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2004 Chevrolet Suburban 1500

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

More warning signs than most Suburban 1500 years

Owner complaints for the 2004 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 are substantially higher than the model-year median of 53.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

167 reports with mileage · 15 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Electrical System. Review the 84 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Service Brakes. Review the 27 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Steering. Review the 13 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

2 crash reports4 fire reports2 injury reports

Visibility complaints

8 reports
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178,100 miles · Jun 14, 2011
StructureVisibility

WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH ON AN INTERSTATE, THE SUN ROOF ON MY 2004 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN RIPPED OFF NARROWLY MISSING THE CAR FOLLOWING US. THE SUN ROOF WAS CLOSED AT TIME OF THE INCIDENT. OTHER THAN WHAT SOUNDED LIKE AN AIR LEAK, THERE WAS NO WARNING OR OTHER INDICATION OF PROBLEMS. THE SUN ROOF HAS RARELY BEEN OPE…

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WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH ON AN INTERSTATE, THE SUN ROOF ON MY 2004 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN RIPPED OFF NARROWLY MISSING THE CAR FOLLOWING US. THE SUN ROOF WAS CLOSED AT TIME OF THE INCIDENT. OTHER THAN WHAT SOUNDED LIKE AN AIR LEAK, THERE WAS NO WARNING OR OTHER INDICATION OF PROBLEMS. THE SUN ROOF HAS RARELY BEEN OPENED SINCE THE CAR WAS PURCHASED AND DEFINITELY HAD NOT BEEN OPENED IN THE PAST 2 YEARS AT LEAST. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10406866

85,000 miles · Oct 20, 2010
Electrical SystemVisibility

2004 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN AIR CONDITIONING INTERMITTENTLY BLOWS HOT AIR ONLY ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE USING THE DUAL ZONE AC CONTROL. GM HAS NO IDEA HOW TO FIX THIS ISSUE. WHILE RESEARCHING FOUND THOUSANDS OF CHEVY OWNER ALL WITH THE SAME COMPLAINT AND WITH NO REAL FIX. THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME CONNECTION BETWEEN THE BATTERY/LOSS OF P…

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2004 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN AIR CONDITIONING INTERMITTENTLY BLOWS HOT AIR ONLY ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE USING THE DUAL ZONE AC CONTROL. GM HAS NO IDEA HOW TO FIX THIS ISSUE. WHILE RESEARCHING FOUND THOUSANDS OF CHEVY OWNER ALL WITH THE SAME COMPLAINT AND WITH NO REAL FIX. THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME CONNECTION BETWEEN THE BATTERY/LOSS OF POWER AND THE CLIMATE CONTROL MODULE BEING DEFECTIVE. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10361321

98,912 miles · May 3, 2010
Visibility

WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD, THE REAR WINDOW FELL OFF OF THE VEHICLE. UPON INSPECTION, I NOTICED THE HINGES HOLDING THE WINDOW TO THE VEHICLE HAD BROKEN. THE REAR WINDOW IS HARDLY EVER OPENED, SO IT CANNOT BE DUE TO OVERUSE. IF I HAD BEEN DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY IT MAY HAVE KILLED SOMEONE. INSTEAD I ONLY HAVE TO REPLACE MY ENTIR…

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WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD, THE REAR WINDOW FELL OFF OF THE VEHICLE. UPON INSPECTION, I NOTICED THE HINGES HOLDING THE WINDOW TO THE VEHICLE HAD BROKEN. THE REAR WINDOW IS HARDLY EVER OPENED, SO IT CANNOT BE DUE TO OVERUSE. IF I HAD BEEN DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY IT MAY HAVE KILLED SOMEONE. INSTEAD I ONLY HAVE TO REPLACE MY ENTIRE REAR WINDOW. AFTER RESEARCHING THIS ONLINE, I FOUND THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED TO A LOT OF PEOPLE, BUT THAT THE MAKER OF THE VEHICLE DENIES THAT IT IS HAPPENING. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10328651

98,000 miles · May 1, 2010
StructureVisibility

BACK GLASS OF THE 2004 CHEVY SUBURBAN DISENGAGE FROM THE VEHICLE. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS IT COULD COME OFF WHILE DRIVING AND STRIKE ANOTHER VEHICLE OR WORSE IT COULD FALL ON SOMEBODY CAUSING SERIOUS INJURIES. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10328382

133,600 miles · Apr 18, 2010
Exterior LightingPower TrainSteering

TRANSMISSION SLIPPAGE; DRIVER SIDE MIRROR DEFECTS; HEAD LAMPS & LOOSE STEERING COLUMN. BIGGEST ISSUE IS TRANSMISSION. WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY AT 70 MPH, TRANSMISSION BEGAN SLIPPING WITHOUT ANY PRIOR WARNING. SITUATION WAS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AS IT WAS NIGHT-TIME DRIVING WITH LITTLE OR NO OPPORTUNITY TO GET VEHICLE OFF THE IN…

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TRANSMISSION SLIPPAGE; DRIVER SIDE MIRROR DEFECTS; HEAD LAMPS & LOOSE STEERING COLUMN. BIGGEST ISSUE IS TRANSMISSION. WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY AT 70 MPH, TRANSMISSION BEGAN SLIPPING WITHOUT ANY PRIOR WARNING. SITUATION WAS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AS IT WAS NIGHT-TIME DRIVING WITH LITTLE OR NO OPPORTUNITY TO GET VEHICLE OFF THE INTERSTATE. OTHER FAMILY VEHICLES HAVE HAD THE SAME ISSUE WITH THE TRANSMISSION GOING OUT WITHOUT WARNING. ALSO, THE DRIVER SIDE MIRROR GOES OUT GRADUALLY, AS THE LIQUID THAT DEFROSTS THE MIRROR GOES BAD AND LEAKS INTO THE MIRROR. THIS MIRROR HAS ALREADY BEEN REPLACED ONCE, AT THE COST OF $400+. THIS MIRROR IS ALSO A HAZARD AS THE DRIVER IS UNABLE TO USE THE MIRROR TO ADEQUATE LANE AND TRAFFIC MANEUVERING. THE STEERING COLUMN ALWAYS SEEMS TO BE LOOSE. NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE, AS OF TODAY'S DATE, TO CORRECT THE TRANSMISSION ISSUE AS IT IS A COSTLY REPAIR. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10326202

89,000 miles · Aug 6, 2009
Visibility

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN 1500. THE CONTACT HEARD A NOISE COMING FROM THE VEHICLE. UPON FURTHER INSPECTION, SHE NOTICED THAT THE REAR PASSENGER SIDE WINDOW WAS CRACKING IN A SPIDER WEB PATTERN. SHE STATED THAT THE TINT ON THE GLASS WAS WEBBING IN A PATTERN. SHE THEN NOTICED THAT THE GLASS WAS EXPANDING AS…

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TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN 1500. THE CONTACT HEARD A NOISE COMING FROM THE VEHICLE. UPON FURTHER INSPECTION, SHE NOTICED THAT THE REAR PASSENGER SIDE WINDOW WAS CRACKING IN A SPIDER WEB PATTERN. SHE STATED THAT THE TINT ON THE GLASS WAS WEBBING IN A PATTERN. SHE THEN NOTICED THAT THE GLASS WAS EXPANDING AS IF SOMETHING WAS IN THE VEHICLE AND PUSHING THE GLASS OUTWARD. THE FAILURE CAUSED THE GLASS TO SHATTER. THE CONTACT CALLED THE DEALER AND THEY STATED THAT THEY WERE UNAWARE OF ANY FAILURE OCCURRING ON THIS YEAR, MAKE, AND MODEL VEHICLE. THE CONTACT IS IN THE PROCESS OF TAKING THE VEHICLE TO THE GLASS SHOP FOR REPAIR AT THE COST OF $190. SHE IS IN THE PROCESS OF NOTIFYING THE MANUFACTURER. THE CONTACT WAS UNSURE IF THE FAILURE WAS CAUSED BY THE HEAT OUTSIDE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 89,000 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 89,015.

NHTSA ODI #10279563

60,000 miles · Jul 16, 2008
Visibility

I HAVE A 2004 SUBURBAN WITH 60K MILES. ABOUT 1 MONTHS AGO, THE REAR WINDOW BEGAN MAKING A WHISTLING NOISE WHILE DRIVING. WHEN I INSPECTED IT I FOUND THAT THE HINGE WAS SEPARATING FROM THE WINDOW. I HAVE TRIED TO GO THROUGH GM WITH NO AVAIL. THEIR ANSWER IS "IT SHOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED", BUT THEY ARE NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT…

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I HAVE A 2004 SUBURBAN WITH 60K MILES. ABOUT 1 MONTHS AGO, THE REAR WINDOW BEGAN MAKING A WHISTLING NOISE WHILE DRIVING. WHEN I INSPECTED IT I FOUND THAT THE HINGE WAS SEPARATING FROM THE WINDOW. I HAVE TRIED TO GO THROUGH GM WITH NO AVAIL. THEIR ANSWER IS "IT SHOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED", BUT THEY ARE NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10234522

Mileage unknown · Apr 26, 2007
Visibility

THE OUTSIDE TEMP READER LOCATED IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR HAS READ 140 DEGREES FOR ALMOST 2 YEARS. REPAIRS WERE ATTEMPTED, BUT UNSUCCESSFUL. I FEEL IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE DURING THE WINTER... I TRAVEL WITH MY 2 CHILDREN OVER MANY DANGEROUS MOUNTAIN PASSES AND THE "ICE" READING WOULD BE NICE. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10188953

Official recalls

0

No recalls in this snapshot.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.