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2.6

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
58,235 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2003 Chevrolet Suburban electrical problems

electrical problem

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2003 Chevrolet Suburban Owner Comments (Page 1 of 4)

problem #80

Jun 252012

Suburban 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 85,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated the instrument cluster inadvertently disabled. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the instrument cluster needed to be replaced, but was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure the failure mileage was 85,000. Updated 02/14/17 consumer stated techometer, oil pressure gauge. Gear indicator lights offer lights stopped working. Updated 7/16/18

- Modesto, CA, USA

problem #79

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 #78

Dec 072010

Suburban

  • 119,589 miles
Speedometer goes to 120 randomly.

- Poway, CA, USA

problem #77

Oct 012010

Suburban

  • 90,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The speedometer on my 2003 Chevy Suburban is off by over 50 mph. I had the same problem on 2005 Silverado. I see alot of complaints over this same problem with other owners, why is GM not held responsible for a recall. There is no way to know how fast I am actually going, if that is not a safety concern then I'm not sure what is.

- Perronville, MI, USA

problem #76

Jul 052010

Suburban

  • 128,000 miles
The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that while driving 25 mph the speedometer would malfunction leaving the contact unaware of the speed that the vehicle was traveling. The contact also stated that the speedometer malfunctioned when the vehicle was in park. The speedometer would display 60 mph when the vehicle was not moving. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who stated that the vehicle had under 80,000 miles. The dealer also advised the contact to file a complaint with the manufacturer to have the vehicle repaired at no cost, but since the contact did not file a complaint with the manufacturer and has high mileage the contact was responsible for the repairs. The contact stated that the manufacturer should issue a recall since the issue with the dashboard was very common. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 128,000.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

problem #75

Jul 162008

Suburban

  • 90,000 miles
2003 Suburban speedometer not working. Started malfunctioning in December 2007, the needle would jump all over the place and then stopped working in July.

- Brownsville, TX, USA

problem #74

Jun 102010

Suburban

  • 112,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

2003 Chevy surburban speedometer failure. Speedometer fails to give accurate reading while stopped or while driving. This causes the hazard of not being able to gauge speed accurately and makes it impossible to comply with local, state and federal speed laws for public roadways.

- Boise, ID, USA

problem #73

Nov 102009

Suburban

  • 94,000 miles
The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban 1500. He stated that on November of 2009 while driving approximately 25 mph, he noticed the speedometer was failing. The speedometer began to increase and decrease in speed until it stopped working. He took the vehicle to the dealer. The diagnosis located the failure as the cluster program. The dealer replaced the cluster program. The cost for repair was $500. The manufacturer took a report and stated that they will not assist with the repair. The failure mileage was 94,000 the current mileage was 106,000.

- Marietta, GA, USA

problem #72

Jul 162009

Suburban

  • 79,500 miles
While driving in a 45mph zone, I checked my speedometer as I passed a police officer and it read 75mph so I immediately hit the brakes to slow. I didn't think I was speeding as I was going with the flow of traffic. Upon further investigation I discovered the default position of the gauge was 30mph. Eventually the speedometer was fully pegged at 120+ mph. I discussed the failure with colleagues at work and two independent mechanics and I discovered 1) the problem is common in GMC trucks in model years 2002-2006 and 2) the only way to correct it is to replace the entire instrument panel at a cost of approx. $700. I believe this is a safety hazard for two reasons: First, the failure is insidious and can cause an overreaction (one case II know of where someone was pulling a boat trailer on a wet road, looked down and saw 90mph, hit the brakes and skidded off the highway), and second, because of the high cost of repair for older vehicles owners (as I am) will be hesitant to spend the money to fix one indicator needle. Thank you for assistance.

- Longwood, FL, USA

problem #71

Oct 012008

Suburban

  • 48,000 miles
2003 Chevy Suburban 53000 miles, instrument cluster failing, speedometer pegged at 120 mph. Started intermittently at 49,000 miles.

- Weatogue, CT, USA

problem #70

Dec 012008

Suburban

  • 105,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The speedometer indicates incorrect speeds. Shows I am going 30 mph sitting still or 120 mph while driving 65mph.

- Biscoe, NC, USA

problem #69

Nov 242008

Suburban

  • miles
2003 Chevy Suburban 2500 with 122,000 miles - the fuel gauge registered "zero" and then the speedometer failed to register any speed. It then registered between 120mph and 0mph alternately.

- Dallas, TX, USA

problem #68

Oct 152008

Suburban

  • miles
Speedometer is currently stuck at 120 mph. Problem started with it being stuck at 45 mph when vehicle was stopped.

- Bailey, CO, USA

problem #67

Sep 052008

Suburban

  • 115,000 miles
Speedometer jumps while I am driving hwy speeds. It jumps to 120 mph while I am doing 60 to 65 mph.

- Naches, WA, USA

problem #66

Apr 012006

Suburban

  • 70,000 miles
My speedometer on my 2003 Suburban doesn't work. Concerned about driving not knowing the speed I am going. It stopped working several months after I bought it used, couldn't afford to get if fixed then. After recall obtained recently, I took it to dealership and they said it was over mileage claimed in recall.

- Starr, SC, USA

problem #65

Mar 092008

Suburban

  • 106,000 miles
Speedometer on our 2003 Suburban quit working back in March 2008 with approximately 106,000 miles on it. (it now has 110,000 miles) the speedometer went up to 120 when we were going approx. 40 mph and then it stuck down past 160 and has net moved since. So far I haven't been able to find a recall notice from Chevrolet/GM. We have owned many different makes of cars along with another Suburban with many more miles than this one and the speedometers never stopped working. I was told it would cost over $600 to fix and have not been able to come up with the money yet. Searching on-line, this is obviously a problem that GM is not willing to fix as many, many other people have reported this same problem.

- Crandall, TX, USA

problem #64

Apr 122008

Suburban 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 70,455 miles
My speedometer displays incorrect mph, creating a driving hazard. I would like GM to fix this problem that so many others like me have had.

- Enoch, UT, USA

problem #63

Apr 112008

Suburban

  • miles
2003 Chevy Suburban speedometer has been experiencing issues since I purchased used over 2 years ago. But it outside of the manufacturers warranty period. So I decided to leave it until it stopped working all together. I was notified that from Chevy that this an issue fall of 07, but by that time the vehicle had already surpassed the mileage restraint that GM put on the recall. Now the speedometer stopped working today. The speedometer is stuck at 70, and is not reading correctly. I called my dealer and they told me to call Chevrolet. After stating my case to the first representative I was told there was nothing we could do.

- North Branch, MN, USA

problem #62

Apr 102008

Suburban 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 109,594 miles
Speedometer started going crazy. Now reads 25 when in park.

- Bayou Vista, TX, USA

problem #61

Apr 102008

Suburban

  • Automatic transmission
  • 15 miles
I bought the Suburban new in 2003 and as I was driving it home off the lot, I looked down at the speedometer and it was showing "0." I was, at the time, driving down the highway! I pulled off the side of the road and stopped, called the dealership and they said that if it did it again to call them. It did not do it again until today. I have been noticing, though, for a few weeks that the speedometer is clicky when it goes up in speed, it is not a smooth movement, it jumps or clicks up. Then, the other day, I was driving home and looked down and the speedometer was at "0" again. As I proceeded to drive and accelerate and slow down, it was giving erroneous readings. I called GM but there was no recall on this, but there has been recalls on it, "juse not on mine."

- North Plains, OR, USA

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