general problems of the 2004 GMC Sierra 1500

27 problems related to electrical system have been reported for the 2004 GMC Sierra 1500. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2004 GMC Sierra 1500 based on all problems reported for the 2004 Sierra 1500.

1 Electrical System problem

Failure Date: 08/15/2019

Tl the contact owns a 2004 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that there was a burning electrical odor inside the vehicle. The contact reached out to the manufacturer regarding the failure of the blower fan resister and was informed that the extended warranty had expired. The contact stated that he never received the notification. The vehicle was taken to cotters GMC (435 hall Ave, st mary�s, PA 15857, 814-834-2063) and they provide a verbal diagnosis of the blower resister fan and electrical harness failure. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 102,000.

2 Electrical System problem

Failure Date: 08/01/2018

Tl the contact owns a 2004 GMC Sierra 1500. While operating the vehicle, the instrument cluster gauges flashed off and on and, at times, completely stopped operating. The failure was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but the local dealer was not notified. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 97,000.

3 Electrical System problem

Failure Date: 07/13/2018

My truck is my back-up vehicle that sits in the side driveway most of the time but I drive when I'm transporting large items or moving to a new home. I recently drove it and noticed the speedometer not working and went searching for information about related issues on the internet when I found a recall notice posted on GMC's website but they are saying it's past the "time" allowed to get the problem fixed. I didn't even know that there was a problem or a time frame to get this done because I don't drive this truck much. Now I have to pay for the dealership's inspection of the instrument panel only to have them tell me that it's indeed broke and that they are not going to repair it under the recall. I'm not sure what to do but I'm hopping mad because this is a problem that other GMC owners probably had repaired but because this was my back-up vehicle, I'm penalized for not having the problem surface earlier before the "time" frame expired. The dealership I currently have my truck at is sheldon GMC in rochester hills, mi 48307 I can be reached at [xxxx] call or text. Thank you, [xxxx] parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

4 Electrical System problem

Failure Date: 03/01/2017

Battery runs down drained, control panel lights goes out. Ac quit working. Vehicle sits in our yard most of the time. We have to charge battery every day in order to go anywhere.

5 Electrical System problem

Failure Date: 04/12/2014

The contact owns a 2004 GMC Sierra 1500 hd. The contact stated while driving the vehicle at various speeds the speedometer intermittently displayed the incorrect speed. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who diagnosed that the instrument panel cluster needed to be replaced. The vehicle was scheduled to be repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 31,141. Rk.

6 Electrical System problem

Failure Date: 03/04/2014

Gauges work some times and don't,lights go off and on on the dash when they do this at night it's hard to see what speed your doing our how much fuel you have. This seems to be a problem with a lot of the trucks my neighbors truck is doing the same thing.

7 Electrical System problem

Failure Date: 01/22/2014

All of the vehicle instrument gauges go inoperative intermittently while driving. I have owned this vehicle since new. There has been a gm action of sort on this, of which I am not sure. However, I was never notified and currently am experiencing the problem. We took the vehicle to a gm dealership they said the maintenance action(whatever it is) expired in 2011. So the repair is totally upon us to fix, some $540.

8 Electrical System problem

Failure Date: 06/21/2013

The gauges began to spin and not work properly or not function at all. Also the brake lights do not function when the gauges and dash lights flash or remain on. The abs light brake light and the battery light and the security light all come on. Also along with all the other problems when all this happens the headlights dim the fourwheel drive doesnt function and the volume level on the stereo changes.

9 Electrical System problem

Failure Date: 01/01/2013

The contact owns a 2004 GMC Sierra 1500. While operating the vehicle, the speedometer failed to operate or display a speed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the speedometer cluster needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 31,000.

10 Electrical System problem

Failure Date: 02/01/2012

When the weather is below freezing the turn signals do not work until the vehicle has warmed up for atleast 20 minutes. Also the speedometer does not work, and when it does start working it is never the correct reading. It will stick as high as 70 mph, and to bring it down I have to keep restarting and shutting off the engine.

11 Electrical System problem

Failure Date: 12/20/2010

The contact owns a 2004 GMC sierra k1500. 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 he was driving. The contact did not inform the dealer. The manufacturer was notified and advised him that there were no related recalls. The vehicle was not repaired or diagnosed. The current mileage was approximately 119,000. The failure mileage was approximately 117,000.

12 Electrical System problem

Failure Date: 04/15/2010

I have a 2004 GMC sierra pickup and the speedometer broke about 4 months ago. Can anything be done by the company that wont cost me over 400 dollars.

13 Electrical System problem

Failure Date: 01/12/2010

I received a letter from gm stating my vehicles instrument cluster may give false readings. If your vehicle is doing this, take this letter to your gm dealer and they will fix the problem if it's not then you don't need to. It also stated that the warranty for this is 70,000 miles and they would not replace the cluster if it was not giving false readings. At 93,721 my fuel gauge started malfunctioning, and at 94,066 miles my speedometer reading was over 120mph, and I was not even moving. Now when I drive through a school zone or neighborhood I have no idea how fast I'm going. I didn't even have 100,000 miles on the vehicle when these problems started happening. When I took my vehicle in to get it fixed under the warranty they told me it was out of warranty and would not cover the parts. So much for GMC professional grade. The logo they use when selling there vehicles on tv. I have saved pictures on my cell phone showing the actual mileage when these false readings occurred.

14 Electrical System problem

Failure Date: 12/05/2009

While driving noticed that I was going faster than the speedometer said. Felt like I was going at least 80 when the speedometer said 45 mph. Kept watching and when I came to a stop the meter would read below zero. Tried restarting the truck and it reset to zero but while holding a set speed the meter would continuously drop. Next day worked fine. 2 days later I noticed the meter drop off again. When I shut the truck off this time it got stuck at 30mph. Drove for a little while and tried shutting it off and starting it again this time it stayed at zero. It told the wife not to drive it until it is fixed. I don't want her in there with my child if there was a wreck due to not knowing what speed the truck is really going.

15 Electrical System problem

Failure Date: 03/13/2009

Speedometer reads 30 mph over what it should. Not only that, the 4wd sensor when out. Only used 4wd less than 10 times. Truck has less than 51k miles.

16 Electrical System problem

Failure Date: 01/24/2009

Speedometer malfunctioning stays at 50mph> when stopped.

17 Electrical System problem

Failure Date: 12/26/2008

While driving my GMC sierra the speedometer reading is grossly and obviously inaccurate. I took it to my mechanic and he says that gm parts will cost approximately $600 and that this is an extremely common problem that the dealer shop says he sees several times a week on this model of pickup. Using my gps for speed monitoring since I don't want to pay gm an exorbitant repair fee for something they aren't standing behind.

18 Electrical System problem

Failure Date: 12/10/2008

Speedometer in 2004 GMC Sierra 1500 has failed. Dealership is wanting $450 to fix when gm acknowledges defects in speedometer assembly.

19 Electrical System problem

Failure Date: 08/04/2008

Instrument cluster works intermittently. Speedometer, fuel gauge etc, do not work at random times. (while operating the vehicle, or not) the lights on the instrument cluster also dim, flicker, and sometimes go out completely. This particular vehicle has very low mileage, (used as a recreational vehicle, not primary transportation) it was purchased new and has been well maintained.

20 Electrical System problem

Failure Date: 08/01/2008

At first my speedometer would 'tick' and that led to it jumping around. It sticks in various places, sometimes down to the right far off of the gauge itself. My tachometer does the same thing. It has been this way for a while now, I just can't want to fork over $600 to get it fixed. I heard that gm infact has and unpublished bulletin under their goodwill program to fix it - can this be made to be a published bulletin?.

21 Electrical System problem

Failure Date: 11/26/2007

The contact owns a 2004 GMC Sierra 1500. While driving 45 mph, the contact released the accelerator pedal, but the speedometer dial remained at 40 mph. While driving approximately 30 mph and coming to a complete stop, the speedometer dial increased to approximately 100 mph. The dealer advised her to bring them the vehicle for repairs, estimated at over $500. No repairs have yet been made. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 60,000 and current mileage was 74,000.

22 Electrical System problem

Failure Date: 09/01/2007

I have a problem with my speedometer. Every day after driving it for 30 +/- miles the speedometer stops. Sometimes at 50 sometimes at 0 mph. Once I begin to drive it will sometimes go from 50 to 100 or it will stay where it stopped. This started about 18 months ago but it only happened once every couple months. Now it happens daily. I have learned that after leaving it set for a few hours I start it up, put it into drive and turn it off. With the gearshift in drive I try starting it and each time I turn the key the speedometer goes from 50 to 40 to 30 and then back to 0. Once at zero I start the truck and the speedometer will be accurate for at least 30+/- miles.

23 Electrical System problem

Failure Date: 06/20/2007

Knocking in the steering shaft assembly began at 20,000 miles. Steering shaft has to be greased by service center every 10k miles to prevent knocking. Speedometer, odometer, and engine temperature gauges stopped working. Speedometer used to register max mph when doing 70mph then stopped working at all.

24 Electrical System problem

Failure Date: 04/15/2007

Steering column clunking, speedometer not working, transmission stopped working . Everything started going wrong about. 63,000 k . I have 116,000 know. 2004 z71 crewcab.

25 Electrical System problem

Failure Date: 10/28/2006

My speedometer on my 2004 GMC sierra has become erratic. Sometimes it is zero even if the vehicle is moving. Sometimes it registers 120 mph sitting still. It is very difficult to judge speed in school zones. No know events led to the failure. The repair bill will be about $500 I am told.

26 Electrical System problem

Failure Date: 09/30/2006

My speedometer on my 2004 GMC z71 works erratically. Sometimes it will peg out at 120 or it sticks at 70 mph. When I see the speedometer, it seems like it is working like a clock. It sticks and releases.

27 Electrical System problem

Failure Date: 08/26/2006

Speedometer is erratic in function I have 44,000 miles on my 2004 GMC sierra and the speedometer is in need of repair or replacement.


Other Electrical System related problems of the 2004 GMC Sierra 1500


Safety Ratings of Sierra 1500 Cars
Sierra 1500 Service Bulletins
Sierra 1500 Safety Recalls
Sierra 1500 Defect Investigations