2003 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN Complaints

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. *KB

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. *TR

WAS DRIVING MY 2003 SUBURBAN 2500 & WENT TO STOP, BRAKE PEDAL WENT ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR & TRUCK HAD TROUBLE STOPPING. AFTER LOOKING WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM SAW BRAKE FLUID ALL OVER THE UNDERSIDE OF TRUCK AND ON GROUND. BRAKELINES HAVE RUSTED THROUGH AND HAVE BURST. NOW NEED TO BE REPLACED. *TR

I'M HAVING THIS PROBLEM NOW, I WENT TO THE DEALER, AND THEY WANT $280 JUST TO LOOK AT IT. I HAVE SENT IT TO ANOTHER DEALER AND THEY HAVE HAD THE CAR FOR TWO DAYS, BUT THEY CANT FIND THE PROBLEM. THEY EVEN ASKED ME TO TAKE THE SUBURBAN HOME, BUT ONE BLOCK IT HAPPENED AGAIN. IM SO FRUSTRATED, AND I SPENT SO MUCH ON TAXI GOING BACK AN FOURTH. AND NO ONE KNOWS THE PROBLEM. I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD AND IT JUST DIES. WHEN I PULLED OFF I PUT IT IN PARK AND STARTED AGAIN, I WAS ABLE TO GO ONE MORE MILE AND BAM IT DID IT AGAIN. WHY CANT ANYONE FIGURE IT OUT? WHY AREN'T THERE ANY RECALLS? I LOST ALL CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE BECAUSE THE ENGINE DIED. WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET SOMEONE'S ATTENTION? WHEN THE ENGINE CUT OFF AT 69MPH I PRESSED THE BRAKE WHICH MADE IT HARDER AND HARDER TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE. THERE ARE NO ERROR CODES OR ANYTHING TO DESCRIBE THE ISSUE. I'M AFRAID TO DRIVE THE CAR, FOR FEAR THAT I MIGHT SLAM INTO SOMEONE ELSE. WHILE I WAS DRIVING, THERE WAS NO DETECTION OF MISFIRE OR ANYTHING, IT JUST DIED. *TR

CHEVROLET SUBURBAN 2003 - COMPLETE LOSS OF BRAKES DUE TO A FAILED METAL BREAK LINE. CHEVROLET DEALER HAS ADVISED ME THAT THE BRAKE LINES THROUGHOUT THE VEHICLE ARE DEFECTIVE BECAUSE OF EXTENSIVE CORROSION AND NOT SAFE TO DRIVE. THIS VEHICLE HAS ALWAYS BEEN PARKED ON A HARD SURFACE AND NEVER USED IN AN OCEAN/ SALT WATER ENVIRONMENT. THIS IS A GM DEFECTIVE IN THE VEHICLE. *TR

SUBURBAN LOSES POWER AND ENGINE DIES WHILE DRIVING. NO WARNINGS BEFORE SHUT OFF AND NO CODES AFTER SHUT OFF. AFTER WAITING 5-10 MINUTES, VEHICLE CRANKS AND RUNS AGAIN. RANDOMLY, IT MAY SHUT OFF AGAIN IN 1-2 MILES OR RUN FOR DAYS WITHOUT THE PROBLEM. THIS IS VERY DISTURBING WHEN ONE IS ON THE INTERSTATE RUNNING 70 MPH AND YOUR ENGINE SHUTS OFF. YOU LOSE POWER STEERING AND BRAKES AS YOU TRY TO MAKE IT TO THE EMERGENCY LANE. SOMEONE IS GOING TO GET KILLED!!! THE BATTERY DIED AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO RESTART YESTERDAY. THE DEALER CANNOT IDENTIFY WHY THE ENGINE SHUTS OFF, SO NO REPAIRS HAVE BEEN MADE. *TR

UPON BACKING INTO THE DRIVEWAY AFTER RETURNING FROM A SHORT ERRAND, THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR WITH NO BRAKING ACTION. NO DAMAGE OCCURRED SINCE THE EMERGENCY BRAKE STOPPED THE CAR AT LOW SPEED. ALL INSTRUMENT PANEL LAMPS FOR THE BRAKING SYSTEM WERE LIGHTED AND THE MESSAGE "SERVICE BRAKE SYSTEM" CAME ON. UPON INSPECTION, THE BRAKE FLUID RESERVOIR WAS EMPTY AND THE FLUID WAS DRIPPING FROM THE UNDERSIDE A LITTLE FORWARD OF THE DRIVER'S SIDE OF THE CAR. AFTER HAVING THE CAR TOWED TO THE AUTO REPAIR SHOP IT WAS FOUND TO HAVE RUSTED OUT STEEL BRAKE LINES IN A CLUSTER OF FOUR LEADING FROM THE MASTER CYLINDER BACK TOWARD THE REAR OF THE CAR. LUCKILY THIS TOTAL LOSS OF BRAKING OCCURRED AT THE VERY END OF THE TRIP SINCE THERE WAS NO WARNING OF ANY PROBLEM BEFOREHAND. SIX LENGTHS OF THE RUSTED STEEL BRAKE LINES NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *TR

IN 2003 I PURCHASED A NEW CHEVROLET SUBURBAN 1500. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN GARAGE KEPT AND PRESENTLY HAS 26,000 MILES ON IT. THREE WEEKS AGO MY WIFE EXPERIENCED A TOTAL BRAKE FAILURE AT 30 MPH. SHE USED THE EMERGENCY BRAKE TO STOP THE CAR WITHOUT INCIDENT. ON INSPECTION OF THE BRAKE SYSTEM, THE FRONT PASSENGER STEEL BRAKE LINE WAS RUSTED COMPLETELY THRU. ON FURTHER INSPECTION, ALL THE BRAKE LINES WERE RUSTY AND IN BAD SHAPE. I HAVE INQUIRED INFORMATION FROM 6 CHEVROLET DEALERSHIPS IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND, ALL OF WHICH HAVE SEEN AND REPAIRED THE EXACT PROBLEM MANY TIMES. I AM TOLD THAT IN 2006, GM STARTED ANNODIZING THEIR STEEL BRAKE LINES AGAIN. BUT FOR THE SUBURBANS BUILT IN 2003 AND 2004, THE PROBLEM WAS NEVER RECTIFIED AND GM HAS NO RECALL ON THEM. SINCE SUBURBANS ARE PRIMARILY USED TO TRANSPORT PEOPLE, I WOULD THINK THIS ISSUE WOULD BE OF GREAT IMPORTANCE TO YOU. I REPLACED THE BRAKE LINES WITH AFTER MARKET STAINLESS STEEL LINES AT MY OWN EXPENSE, $1200. *TT

2003 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN 5.3L GAS ENGINE. VEHICLE STARTED MAKING A TICKING SOUND. UPON INVESTIGATION I FOUND THE DRIVER SIDE REAR EXHAUST MANIFOLD BOLT HEAD HAD SNAPPED OFF. NO WORK HAD BEEN DONE TO THE VEHICLES EXHAUST SYSTEM PRIOR TO THIS. UPON FURTHER INSPECTION VISUAL SOOT CAN BE SEEN ON THE FIREWALL INDICATIMG EXHAUST GASSES ARE COMING IN CONACT WITH THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. I FEEL THIS POSES A HUGE FIRE HAZARD IF LEFT RUNNING LONG ENOUGHT TO GENERATE SUFFICIENT HEAT FOR COMBUSTION. I ALSO FEEL IT IS AN EMISSIONS RELATED CONCERN SINCE EXHAUST GASSES ARE ESCAPNG THE SYSTEM UPSTRAM FROM THE CATALYTIC CONVERTERS AND POSING THE RISK OF EXHAUST GASSES ENTERING THE VEHICLE. I HAVE CONTACTED GM AND HAVE RECIEVED NO POSITIVE RESPONSE TO DEALING WITH THIS ISSUE. *TR

TL* 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.