NHTSA Complaint #10295492 — 2004 CHEVROLET VENTURE

I OWN A 2004 CHEVROLET VENTURE LS. RECENTLY THE SPEEDOMETER BEGAN MALFUNCTIONING. THE NEEDLE ON THE SPEEDOMETER WILL JUMP, NOT RETURN TO ZERO WHEN STOPPED, OR WILL STAY STUCK AT A PREVIOUS SPEED. THE SPEEDOMETER IS CURRENTLY NOT WORKING AT ALL. I HAVE PURCHASED A LEADING REPAIR MANUAL AND FOLLOWED THE TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE WHICH LEAD ME TO REPLACE THE VSS (VEHICLE SPEED SENSOR). THIS DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. AFTER HOURS OF RESEARCH AND SPEAKING TO SEVERAL MECHANICS, I HAVE FOUND THAT THIS IS A RATHER COMMON DEFECT IN THE ACTUAL GAUGE CLUSTER. ALSO, I HAVE FOUND THAT THERE IS A RATHER LARGE NUMBER OF VENTURE OWNERS THAT HAVE THIS SAME ISSUE. BECAUSE THE ANTI-THEFT SYSTEM RUNS THROUGH THE SPEEDOMETER, A NEW GAUGE CLUSTER MUST BE RE-PROGRAMMED BY THE DEALER MAKING IT ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO FIX THE PROBLEM MYSELF AT A REASONABLE PRICE. I FEEL THAT BECAUSE THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE CHEVROLET VENTURE THAT GM SHOULD RECALL THE DEFECTIVE GAUGES AND FIX THE PROBLEM. FURTHERMORE, I BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A POTENTIAL SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE THE DRIVER HAS NO WAY OF MONITORING THEIR SPEED IN NORMAL OR HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS. ALSO, BASED ON MY RESEARCH I HAVE FOUND THAT THE SPEEDOMETER IS THE BEGINNING OF MORE PROBLEMS RELATED TO THE OTHER GAUGES SUCH AS THE FUEL GAUGE AND TEMPERATURE GAUGE. THE CRUISE CONTROL SYSTEM COULD BE AFFECTED ALSO BECAUSE IT USES INFORMATION FROM THE VSS AND THE SPEEDOMETER READING. AN IMPROPER READING ON THE SPEEDOMETER COULD CAUSE A MALFUNCTION IN THE CRUISE CONTROL SYSTEM RESULTING IN AN ACCIDENT. I USE THIS VEHICLE DAILY TO TRANSPORT MY CHILDREN TO AND FROM SCHOOL AND OTHER FAMILY ACTIVITIES SO SAFETY IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. CERTAINLY I AM RELYING ON THE ADVISE AND EXPERTISE OF ASE CERTIFIED MECHANICS, MY LOCAL CHEVROLET DEALER, AND OTHER DISAPPOINTED CHEVY OWNERS. I WOULD LIKE CHEVROLET AND GM TO TAKE A LOOK AT THIS ISSUE, AND IF NECESSARY, CORRECT THE PROBLEM. THANK YOU FOR YOU TIME AND ATTENTION IN THIS MATTER. *TR