Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (doors, hood, frame, rust, paint and trim).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2005 Chevrolet Uplander owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
2005 Chevy Uplander lt. Undercarriage rusted on back passenger side within 9 months after purchase, causing separation of the rear passenger wheel from the body of vehicle. When driving, you can hear/feel clunking/squeaking noise which sounds like the tire is going to come completely off the car. Area affected cannot be replaced nor welded as this can be unsafe to drive. I have images that can be sent via email.
The chassis has a serious rust issue as I've never seen before. The rust issue is one that you would not even see on a 60 year old car. It caused the rear wheel and all of its components to break free. I do have pictures (it's dark out right at the moment but I can by morning) I have been trying to find a solution for this for quiet a while now.
While driving down I-75 in michigan doing ~75mph, I feel a sharp tug then a sway. We took the vehicle home and inspected it. The welds on the body to the attaching point of the rear axle had broken and the rear end of the vehicle was tracking sideways. Thank god nothing bad happened, we had all six of our kids with us when it went out at 75mph.
As I am driving the electronic sliding door on the passenger side starts to buzz like it does when the door is opening and I can hear it clicking as if it is going to open. This has happened several times. I am afraid I will be driving down the highway and the door will open.
We purchased a used 2005 Chevy Uplander from a dealership in vancouver washington. We only had the van for a couple of weeks and we were having problems with the drivers side door not closing. We would close it and it would latch then a couple seconds later it would reopen. We took the van into a Chevy dealer to have the door repaired. They repaired it , but only to have the same problem accrue a day later. We called the dealer and took it back in only the dealer checked the door to see if it was working or not . The door did the same thing of closing then opening right back up. The dealer then drove it around to the back of the shop , only to later have the mechanics say that they could not get the door to malfunction. So they called us to pick up the vehicle. I went and picked it up and on my way home from the dealer the door was trying to open well I was driving . …
Power sliding doors open / close by themselves at times (usually right door, but sometimes left). Sometimes, when the door has been closed it will reopen & have to be closed manually. At times the door will stay closed, but the 'dinging' noise will continue for the entire time I am driving. There have been occasions when it continued dinging well after the ignition was turned off. We have had it in the shop and 'fixed' a few times. The fix sometimes lasted a week or two. Sometimes, it only lasted a couple of days. We were never able to pinpoint or predict when the malfunction would occur. Finally, we have removed the fuse permanently and only operate the doors manually to prevent a serious injury from occurring to the children. In the rear (3rd) seat, the right seat belt has also retracted & will not release. This happened one day when I was trying to remove a child from the vehicle. …
The rear sliding door on the passenger side came open while driving down the road with my two children in the car. This has happened on multiple occasions and the dealership has been unable to fix the problem. The doors continue to open without warning while driving. The car was purchased new on 6/7/05. I started having problems with the doors right away and took it in for the first repair on 7/7/05 with 980 miles. The doors were also repaired 7/25/05 with 1338 miles, 10/25/05 with 2,768 miles, and 11/4/05 with 2,865 miles. The doors continued to not open or close at times and/or the door chimes would ding and not turn off from 2005-2012. We tried to avoid using the car with the children and use our other car. In September of 2012 the problems with the doors progressed and at times it would take hours to get the doors to close or the chimes would not go off at all. …
Our 2005 Chevrolet Uplander has serious on going problems with the power passenger sliding door opens while the vehicle is being driven. The failure occurs while driving under normal conditions between 5 and 35 MPH. The passenger door often opens by itself and when the button is pressed to close it, the door begins to close and then reopens. The vehicle has been to the dealer four times while it was still under warranty, but the failure continues to occur. GM knows about the problem because the last time our Uplander was in we were told that there is internal service bulletins on record: service bulletin:3278 NHTSA item number:10011754 service bulletin:3532 NHTSA item number:10016718 service bulletin:050864013 NHTSA item number:10017349 service bulletin:3798 NHTSA item number:10021078 service bulletin:070864007 NHTSA item number:10021456 the current mileage is 42,000 and door problems …
I have had the Chevrolet Uplander in for repair on a rear passenger door that keeps malfunctioning. They have repaired it on several occasions but it is know out of manufacturing warranty. The door has been repaired to the best of gmac ability they can not figure out the problem but the door now will fall shut when on a downhill incline regardless if anyone is in the door. They are suppose to be child safety to keep the door from closing on a child but the door will not stay open when parked a downhill grade. I am really scared the door could close on my children but they tell me that they have repaired it and don't know what is causing the difficulty in the door. I was at a christmas party when the door malfunction and fell shut on me. …
Tl contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Uplander. While attempting to close the passenger side door, the alert bell began to ring and the door failed to shut. The contact had to push the button to release the door. Once the door opened, it was finally able to be closed. The vehicle's horn does not work. In addition, the starter is bad. When the contact turns the ignition, the vehicle fails to start. She must depress the accelerator pedal after turning the ignition in order for it to start. The right window remains open when attempting to close it with the overhead button. The dealer has repaired the vehicle, but the failure persists. When making a left turn, the contact hears a noise coming from the suspension. The engine size was unknown. The current mileage is 18,000 and failure mileage was 12. …
Body complaints in other Uplander years
Frequently asked questions
How common are body problems on the 2005 Chevrolet Uplander?
NHTSA has 45 complaints about the body & structure of the 2005 Chevrolet Uplander, 23% of the model year's 196 complaints. The component named most often is body › door (28 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2005 Chevrolet Uplander body problems?
No. NHTSA lists no body & structure recall for the 2005 Chevrolet Uplander, though it has 3 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2005 Chevrolet Uplander body problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 45,000 miles, and 35% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 0 fires and 7 injuries to body & structure 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.