Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (front, side and curtain air bags, sensors and inflators).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2004 Chevrolet Silverado owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
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 contact's face and knocked him to the ground. The contact suffered cuts to his cheek, below his eye, and neck, as well as soreness to his neck, face, and back. The contact stated his left ear was ringing and he could not hear; however, no medical attention was received. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 173,000.
On May 29th my service air bags light came on. In talking with other Chevy silver owners of the same year and around that year it seems this is common. I paid $521.18 to get these air bag sensors replaced on 17 jun15 at a dealer in harrisburg pa., because I was told without the sensors the air bags would not go off. This is a safety issue I am being told b y other drivers they are just driving around with the service air bag sensor light on. Thats up to them. Also on 21 jan 14 I had to have all the brake lines replaced because they had rusted and would not be safe to drive the truck costing $720.00. I was told it was because of northeastern winters and road salts, which I find to be a unexceptable answer to the problem. On 23 dec 03 I paid $356.96 to replace dash cluster which also is a safety problem. I these safety problems with the silverados are be ignored. …
Tl contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado. While driving approximately 58 MPH, the contact slid on a patch of ice and lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle ran off the road and crashed into a telephone poll on the passenger side. The vehicle stopped when it crashed into a frozen embankment. Upon impact, the front air bags failed to deploy even though the contact made impact with the steering wheel. The contact was injured. The vehicle was completely destroyed and a police report was filed. The contact filed a complaint with the manufacturer, but the complaint was denied. The manufacturer was unable to diagnose the vehicle; however, after inspection of the vehicle, the manufacturer confirmed that the air bags were enabled at the time of impact. They did not give an explanation for the deployment failure. The VIN was unknown. The failure and current mileages were 180,000. …
Air bag warning light occasionally started coming on. Took truck to several independent svc places. They said do not have computer reader for airbags. Light started staying on constantly. Took truck to dealers and they said because of liability, the diagnostics are $900 and could run another $1500 or more to fix problem. And, they wanted to keep truck. Truck is used daily for short runs and has a bunch of equipment on it that would have to be removed in order to leave it somewhere. Because of the staggering cost, and the inconvenience of having to off load the truck and not have its use and the lack of places to work on it at all, we have left it alone. I have driven vehicles without airbags over 3 continents and through jungles & all types of terrain over the last 40 years with out ever needing airbags. Now Takata makes a safety device that can shoot and kill you -- do I need this? …
I was driving up tp a stop light when the light turned red there was a car in front of me that had stopped, I realized I didn't have a lot of room but thought it would be enough to stop. I put the pedal to the floor and still hit them two people were injured. Then on 9/8/07 and a deer ran out iin front of me, again my foot to the floor I hit the deer. 1st I was suprised that my air bags didn't deploy (really tore up the front of the truck) and 2nd I should of been able to slow down in time. After reading all of the issues with the brakes on chevys and no one is doing anything about it, I think its time to look for a different car company.
I had an accident in my 2004 Chevy truck at a speed of approx 80 MPH head on impact. The truck was totaled but my air bags didn't work. I made a complaint to gmac, they had an investigation and according to them there was nothing wrong with the air bags. I find that hard to believe with that kind of impact, this is a safety issue and I have 2001 Chevy suburban that my wife drives with my children. Can you please look into this because I would like to know gmac is not taken responsibility for the air bag failure. Thank god I was wearing my seat belt , because it was the only thing that saved my life.
Dt: 2004 Chevrolet Silverado. The consumer was in an accident on August 23, 2005. While driving 40 MPH. A deer came onto the road, consumer's vehicle swerved to avoid it, and went into ravine. Took out two trees. This damaged the front end of the vehicle. Upon impact, the airbags did not deploy. The vehicle was driven home, and is currently at the auto body shop. There has been no determination as to why the air bags did not deploy. A police report taken. The consumer sustained injuries. She bruised the chest, and she had a bulging disc I neck near spinal cord.
Dt*: the contact stated while stopped at a stop sign, the vehicle was hit on the driver's side front end. The air bags did not deploy. Seat belts were in use however back and neck injuries were sustained. The impact was so severe; both passenger tires came off the rims and dug into the pavement. The police were on scene and a report was filed. The vehicle was towed to dealer, upon inspection no determination could be made why the air bags did not deploy. The manufacturer was alerted. Updated 05/16/06.
Dt: the contac owns a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado. The contact's vehicle was involved in a front end collision while traveling 65 MPH on August 28, 2005. Upon impact, the air bags did not deploy. There were no warning lights on indicating there was a problem with the air bag system. The contact stated another vehicle lost control of and hit the side of contact's vehicle, causing it to hit the center median. The consumer contacted the dealership and the manufacturer.
The consumer stated the frontal air bags did not deploy during an accident. There were no injuries. The driver had the vehicle towed to a body shop. While traveling at 30 MPH and approaching an intersection, a second vehicle entered on the consumer's left hand side, there was no time to react, the consumer struck the second vehicle on it's right side. The drivers side air bag did not deploy.
Related recalls
Air bags › Frontal
Certain vehicles originally built with cloth seats that were equipped with an automatic air bag passenger sensing system and later reupholstered with aftermarket leather seat cover kits are involved. Testing has indicated that the aftermarket leather seat covers can cause the passenger sensing system to malfunction.
Remedy: Because a replacement leather seat cover that is compatible with the passenger sensing system is not available, general motors (GM) will repurchase these vehicles in accordance with the terms stated in GM's letter to…
Airbag complaints in other Silverado years
Frequently asked questions
How common are airbag problems on the 2004 Chevrolet Silverado?
NHTSA has 31 complaints about the air bags of the 2004 Chevrolet Silverado, 5% of the model year's 622 complaints. The component named most often is frontal (15 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2004 Chevrolet Silverado airbag problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 06V-417 (frontal, Oct 31, 2006). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2004 Chevrolet Silverado airbag problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 36,000 miles, and 37% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 21 crashes, 0 fires and 20 injuries and 1 death to air bags problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.