IllustrationWHILE HAVING ALL SUPPLIES FOR POLICE FIREARMS TRAINING LOCK IN THE BACK OF MY 2004 AVALANCHE THE TAILGATE WOULD NOT UNLOCK, DEALER NEED TO REPLACE UNIT, SAME THING HAPPENED THE VERY NEXT DAY AT THE RANGE. RETURNED TO DEALER AND THIS TIME I WAS TOLD THEY WERE USING BAD SPRINGS. *TR
2004 Chevrolet Avalanche 1500
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most Avalanche 1500 years
Owner complaints for the 2004 Chevrolet Avalanche 1500 are substantially higher than the model-year median of 38.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Avalanche 1500 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
20–25K
2325–50K
3550–75K
2375–100K
28100–150K
13150K+
124 reports with mileage · 20 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 53 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes. Review the 32 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Air Bags. Review the 12 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
7 crash reports0 fire reports6 injury reports
What owners actually said
144 reportsSTEERING SOME TIMES MAKING A KNOCKING TYPE NOISE, BROUGHT TO DEALER STEERING SHAFT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED WAS TOLD CHEVY KNOWS ABOUT THE PROBLEM. *TR
WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY TRUCK TRANSMISSION STARTED NOT SHIFTING AND AT 55MPH WAS RUNNING 4500 RPM, TRUCK SYSTEM THEN WARNED OF A HOT TRANSMISSION. BROUGH TO DEALER TOLD TRANSMISSION IS NO GOOD, UNDER EXTENDED WARRANTY CAN ONLY GET A REBUILT TRANSMISSION IF APPROVED BY GM. *TR
AROUND 37,000 MILES, THE SPEEDOMETER ON MY 2004 CHEVY AVALANCHE WENT ERRATIC. THE TRUCK WAS 1 MONTH OR 1000 OUT OF WARRANTY. THIS HAS LED TO INACCURATE SPEEDS WHICH IS POSING A DANGER PROBLEM TO MY YOUNG TEENAGE DRIVERS. THEY DO NOT KNOW HOW TO REGULATE THEIR SPEED USING THE TACHOMETER LIKE I DO. I HAVE NOT FIXED IT YET BECA…
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AROUND 37,000 MILES, THE SPEEDOMETER ON MY 2004 CHEVY AVALANCHE WENT ERRATIC. THE TRUCK WAS 1 MONTH OR 1000 OUT OF WARRANTY. THIS HAS LED TO INACCURATE SPEEDS WHICH IS POSING A DANGER PROBLEM TO MY YOUNG TEENAGE DRIVERS. THEY DO NOT KNOW HOW TO REGULATE THEIR SPEED USING THE TACHOMETER LIKE I DO. I HAVE NOT FIXED IT YET BECAUSE I THOUGHT SOMETHING AS IMPORTANT AS A SPEEDOMETER WOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED. IT APPEARS THAT THEIR ARE THOUSANDS OF THESE LATE MODEL GM VEHICLES THAT HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. *TR
AT IDOL OR LOW SPEEDS LIKE PULLING INTO A PARKING SPACE, IT WAS AS IF MY 2004 AVALANCHE HAD NO POWER STEERING TO THE RIGHT AND ONLY THE RIGHT. UPON TAKING IT TO A MECHANIC, THEY PULLED UP A SERVICE BULLETIN STATING THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE STEERING BOX AND THERE IS A REDISIGNED STEERING BOX AND SHOULD BE REPLACED , I DONE TH…
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AT IDOL OR LOW SPEEDS LIKE PULLING INTO A PARKING SPACE, IT WAS AS IF MY 2004 AVALANCHE HAD NO POWER STEERING TO THE RIGHT AND ONLY THE RIGHT. UPON TAKING IT TO A MECHANIC, THEY PULLED UP A SERVICE BULLETIN STATING THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE STEERING BOX AND THERE IS A REDISIGNED STEERING BOX AND SHOULD BE REPLACED , I DONE THAT AND $732.96 LATER THE PROBLEM IS FIXED AT MY EXPENCE WHEN IT IS THEIR POOR DISIGN. SIDE KNOTE: MY WIFES A CANCER PATIENT, I SHOULD BE PAYING DR. BILLS WITH THAT MONEY!!!!!
VEHICLE HAD MULTIPLE OCCURRENCES OF AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT BEING DISPLAYED. THE FIRST EPISODE REQUIRED THREE VISITS TO REPLACE DRIVER'S SIDE AIR BAG RESTRAINT MODULE AND COIL. SECOND EPISODE REQUIRED TWO VISITS TO REPLACE COIL AGAIN!), AND I HAVE LOST FAITH IN THE VEHICLE'S ABILITY TO PROPERLY MANAGE AIR BAG SYSTEM.*AK
THIS IS TO COMPLAIN ABOUT THE FAILING SPEEDOMETERS IN GM TRUCKS AND SUVS. MINE IS A 2004 CHEVROLET AVALANCHE AND THE SPEEDOMETER FAILED TO SHOW THE ACCURATE SPEED OF THE VEHICLE. THIS LEADS TO DANGEROUS SPEEDS WITHOUT THE DRIVER'S KNOWLEDGE.*AK
THE SPEEDOMETER IN MY 2004 CHEVY AVALANCHE IS MALFUNCTIONING AND DOES NOT SHOW THE CORRECT SPEED OF THE VEHICLE. I NOTICE A LOT OF OTHER CONSUMERS ARE HAVING THE SAME TROUBLE. WHAT IS YOUR ORGANIZATION DOING TO PRESSURE CHEVROLET/GMC IN MAKING GOOD ON THIS FAULTY PRODUCT?
THE SPEEDOMETER ON MY VEHICLE STICKS AND DOES NOT REFLECT THE ACTUAL SPEED OF THE VEHICLE. *NM
SPEEDOMETER DIDN'T WORK AT ALL THOUGHT IT WAS JUST THE COLD, WHEN IT STARTED WORKING, THE NEEDLE KEPT GOING UNTIL IT WAS PINNED WELL PAST 120. THAT IS WHERE IT SITS RIGHT NOW. *JB
Official recalls
0No 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
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.