general problems of the 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 - part 1

My heater started to shut off then I’d turn it off then turn it back on then it’d come back on again. That went on for a few days. Started my truck in the morning and let it warm up for a few moments when I hear truck is on fire. The fire was in the cab of the truck. It was investigated and they said fire started in the right side of the dash which is where the faulty part is from what I’ve learned about other chevy trucks same make model and year as my truck.

Instrument panel stopped working. Speedometer, fuel gauge and ammeter not working.

I was driving in normal conditions around 45 mph with the air conditioner on high. Smoke starts pouring out from underneath the dash on the passenger side and once I get stopped the blower motor resistor had caught fire. I was able to put the fire out myself no incident report was filed. It caused damage to my dash but I was able to extinguish it rather quickly to avoid further damage. I just bought this pick up for my 17-year-old son and if he had of been driving things could’ve been a lot worse especially if his reaction time is any slower than mine.

Ignition will not intermittently start vehicle. Dash lights come on.

New optima red top keeps draining. Second new battery in a month. Dead over night. I've read there's a recall on other vins. Yet mine is doing the same battery drain thing. Left my wife at mcdonald's today high and dry! wtf! don't make me get a Ford!.

The instrument panel cluster will stop working. No gauges, speedometer, or tachometer. Usually occurs after vehicle has been driven, turned off and restarted. Know of several people having/had the same issue with this year model. Sometimes the cluster will become active again while driving, but usually doesn't.

Instrument cluster- the only thing that works is the speedometer if I hit a bump the speedometer stops working my truck sometimes dies on me going down the roads, I recently took it to a shop and they ran a diagnostic test and told me it's a electrical problem but since my instrument cluster wasnt working could not narrow it down. . Windshield- front makes a whistle sound when your going down the highway it's been like that since I have owned it. . Battery- bought a new battery about 8 months ago and something keeps draining it sometimes causing it to have hesitation and bogs out.

Bright lite indicator lite comes on dash with no key in ignition, kills battery over nite. Gas gauge in dash doesn't always work, truck has to get moving, sometimes right away and sometimes a little longer. Had to replace my throttle body control a couple months prior.

Takata recall frame is breaking airbag lights on dash is messing up.

My whole dashboard stops working the gauges lights everything just stopped working. I was traveling down interstate and everything stopped working but after a few seconds it all came back on for about 30 seconds and it all shut off again and never came back on I made it home and turned the truck off and went inside. I got up the next morning to go to work and cranked the truck and no gauges or lights were not working still. I slammed my hand down on top of the dashboard and everything came on and was working but that didn't last long and everything shut off again.

Tl the contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that the passenger side rearview mirror did not adjust and the buttons did not work. The contact called porter Chevrolet at 302-722-4822 (located at 414 e cleveland Ave, newark, DE 19711) and was informed that there was no recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that there was no recall. The failure mileage was approximately 173,000.

The tps throttle position sensor check engine code keeps going off while driving. When the tps code goes off the engine loses total power and you are unable to accelerate, which is a safety issue. We have replaced the throttle body but the issue is still remaining even after replacing different wires.

The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that the instrument panel ceased to function without warning. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.

The battery keeps being drained when engine stays turned off. I researched and found many complaints regarding this 2003 silverado issue with many other owners. When I researched on a recall I found the recall number (02066) but it states that our truck VIN number is not included but then why have I bought 4 batteries just this year alone? please help because it no longer cranks up at all. I have to jump the truck every time I have to turn it on.

The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. While driving 80 mph, the speedometer failed to display the proper speed intermittently and would display zero while the vehicle was being driven. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 106,000.

This actually doesn't have anything to do with an accident. The instrument panel on our Chevrolet Silverado 1500 doesn't work except for the speedometer. The mileage on this vehicle is 68,901, hours driven 2,498. 6. I can't tell what the amount of gas, oil pressure, temperature, etc. Is. I really think with this low mileage this panel should have lasted longer.

�takata recall� my air bags were framed unsafe from being a vehicle from a warm climate. Replacement was needed to ensure safe guards.

When I went to open the car door smoke came out. The truck hadn't been driven in two days and nothing was plug in to the charging outlet. The entire dash had melted. The heat was hot enough to crack the windshield and pop open the rear passenger window. The vhelihicle was parked the driveway of the primary residence.

At random times while driving or turning, no matter the weather our truck randomly dies. Shifting into neutral she always starts back up right away. However due to not knowing when it will happen, it does on city streets at 25mph and had on the highway at 75mph. We are unsure still at the moment the cause or solution. We have had 4 episodes of this dangerous problem starting this year only, 2015 .

Several times now this last 2 months my truck stops running. At first it would slow down then stop, the last time it completely shut down 3 times from work to home which is only 10 minutes away. The ignition seems to be the problem. I am bringing this to everyones attention just in case someone else has the same type of vehicle. If I were driving 65 or 70 miles per hour it could have killed someone or me or both. My passenger side airbag is also showing a fault. It shows that it needs serviced.

I was traveling at approximately 55mph on a smooth paved county road with my a/c on. It was about 78 degrees outside. I had the a/c running about 15 minutes before the air just turned warm. I tried 3 times turning off the a/c and back on, and the air failed to cool. I stopped the truck, turned the a/c on, got out and looked at the a/c compressor. The a/c compressor was not engaging. I took it to a mechanic and the diagnosis was undetermined. 2 other mechanics failed to find the problem as well. The system was charged correctly, not leaking, and even replaced the hvac control module and the problem was not fixed. There are many other cases just like mine and I would like gm to look into the problem. I am proud to be a gm customer and have always liked my gm pickups.

I was driving on a down hill road with a stop sign at the bottom. I began to press the brake and the pedal went to the floor. I could not get the truck stopped and ended up in an empty field to avoid a wreck with impact. There was a huge wet spot on the street where by brakes failed. Very scary with my young children in the truck with me. The break lines were all rusted and had given way. According to the repair shop (and the internet) this is a known issue with these vehicles. I am also now having an issue with my instrument panel going crazy. The speedometer will say I am traveling 110 when I am rolling up to a stop sign. The fan blower will be on 0 and it will blow out at full force and will not turn off, even after the engine has been turned off. This ultimately results in a dead battery. I have had to have several jump starts. This issue according to my mechanic is a "known issue" with this vehicle. However, my VIN # produces no results for recalls. So like my silverado break down on the side of the road issues, the search results have left me stranded as well, only this time I am not walking down the road with my small children.

My son was driving, we were returning from prescott az. We were on a small down hill part of the road when the truck lost all power. I told my son to put the truck in neutral and try to restart it. That failed, it made the same noise as a dead battery would. I told him to pull off the highway. He did so and put the transmit ion in park. I told my son to try and restart it and it started right up.

The a/c had engaged(turned on) itself following my use earlier this day, the heater had worked well previous this morning. The temp was nineteen degrees outside and the truck was parked outside. I was unable to turn off the air conditioning, by pressing the button nor would any of the controls cause heat to come from the vents. I removed the dash trim and unclipped the radio mounts and removed the right electrical plug from the back of the heater control unit and then reconnected. Then the heater began to work. The dealer said the part is not available from general motors but they offer a rebuild program through the dealer. Depending on in stock replacement and availability. It would take two days to repair and the dealer would reuse the face plate from my unit part. The cost is 135. 00 plus shipping. This was the first time this has happened,and it may have been a poor electrical connect due to the age of the vehicle and mileage.

The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. After restarting, the vehicle resumed normal operation. The failure recurred numerous times at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the throttle body was faulty. The contact was able to repair the vehicle himself. Recently, the vehicle exhibited hesitation on different occasions when the accelerator pedal was being applied. The vehicle was not repaired. In addition, the air conditioner circulated warm air whenever activated. The blower motor connector was not replaced; however, the motor resistor was replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.

The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that the passenger's side electronic controls failed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was confirmed that the actuator and window motor had failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 67,500.

Radio speakers went out while still under warranty. Dealer tinkered with but never found exact problem and have not worked properly since. Then left rear door ajar indicator came on while driving 4 years ago still doesn't work most of the time. Fuel gauge inop. 2 yrs ago. Then speedometer erratic since August last year. And since oct 2013 vehicle just dies at low rpms or idles erratic. One out of 53 days most everything. Works fine except fuel gauge. Then all of sudden all the problems come back. I have been told it is all probably caused by the instrument cluster but with the it being over the mileage for the extended warranty nothing can be done and since just swapping out the instrument cluster may not fix any of the problems I should just live with it.

The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 mph, the speedometer displayed an inaccurate reading of 80 mph. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the instrument cluster needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 81,000 and the current mileage was 84,000. The VIN was not available.

The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 hd. The contact stated that the air conditioner was inoperable and the plastic wires that came from the unit were melted. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and the contact was informed that the vehicle was not under warranty and there were no recalls addressing the failure. The manufacturer was notified and repeated those sentiments. No further assistance was offered. The vehicle was then taken to an independent repair shop for repair. The failure mileage was 127,000.

Hvac system suddenly started blowing hot air while on ac position. The only way it could be stopped was to stop the truck, shut off engine & re-start engine.

Instrument cluster has continued to fail. Called local chevy dealer, because truck is over the mileage it is no longer covered by recall that I was not informed of. First oil pressure gauge quit then speed ometer failed. Chevy has known of the problem and should be held accountable to fix this problem.

2003 Chevrolet suburban and the speedometer is stuck on 65 when stopped and will travel upwards as I drive faster. For example in a 35 mph zone, when I guestamate my speed, I am driving according to my speedometer 110 mph!.

Speedometer started working sporadically. Sometimes sticks below 0, sometimes moves sporadically and does not indicate correct speed. Internet search shows this is a very common problem. Gm is aware of this problem and has issued a service bulletin, but is it only valid for vehicles under 80k miles. This is a safety hazard in that the driver does not accurately know the vehicle speed and does not know if he/she is traveling at a safe speed. When the speedometer reads lower than the actual speed (it may read 5 or 10 mph below the actual speed, or may be much lower, as the indicated speed is unreliable), the driver may be going faster than he/she realizes into a curve or turn, which might lead to a crash, possibly injury or death. Chevrolet advertises that they build the longest lasting trucks. Isn't it reasonable to expect something as basic as a speedometer to work properly for more than 80k miles? dealer said a new instrument cluster is needed to repair this defect. Since the vehicle is beyond 80k miles, this would cost the owner approximately $500.

Speedo failed. Needle stuck at various speeds. Contacted gm. Not helpful at all. Guess somebody has to die before they will take any action.

Left turn signal causes the turn signals to act as hazard signals preventing other drivers from knowing the truck is turning left. It is sporadic, but often hear a buzz under steering column when it occurs. See it is an often reported problem with a failed hazard lamp flasher module whose contacts fail due to moisture. Must be replaced with a sealed module. Chevy claims there is no recall on faulty part (called 4/8/10).