2004 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN Complaints

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING AT A LOW UNKNOWN SPEED ON NORMAL ROAD CONDITIONS. THE "TRACTION" WARNING LIGHT INDICATOR ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL AND SUDDENLY, SHE HEARD A CLICKING NOISE AND THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO SLOW DOWN WITHOUT ASSISTANCE. THERE WAS PRESSURE APPLIED TO THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, FOLLOWED BY AN UNINTENDED SURGE. THE DRIVER WAS ABLE TO CONTINUE OPERATION. THE FAILURES OCCURRED INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER AND AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. HOWEVER, THERE WERE NO RESOLUTIONS. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED AT THIS TIME FOR THE MALFUNCTIONS. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 70,000. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 101,000. UPDATED 02/17/10. *LJ UPDATED 02/18/10

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.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE REAR LIFT-GATE GLASS IS SEPARATING FROM THE WINDOWS' HINGES. AS A CONSEQUENCE, THE GLASS MAY UNEXPECTEDLY FALL AND CAUSE A SERIOUS INJURY. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 57,000.

2004 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN REAR WINDOW HINGE DETACHING FROM GLASS CAUSING A SAFETY CONCERN THAT WINDOW COULD DISLODGE AND FLY OFF AN HIT ANOTHER VEHICLE OR PERSON. THE HINGES APPEAR TO BE GLUED TO GLASS AND THE GLUE IS FAILING AND DETACHING FROM WINDOW. AFTER RESEARCHING THE ISSUE ON THE WEB, CHEVROLET IS AWARE OF THE ISSUE AND HAS NOT ISSUED A RECALL. THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE THAT COULD RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH TO OTHERS. IN JULY OF 2004 CHEVROLET ISSUED THE FOLLOWING BULLETIN: "CUSTOMER SATISFACTION - LIFTGATE WINDOW MOLDING #04065 - (JULY 26, 2004) 04065 - LIFTGATE WINDOW MOLDING 2005 CHEVROLET TAHOE, SUBURBAN 2005 GMC YUKON, YUKON XL ON JULY 20, 2004, ALL VEHICLES INVOLVED IN THIS PROGRAM WERE PLACED ON STOP DELIVERY. AFTER THE SERVICE PROCEDURE CONTAINED IN THIS BULLETIN IS COMPLETED, THE VEHICLES MAY BE DELIVERED TO CUSTOMERS. CONDITION GENERAL MOTORS HAS DECIDED THAT CERTAIN 2005 CHEVROLET TAHOE AND SUBURBANS, AND GMC YUKON AND YUKON XL VEHICLES MAY HAVE BEEN BUILT WITH AN INCORRECT ADHESIVE ON THE LIFTGATE WINDOW MOLDING, RESULTING IN THE POSSIBILITY OF THE MOLDING PARTIALLY SEPARATING FROM THE WINDOW." MY CONCERN IS THAT THIS AFFECTS MORE YEARS THAT THE 2005 AS THERE ARE NUMEROUS ISSUES WITH 2003 - 2004 MODELS. THERE ARE ALSO SEVERAL DOCUMENTED INCIDENTS OF REAR WINDOW DETATCHING FROM THE VEHICLE WHILE IN MOTION. I SPOKE WITH MR. JAMES SMITH AT CHEVROLET CUSTOMER SERVICE THIS EVENING AND FILED AN OFFICIAL COMPLAINT/REPORT. IT IS DOCUMENTED IN THEIR SYSTEM AS SERVICE REQUEST CONCERN # 71-751420936. MR. SMITH ALSO SAID THAT CHEVROLET WOULD BE CONTACTING THE NTSB ABOUT THIS ISSUE. *TR

FUEL GAUGE IS NOT ACCURATELY REPORTING FUEL LEVEL. WHEN FUEL LEVEL IS TOO LOW, VEHICLE SHUTS DOWN AND WILL NOT RESTART. LOW LEVEL WARNING LIGHT DOES NOT COME ON. VEHICLE HAS TO BE JUMP STARTED IN ORDER TO RESET SECURITY MECHANISM. CAN CAUSE TRAFFIC ISSUES AND/OR COLLISION FROM ABRUPTNESS OF ISSUE AND HAPPENS WITHOUT WARNING WHEREVER YOU ARE. I CAN JUST IMAGINE WHAT A PROBLEM IT WOULD BE IF IT HAPPENED IN AN INTERSECTION OR RUNNING DOWN THE HIGHWAY. SINCE THE VEHICLE SHUTS DOWN, THIS WOULD MEAN POWER STEERING AND POWER BRAKES WOULD BE NON-FUNCTIONAL INCREASING THE POTENTIAL RISK FOR AN ACCIDENT OR COLLISION. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, THE STEERING WHEEL REQUIRED GREATER EFFORT TO TURN. THERE WAS A LOW POWER RESPONSE WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. IN ADDITION, THE SERVICE BRAKE BOOSTER WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR INSPECTION. THE VIN WAS EXCLUDED FROM NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 05V043000 (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC), ALTHOUGH THE FAILURES WERE IDENTICAL. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 23,400. UPDATED 08/28/09. *LJ UPDATED 08/31/09.*JB

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

I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT 60MPH WITH MY DAUGHTER, WHEN THE SECOND ROW SEAT (60/40) OF MY 2004 SURBURBAN BECAME UNLATCHED AND THE SEAT FLEW FORWARD. AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS I WAS ABLE TO PUSH THE SEAT BACK TO IT'S LOCKED POSITION. LUCKILY MY DAUGHTER WAS WEARING HER SEATBELT OTHERWISE, SHE WOULD'VE INJURED HERSELF FACE FIRST ON REAR OF THE PASSENGER SEAT. I CONTACTED CHEVROLET, AND WAS NOTIFIED ALTHOUGH THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE, THIS REPAIR ISN'T COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. *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