2003 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN 1500 Complaints

"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! *TR

THE BRAKES FAILED DUE TO RUSTED BRAKE LINES BLOWING OUT IN THE PROXIMITY OF THE ABS MOTOR, WHICH IS LOCATED ON THE DRIVER SIDE, ALONG THE FRAME, UNDERNEATH THE DRIVERS SEAT. *TR

ON OCT.7, 2011 MY WIFE WAS DRIVING OUR 2003 CHEVY SUBURBAN. IN JUST NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS SHE APPLIED THE BRAKES. A WARNING SOUND CAME ON AND THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR. JUST THAT QUICK !, BRAKE LINE FAILURE! IF SHE HAD BEEN DRIVING FASTER THAN 40 MPH. THEIR MIGHT HAVE BEEN A BAD INTERSECTION COLLISION. SHE NERVOUSLY WAS ABLE TO CREEP THE VEHICLE TO A STOP. I RESEARCHED THIS CONDITION ON-LINE AND WAS STARTLED TO FIND NHTSA IS INVESTIGATING OVER 6 MILLION VEHICLES WITH THE SAME CONDITIONS.IT'S A TRAVESTY THAT THIS CAN GO ON.IT MUST BE THE GOVERMENTS WAY OF NOT BEING ABLE TO POLICE ITS OWN COMPANY. *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

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.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN 1500. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH APPROACHING A STOP SIGN, THE BRAKE PEDAL TRAVELED RAPIDLY TO THE FLOOR UPON ENGAGING AND THE VEHICLE FAILED TO SLOW DOWN. THE CONTACT SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL GEAR IN ORDER TO APPLY THE PARKING BRAKE AND STOP THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 90,000. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.