I've had one episode recently of complete shutdown of the speedometer after
watching it hiccup around 65 mph. The rest of the instrument cluster was
fine as far as I know. The next morning it worked fine and it's been fine
for the past 2 days.

My usual dealer said it would cost at least $300 to replace, but they don't
recommend it since I don't have an extended warranty and it's working OK
now. Another GMC dealer in town said they feel badly that it has failed and
it will fail again. They will replace or repair it for free knowing I have
no warranty left. The truck has 51,000 miles 90% of which are highway miles.

Any thoughts on what to do? Sometimes a kind offer is just a kind offer.
Sometimes there is a hidden agenda. Sometimes you should just leave well
enough alone.

What's going on with the Sierra's speedometer? Is it a known problem?

"Annmef1" <annmef1 (AT) worldnet (DOT) att.net> wrote

It's a well known problem, endemic to the entire full sized '03 to '05 GM
SUV and truck line. My '04 Z71 Avalanche did the same thing at 42,000 miles
and off warranty. The culprit is the stepper motor in the cluster. The cure
is a GM remanufactured cluster with a new improved stepper motor. I
complained to the service manager, they called GM's district rep, and the
entire repair was covered under their Goodwill program. Was told it would
have been about a $450-500 repair with the remanufactured unit. Cluster
replacement is 20min. It's $1300+ if I wanted a brand new cluster. Service
manager also said he sees about 3-4 of these per month , mostly late '03's
and '04's. GM started putting the better stepper motors (presumably switched
suppliers) in the cluster sometime in '05. So my advice is to see the
service manager, and get them to do call the GM rep.

Thanks, Augustus. Appreciate your quick reply. It's disappointing that the
dealer that has always taken care of me now wants to charge, but that's
business. I guess the other dealer is willing to acknowledge it's a known
problem.

"Augustus" <no_one (AT) nowhere (DOT) net> wrote

"Annmef1" <annmef1 (AT) worldnet (DOT) att.net> wrote

You're welcome. I was lucky that my local GM service manager was helpful.
It's a small town, and I've bought 4 vehicles there over the last 6 years,
but that doesn't always mean a whole lot. When it happened on my truck I
started digging, and there's tons of Chevy truck web forums with stories
just like your and mine. It should be a recall, not "you bitch, and maybe"
situation.

On Sat, 10 Feb 2007 15:47:32 GMT, "Annmef1" <annmef1 (AT) worldnet (DOT) att.net>
wrote:


Is this a vehicle with a Allison tranny and a 8.1 or Dmax? If so there
is a bulletin on it.
-----------------
TheSnoMan.com

No, it's a mid-size gasoline V8-3.2 or so.
It's been great for dependability until this issue. I'm starting to think I
needed to buy that extended warranty!

"SnoMan" <admin (AT) snoman (DOT) com> wrote

On Sat, 10 Feb 2007 17:15:52 GMT, "Annmef1" <annmef1 (AT) worldnet (DOT) att.net>
wrote:


For what it is worth, you might consider taking it to a speedometer
shop. I had some issues with my 2000 K3500 being off about 10 to 15%
when new and after a few swaps with new GM supplied units under
warranty and attempts at reprogramming ECM they pulled speedo out and
sent it to a speedo shop and "fixed" it for good.
-----------------
TheSnoMan.com

That's a good idea, SnoMan. Glad yours got fixed finally. It may be a while,
but if this gets resolved, I'll post back.

"SnoMan" <admin (AT) snoman (DOT) com> wrote

I think that V8 should have read 5.3L not 3.2. Pretty standard
automatic/engine configuration for an SLT extended cab 4x4 with the short
bed design. Bought from dealer stock new in Dec. 2003.

"Annmef1" <annmef1 (AT) worldnet (DOT) att.net> wrote

In article <ce2ss257nb05tqeuvsegafki6l1ootceb4 (AT) 4ax (DOT) com>,
SnoMan <admin (AT) snoman (DOT) com> wrote:

Isn't your normal recommendation in a case like this to trade the
vehicle off?