2003-2004 Chevrolet truck and SUV speedometer issues

Recently, Cazeyemike in our forums asked about the erratic behavior of the speedometer in his 2003 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck. Master mechanic Big Block 409 immediate responded with a reference for a warranty extension on the instrument cluster in truck-based vehicles from that model year.

The bulletin, which was issued by General Motors in 2007, covers trucks made in model years 2003 and 2004, including:

* Cadillac Escalade
* Chevrolet Avalanche
* Chevrolet Silverado
* Chevrolet Suburban
* Chevrolet Tahoe
* GMC Sierra
* GMC Yukon

Including upper trim levels of most of those vehicles.

The bulletin is #07187A, document ID 2037454. It instructs dealership and authorized repair shops in how to test and replace the instrument cluster in affected vehicles and under which circumstances General Motors will cover the costs.

While the warranty only extends to 7 years or 70,000 miles, most dealerships will allow an extension beyond that if the truck is otherwise in reasonable condition and the fault appears to obviously be with the instrumentation.

For the DIY mechanic, this is a boon because repairing instrument panel problems is a tedious, time-consuming prospect that is rarely any fun.

Remember: it always pays to research recalls and service bulletin notices on a vehicle with problems before doing anything else. Often, it can save you a lot of effort and money. Simply call the nearest dealership for the vehicle in question, give them the VIN, and ask if all recall repairs have been performed on the vehicle. Then explain your problem and ask if there are any service bulletins for the parts affected.