01 Tahoe Instrument cluster failing...

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mjk

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Pretty common issue, my Odometer/Gear Selector light has been failing for awhile.

I see there is a cottage industry on Ebay, rebuilding them. I also heard that some chains stock a Dorman cluster.

What is the preferred method? I'm sure there are people on here, that have gone through this already.

PS - I got a bit aggressive the other day. I can tap the cluster's screen to get the light on briefly...been doing that for months. Well, it was tempermental, and I cracked it. Do the rebuilders include a new screen -- or does that change everything?

Thanks.
 
My tach has failed on the GMT360 I have. I looked around awhile back and found that the cost of rebuilds was about $200. Haven't done it yet (who needs a tach in a Buick Rainier?) Can you confirm that from your search? I wish I could tell you about the cracked faceplate but.... I will go back to looking again and let you know what I find.
 
I had my 2005 Chevy 1500 cluster rebuilt a couple years ago. My speedometer was going crazy, so I had a local shop rebuild the entire cluster, new stepper motors, bulbs etc. However I took the cluster to them. I'm thinking the cluster face will cost extra. They reused mine but it wasn't cracked. All my gauges work like new now. $200 with a one year warranty. It's not a mater of if the gauges will fail, but when.
 
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Yeah, I never realized how many clusters have failed until recently. There is a local business in Minneapolis that rebuilds them, so i am in the process of contacting them.
 
As a DIYer, your best bet is probably to go to a small, specialized company like that. I'd trust someone who has seen a bunch of these up close and made a business out of it over Dorman. Sometimes Dorman gets things right, or at least good enough, but I'd rather not buy something like a cluster from them.

As a dealer, I go through one of the GM authorized "electronics service centers." These are companies such as AER, Specmo, Model Electronics, etc... who rebuild radios, control heads, clusters, etc. for a variety of OEMs. Some of them do sell to the public, but their business model is supplying dealerships. 90% + of the time I buy from AER...just really good customer service, smooth transactions, and no problems out of the parts.
 
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