2003 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 1500 Complaints

SPEEDOMETER NEEDLE ON MY 2003 CHEVROLET PICKUP BECOMES ERRATIC AND STOPS WORKING AT INTERSTATE SPEEDS. THIS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES WHILE TRAVELING ACROSS COUNTRY. *TR

MY SPEEDOMETER STOP WORKING. I RECEIVED A LETTER ON 1/9/2008 SAYING THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE DASH CLUSTER IN 2003 CHEVROLET TRUCKS AND IF YOUR VEHICLE HAD 70,000 OR LESS MILES THEY WOULD REPLACE IT. MY TRUCK HAS 100,000 MILES, BUT THE DASH HAD STOP WORKING BEFORE IT REACHED 70,000 MILES. I CALLED GM AND WAS TOLD THAT THEY WOULD NOT FIX IT. *TR

THE BRAKE ROTORS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED BEFORE THEY WORE OUT. THE SERVICE DEPT AT THE CHEV DEALER SAID THAT RUST HAD PENETRATED INTO THE ROTOR AND HAD CAUSED THE BRAKES TO PULSE. THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM ON PICKUPS LIKE MY 2003 SILVERADO K1500. IT SEEMS TO BE A DESIGN PROBLEM SINCE CHEVROLET SWITCHED FROM REAR DRUM BRAKES TO REAR DISC BRAKES. CHEVROLET STARTED THE PROBLEM BY SWITCHING FROM DRUM BRAKES TO DISC BRAKES. OWNERS SHOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY FOR BAD ROTORS WHEN IT IS A CHEV DESIGN FAULT. *TR

MY SPEEDOMETER ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL EITHER FAILS COMPLETELY, WORKS WHEN IT WANTS TO, OR READS INACCURATELY, THEREBY CAUSING A SERIOUS SAFETY SITUATION WHEN DRIVING MY VEHICLE ON PUBLIC ROADWAYS; PUTTING ME AND THE OTHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHERE I DRIVE IN HARMS WAY SINCE I CAN'T TELL HOW FAST/SLOW I AM GOING! *TR

AFTER ONLY 40,000 MILES SPEEDOMETER IS ERRATIC AT BEST, IF IT WORKS AT ALL. SOMETIMES READS 120 MPH WHILE STOPPED OR 0 MPH WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY. I HAVE READ LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS ON VARIOUS WEBSITES OF OTHER VICTIMS WITH THIS VERY DANGEROUS PROBLEM. I WAS QUOTED $450-$600 TO REPAIR SPEEDOMETER. ALSO, THERE IS NO OPTION TO PURCHASE REPLACEMENT PARTS TO FIX MYSELF. GM OBVIOUSLY KNOWS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM YET CONTINUES TO IGNORE IT. I CAN ONLY ASSUME GM IS WAITING FOR THE DEATH TOLL TO REACH AN ADEQUATE NUMBER BEFORE THEY WILL RESPOND WITH A RECALL OR SATISFACTORY FIX. HOW MANY DEATHS WILL IT TAKE? WHAT'S THE MAGIC NUMBER? I WOULD LIKE TO THINK ZERO! *CN

THE DISPLAYED SPEEDOMETER SPEED IS LESS THEN ACTUAL. INITIALLY THE DISPLAYED SPEED WAS ONLY OFF BY 10 TO 15 MILES RESULTING IN DRIVING IN EXCESS OF THE POSTED SPEED LIMIT AND APPROACHING VEHICLES IN FRONT OF ME TOO QUICKLY BEFORE I REALIZED THAT THE DISPLAYED SPEED WAS INCORRECT. THE PROBLEM HAS ADVANCED AND NOW THE SPEEDOMETER USUALLY DISPLAYS A SPEED OF 10 MILES OR LESS NO MATTER WHAT THE ACTUAL SPEED IS. DEALERSHIP HAS BEEN NOTIFIED AND HAS QUOTED A REPAIR PRICE IN EXCESS OF $400. DEALERSHIP ALSO INDICATED THAT THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE AND THAT THERE IS A TECHNICAL BULLETIN ABOUT THIS ISSUE. PART HAS NOT BEEN REPLACED YET.*CN

BLOWER HEATER MOTOR STUCK ON HIGH DRAINS BATTERY. MY BROTHER IN LAW STEVE STARR AND I BOTH BOUGHT SAME MODEL OF TRUCKS 2003 CHEVY SILVERADO AT THE SAME TIME AND BOTH VEHICLES FAILED WITH IN TWO WEEKS OF EACH OTHER.*CN

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 1500. THE SPEEDOMETER DISPLAYS INACCURATE READINGS, WHICH RESULTED IN A TRAFFIC CITATION. THE SPEEDOMETER COULD DISPLAY 100 MPH WHILE DRIVING AT A NORMAL RATE OF SPEED. WHEN THE VEHICLE IS STOPPED, THE DISPLAY WILL READ 60 MPH. THE SPEEDOMETER HAS FUNCTIONED NORMALLY ONLY ONCE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER BECAUSE THEY WILL CHARGE $600 FOR A DIAGNOSTIC. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 104,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 90,000.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 1500. WHILE DRIVING 45-55 MPH, THE CONTACT HEARD A LOUD NOISE AND NOTICED A TIRE IN THE ROAD. HE PULLED OVER AND DISCOVERED THAT THE SPARE TIRE BRACKET ASSEMBLY HAD SHEARED OFF. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE 2005 MODEL BRACKETS WERE DEFECTIVE. THE MANUFACTURER WOULD NOT REIMBURSE HIM FOR THE SPARE TIRE NOR FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE FAILED BRACKET. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 100,500 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100,000. UPDATED 01/03/08 . *LJ UPDATED 12/31/07

THE 2003 CHEVY SILVERADO HAS A DOCUMENTED DEFECT ON THEIR SPEEDOMETERS AND GAUGES AND REFUSE TO CORRECT THIS IF YOU DO NOT MEET A 7YR/70,000 WARRANTY PERIOD. THE ISSUE HAS BEEN REPORTED IN AS FEW AS 28,000 MILES TO OVER 150,000 MILES. THIS IS AN UNSAFE DEFECT REPORTED BY CHEVROLET THAT THE DO NOT RECOGNIZE AS NECESSARY TO COVER FOR EVERYONE. *TR