2004 Chevrolet Silverado problems & reliability
622 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2004 Chevrolet Silverado, alongside 8 safety recall campaigns. 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.
30 complaints report injuries (36 injured, 3 deaths reported).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2004 Chevrolet Silverado vehicles were involved in 470 fatal crashes with 271 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical System | 159 | 26% |
| Service Brakes | 122 | 20% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 84 | 14% |
| Power Train | 49 | 8% |
| Steering | 44 | 7% |
| Air Bags | 31 | 5% |
| Structure | 25 | 4% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 24 | 4% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 23 | 4% |
| Suspension | 21 | 3% |
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 48,400 miles (middle 50% between 20,000 and 85,000 miles), based on 500 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked in the driveway, he poured oil into the oil reservoir, and then placed the key into the ignition switch to turn on the vehicle when the air bags unexpectedly deployed without warning. The steering wheel air bag hit the…”
Air Bags · filed Jun 24, 2022
“Brake failure today on chevy siverado. Driving 55 mph on highway. The car ahead of me slowed and I braked. Peddle went to the floor without stopping vehical. Was able to come to stop and could see rusted brake lines by driver door. Had wife press brake peddle to see fluid sraying from rusted area. Had zero braking…”
Service Brakes · filed Mar 18, 2016
“Rear brake line blew when trying to apply brakes. No indicator lights or anything pedal just went straight to the floor. Had to swerve off the road into an embankment to avoid a collision at a red light! Mechanic said that all my brake lines were rusted and it was just a matter of time before another one was to fail.”
Service Brakes · filed Mar 17, 2016
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- HYDRAULIC PUMP FAILRES
Engineering Analysis EA04012 · opened Apr 30, 2004 · closed Feb 28, 2005 · led to recall 05V005000
Technical service bulletins
578 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2004 Chevrolet Silverado. The 10 most recent:
This technical bulletin provides a procedure to lube the rear leaf springs on vehicles with the condition of a squeak noise originating from the rear of the vehicle.
06-03-09-004H · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 17, 2017
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that may have slack in one of the tailgate cables. Technician should not replace any parts for this concern. Please…
PIT3227M · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 8, 2017
This Preliminary Information communication advises the technician that the Hydro-Boost is not serviceable and will need to be replaced if the brake pedal moves or applies on its own at a full turn.
PIT3665E · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 31, 2017
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that may have an issue when using Bluetooth voice recognition with an iPhone. Technician should work with the customer to…
PIC5953A · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 23, 2016
This informational bulletin provides information on Part Restriction and Ordering Process Information for OnStar Vehicle Communication Interface Modules (VCIM) (GMNA Only)
03-08-46-004R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 27, 2016
This informational bulletin provides information on close coupled converters and there affect on newly installed engines or engines during there break in period.
06-06-01-010C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 14, 2016
This informational bulletin provides information to advise dealers about seat belt buckles not operating and/or seat belt warning light illumination, as well as difficulty latching and unlatching the buckle or the…
09-09-40-001C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 3, 2015
This informational bulletin provides technicians with information regarding automatic transmission oil cooler flow test essential tool J-45096 TransFlow®.
02-07-30-052J · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 29, 2015
This informational bulletin provides dealership personnel with information on flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) and the usage of E85 fuel in GM vehicles.
05-06-04-035E · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 27, 2015
This informational bulletin provides information on a GM of Canada OnStar® cellular communication upgrade.
15-08-44-001A · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 15, 2015
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
The 2004 Chevrolet Silverado has 8 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
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?
- · 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 48,400 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.