IllustrationSPEEDOMETER IS NOT REGISTERING CORRECT SPEED. STARTED READING INACCURATELY AND NOW DOES NOT READ AT ALL. OUR 2004 CHEVY TAHOE IS BEING TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP TO BE REPAIRED. VEHICLE CONSIDERED OUT OF WARRANTY DUE TO MILES AND DID NOT PURCHASE EXTENDED WARRANTY. *JB
2004 Chevrolet Tahoe
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2004 Chevrolet Tahoe do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 246.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Tahoe years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
370–25K
7425–50K
9450–75K
6875–100K
79100–150K
36150K+
388 reports with mileage · 79 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 214 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes. Review the 60 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Steering. Review the 29 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
25 crash reports7 fire reports14 injury reports
Electrical System complaints
214 reportsI HAVE A 2004 CHEVROLET TAHOE THAT THE SPEEDOMETER REGISTERS INCORRECTLY OR NOT AT ALL. WHEN THE NEEDLE MOVES IT MOVES WITH A JERKY MOTION. *JB
2004 TAHOE SPEEDOMETER IS PEGGED FULL SCALE WHILE PARKED IN DRIVEWAY WITH ENGINE OFF. NOTICED SEVERAL OTHERS HAVING SAME SPEEDOMETER RELATED PROBLEMS ON INTERNET FORUMS. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED IMMEDIATELY THROUGH A RECALL BY THE MANUFACTURER. *NM
STARTED VEHICLE NOVEMBER 14,2006 SPEEDOMETER IS SHOWING AT BETWEEN 70 MPH AND 120 MPH WHEN AT FULL STOP. UNABLE TO FIGURE OUT HOW FAST I AM GOING. INTERNET IS SHOWING THAT A LOT OF GMC SUV AND TRUCK OWNERS FROM 2003-2006 ARE HAVING THIS ISSUE. DEALERS AND MECHANICS ARE CHARGING BETWEEN $600-$800 TO REPAIR. *NM
THE SPEEDOMETER STARTED GOING WAY BELOW THE ACTUAL SPEED I WAS GOING. I'D HAVE TO TURN THE ENGINE OFF AND RESTART IT AND KEEP DOING THIS UNTIL IT GETS BACK TO NORMAL. THIS WENT ON FOR SEVERAL WEEKS WHERE IT WAS FINE, THEN IT WOULD DROP BELOW 0 AT A STOP SIGN, THEN WOULD SHOW 10 MPH WHEN I WAS ACTUALLY DOING ABOUT 35. NOW IT'S…
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THE SPEEDOMETER STARTED GOING WAY BELOW THE ACTUAL SPEED I WAS GOING. I'D HAVE TO TURN THE ENGINE OFF AND RESTART IT AND KEEP DOING THIS UNTIL IT GETS BACK TO NORMAL. THIS WENT ON FOR SEVERAL WEEKS WHERE IT WAS FINE, THEN IT WOULD DROP BELOW 0 AT A STOP SIGN, THEN WOULD SHOW 10 MPH WHEN I WAS ACTUALLY DOING ABOUT 35. NOW IT'S DOING JUST THE OPPOSITE. THE OTHER NIGHT I LOOKED DOWN AT THE SPEEDOMETER AND ALMOST PANICKED BECAUSE IT SAID I WAS GOING 90 MPH! I WAS ACTUALLY DOING AROUND 50. THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE AND GMC SHOULD RECALL. *NM
MY '04 CHEVY TAHOE'S SPEEDOMETER, WITH ONLY 40,000 MILES, JUST QUITE WORKING AND IS STUCK ON 55 EVEN WHEN IT SITS ON THE GARAGE. AFTER SEEING HUNDREDS OF SIMILAR COMPLAINTS ON-LINE, IT APPEARS TO BE A WIDESPREAD PROBLEM WITH SIMILAR GM MODELS. *JB
MY RECENTLY PURCHASED 2004 CHEVROLET TAHO Z71 HAS APPROXIMATELY 40,000 MILES ON IT. THE SPEEDOMETER IS GROSSLY INACCURATE AND FUNCTIONS ERRATICALLY WHEN IT DOES FUNCTION. SHOWS 30 MPH EVEN WHEN PARKED, BUT THAT VALUE JUMPS AROUND. NO TRIGGER EVENT, IT JUST STARTED DOING IT. CONSEQUENCES ARE THAT I DON'T KNOW WHAT MY REAL SPE…
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MY RECENTLY PURCHASED 2004 CHEVROLET TAHO Z71 HAS APPROXIMATELY 40,000 MILES ON IT. THE SPEEDOMETER IS GROSSLY INACCURATE AND FUNCTIONS ERRATICALLY WHEN IT DOES FUNCTION. SHOWS 30 MPH EVEN WHEN PARKED, BUT THAT VALUE JUMPS AROUND. NO TRIGGER EVENT, IT JUST STARTED DOING IT. CONSEQUENCES ARE THAT I DON'T KNOW WHAT MY REAL SPEED IS AND THIS CREATES A HAZARD IN TRAFFIC. I HAVE NOT HAD TIME TO RESEARCH THE PROBLEM. BASED UPON MY SEARCHES I SEE THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH A NUMBER OF GM VEHICLES. GM NEEDS TO ISSUE A RECALL AND FIX THIS PROBLEM RATHER THAN SOAKING UP OUR MONEY IN REPAIR COSTS. *JB
WE HAVE SEEN DOZEN OF INCIDENTS IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS WHERE THE SPEEDOMETER BEGAN TICKING, BECAME JERKY, OR STOPPED WORKING ALL TOGETHER. SOMETIMES IT WILL DISPLAY A SPEED OBVIOUSLY LOWER THAN THE ACTUAL SPEED (LIKE 30 ON THE HIGHWAY WHERE WE ARE GOING AT LEAST 55). OTHER TIMES, IT WILL SIT AT 0 WHILE THE CAR IS CRUISING DOWN…
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WE HAVE SEEN DOZEN OF INCIDENTS IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS WHERE THE SPEEDOMETER BEGAN TICKING, BECAME JERKY, OR STOPPED WORKING ALL TOGETHER. SOMETIMES IT WILL DISPLAY A SPEED OBVIOUSLY LOWER THAN THE ACTUAL SPEED (LIKE 30 ON THE HIGHWAY WHERE WE ARE GOING AT LEAST 55). OTHER TIMES, IT WILL SIT AT 0 WHILE THE CAR IS CRUISING DOWN THE ROAD. THIS PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT. SOMETIME STOPPING AND RESTARTING THE CAR FIXES IT. WE WILL GO A WEEK OR MORE WITHOUT THE PROBLEM AND SOMETIME WE SEE IT MULTIPLE TIMES IN ONE DAY. WE HAVE NOT REPAIRED THE ISSUE YET. INTERNET SEARCHING INDICATES THE AVERAGE REPAIR COST TO BE BETWEEN $500 AND $1,200. SIMILAR SEARCHING ALSO INDICATES THAT THIS HAS BEEN SEEN BY AT LEAST HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE ON VARIATIONS OF THE TAHOE (SUBURBAN, AVALANCHE, ETC). THERE IS EVEN SOMEONE ON EBAY WHO HAS A HOLE BUSINESS AROUND FIXING BROKEN INSTRUMENT CLUSTERS FOR THESE VEHICLES. *JB
MY SPEEDOMETER MALFUNCTIONED WHILE I WAS DRIVING. I WAS UNABLE TO TELL MY ACCURATE SPEED. I HAD TO TAKE MY VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP AND HAVE THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER REPLACED WITH AN INSTRUMENT CLUSTER THAT HAD BEEN REPAIRED. I WAS WITHOUT MY VEHICLE FOR TWO DAYS. I HAVE AN EXTENDED WARRANTY AND THEREFORE HAD TO PAY MY PORTION ($…
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MY SPEEDOMETER MALFUNCTIONED WHILE I WAS DRIVING. I WAS UNABLE TO TELL MY ACCURATE SPEED. I HAD TO TAKE MY VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP AND HAVE THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER REPLACED WITH AN INSTRUMENT CLUSTER THAT HAD BEEN REPAIRED. I WAS WITHOUT MY VEHICLE FOR TWO DAYS. I HAVE AN EXTENDED WARRANTY AND THEREFORE HAD TO PAY MY PORTION ($100.00).*JB
MY SPEEDOMETER STARTED ACTING ERRATICALLY, SHOWING THE INCORRECT SPEED OR NO SPEED AT ALL, COMPARED TO THE ACTUAL VELOCITY OF THE VEHICLE. AND NOW IT SIMPLY NO LONGER WORKS AND I CANNOT TELL HOW FAST I AM GOING. *JB
Official recalls
205V163000 · Seat Belts:rear/other
Apr 22, 2005
ON CERTAIN CREW CAB PICKUP TRUCKS AND SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, THE 2ND ROW CENTER OCCUPANT SEAT BELT ROUTING MAY MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO POSITION THE LAP PORTION OF THE SAFETY BELT LOW AROUND THE HIPS OF OCCUPANTS, ESPECIALLY SMALLER OCCUPANTS, SEATED IN THIS POSITION. APPROPRIATE USE OF A CHILD SEAT OR BOOSTER SEAT, AS RECOMMENDED FOR SMALL CHILDREN, DOES IMPROVE THE FIT CONDITION FOR THIS USER GROUP. IN ADDITION TO INSTRUCTIONS ON PROPER INFANT AND YOUNG CHILD RESTRAINT (WITH CHILD SEATS OR BOOSTERS), SPECIAL VERBIAGE FOR RESTRAINING OLDER CHILD IS INCLUDED IN THE OWNER'S MANUAL. ALSO, THE SUGGESTED SEAT BELT FIT/ROUTING FOR ADULTS, IRRESPECTIVE OF SEATING POSITION, IS DESCRIBED IN THE OWNER'S MANUAL TEXT.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A LAP PORTION OF THE SEAT BELT ROUTING THAT IS NOT LOW AND SNUG ON THE HIPS CAN ALLOW THE LAP BELT TO RIDE UP ON AN OCCUPANT'S ABDOMEN INSTEAD OF FITTING LOW AROUND THEIR HIPBONES, AND THEREFORE, CAN EXPOSE THEM TO MORE RISK OF ABDOMINAL AND INTERNAL ORGAN INJURY.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL CUT OPEN THE GUIDE LOOP, REMOVE A PORTION OF THE LOOP, AND THEN THE REMAINING TWO SIDES SHOULD BE FOLDED OVER AND SECURED WITH A RETAINER FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 21, 2005. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CADILLAC AT 1-866-982-2339, CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438, GMC AT 1-866-996-9463, OR HUMMER AT 1-800-732-5493.
04V045000 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic
Feb 4, 2004
CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, PICKUP TRUCKS, AND PASSENGER VANS FAIL TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 135, ?PASSENGER CAR BRAKE SYSTEMS.? SOME OF THESE VEHICLES WERE PRODUCED WITH AN OUT-OF-SPECIFICATION BRAKE HYDRO-BOOST HOUSING RELIEF VALVE BORE.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: CONSEQUENTLY, THE VALVE O-RING SEAL MAY FRACTURE. STEERING EFFORTS MAY BE SLIGHTLY INCREASED WHILE BRAKING OR PARKING. UNDER CERTAIN DRIVING CONDITIONS, A FRACTURED SEAL MAY REQUIRE A SLIGHT INCREASE IN THE APPLIED BRAKE PEDAL EFFORT TO ACHIEVE THE SAME VEHICLE DECELERATION RATE AS PRIOR TO THE SEAT FRACTURE.
Remedy: DEALERS ARE TO REPLACE THE HYDRO-BOOST RELIEF VALVE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JUNE 18, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT CADILLAC AT 1-866-982-2339; CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438; GMC AT 1-866-996-9463; OR HUMMER AT 1-866-486-6376.
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
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.