Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (battery, alternator, wiring, ignition, instrument cluster, infotainment).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2004 GMC Envoy owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2004 GMC Envoy. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and unoccupied, the contact noticed that the front passenger's door was on fire. The contact stated that he arrived home just in time and noticed the fire. The contact stated that, because it was raining, the contact's wife had powered the window up; however, the contact noticed that the window was down when the fire occurred. In addition, the contact stated that the fire was blazing, and after the fire was extinguished, the smoke was still visible. The contact extinguished the fire. The contact disconnected the battery. In addition, the contact stated that it could have been a huge fire because the fuel tank had just been refilled prior to the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. …
Headlight's,taillight's,turn signals stop working whenever they want.It's pretty scary to lose your headlight's when your driving at night.There's nothing i can do about it,except to sit wherever it happend and wait for them to come back on.My wife was following me one day and told me my brakelight's and turn signal stopped working and started to work again,she said this happened a couple time's at the same red light.There a couple of thing's (electrical)inside the vehicle that don't work anymore but i really dont care about them.To get the odometer to work i have to knock pretty hard on the plastic cover that cover's the instrument cluster,sometimes it stay's on,most of the time it wont stay on.The DIC (driver control center) doesn't work anymore.I cant even get to it.The speakers on the left side of the vehicle dont work anymore.I thought i would tell you about the inside also because …
: no air bag/[ deployment failure] front/ side/ rear [ side designed to deploy in rollover or side impact crashes] air bag's failure / deployment complete roll all four sides landed back on wheels. I was slammed onto left driver side window left side face broke the window and glass and dirt filled vehicle seat belt failure: left/drivers only rolled four times landed back on all fours I flailed around head butted the passenger as the force over took my body onsite officer acknowledged the indications seat belt friction burns all on around neck and shoulder traumatic brain injury torn rotator cuff shoulder issues/ also bladder damage as the driver's side seat belt failed to lock during crash dealer should have been cited for seat belt failure worst things of all time ...it was a test drive engine stall failure : at high speed/ heard noise and boom lost all power steering loud noise loss …
Vehicle was being driven on a two way highway at approximately 55 MPH. Vehicle lost engine power while driving and the gas pedal lost resistance and went to the floor. Vehicle was steered over to the side of the road. While the vehicle was steered over to the side of the road, check engine and other dash lights started flashing chaotically. White smoke started coming from under the hood. Within a short time, white smoke turned into black smoke and then flames started to appears. The fire under the hood eventually continued to grow until it completely burned the engine compartment most of the first two rows of the interior before the firemen arrived and were able to put out the fire.
Front passenger seat caught on fire from the seat heater. The vehicle parked and turned off. It was parked in a high school parking lot while my daughter was in school. We contacted GMC, but they said it there was nothing they could do. There was something that went wrong for it to just catch fire. Can you help us in anyway at all.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 GMC Envoy. Upon entering and starting the vehicle, the speedometer displayed a reading of 45 to 90 MPH and the tachometer displayed a reading of 1 1/2 rpms. The contact stated that the failure occurred mostly during the winter months. The contact also stated that the battery charging alert displayed incorrectly as well as the fuel gauge. While driving various speeds, the speedometer displayed incorrectly. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that malfunctioning magnets and the cluster needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the speedometer was replaced, but the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the independent mechanic who informed the contact that the circuit board and instrument panel needed replacement. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures and did not assist. …
Parked the vehicle in a parking garage so I know the lights were working when we went in. As we were leaving approximately 3 hours later, the low beams would not come on at all. Had to run high beams; had several people look at the fuses, replaced bulbs, etc. But they could not find the problem. A couple of weeks later just before I was taking it to a dealer to look at the problem the low beams began working again. Approximately two months later the exact same thing happened only this time I heard a faint noise from the engine compartment and smelled a burning (seemed electrical) aroma for a few seconds when I realized the low-beam lights were not working again. After a week or so the lights came back on again.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 GMC Envoy. The contact stated that the vehicle's electrical system stopped the vehicle from starting. There were unknown warning indicators illuminated at the time of the failure. The vehicle was towed multiple times due to failing to start. An independent mechanic stated that there was a cable disconnected, but the vehicle was not repaired. The failure occurred again and the vehicle was taken to jessup auto plaza (68-111 e palm canyon dr, cathedral city, ca 92234, [phone]). The technician was unable to locate a failure and the vehicle was restarted. The vehicle was not repaired and the failure occurred again. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 72,338.
Nothing but this has been nothing but trouble since I bought for that dealership. Guy from todd wenzel grand rapids michigan. I had just back into the shop several times they will not do anything about it she's just used to going ever since I bought this car and your is something wrong with the engine itself it cuts out car smells like something burning I do not feel safe in this car and I still owe on it I like to report todd wenzel Buick to the better business bureau they're lousy people thank you also sent all this information GMC and have not got anywhere
Ac plug to fan motor burnt/melt, daylight/headlight connectors melted multiple times had them replaced 3 times each side... Cluster/ radio/ac lights burning out lights out on different areas from illumination to gages to radio and ac control button lights head lights went out while driving so did cluster, radio and ac lights had the cluster replaced by dealer while under warranty back in 2013 over cluster shortening, had my radio replaced as well by dealer same time
Electrical complaints in other Envoy years
Frequently asked questions
How common are electrical problems on the 2004 GMC Envoy?
NHTSA has 164 complaints about the electrical system of the 2004 GMC Envoy, 45% of the model year's 367 complaints. The component named most often is instrument cluster/panel (66 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2004 GMC Envoy electrical problems?
No. NHTSA lists no electrical system recall for the 2004 GMC Envoy, though it has 1 recall 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 2004 GMC Envoy electrical problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 63,000 miles, and 8% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 4 fires and 1 injury to electrical system 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.