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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
5 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 1
Average Mileage:
71,208 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 Tahoe seat belts / air bags problems

seat belts / air bags problem

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2003 Chevrolet Tahoe Owner Comments

problem #16

Dec 162020

Tahoe

  • 148,964 miles

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

Well my air bag light stay on never goes over and my driver seat belt does not even lock at all. Then I keep hear this popping noise that come from hub and shocks and nothing on my dash works 1st it started off by I couldnt see what gear I was in. My driver seat U push the button to go forward it moves the seat back. My heat blower has something wrong with and it has something to do with this purple wire on the floor bored. Now my truck cant get on the free way because every thime I get on the freeway and on the free way four more then 10-15 min my truck just shuts off. My heated seated only stay on for 1 to 2 min and then keeps shutting off. My back seats dont let down at all. Then at the bottom of my truck where the oil pan is for some reason there is always alot of oil all over at the bottom like someone just dip my truck in a big bowl of oil. Then when my ignition where the yellow black and red wire go to the top of my ignition the black plug is real lose and can't replace at all. And with everything on now with my income im already out of $5,000 already for parts and labor this is mu only car I have and I really need my car right now dont have money to go buy a new truck or car. I really need my truck it mean alot to me.

- Spanaway, WA, USA

problem #15

May 182016

Tahoe

  • miles
My air bag lights are always and 4WD lights are I took my truck to a transmission specialist they replace the transfer case for the 4WD but light remain on and I stiil feel the shift from 2-4 I took it back to the specialist again and again still the same problem

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

problem #14

Dec 142017

Tahoe

  • 100,000 miles
Tamara recalls

- Burlington, NC, USA

problem #13

Aug 212017

Tahoe

  • miles

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

Takata recall is necessary my airbag light is on upon starting vehicle along with service airbag warning. I am afraid that this is an unsafe condition that should be repaired at no cost to me as there seems to be many other complaints on this same issue.

- East Chicago, IN, USA

problem #12

Jan 102017

Tahoe

  • 160,000 miles
The "service airbag" warning light and "service airbag" display comes on when I start the vehicle--and stays on. Every so often, when I start the car, the warnings disappear, only to reappear after the next start of the engine.

- Evansville, WI, USA

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problem #11

Aug 012012

Tahoe

  • 136,000 miles
Takata recall. The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that the air bag warning indicator remained illuminated for an extended period of time. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 136,000.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #10

Apr 142016

Tahoe

  • miles

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

The contact owned a 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 mph, the contact lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a guard rail. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed. The front seat passenger sustained 12 broken ribs and 2 collapsed lungs that required medical attention. The vehicle was towed to an independent towing facility. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was unavailable.

- Savannah, GA, USA

problem #9

Jan 122015

Tahoe 4WD 8-cyl

  • 111,500 miles
One day this winter I went out in the garage and started my Tahoe. Out of the blue my service air bag light came on. Today I took my care to get it checked out and the error codes (B0051 & B0053) indicated that the airbags had been deployed. The service manager agreed that there was no evidence of a collision or that the air bags had been deployed, and that the air bags are not working. Due to the age of the vehicle they indicated that there was nothing they go do to cover the work needed to repair the problem and get the airbags working again. The estimate is for $1,200. They also indicated that there were not any recalls or service bulletins on this type of problem.I contacted GM via chat, and they said there were not recalls or service bulletins for this issue, and they could not due anything to assist with the repair. I am the original owner and always kept the vehicle in good working order using the original dealer, and have not had any accidents with the vehicle. I can afford to get the repair done, my concern is how many other people that can't might be impacted by this and will drive the vehicles without the air bags.

- Overland Park, KS, USA

problem #8

Apr 152012

Tahoe

  • 90,000 miles
My acceleration pedal engaged and ran thru center block fence. No airbag on either side....thanks a lot..... driver.

- Midland, TX, USA

problem #7

Nov 132012

Tahoe

  • 182,000 miles
The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that while driving 55 mph, the driver attempted to avoid crashing into a deer and lost control of the vehicle. As a result, the vehicle was flipped several times. The air bags failed to deploy and the driver was killed. The contact did not confirm if the driver was secured by the seat vehicle safety belt. The vehicle was destroyed and had not been inspected for the air bag failure. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileages were 182,000.

- Bartow, GA, USA

problem #6

Sep 102008

Tahoe

  • 63,000 miles

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

All of the sudden the air bag indicator light came on and a message appeared saying "service air bag". we took it to a mechanic and he hooked it up to the computer system and it said that whole air bag system had failed (several sensors had failed). We called Chevy to see if it might be able to be fixed with a warranty, but they said the car is out of warranty. (we knew this, but figured there should be an extended warranty on airbags.) they told us to take it to a Chevy dealership. We called the local dealership and they told us it would cost $100 for the diagnostic test. However, we already did this with our other mechanic. Chevy basically wouldn't help us unless we paid for the diagnostic which is ridiculous since we already did that. The guy at the dealership told us that we could drive around, no problem, but that the air bags wouldn't deploy. We were told by our mechanic that it would be very expensive to fix this. We think it is unfair that we have to pay to get this fixed, when there has never been any accidents with this car. The airbags have never deployed, and all the sudden the system won't work if we need it and get in an accident. We're asking for help to get Chevy to fix this problem because they should. This could be a potential lawsuit if there were an accident. Please help us to get Chevy to take responsibility for an error that happened during the building of the car.

- Arlington, TX, USA

problem #5

Apr 102008

Tahoe 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 90,000 miles
2003 Tahoe and on many occasions the service air bag sensor has come on. I have been told that when this light is on the air bag will not deploy. This seems very dangerous. Also the dealer can't get a code on what is wrong with it unless the light is on. It doesn't stay on a long time but is very frequent in coming on. Looks like this should be a safety issue and should have a recall on it.

- Newton, AL, USA

problem #4

Jan 012005

Tahoe 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 29,000 miles
I purchased new and still own a 2003 Chevy Tahoe. For the last year and a half the airbag light comes on from time to time. I have had the truck at the dealer numerous times and they tell me they cannot fix the problem. What I have been told is that this light means that the airbag will not deploy if the vehicle gets into an accident. I am very frustrated that this safety issue cannot be corrected.

- Leesburg, VA, USA

problem #3

Aug 262004

Tahoe 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 7,862 miles
The steering shaft and front suspension was replaced. The airbags did not deploy when the vehicle rolled over. The vehicle was taken to the dealer twice for a popping noise and loose steering. The steering shaft was removed and lubed and the front lower crossmember was tightened. The consumer's son was driving the vehicle when he lost control. The vehicle rolled over twice, end over end the side over side one and a half times. The consumer requested to be notified of how many of these steering, braking and or other problems incurred with this make/model.

- Granger, TX, USA

problem #2

Nov 112004

Tahoe

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
The steering made popping noises and the steering felt loose. The dealer replaced the steering shaft and front suspension. The vehicle rolled over twice and the air bags did not deploy.

- Granger, TX, USA

problem #1

Aug 102004

Tahoe 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 21,000 miles
Air bag ilight illuminated intermittently. Vehicle was taken to dealer for the fifth time. Dealer had not resolved the problem.

- Plano, TX, USA

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