10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
9 / 0
Average Mileage:
63,938 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

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problem #44

Nov 052018

Uplander

  • 341,000 miles
Driving the vehicle along the interstate at 65 mph at night, the ignition switch run position rotated to off and the engine and all headlights, dash, etc, shutdown along with the power steering and power brakes. The incident has just started happening and 340,000 miles on it. Only way to get rolling is to put the auto trans lever to neutral and twist the ignition key to crank position and let key settle to run position. The ignition switch itself has a spring detent and it sets in a pocket at run. So this switch has a spring that over time weakens and allows the whole key cylinder ans switch to drop out of run and shut off the electrical. Solution was to put in a new switch or just use a single key instead of a full set of keys hanging from the key slot.. the full replacement of the switch runs 350$, prts and labor.

- Galesburg, IL, USA

problem #43

Nov 162017

Uplander

  • 180,000 miles
My electrical will go out as I am driving. The car has stopped completely and the electrical as I was driving. My car will turn on and then off, and I have to do it about 5 times before I can even get it to stay on and drive. Sometimes the electrical will stop after that but I can still drive. This is not safe. It has been going on for some time.

- Lansing, MI, USA

problem #42

Sep 012017

Uplander

  • 183,000 miles
The ignition slips into the off mode while vehicle is running, thus disabling everything, including power steering and brakes. I have had it happen while moving out of parking spots on a public street, and many times after start up when I'm not moving. I have quit driving it until I can get it repaired due to safety concern.

- Ogilvie, MN, USA

problem #41

Jan 072017

Uplander

  • 167,000 miles
My daughter was driving my car with the heated seats on. She felt it get extremely hot. She turned off seat warmers. When she got out of car, the seat had melt/burn marks and her leggings and skin had burn/red marks. I had a mechanic look into this and he said do not use seat warmers-it will cause a fire. New seat is at least $500 without labor. Makes me question entire electrical system. In addition, you have connected so many things together, that replacing one thing means replacing a whole console. I am a true Chevy person- used to own? be associated with a Chevy Beretta, 1964 corvair, citation, Malibu... looking to buy again, but this burning was scary!

- Lino Lakes, MN, USA

problem #40

Apr 012016

Uplander

  • 181,000 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Uplander. While driving approximately 25 mph, the power steering failed and the radio became inoperable. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 181,000.

- Marion, IL, USA

problem #39

Aug 162016

Uplander

  • 150,000 miles
While driving down the interstate my Uplander shuts off for no reason or warning. No check engine lights come on. I had onstar run a test and nothing is found.

- Evansville, IN, USA

problem #38

Jul 132015

Uplander

  • 83,000 miles
Several times since purchasing my 2005 Chevy Uplander, the ignition has just shut off. Normally this was when idoling so I wasn't too sure. However, it just turned off when I was driving 65 mph on a major expressway in Chicago. This could have been catastrophic. This ignition switch is the same one that is currently in the GM recall, yet it has not been recalled yet. Please recall all vehicles with this ignition switch as most vehicles have already been recalled. Why wait on the recall until more people are in accidents and possibly die? it isn't worth the risk.

- Chesterton, IN, USA

problem #37

Feb 062015

Uplander

  • 104,430 miles
While my wife was driving to work, and without any sort of issue to provoke it, the ignition came out of the run or on position, causing the vehicle to abruptly shut off. I did some research and found that this was the same ignition as all the other vehicles that have been recalled, yet this one was not on the list. Luckily she had her wits about her and pulled into the center turn lane. But the issue persisted, generally only when trying to start the vehicle or when shifting the vehicle into different gears (park, reverse, drive, etc.). it cost me $312 to fix this issue between parts and labor

- Grand Rapids, MI, USA

problem #36

May 012013

Uplander

  • 119,000 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Uplander. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 35 mph, the engine stalled without warning. The vehicle was able to restart after multiple attempts. On another occasion, the entire electrical components failed. In addition, the brake and the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact also stated that there was an abnormal noise coming from the vehicle and hesitated to accelerate. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who that the ignition switch needed to be replaced. Additionally, there was an electrical shortage for the interior lighting, and head gasket needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 119,000.

- Madision, WI, USA

problem #35

Jan 122009

Uplander 6-cyl

  • 45,000 miles
The sliding door on rear passenger side of van would not close without the 'open door bell' beeping constantly (even after closed). Sometimes after re-closing, it would stop but this eventually became a constant happening. We live in pa. And were in fl. When this first happened, so we took it to a dealer to have it fixed. Approx. A year later, the same thing happened. Again, after opening and closing the door a number of times the beeping would sometimes stop, but when we needed to use the door, it would repeat. We took it to the dealer the second time to have it repaired. Now, we are experiencing the same thing again and the beeping will not stop! this is way too expensive for us to handle. We are seniors and cannot afford to pay for this kind of defect. Please help us!

- Mechanicsburg, PA, USA

problem #34

May 122014

Uplander

  • miles
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Uplander. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, it stalled without warning. The contact mentioned that the failure would also occur when driving over a bump. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The technician diagnosed that the ignition switch was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was 160,000.

- Moss Point, MS, USA

problem #33

Jan 062014

Uplander 6-cyl

  • 28,632 miles
The check engine light came on and driveability was affected; reduced acceleration and reduced gas mileage, code 0404. Our technician found that the electrical contacts in the egr valve had failed. Since GM does not produce the replacement parts for this model, a newer egr valve, harness and computer reprogramming was necessary. The GM dealer and Chevy customer service refused to help under our warranty coverage since we were out of the emissions time limit. Our tech indicated that GM has had serious egr valve failures and refuses to acknowledge this design defect except with an obscure tech bulletin. Repairs cost upwards of 800 dollars.

- Crownsville, MD, USA

problem #32

Apr 012014

Uplander 6-cyl

  • 92,419 miles
1st time wife driving in parking lot. Engine shut off, no power steering, brakes, dash board instrument panel went off. Total power failure. Couldn't start, not sure what she did to finally get it started. Not serviced @ this time. 2nd time vehicle would not start. Towed to pepboy's. could not diagnose problem, but upon putting back together it started working. I drove to GM dealership. Could not diagnose because was not displaying issue. I had their master mechanic drive for week and he claims everything running fine. 3rd time < than month after 2nd time I'm driving +/- 40mph. Come up to intersection, pump brakes twice in quick succession and dashboard emergency light comes on along w/ other warning lights. No time to tell what they were. Depress brake to come to stop @ intersection and dashboard goes back to normal. I start out when light turns green and I get to +/- 30mph pump brakes twice again and engine shut off, no power steering, brakes, lights turned off "driving at night", dashboard instrument panel went off. Again total power failure. I put in park, would not start, turning key did nothing, no power whatsoever. I pulled key out and went to open door but could not open or unlock door. I could not get out of vehicle!!!! at this point I managed to flag someone down to assist me. They suggested to push off to side of road. I put key back in and put in drive "hard to do because everything is digitally displayed" and got to side of road. I tried to open door again and this time it opened. As of 04-05-14 vehicle back at same GM dealership where they claim before GM will even consider any defective parts & paying for anything. I first have to pay them to remove after market radio that previous owner installed to return vehicle back to factory condition. I'm still not sure what GM will take responsibility for even after they do this & when it happens again.

- Lancaster, PA, USA

problem #31

Apr 022014

Uplander 6-cyl

  • 124,000 miles
I was stopped at a stop sign when all of a sudden the instrument panel quit working no lights no gauges, ,and I heard a scratching slash crackling noise coming from the speaker on drivers front side..the panel lights came back on and it had all these warnings saying service engine soon, service ABS system, service theft protection system, change oil soon, service vehicle soon....the heater was still on thou" and the van was still running...scared me to death I had my 3 grandkids 11yrs, ,14mths.,,and 4mths.,,old with me I thought we was fixing to stranded out in the 38 degree weather..... I didn't know what the heck was going on and it has done it several times since then I now gotta pay someone to fix or figure out what is going on.....and sometimes when I try to start it the engine lite comes on but no power what so ever no instrument lights at all just that one little engine lite comes on....any help would be great..."

- Brownsburg, IN, USA

problem #30

Mar 242014

Uplander

  • 102,000 miles
Wife was driving on rd hit pot hole key shut off no steering no brakes contacted GM they give file number to contact dealer they said you pay first to get it fix not checking to see if it was bad don't know what to do.

- Salem, OH, USA

problem #29

Mar 242011

Uplander 6-cyl

  • 112,380 miles
Car will not start without revving engine, sliding doors quit completely by both cables breaking within 2 weeks of each other. I come from a long line of GM family workers and I will never buy GM again!

- Anderson, IN, USA

problem #28

May 202012

Uplander 6-cyl

  • 90,000 miles
A driver parked her vehicle such that the rear of her vehicle was facing downhill. She thought she placed the vehicle in park and turned the ignition off. She left the key in the ignition and began to clean the interior of the vehicle from the front passenger side. Her two year old son was standing on the drivers seat. While she was cleaning the interior, she heard a click and the vehicle began to roll backwards. She was unable to stop the vehicle from rolling backwards. She was injured by stationary objects located outside and along the path of the moving vehicle. A review of the operation of the gear shift lever found the following: In this vehicle, it was possible to position the gear shift lever between the park and reverse positions. In this intermediate position, the gear shift lever engaged the parking pawl in the transmission system which prevented the vehicle from moving. However, the gear shift lever was not locked in position, and the lever was movable. A force was necessary to overcome the resistance holding the lever in the intermediate position. The force could have been caused by lever contact or vehicle jostling. The lever moved, and the parking pawl released the wheels allowing the vehicle to move. In normal park mode, the operator may place the gear shift lever in park and the lever will lock. In order to take the vehicle out of park, the ignition key needs to be in either the accessory or run position and the brake pedal must be depressed. A driver may then move the unlocked gear shift lever out of park. The vehicle cannot be taken out of park without first intentionally depressing the brake pedal. It was possible to bypass this process in this vehicle. The gear shift lever could be placed in an intermediate position between park and reverse where the wheels were locked, but the lever was not locked.

- Ames, IA, USA

problem #27

Sep 302012

Uplander 6-cyl

  • 99,000 miles
While driving the exterior and interior lights will dim and/or flicker. Voltage does not stay consistent. When stopping the radio will blink off, and the cd changer will make ejecting noises like a tape player. If any accessories "are" actually plugged in you will get static and electrical whining from the speakers. Vehicle will give hard start issues after experiencing the light dim and flicker issue. I have already had all the plugs and wires replaced at the dealership for these issues.

- Fenton, MI, USA

problem #26

Dec 042012

Uplander 6-cyl

  • miles
Both motors are out which is fine but know doors are locked and my doors will not open what am I suppose to do if I get in an accident and my children get stuck in the vehicle. This happened in 6 /2012 too I paid for the one to be opened and 1 week later it did it again so the right passenger door has been stuck since and I think this is ridiculous and a hazard to my children.

- Henry, NE, USA

problem #25

Aug 012012

Uplander

  • 88,000 miles
All the lights in the vehicle flicker while the engine is running, it is so bad that other vehicles will flash their lights at me.

- Scottville, MI, USA

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