NHTSA Complaint #10181420 — 2003 GMC SIERRA

THE SPEEDOMETER ON MANY OF THE 01-06 MODEL GMC/CHEV TRUCKS INCLUDING MY 2003 GMC SIERRA WILL GO OUT. THE FAILURE STARTS WITH THE SPEEDOMETER STICKING 20-30 MPH HIGH AND WILL FUNCTION CORRECTLY WITH THAT DELTA. EVENTUALLY THIS DELTA WILL GROW AND CAN ONLY BE REDUCED BY STARTING THE ENGINE REPEATEDLY. THE SPEED WILL GO DOWN BY A CONSTANT 5 MPH EACH TIME YOU RESTART BUT THIS WILL EVENTUALLY LEAD TO BURNING A STARTER. THIS ALSO LEAVES THE DRIVER TO GUESS WHAT THE CORRECT DELTA IS. THIS MORNING THE SPEEDOMETER CONTINUED TO CLIMB EVEN THOUGH I WAS GOING A CONSTANT 30 MPH ON A CITY STREET. I KNOW THIS BECAUSE I WAS SPOKE A FRIEND THAT IS A COUNTY SHERIFF THAT WAS CLOCKING TRAFFIC AT THE TIME. THE SPEEDOMETER CONTINUED TO CLIMB UP TO THE LIMIT SPEED OF 120 MPH WHILE I WAS STILL GOING 30 MPH. THE SPEEDOMETER EVENTUALLY PASSED 120 MPH AND RESTED AT 245 DEGREES FROM THE 0 POSITION. THIS LEFT ME WITH ZERO SPEED INDICATION WHETHER IT BE A DELTA OR TRUE. THIS WAS A SIGNIFICANT SAFETY EVENT AND I DIDN'T FEEL VERY SAFE DRIVING THE VEHICLE THIS WAY. AFTER I ARRIVED AT WORK I BEGAN SEARCHING THE WEB TO FIND A SOLUTION, AND THAT I DID. I HAVE FOUND HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM IN MANY GMC/CHEVROLET TRUCKS. HTTP://WWW.TOPIX.NET/FORUM/AUTOS/CHEVROLET-TAHOE/T2BGKBGI55EKNU77C/P5 THIS WIDESPREAD PROBLEM MUST BE REVIEWED AND IN MY OPINION (I AM A MECHANICAL ENGINEER FOR A LARGE MANUFACTURER) THIS SHOULD BE FIXED BY THE COMPANY AT FAULT WHICH IS GM. THIS VEHICLE WILL BE PARKED ONCE I GET IT HOME AND I WILL DRIVE A DIFFERENT VEHICLE BECAUSE THIS LOSS OF A BASIC SAFETY INDICATION CAN BE DEVASTATING TO NOT ONLY MYSELF AND FAMILY, BUT TO ALL MOTORISTS. MANY PEOPLE THAT I HAVE SPOKEN WITH ARE NOT FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO HAVE A SECOND VEHICLE AND THEREFORE PLAN ON CONTINUED USE OF THE FAULTY VEHICLE. THIS CONTINUED OPERATION IS UNACCEPTABLE TO SAFETY AND SHOULD BE FIXED. I WAS QUOTED A PRICE OF $2000 THIS MORNING TO FIX THIS SAFETY ISSUE ON A 3 YEAR OLD TRUCK. *NM