2004 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 problems & reliability
797 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
17 complaints report injuries (20 injured, 1 deaths reported).
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical System | 267 | 34% |
| Service Brakes | 229 | 29% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 100 | 13% |
| Steering | 75 | 9% |
| Air Bags | 34 | 4% |
| Power Train | 27 | 3% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 25 | 3% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 20 | 3% |
| Engine | 18 | 2% |
| Structure | 15 | 2% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 69,742 miles (middle 50% between 45,000 and 97,875 miles), based on 690 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Odometer Fraud. The contact was interested in purchasing a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 from a local used car dealer. The contact stated that the odometer indicated that the mileage was 187,000. The Carfax report indicated that the last reported mileage was 312,000. In addition, the contact was informed that the…”
Electrical System · filed Jul 8, 2025
“The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving 30-35 MPH, the brake and the check engine warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that upon depressing the brake pedal, the brake pedal traveled down to the floorboard, and the vehicle hesitated to respond. The contact pulled to…”
Structure · filed Dec 19, 2024
“I just replaced the battery in my 2004 chevy Silverado 1500 with only 97,000 miles on it, and i went to drive it down the road and the vehicle now loses power and cuts off making a left turn.. It did this twice and i parked it.. THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE in my opinion.. PLEASE investigate the issue and…”
Electrical System · filed Jun 29, 2024
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Technical service bulletins
237 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The 10 most recent:
This PI communicates the requirement to provide a pico file to receive diagnostic assistance from TAC.
PIP5601C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 18, 2025
This Preliminary Information communicates direction for different audio issues with RPO UQA, UQF, UQS, or NKD
PIT6406A · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 8, 2025
This service bulletin provides information for dealers/technicians on OnStar Module 2G Sunset Information.
23-NA-001 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 28, 2025
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that have an unusual noise and is difficult to identify, isolate or pinpoint. Technician should get record a sound clip or…
PIP5358D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 20, 2025
This service bulletin explains how to measure for oil consumption and possible reasons for loss of oil.
03-06-01-023I · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 18, 2024
This Preliminary Information communicates to the dealer the process for downloading or updating operating software for the Tire Pressure Monitor, Active Fuel Injector tester, multi media tester, PICO Scope, GR8…
PIP4723J · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 25, 2024
This service bulletin explains how to measure for oil consumption and possible reasons for loss of oil.
03-06-01-023H · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 7, 2024
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that the Heater-Vent-Air Conditioning blows warm air. Before calling General Motors Technical Assistance Center technician…
PIT5099H · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 12, 2024
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that the Heater-Vent-Air Conditioning blows warm air. Before calling General Motors Technical Assistance Center technician…
PIT5099H · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 12, 2024
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about changing the tire and wheel size on vehicles. General Motors will only support a tire calibration for tires that have been sized…
PIT3271P · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 6, 2024
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
No NHTSA recall campaigns name the 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 in our current data. Recalls may apply only to certain VIN ranges — always confirm with a VIN check.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 1500?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 69,742 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.