speedometer answers

What???

the needle is pointing about five oclock. it seems to be stuck there.

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Sounds like the typical bad cluster issues that is common to tons of the '03-'05 GMC full size ight truck/SUV line.It's a dealer warranty issue up to

7 years /110,000Kms. I've had the cluster on my '04 Avalanche replaced free at 70,000 Km. I've got a letter from GM about the issue with the warranty details. Take it to the dealer.

I just had the exact same problem with the speedo in my '03 GMC. It happened on a cold morning, temps were around -10F. On my commute to work I noticed that the speedo would only go UP as I increased in speed, but when I would slow down, the speedo did not retreat, it stayed where it was. Each time I would speed up, the speedo would keep going up but never retreated. By the time I made my commute to work that morning, my speedo was pointing about 7 O-clock.

It stayed that way till the temps warmed up the next day. Then I noticed that when I would start my truck, the speedo needle would actually jump back about 5 mph each time. So I then proceeded to start and turn off my truck about 20 times, each time the needle would go back about 5 mph. Like I said, it took about 20 times starting my truck then shutting it off, then starting it, then shutting it off, rinse, repeat.... until I got the speedo back to 0 mph. Since then it has been fine, although we haven't seen those low temps again either. I think the cold made something stick, but seemed to fix itself after it warmed up a bit.

Look at your speedo when you start your truck to see if the needle will retreat when you start it. If so, you can just do what I did to get the speedo back to 0.

If it happens again, I'll be taking it in to the dealer.

Matt

Why would you wait around for it to happen again? It's defective! Take it in and have them change it.

I test drove an '04 Tahoe earlier this winter from a Chevy dealer and it had the bad cluster problem. They "would look into it if I decided to buy it" was the sale guy's answer!!!! Uhhh, no thank you. That is roughly a $500 replacement bill, if they claimed to have it fixed and there was no extra warranty left..... This was before GMC came out w/ their lame 7 years or limited mileage! What in the world mileage should have to do with an electronic component failing in the dash is beyond me anyway! It's just a way to scam the public out of their money instead of sucking up the repair cost. My brother is on his third cluster in an '03 2500HD and he's fighting the mileage limit on the first swap. Chevy sucked up the second swap since it failed only a few months after being installed!!!

Any how many people are willing to buy a Chevy via eBay's Chevy's used dealer certified program! Oh yeah, that Tahoe I test drove, it WAS "Certified" . . . . "Certified broke!"

My '04 Avalanche had its replaced twice actually...the first replacement was a remanufactured unit ( as I found out) that all the gauges worked fine on, but the about 1/3 of the blue led's in the DIC were dimmer than the others. I lived with it for a week but looking at it very day pissed me off, so back to the dealer it went ("this one sticks too") and they stuck a new unit in. It took literally 20 min to pull the mileage info, remove and replace the dash and cluster then reprogram the mileage back in to the new one. I watched while they did it in the service bay.

Those are not led's, its a vfd. My tach clicks when cold so I need to try and find a cluefull dealer, did you have to leave yours overnight the first time?

I called the dealer about this and they said GM will only replace the cluster free under warranty if you have less than 70K miles on the vehicle, unfortunately, mine is close to 80K now. :>( They said it will cost around $600 to fix it out of warranty.

I do beleive this will be the last GM product I ever buy, and thats coming from somebody who has never owned anything else ever. My wife's last Saturn vehicle was falling apart at 60K, I've had numerous issues with my last 3 GM trucks, an '97, '00, and now my '03.

It's no wonder why this company just posted the single largest loss by an automaker in history.

not a happy GM owner.

Doesn't sound right to me. Call the area service rep for GM. Ask for the number at the dealer. It is warrantied up to 7 years 110,000Km and I have an original letter from GM to prove it.

No, I just dropped it off the same morning.

Over $500 is definitely the going cost to have a "new" cluster slapped in it and then you pray! Just talked w/ my brother a little while ago and he said so far the second replacement is working OK. At least Chevy got stuck replacing the replacement! Wonder how long this replacement will last???? As many of them that have failed, it's not a matter of "if it will fail", but "when will it fail!" Should be a flat out recall, kind of like the crankshaft position sensor failures on the 8.1L engines..... that problem is actually a HUGE safety hazard, but so far they've escaped taking responsibility for the repairs. This probably because nobody has actually died due to their engine up and quitting while on the highway w/ a large load in tow......

I have used one of the trip meters since day 1 instead of the odometer because I like the 1/10 mile indication. Just personal preference. Does anyone know if the trip meters in a replacement cluster can be programmed as the odometer can. I would like to keep using the trip meter if I can.

My truck has 69700 miles. That's just under the 70K mile warranty limit that has been discussed in this thread. The warranty book that came with my truck only lists a 36K mile warranty. Am I missing something here?

Dave

an 05 silverado and the speedometer reads in the gear selecter area

Take it to the dealer BEFORE the 70K hits and have it on record you have a cluster problem. As for the trip meter function, the replacfement cluster is

100% identical to the original. I've checked all functions thoroughly on my unit.

Link:

Augustus:

Thanks for your reply. I stopped by a local GMC dealer who acknowledged the problem and extended warranty, but stated that 2005 GMC trucks were not covered. I called the GMC Customer Assistance Line and was stonewalled. THe person I talked to claimed that some special digits in my VIN# disqualified my truck. I got no response as to why.

Did you have this repair done on your truck? Is there any info you can give me that may resolve this issue?

Dave

Yes, I had it done but mine was a 2004 Z71 Avalanche. My advice would be to keep hounding GM and try to go up the ladder. When mine was replaced last year, this extended warranty didn't exist yet. The service manager at my dealer called the area GM service rep and went to bat for me. It was approved at that level. GM was fully aware of the issue at this point and was routinely replacing the cluster as a "goodwill" service.

I have been to the local GMC dealer. I was told to call the area GM service Rep to ask for an appeal to have my truck covered. My truck is an 2005, but was purchased 09/2004. THe dealer will provide me with GM's Customer Service number, but not the number for the local service rep. If at all possible, would you be able to provide the phone number for the local GM Service Rep?

Thanks, Dave

It's not that I don't want to help, but I don't think getting you the service rep's number for the Drayton Valley-Edson-Hinton area of Alberta is going to help you in any way. Apart from which I doubt very much my local dealer would give it to me. Go to another dealer, explain the history to their service manager and ask him to contact the area service rep. Only the area rep for your locale can do this. GM dealers are usually quite sensisitive to unsatisfied customer service complaints made to GM about lack of support, help and service