Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (automatic and manual transmissions, CVT, axles, driveshaft, 4WD/AWD).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2005 Chevrolet Silverado owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I bought a new 2005 Chevrolet Silverado in May of 2005. A few weeks after owning my truck, and with less than 1,000 miles on it, I noticed the auto transmission would slip. It would only occur when I was accelerating from a stop. Basically, I would give the truck gas and the engine would rev up to about 2,000 RPM's, without the vehicle moving, and then it would all of the sudden make a loud thud sound and then lurch forward, as if it was not in gear and then all or the sudden put into drive. This can't be good for the transmission of the engine. I called the Chevrolet dealership and asked them if I brought my truck in if they could look at it and they said they would, but if they could not duplicate the problem or if there was not any check engine light on they would not be able to diagnose the problem to fix it. The slipping of my transmission has occurred about a dozen times. …
The 4 wheel drive buttons fail to work every so often. I was coming home from ann arbor, mi. One night and my indicator light said I was in neutral for some reason. I played with it for a bit and no luck. My friend was with me and he owns a repair facility in south lyon, mi. He knew what was wrong! The encoder motor for the transfer case is bad. It is an electric item and fails. The encoder motor is what shifts in to 4 hi, 4 low, auto 4 wheel and 2 hi. This happened again toward the end of feb 2010 when my truck would not shift at all, 2 hi was my only option. Another friend of mine has a 2004 Silverado and her encoder motor went bad on the freeway. Her problem was that her truck threw her into 4 low while she was at 70 MPH. Omg is that safe???? GM needs to do something before people start to crash or worse getting hurt and dyeing as a result.
I noticed a month after purchasing my 2005 Silverado z71 extended cab that if the key was turned to the 'acc' position, this disables the lock that requires the brake pedal to be depressed fully to shift the vehicle out of 'park'. I brought this to the attention of friedns and family who have GM trucks and SUV's. All these vehicles (2004-2005) do the exact same thing. I took my concern to web forums. Though members thought I was nuts, they tried this on their vehicles and the same thing happens. It seems to be vehicles that have changed the acc location on the ignition. The acc location used to be turned back toward the driver, but now it is one click toward the dash now. This info is not in the owners manual. If parked on any incline and the vehicle is knocked out of gear you would have difficult time braking or steering.
I was driving home from work which is 1.5 miles, when I heard a thumping sound, and it seemed as if my rear wheels were not turning. I had a friend tow it to the dealer cox Chevrolet in bradenton, fl, and they told me, that the rear end (spider gears, and bearings) were needing replacing but are not part of the power train so it was not covered under warranty, and it would cost me $2600. I had him tow it again to a local transmission shop and they told me it was common in that year of Chevy trucks. I also needed both clutches replaced in each rear wheel, cost was well under the dealers charge. The owner of the transmission shop informed me that he has replaced a couple 100 of these and there should be a recall on them. I could have been in an accident when the wheels locked.
The transmission slips upon acceleration. The transmission will slip when crossing an intersection, making the vehicle volurnable to be hit. The RPM's rise while the vehicle is in drive and the vehicle comes to an almost stand still. This has happened a few times but no accident occered. The vehicle's transmission slipped while crossing a 4 lane divided highway with traffic flowing at 65mph. No accident occered and the transmission engaged before an accident could occered. GM has been contacted many times with no response to fixing the problem. GM wants to duplicate the problem before fixing, and telling me no service can be done at this time. GM wants me to drive the vehicle even though they are aware of this safety hazzard and putting me and my family at risk on the highways.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado. While parked, the contact noticed that the gear indicator was extremely dim and was difficult to see which gear the vehicle was in. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostics where the mechanic advised the contact that the instrument cluster would have to be reprogrammed.the contact referenced NHTSA campaign id number: 05V055000 (power train:manual transmission:shift pattern indicator) but was advised by the manufacturer was that the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 115,000.
Driving back to work from lunch on busy 4 lane highway, brake pedal went to floor. Narrowly avoided a collision at a red light. Put flashers on, lowered the gear selector, and used combo of minimal brake pedal and e brake to make it back to the parking lot at work. Upon inspection, large puddle of brake fluid on driver side near gas tank. Large leak in highly corroded brake line. All brake lines in similar condition and are currently being replaced in the shop. Transmission lines and fuel line are in similar highly corroded condition.
This is problem(s) that has been intermittent for a couple a years shortly after I purchased the vehicle but did not mention anything because it was so intermittent....first the illumination level seemed to dim every once in a while for many areas such as the gear (prnd), the speedometer, the temp control levels. Next the speedometer did not reflect correct speed sometimes even when you were parked. These symptoms were initially intermittent but now are more predominant. Now this at times is a real problem and even a safety issue.
In feb. 2005, bought a new Chevy. Silverado hd truck. 6 days later while 90 miles from home, transmission burned out of truck. Unable to go faster than 35 MPH, smoke rolling out of rear. Transmission slipping while this going on. Parked near a gas station to call roadside assistance, absolutely no help what-so-ever. This was at 6:30 pm and they couldn't locate a tow truck. 11 days later I got my truck returned with a new transmission(GM refused to give me a new one)
At 30 MPH in 4 wheel drive, on a snowpacked road, something in the front differential broke and caused the front end to lock up. This sent the vehicle into an uncontrollabe slide into the ditch. Fortunately there were no obstacles to collide with. Vehicle would not operate in 4 wheel drive but would operate in 2 wheel drive. Had this happened at 50 MPH on a mountain road, deaths would have occured. It is time that general motors deals with this problem.
Related recalls
Power train › Manual transmission › Shift pattern indicator
Certain sport utility vehicles equipped with an automatic transmission, fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 102, "transmission shift lever sequence, starter interlock and transmission braking effect." under certain vehicle starting conditions, the shift lever position indicator…
Remedy: Dealers will reprogram the instrument panel cluster free of charge. The recall began on February 14, 2005. Owners May contact Cadillac at 1-866-982-2339, Chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, and GMC at 1-866-996-9463.
Transmission complaints in other Silverado years
Frequently asked questions
How common are transmission problems on the 2005 Chevrolet Silverado?
NHTSA has 29 complaints about the transmission & drivetrain of the 2005 Chevrolet Silverado, 9% of the model year's 316 complaints. The component named most often is automatic transmission (11 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2005 Chevrolet Silverado transmission problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 05V-055 (shift pattern indicator, Feb 14, 2005). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2005 Chevrolet Silverado transmission problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 53,000 miles, and 50% before 25,000 miles.
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.