Speedometer Died - 2003 Trailblazer
Speedometer Died - 2003 Trailblazer Apparently this is fairly common and there is a class-action lawsuit pending against GM. The dealerships said they send them to someplace in Kent for repair. Anybody know anything about this?
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 10,023
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From: LT1 land...the "409" of the 90s!
Yes ALL newer GM trucks and many vehicals have the issue. The little pulse motors die. We had our truck a week when it went out on us.
Make sure you use Carl Cowles for the repair. He fixed and updated the dash with the latest flash as well. He also got me a used lens as mine was broken. The entire deal was under $150 with all the shipping
As Steph said with shipping both way and down time was ponly a week. I drove the truck with a scanner for a dash for a week
Make sure you use Carl Cowles for the repair. He fixed and updated the dash with the latest flash as well. He also got me a used lens as mine was broken. The entire deal was under $150 with all the shipping
As Steph said with shipping both way and down time was ponly a week. I drove the truck with a scanner for a dash for a week
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Joined: Mar 2006
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From: Monroe, Washington
3 days after we bought our truck we were going down the freeway and the speedo went to 0, then sometimes it would go up to 20 when we were doing at least 60. Some people reported theirs going up to 120+ when they were sitting still. It's a pretty common problem with the 03+ years, as we found out, and GM will do nothing about it. It even happens to the impala's, not just trucks. To get it fixed at the dealer would have been lots of money...
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Thanks for all of the feedback everyone. The location mentioned in Kent is where the dealers send them for repair. They have to do it to be legal given the concerns with odometer issues.
I found a way to reset the speedo on the web last night. Go to the fuse panel under the hood, pull the Ignition E and the guage cluster fuses, attempt to start (it won't), turn the key off and put the fuses back in. When you turn the ignition on again it resets the speedo. It worked on ours last night. Some other guy reported that only lasted one day. We'll see.
Also found the places that repair them for $100-$150. You can also buy the stepper motors (electronic gizmos) for the guage cluster and do it yourself with just a soldering iron. So far I've found them on e-bay but they come in packages of 50 for $275. I like to get one or two and do it myself. Going to try the place in Kent and see if they will maybe sell me a couple of them.
This problem is really common. Do a search. There is an online petition against GM and a class-action lawsuit in WA and one other state in the works. When I called the dealers, I was quoted prices from $275-$350 to fix the speedo (send to the business in Kent). Also, it's not just the speedo, apparently these little stepper motors drive all of the guages and there have been problems with fuel, etc.
Again, thanks for all of the feedback. Now off to finish clay-bar work on the TA.
I found a way to reset the speedo on the web last night. Go to the fuse panel under the hood, pull the Ignition E and the guage cluster fuses, attempt to start (it won't), turn the key off and put the fuses back in. When you turn the ignition on again it resets the speedo. It worked on ours last night. Some other guy reported that only lasted one day. We'll see.
Also found the places that repair them for $100-$150. You can also buy the stepper motors (electronic gizmos) for the guage cluster and do it yourself with just a soldering iron. So far I've found them on e-bay but they come in packages of 50 for $275. I like to get one or two and do it myself. Going to try the place in Kent and see if they will maybe sell me a couple of them.
This problem is really common. Do a search. There is an online petition against GM and a class-action lawsuit in WA and one other state in the works. When I called the dealers, I was quoted prices from $275-$350 to fix the speedo (send to the business in Kent). Also, it's not just the speedo, apparently these little stepper motors drive all of the guages and there have been problems with fuel, etc.
Again, thanks for all of the feedback. Now off to finish clay-bar work on the TA.
Correction:
The number for the business in Kent is now 253-796-5400. They offered to do the repair for $250-$300.
I'm contacting the e-bay seller to see if I can buy a half dozen stepper motors and do it myself. The motors are about $10 a piece if you can get them individually.
The number for the business in Kent is now 253-796-5400. They offered to do the repair for $250-$300.
I'm contacting the e-bay seller to see if I can buy a half dozen stepper motors and do it myself. The motors are about $10 a piece if you can get them individually.
End to the story...
I bought 5 stepper motors from a guy on ebay (murugesh18@hotmail.com). Pulled the speedometer and had it fixed in less than an hour (two hours counting removal and installation the first time). One stepper motor cost about $10 with shipping--I have 4 extras if anyone needs one. Just need a solder iron to remove the old one and install the new one. If anyone has a speedo fail, I'll be happy to help with the fix--it'll only cost you $10.
Casey
I bought 5 stepper motors from a guy on ebay (murugesh18@hotmail.com). Pulled the speedometer and had it fixed in less than an hour (two hours counting removal and installation the first time). One stepper motor cost about $10 with shipping--I have 4 extras if anyone needs one. Just need a solder iron to remove the old one and install the new one. If anyone has a speedo fail, I'll be happy to help with the fix--it'll only cost you $10.
Casey
So when you remove the needles how do you get them back to calibrated? Or do these motors have a stop built into them?
Thanks.
Thanks.
Originally Posted by CW00BlackTA
End to the story...
I bought 5 stepper motors from a guy on ebay (murugesh18@hotmail.com). Pulled the speedometer and had it fixed in less than an hour (two hours counting removal and installation the first time). One stepper motor cost about $10 with shipping--I have 4 extras if anyone needs one. Just need a solder iron to remove the old one and install the new one. If anyone has a speedo fail, I'll be happy to help with the fix--it'll only cost you $10.
Casey
I bought 5 stepper motors from a guy on ebay (murugesh18@hotmail.com). Pulled the speedometer and had it fixed in less than an hour (two hours counting removal and installation the first time). One stepper motor cost about $10 with shipping--I have 4 extras if anyone needs one. Just need a solder iron to remove the old one and install the new one. If anyone has a speedo fail, I'll be happy to help with the fix--it'll only cost you $10.
Casey
Originally Posted by firehawk618
So when you remove the needles how do you get them back to calibrated? Or do these motors have a stop built into them?
Thanks.
Thanks.
They have a stop built in but it's apparently not quite that simple. I put the needles on and plugged it back in to check it. They all reset to zero and I had to pull a couple off to reposition them as they were a little off on my first attempt. Plugged it in again and was fine.
