. This seems to be a common complaint, although I have not yet contacted a dealer or gm. I believe there are two components to this problem: 1) I cannot rely on the speedometer reading; 2) this could affect the miles shown on the odometer or at least cast doubt on their veracity. The truck presently has just under 42,00 miles on it and has been relatively free of major defects other than recall items.

Intermittently shift display and door locks not working. When shifting from reverse to drive, the truck would buck. Locks would not unlock when put into park. Check engine light kept coming on. Code p0708 in system for park/neutral switch. Replace park/neutral switch for a total of $416. 48.

2004 Chevrolet Silverado 2500hd pickup that caught fire customer states that he was driving when he began to smell smoke and then noticed that sparks were coming from the front wheel* the vehicle became engulfed in flames. There was no cause of the fire.

I have a 2004 Chevrolet 2500 crewcab pickup. Some where between 80,000 and 90,000 the speedometer began giving false readings. Sometimes it appears to work correctly, sometimes not at all and yet other times it is clearly giving an incorrect reading.

The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 2500. While driving 65 mph he placed the cigarette lighter in the ash-tray. Next, smoke was expelled from the cigarette lighter housing. He pulled over to the side of the road to inspect the vehicle. Upon inspection, he saw flames underneath of the hood near the fuse box. The fire department extinguished the flames. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a collision center. The cause of failure has not been determined. The failure and current mileages were unknown. The VIN was unavailable.

Speedometer malfuntioned on my 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 2500hd. I noticed the malfuntion on the interstate while traveling at same speed as other drivers. My speedometer was reading 50 miles per hour and the posted speed limit was 70 miles per hour. I know that the average speed on that route is between 70 and 75 miles per hour. If someone were to drive through a school zone with the speedometer reading 20 miles per hour and were to injure a child while the actual speed traveled was in the 40-45 mile per hour range it would be gm's fault. It is well known to chevy owners that there is a defect in this particular insrument cluster and well known to gm. Something should have already been done, but as of today no recalls have taken effect.

The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 hd. The contact stated that the speedometer works intermittently. The speedometer would indicate that the vehicle was traveling 35 mph when it was idle. The dealer stated that there was a defect with the electronic speedometers. The dealer did not perform the repair. The contact also stated that the rear door locks are inoperable. The dealer has inspected the vehicle. The VIN was unknown. The current mileage is 53,500 and failure mileage was 47,000.