10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
81,128 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2003 Chevrolet Suburban:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #35

Nov 022012

Suburban

  • 195,000 miles
Just finished driving vehicle for 1 hour at highway speeds without incident. Parked car for 5 minutes, upon trying to restart, the car displayed "reduced engine power" on the driver information console. Approximately 8 restarts and the message did not display. Drove car 5 minutes and parked it for 1 hour, upon restart displayed same message, car was virtually undriveable. 3 restarts later message no longer displayed. This message has now intermittently occurred ever since seemingly without any pattern. The message is related to a failure in the "drive by wire" system that allows for the elimination of a physical cable from the gas pedal. It causes the car to be completely undriveable until seemingly randomly fixing itself.

- Randolph, NJ, USA

problem #34

May 112011

Suburban

  • 90,000 miles
The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that the instrument panel failed and was providing inaccurate readings. As a result, the contact was not able to determine the speed in which he was traveling. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection where they stated that the instrument cluster needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified and stated that there were no recalls for the vehicle. The failure mileage was 90,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Absecon, NJ, USA

problem #33

Jun 172012

Suburban 8-cyl

  • 139,575 miles
2003 Chevrolet Suburban HVAC blower not fully functional on all blower speeds..service bulletin 11046, April 2010..Chevrolet has known defect wiring connector and electrical terminals of relay resistor module as described in service bulletin which results in blower motor not functioning on certain or all blower speeds setting. GM has issued special coverage adjustment for up to 10 yrs per bulletin but refuses coverage purportedly based on my vehicle not being in the special coverage VIN: Two phone calls to customer service resulted in a hang up, put on hold and not returning to the call, and upon escalating the call to joy, the supervisor refusing to further assist...and refusing to escalate the call further explaining no manager is "likely" available, we've told you your answer....GM case #71-107-8244378 2nd issue with electrical; instrumentation cluster fails to work properly and digital display which indicates whether you are in park, reverse neutral drive (gear) dims or goes out completely. Same problem I had on 2005 Chevrolet Suburban 1500. Both vehicles they have refused to fix. 2003 had special coverage 07187 to repair this condition but the previous owner was not properly notified to fix this condition during the manufacture special coverage period.L they know it exist but once again are using any excuse to do the proper thing and fix the problem. Also reported under 71-107-8244378 request NHTSA and appropriate agencies further investigate these matters and hold GM accountable do not let GM continue to skirt recall repairs for known problems by narrow defining which vehicles they have to fix. Recalls should cover all vehicles that have identified safety issue and GM should facestiff punishment to encourage them to voluntarily fix problems rather than stonewall, stall, avoid, and make it more difficult than fixing the problem.

- Orlando, FL, USA

problem #32

May 122004

Suburban 4WD 8-cyl

  • 45,000 miles
My electric is all messed up, works don't, radio turns on after driving awhile,4X4 sometimes works, airbag light, they wanted 150 to reset, I talk to so many same problem, same year, online, I bet there is recall, there must be I paid a lot for this truck to, when get cold out wont start, nothing works, I'm disabled, so it's hard for me to do anything, it's all about money, so many with same problem online.

- Plymouth, MA, USA

problem #31

Mar 192011

Suburban

  • miles
"reduced engine power" light comes on and truck slows to less than 10 mph and the power steering stop working. This has happened six times in the last year. 1st incident I took it to the dealer and they said nothing was wrong with it. Diagnostics performed and nothing came back wrong. I think the wiring to the throttle is possibly to blame. If I hit a bump in the road or cross railroad tracks, the reduced engine power can come on. I have a hunch after researching online & finding that several other people have the same problem, that leads me to believe that Chevy knows about it & is doing nothing about it. "typical"!! I am very displeased, especially because I love my Suburban. I suggest an investigation & recall of this problem.I ask that Chevy takes responsibility for poor quality & repairs the problem pronto! oh, and the power seating fuse caught fire and exploded the little fuse in the fuse box, now the seats won't work & neither does the passenger side windows. The wiring done on this truck is cheap! the parts are cheap! not a happy customer!

- New Boston, OH, USA

problem #30

Aug 012011

Suburban 4WD 8-cyl

  • miles
I'm filing a complaint because of an issue with the instrument panel cluster. My car has had this issue for the past few months. Anytime the car goes over bumps(no matter how big or small the bump is, it could just be a crack in the cement) the gauges on the dash will go crazy, sensors will so off. Specifically the speedometer will stop working or go all the way to 120 mph. The fuel and oil gauges will not be accurate (for example it will say the tank is empty when it's full). But the most disturbing problem is that while driving no matter how fast the anti theft will go off and shut the engine off in a matter of seconds and the car loses all power. A few times I have been driving 55 mph on the expressway and it will just shut off. So far I have been lucky enough not to get rear ended, I don't know when my luck will run out. There was a recall on the car for this problem but it was only until 2010 or if the odometer was between 70,001 and 80,000 miles. My car is eight years old and over 100,000 miles. We bought this car used in 2009 from a Chevy dealership (dick wickstrom's Chevrolet). When we talked to the dealership about this and complained that it wasn't fixed when they had it, they said it wasn't having problems at that time. It will cost approximately $600 to $800 to fix. I don't have the money to fix it or to buy another car so I must continue to drive a defective unsafe car. If a part is defective how can that expire. GM should be responsible for the safety of the cars they sell and to fix any defective parts no matter how old the car is. I hope that you can help us as I need a dependable safe car and can't afford to buy another one or pay out the kind of money it will take to fix this one when I feel this should have been taken care of by the manufacturer because it is a part that was defective no matter how long it took to go bad. Thank you.

- Schaumburg, IL, USA

problem #29

Aug 042008

Suburban

  • miles
I have 2003 Suburban 1500, that keeps getting a error message "reduce engine power". the vehicle will all of sudden while driving, reduce speed and I can't accelerate above 25-30mph. I will have to pull over and turn car off for 10-15 seconds before it resets, however it will continue to happen over and over again! it is very scary and dangerous when I have my kids or my wife drive it because you never know when the car will have this happen. Strangely, when we drive on the highway we can use the "cruise control" feature when we reach 25mph and use the cruise control to accelerate that way with minimal occurrences. I have taken the car to "2 Chevy dealers and 3 mechanics" neither can tell us what's wrong! this is frustrating because we only have on car, and we know this a "safety hazard" and extremely dangerous and somebody has to look into this! I only hope someone who reads these complaints has the power to help me and everyone with this problem.

- Santa Fe Springs, CA, USA

problem #28

Sep 142011

Suburban 8-cyl

  • 153,221 miles
I was driving my Suburban when a message reading "reduced engine power" came on and my car cut off. I was very lucky to only be going 20 mph in my neighborhood. Had I been going faster and had a car been following close behind, we would have caused an accident. This problem still persists and stops every 2-3 miles. We have to pull over, leave the car off for 5-10 seconds and then restart. We are then able to go another 2-3 miles. This is our only vehicle so we have no choice but to drive with our hazards on because we have 4 kids at 3 different schools to drop off and pick up each day. After researching this issue online, I am seeing that this is occurring in hundreds of Chevrolet and GM cars. It is my understanding that these 2 are the same company. I do not dare get on a major highway or interstate because of the fear of the car shutting down and causing an accident. Chevrolet and GM are aware of this problem, as many people have filed complaints with both the company and the NHTSA. Why is there no recall to fix this? this is a very dangerous situation and could likely lead to a deadly accident. I am discussing a class action lawsuit with a number of people and once the info is collected, I will contact an attorney. Please help get these unsafe vehicles off of the road and into the dealerships to be fixed. Thank you.

- Columbia, SC, USA

problem #27

Jun 022010

Suburban 8-cyl

  • 140,000 miles
My Suburban goes to reduced power unexpectedly and the engine will stall causing a loss of power steering and control of the vehicle. My Suburban has been taken in to the dealer I purchased the vehicle from on five occasions and the dealer is unable to fix the problem.. the most recent time was 9/1/2011. It went to reduced power 10 miles after leaving dealership and stalled as I pulled out into traffic from a restaurant. A number of cars had to brake excessively and swerve around me until I could angle my Suburban off the road without power steering. The truck weighs 6700 lbs and I needed all my strength to turn the wheel enough to get off the road. I am fearful about driving my Suburban and the high probability of injury to myself or others.

- Ludington, MI, USA

problem #26

Mar 212010

Suburban

  • 69,000 miles
The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban 1500. The contact stated that the speedometer began to fluctuate erratically while driving. The failure began as an intermittent problem before progressing to a contact issue. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where they were unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 69,000.

- Stevensville, MD, USA

problem #25

Sep 272010

Suburban

  • 100,000 miles
The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban 1500. The contact was driving approximately 25 mph when the speedometer suddenly failed. In addition, the gear shifter indicator light would not illuminate and the rear center seat belt would not function. When the left turn signal was engaged, the hazard warning lights would illuminate sporadically. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was awaiting a diagnosis of the failure. In addition, the contact stated that the fuel kit had to be replaced twice as well as a fuel injector cleaning. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

- Cincinnati , OH, USA

problem #24

Nov 202010

Suburban 4WD 8-cyl

  • 125,000 miles
We are having serious electrical issues with our 2003 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 Z71. It started with the seat warmers only workiing occasionally, then when I was trying to start it one day the ds automatic power seat deployed me and smashed my chest and legs all the way into the steering wheel and dash I was pinned against the steering wheel and dashboard until my husband heard me screaming and came to get me - it did this on its own, I hadn't touched a thing other than turn the key to start position. Then the ds power seat buttons starting working in reverse I.e. pushing forward on the button sends you backwards and pushing back sends you forward, then the service 4WD light came on the dic and stayed on for awhile, the seat warmers started to work again on occasion and then quit altogether...again., now the cluster panel...speedometer, RPM and other gauges are incorrect more often than not. We are having to use a gps to maintain speed limits.

- Quitman, TX, USA

problem #23

Aug 182010

Suburban

  • 99,000 miles
The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated the all gauges on the instrument panel have stopped working. The digital and mechanical gauges failed and the contact does not know how much gas was in the vehicle or how fast they were traveling. The contact stated that the light in the gear shift indicator failed first. The vehicle was not inspected, but the contact was concerned that the failure was a wiring problem. The failure mileage was 99,000 and the current mileage was 103,000.

- Bemieji, MN, USA

problem #22

Nov 012010

Suburban

  • 18,000 miles
Got a 2003 chevorlet surburan. The rear door be showing open N the oil gauge, temperature gauge, RPM, N speedometer not working.

- Tutwiler, MS, USA

problem #21

Nov 292010

Suburban 8-cyl

  • 85,219 miles
I was driving to a store in my city when it felt like I was not doing the speed limit and going slower than normal. When II got to the store and turned off the car, I saw that the speedometer was registering 20 mph. I started the car back up and it dropped the speed reading by 5 mph. I did this 3 more times till it registered zero mph. When driving home, I noticed that I was still driving slower than normal and when I got home and turned off the car the speedometer reading was showing 25 mph. I looked online and saw that others are having the same problem. This problem continues to occur every time II am driving my 2003 Chevrolet Suburban. I have not taken it to get fixed yet and have contacted Chevrolet to see if they will fix the problem for free since it should not be happening. This could possibly affect the vehicle speed control when set.

- Davdson, NC, USA

problem #20

Dec 102006

Suburban

  • 55,000 miles
I got a 2003 Chevrolet surb. The rear door keep coming open on it own, the speedometer does not work, oil gauge, and the temperature gauge not work. It had start now when start to cranked it the brake booster light come the battery light come saying not charging.

- Clarksdale, MS, USA

problem #19

Nov 302009

Suburban

  • 65,000 miles
2003 Chevy Suburban I think it is called the cluster where the speeodometer and the fuel gage are located. Fuel gage does not work and speedometer is stuck. Air bag light has gone on twice took to vehicle to dealer they changed front sensor and the light came back on a month later 06/20/2010.

- Newark, NJ, USA

problem #18

Jun 152005

Suburban

  • 38,000 miles
My 2003 Chevy Suburban's speedometer and volt meter indicate wildly false readings. I never know how fast I am really driving and I don't know if my electrical system is really at 30 volts or 0. I believe this is an unsafe condition.

- Menifee, CA, USA

problem #17

May 062003

Suburban

  • 43,000 miles
Speedometer fluctuates, indicates various speeds other than actual speed. Never a standard offset from actual speed. Might indicate 20 mph at 55 mph actual as measured by gps one time, then 10 mph at 60 mph actual another time.

- Mcallen, TX, USA

problem #16

Mar 152009

Suburban

  • 85,000 miles
The speedometer on our 2003 Chevrolet Suburban randomly stops working. We understand that it is a defect and that it will only be replaced by Chevrolet if the vehicle has less than 70,000 miles. Our Suburban has 85,000 miles on it. Since it is a defect in the instrument cluster, and not because of wear and tear, Chevrolet should replace it free of charge. We can't afford to pay the $550+ to have it replaced so we will drive it without the speedometer working, which is unsafe.

- Boise, ID, USA

Read the next 15 complaints »