2004 Chevrolet Express 1500: common problems

Owners of the 2004 Chevrolet Express 1500 filed 12 complaints with NHTSA, most often about fuel/propulsion system and service brakes. Details by component below, with sources.

Key figures

Owner complaints: 12
involving a crash: 1

What fails most often

1 Fuel/propulsion system 25% of all complaints
2 Service brakes 25% of all complaints
3 Air bags 17% of all complaints
4 Visibility 17% of all complaints
5 Electrical system 8% of all complaints
6 Engine 8% of all complaints
7 Engine and cooling 8% of all complaints
8 Structure 8% of all complaints

Circle size and colour show each component’s share of NHTSA complaints. Schematic only, not a drawing of the exact model.

Fuel/propulsion system: 3 complaints (25% of all).
Service brakes: 3 complaints (25% of all).
Air bags: 2 complaints (17% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
Visibility: 2 complaints (17% of all).
Electrical system: 1 complaints (8% of all).

Symptoms owners describe

How many of the 12 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).

smoke, burning smell, fire4 · 33%
rust, corrosion3 · 25%
overheating, coolant loss1 · 8%
stalls while driving1 · 8%

Components owners complain about

Component	Owner complaints	involving a crash
Fuel/propulsion system	3	0
Service brakes	3	0
Air bags	2	1
Visibility	2	0
Electrical system	1	0
Engine	1	1
Engine and cooling	1	0
Structure	1	1
Tires	1	0

What owners report

Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.

I was traveling east thro an intersection when a truck on the my right rammed me in the front right side of my car.I felt the car spin and the truck ended up in my right rear bumper and when I came to a stop both airbags deployed and I was injured and the airbags exploded and I have eye damage to my right eye and neck…
Air bags · crash · 2015-05-29 · NHTSA complaint #10722109
Consequence significant corrosion may allow fuel to leak during refueling, and in the presence of an ignition source; there is an increased risk of fire. What owners should do gm will notify owners, and dealers will install a new fuel filler neck, free of charge. The safety recall began on october 1, 2012.
Fuel/propulsion system · 2019-01-20 · NHTSA complaint #11171110
The fuel filler tube leaks fuel, is corroded. And also the rear fuel tank strap, at the top of the chassis is also corroded, and the fuel tank is hanging down, causing a risk and fire hazzard as it is very close to the driveshaft.
Fuel/propulsion system · 2016-01-31 · NHTSA complaint #10823319
Updated 10/16/12 the consumer stated the fuel filler neck corroded updated 10/19/2012
Fuel/propulsion system · 2012-08-22 · NHTSA complaint #10471862
They were supposed to have a 60k warranty. We went in for the required rotations and noted that the tread didn't seem to be wearing well. At the 20k mile rotation in january of 2011, dunn tire acknowledged that the tires were not performing as advertised and told us that they would likely need to adjust the tires on a…
Tires · 2011-05-17 · NHTSA complaint #10401305
Abs engages at slow speed, at tail end of braking, even on dry surfaces. This has been going on for at least eight months. Started sometime in early summer/late spring 2008.
Service brakes · 2009-03-30 · NHTSA complaint #10263589
The passenger side airbag employed when the vehicle was parked inside the shop. The vehicle is available for inspection at stanley chevrolet celina tx [phone] contact gary werner service manager. The vehicle owner is rick dietel of amersol inc. [phone].
Air bags · 2009-03-19 · NHTSA complaint #10262412
The vehicle caught fire inside the fuse box after being parked for four days. The fire caused damage to the fuse box. As of december 26, 2007, the dealer had not inspected the vehicle. The purchase date was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 166,000.
Electrical system · 2007-12-26 · NHTSA complaint #10212854

When owners complained

NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.

20062
20071
20081
20092
20101
20111
20121
20151
20161
20191

Comparison

By complaint count this model year ranks 10,160 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 28% most complained about).

On average one model year of the Express 1500 has 7 complaints (16 years in the data). This year has 12, above average.

What to check before buying

Fuel/propulsion system. Fuel smell, leaks, rough running, fuel-system codes.
Service brakes. Pedal feel, ABS operation, leaks, discs and hoses.
Air bags. Check the SRS light, stored codes and airbag/curtain status after any impact.
Visibility. Wipers, mirrors, defrosters, cracked glass.

Other years of this model

Questions and answers

What are the most common problems with the 2004 Chevrolet Express 1500?

Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: fuel/propulsion system, service brakes, air bags. Total complaints: 12. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: smoke, burning smell, fire (33%), rust, corrosion (25%), overheating, coolant loss (8%).

How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 2004 Chevrolet Express 1500?

NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.

Should I buy a 2004 Chevrolet Express 1500 from a US auction?

Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.

Other 2004 models

Read also

Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.