NHTSA Complaint #10702698 — 2003 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN 1500

MY '03 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN HAS DEVELOPED WHAT APPEARS TO BE A VERY COMMON CONDITION WHERE THE ENTIRE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER BECOMES INOPERABLE. FOR EXAMPLE, WHILE TRAVELING AT LOW, IN TOWN SPEEDS, THE SPEEDOMETER WILL HAVE READINGS IN THE 60S, 70S' AND 80S. WHILE IN THE PARK POSITION, THE SPEEDOMETER WILL READ 55MPH. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY A SAFETY ISSUE AND I AM REALLY SHOCKED THAT THE NHTSA HASN'T FORCED A RECALL. THERE ARE LITERALLY THOUSANDS OF REPORTS ONLINE OF THIS EXACT PROBLEM. GENERAL MOTORS IS AWARE THAT THIS IS A WIDE SPREAD PROBLEM, AS THEY EVEN EXTENDED. GENERAL MOTORS EVEN PROVIDED OWNERS WITH A SPECIAL COVERAGE THAT EXTENDS THE WARRANTY ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL CLUSTER FOR THE CONDITION DESCRIBED ABOVE, AS LONG AS THE VEHICLES AGE AND MILEAGE FALLS WITHIN CERTAIN PARAMETERS. THOSE PARAMETERS ARE THE MAIN REASON FOR MY COMPLAINT. THOSE PARAMETERS ARE 1) 7 YEARS OF THE IN SERVICE DATE, AND 2) 70,000 MILES, WHICH EVER OCCURS FIRST. MY CLAIM TO HAVE THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER IN MY VEHICLE REPAIRED UNDER THE SPECIAL COVERAGE WAS DENIED ON 9/4/09 BECAUSE THE MILEAGE OF MY VEHICLE WAS 93,000 MILES AT THE TIME OF MY REQUEST. I BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A LARGE SCALE SAFETY PROBLEM THAT WARRANTS A RECALL BY GENERAL MOTORS RATHER THAN AN EXTENSION OF WARRANTY WITH UNREASONABLE MILEAGE PARAMETERS. EXTENDING THE WARRANTY ALONE IS A CLEAR ADMISSION OF A KNOWN WIDESPREAD ISSUE. IS NHTSA IN BED WITH GM TOO? I GUESS I SHOULDN'T BE SURPRISED. *TR