Problems · NHTSA complaints
2004 GMC Envoy problems
Owners filed 718 complaints about the 2004 GMC Envoy with NHTSA between Jan 2004 and Dec 2025. The most-cited component is electrical system (329).
Complaints
718
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
35
Reported by owners
Fires
18
Reported by owners
Injuries
44
People reported injured
Deaths
1
Reported to NHTSA
Complaints by component
One complaint can cite several components
- Electrical system329
- Fuel system, gasoline63
- Exterior lighting60
- Fuel/propulsion system58
- Air bags47
- Engine and engine cooling41
- Power train40
- Visibility36
- Vehicle speed control33
- Structure32
- Engine26
- Equipment20
- Latches/locks/linkages17
- Seat belts14
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Oct 30, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
When complaints were filed
Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
28
32
34
59
94
68
98
51
32
32
57
48
26
22
12
15
4
1
1
2
1
1
View as table
| Model year | Complaints filed per calendar year |
|---|---|
| 2004 | 28 |
| 2005 | 32 |
| 2006 | 34 |
| 2007 | 59 |
| 2008 | 94 |
| 2009 | 68 |
| 2010 | 98 |
| 2011 | 51 |
| 2012 | 32 |
| 2013 | 32 |
| 2014 | 57 |
| 2015 | 48 |
| 2016 | 26 |
| 2017 | 22 |
| 2018 | 12 |
| 2019 | 15 |
| 2020 | 4 |
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2022 | 1 |
| 2023 | 2 |
| 2024 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1 |
Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.
Top problems in owners’ words
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
Electrical system
329 reports1 crash8 fires
“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. The failure mileage was approximately 133,295.”
Fuel system, gasoline
63 reports
“VEHICLE HAS HAD STRONG ODOR OR RAW FUEL COMING FROM DRIVING SIDE WHEEL WELL. HAD MECHANIC CHECK THIS OUT AND I WAS TOLD THIS HAS A FUEL LEAK NEAR THE FUEL FILTER / FILLER NECK AND POSSIBLE GAS TANK ISSUE WHICH IS CLOSE TO THE EXHAUST PIPE. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE FROM GM OWNERS BUT RECALL HAS NOT BEEN ADVISED. INFORMED GM OF ISSUE ON 10/26 BUT THEY WILL NOT FIX. THIS WILL COST UPWARDS OF $1100-$1600 TO FIX. *TR”
Exterior lighting
60 reports3 crashes2 related recalls
“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 it could be part of the problem.All of this happened when i was driving home from my daughter's two night's ago.I bought this vehicle about three or four's year's ago,and i had no problem's with it untill the other night.The person i bought it from is a good friend of mine.He…”
Fuel/propulsion system
58 reports3 fires
“I JUST HAD MY BRAKES SERVICED AND MY BUSHINGS CHANGED, BUT MY ABS LIGHT STILL COMES ON. ALSO WHEN I GO TO BRAKE THE CAR STARTS TO SHAKE AND I'M GOING THE SPEED LIMIT. THE ENGINE HAS A ROUGH IDLE, AND SHUTS OFF WHEN AT A COMPLETE STOP AND WHEN THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION. I'VE HAD MANY THINGS REPLACED ON THE VEHICLE, SUCH AS PURGE VALVE, GAS CAP. CHARCOAL CANISTER AND FUEL TANK. IN THE ENGINE THE SPARK PLUGS WERE CHANGED AS WELL AS THE COIL PACKS AND THE FUEL INJECTORS. ALONG WITH THE CAMSHAFT SENSOR. STILL GETTING P0455 AND PO0014. WON'T PASS SMOG CAN'T REGISTER VEHICLE, BUT MY ONLY MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION. 2004 GMC ENVOY XUV SLT 4DR 2WD”
Air bags
47 reports26 crashes
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 GMC ENVOY. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 50 MPH HE HAD THE SWERVE TO AVOID A HEADON COLLISION FROM A VEHICLE THAT WAS IN HIS LANE. THE VEHICLE WENT OFF THE ROAD AND CRASHED INTO A CONCRETE BARRIER.THE CONTACT HAD A FRACTURED STERNUM AND A BRUISED RIGHT ANKLE, KNEE AND ELBOW. THE CONTACT VISITED THE EMERGENCY ROOM ON HIS OWN WITHOUT BEING TRANSPORTED BY AN AMBULANCE.THE CONTACT STATED THAT NONE OF THE AIR BAGS IN THE FRONT DEPLOYED. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOTALED BY THE INSURANCE COMPANY AND TOWED FROM THE CRASH SITE. THE ENTIRE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE WAS SMASHED IN INCLUDING THE FRAME. THE BACK AXEL DROPPED AFTER THE COLLISION AND BOTH RIMS ON THE BACK TIRES WERE SHATTERED. THE FRONT RIMS WERE ALSO CRACKED. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER HAD NOT BEEN CONTACTED YET. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 180,000.”
Engine and engine cooling
41 reports1 crash3 fires
“fraudulent emissions certificate fraudulent mileage fraudulent vin EMISSIONS CERTIFICATE matching an out of state TEXAS vin [XXX] CALIFORNIA [XXX] . FRAUDULENT DEALER SALE. FRAUDULENT DMV CALIFORNIA REGISTRATION AND TITLE TRANSFER. LIQUIDS GASES ODORS FUMES EMITTING FROM VEHICLE [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] HAVE ILLLEGAL TRANSFER OF TITLE TO MYSELF FROM DEALER AND ILLEGAL TRANSFER OF FRAUDED REGISTRATION FROM DEALER. AND BELIEVE VIN IS NOT ACCURATE ACCORDING TO VEHICLE NOR BARCODE OR OTHER COMPONENTS”
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 30, 2026
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.