2004 GMC Sierra 2500 problems
The 2004 GMC Sierra 2500 has 175 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (32%) concerns brakes. Next are electrical system (28%) and engine (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 175 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 32% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 4 and 4
- Injuries and deaths
- 5 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 60,000 miles 147 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 7 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 18 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 45 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 26 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 16 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 15 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 8 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 6 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 4 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 147 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 60,000 miles. For brakes specifically, the median reported mileage is about 71,000 miles (51 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 4 complaints mention a crash; 4 complaints mention a fire; 5 injuries reported; 1 death reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2004 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 26 model years of the GMC Sierra 2500 with enough data (85 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
The truck was in a close to head on crash and neither air bag deployed,steering wheel nor glove box air bags. There was a death in the other car.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle was hit by another vehicle on the right front side over the tire. There was no pre-braking before the impact. The front driver and passenger air bag did not deploy. Although all occupants were wearing their seatbelts, there were two occupants injuried. There was no warning light illuminated prior to the crash. The vehicle was taken to a service dealer who determined that there was no sensor in the middle of the truck.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 GMC sierra 2500 hd. While driving 55 MPH, the vehicle began smoking near the glove box. The plastic coating on the wires began dripping, melting, and sparking. The vehicle then became engulfed in flames and was destroyed. A police and fire report was filed. The contact has pictures. The mileages were unknown.
I was approaching an intersection in my 2004 GMC sierra 4x4 2500hd pickup truck with a 2800 pound trailer when I pressed the brakes to stop. The brake pedal went to the floor and I was unable to stop. The trailer brakes were not enough to stop the vehicle and I continued into the intersection and was almost struck by two other vehicles. They just missed hitting my vehicle and causing serious injuries to myself and my passenger, as well as themselves.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 GMC 2500. The contact stated that the emergency brake was inoperable. The contact mentioned that the parking brake was depressed and an abnormal noise emitted from the under carriage of the vehicle. The contact believed that the parking brake cable was fractured. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 197,000.