26 problems related to service brakes have been reported for the 2003 Chevrolet Suburban. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Subpar material used in brake/fuel lines they rust premature.
I just started leasing the vehicle from quality auto that says that the car is road ready but have lots of hazardous things to it a very bad gas leak that there taking there time to fix and my hood of my car won't stay down . . . It's 7 days into my car lease and there promises have been broken and won't trade me another car .
This truck is equipped with a supplimental vacuum pump on the brake booster, when it fails braking is reduced by 50%. The part has been discontinued by chevy with no plans for a replacement. I have had the vehicle in 3 shops complaining of poor brakes, and finally theres a solution. What am I suppose to do, scrap out a $10,000 vehicle ? im sure this hidden problem has caused a many accidents that could of been avoided.
Tl- the contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban 2500. The contact stated that while driving at 35 mph, the contact depressed the brake pedal and it traveled all the way to the floor. The contact was able to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where they performed an interim fix for the contact to make it home. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that all the brakes lines in the vehicle were rusted and needed to be replaced. The contact was also informed by the independent mechanic that the vehicle may need the fuel pump line as well. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 72,000. Wh.
Was driving with my children in vehicle. As I was approaching intersection, stepped on brake pedal and it went completely to floor. The brakes were not working at all. I had to downshift and use emergency brake in order to avoid collision. Had to have Suburban towed.
Pulling out of drivway pedal went to floor. Got out of truck and noticed brakeline broken under driverside door. . All lines look horrible.
Tl-the contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban 1500. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph, the brake pedal was applied and pressed to the floorboard but the breaks did not respond. The vehicle was taken to dealer where it was diagnosed that the brake and fuel lines were severely rusted and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 221,000. Ml.
Slowing down to turn on to i95, brake pedal went to the floor. Had no brakes what so ever, no warning. Thank the lord that we were able to move out of traffic and slow down with out having a accident. Took it to gm dealer they replaced all to lines. Had to take it to other gm dealer to tighten and replace a part the other dealer had stripped the threads on and tried to fix it with teflon tape. Also tighten body mounts the dealer left loose.
Approaching stop sign and brake pedal went to floor. After looking at lines ,they are all corroded terribly and I noticed the NHTSA has an open complaint on this very thing.
Getting onto exit ramp at 50 mph . Began pressing brake pedal. Suddenly no braking power at all.
The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban 1500. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for an unrelated repair when they noticed that the brake and fuel lines were rusted severely. In addition, the spare tire carrier exhibited rust corrosion and was removed from the vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified of the defect. The vehicle had not been repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 147,000.
Stopped to get gas. Brake pedal went to the floor and wouldn't stop, warnings started going off and smoke was coming from under the vehicle, was able to put the vehicle in park to avoid hitting anything, husband was able to look under vehicle and saw all the fluid, told me to step on the brake pedal and fluid was spraying from a line in the engine compartment.
We bought the Suburban in virginia in 2004 moved to washington state in 2007. Lived there for 4 years and now live in guam which has been for about a year and a half. The 2003 Suburban has seen very little snow and when it has the states we have live in use sand and not salt and yes I know guam is a island. While coming home a car pulled infront of us and I had to apply the brakes and the brake pedal went completely to the floor, I barley stopped in time which would of been no problem if they brakes worked normally (note: guam's max speed limit on the island is 35 miles per hour) . Still in traffic I had to find a place to pull off which took about a minute, lucky it was up hill. The service warning came on to check brakes of course at this time they where completely to the floor taking 100 feet to bring the vehicle to a stop thank you k-mart parking lot. The brake reservoir was completely dry and a pool of brake fluid was below the drivers door. There was no warning of this failure they worked fine one minute then not the next. I am now being quoted 1,100. 00 dollar repair by the dealership and to top it off it will be atleast 2 weeks to get the parts from detroit since they only use oem parts. Not to mention the rental car bill I will racking up in guam. My major concern is 6 years down the road when they fail again will I be so lucky since oem parts are not stainless steel.
Tl- the contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that while reversing from a residential driveway, the brake pedal abnormally traveled to the floorboard and the vehicle did not respond. As a result, the contact reversed and crashed into a tree. There were no injuries. The vehicle was towed to a mechanic where it was discovered that all of the brakes lines were rusted through. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileages were 40,000. Kmj.
The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that while driving 3 mph, the brakes malfunctioned and the contact had to utilize the emergency brake to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an automotive shop where it was diagnosed it that due to corrosion, the brakes had ruptured. The dealer was not contacted nor was the vehicle completely repaired. The failure mileage was 77,000 and the current mileage was 77,050.
Was driving my 2003 Suburban 2500 & went to stop, break pedal went all the way to the floor & truck had trouble stopping. After looking what was the problem saw break fluid all over the underside of truck and on ground. Breaklines have rusted through and have burst. Now need to be replaced.
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.
Break lines rusted out. Breaks gone !.
Experiencing unwanted antilock brake system (abs) activation on my 2003 Suburban particularly at slow speed stops.
On 26oct. 2010 I had a throttle body replace on a 2003 chevy Suburban at a local chevy dealership. A day later my wife and I took the Suburban out to go shopping . I returned tothe parking lot to pull up to the door to load up. As I was ciircling around in the parking lot the engine of the SUV red lined ,this caught me totally off gaurd. I applied the brakes to thi SUV, it did not stopped . The end result was that I hit a light pole in the parking lot. I reported the accident to my insurance company. My in insurance company sent a investigator out to look a the SUV , he started the vehicle and it redlined , he gave me a call and said I had a issue with the throttle body and that it could have been improperly installed or it could have been a manufacture defect. Later on I called the dealership that installed and proformed the work . They said that it was definitely a defected and that they are not responsibile for the acccident. They said that gm was responsible for this accident.
While driving with my family on NY state route 23 east (55 mph zone) toward the intersection of NY state route 32, the traffic light turned yellow. We were about 500 feet away. Steady pressure to the brake pedal was applied as would under a normal circumstance. The pedal suddenly went to the floor. The traffic light was now red at about 200 feet away and we were still traveling about 40 mph. I tried the pedal again, however, it went to the floor. Without a way to stop, we had no choice but to barrel through a red light with cars in both directions. I repeatedly flashed the head lights and held the horn down to avert catastrophe with the traffic. By the grace of god, we hit no one. Over the next half mile, I was able to down shift the automatic transmission and utilize grass on the highway edge to stop the vehicle. Upon exit of the vehicle to check it, there was a steady stream of brake fluid coming from a brake along the frame rail by the driver's side front door leaving a 12 - 16" puddle. The vehicle only has 89,000 mostly highway miles and has always been well cared for. Luckily no one was killed. This never should have happened.
2003 chevy Suburban requiries too much pressure on brake pedal to stop.
The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban 2500. While approaching a stop or slowing down to make turns at low speeds, the abs activates without warning. The contact is unable to safely come to a complete stop. The manufacturer stated that her VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign id number 05v379000 (service brakes, hydraulic: antilock). She will take the vehicle to the dealer for repair. The current and failure mileages were 88,000.
The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban 1500. When approaching a stop sign and depressing the brakes, the anti-lock braking system would engage unnecessarily and the brake pedal would fall to the floorboard. Whenever the failure would occur, the brakes would not engage and the vehicle would fail to stop. The dealer was notified and would offer no assistance. The contact has experienced the failure for approximately two years. The failure mileage was 40,000 and the current mileage was 59,000.
Recall number: 05v379000 summary: certain pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles may experience unwanted antilock brake system (abs) activation. This condition is more likely to occur in environmentally corrosive areas. This recall will be launched in the "salt belt" states of connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, maryland, massachusetts, maine, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin and the district of columbia only. My 2003 Suburban experienced the same exact defect when my wife was driving to work and almost ran out into a busy intersection because of low speed abs activation. Immediately I took the car in to have it looked at, that cost me over $500 to fix. The problem resulted from excessive corrosion because I live in one of the listed snowbelt states. Chevrolet would not assist, acknowledge or help me resolve or fix this issue. I also had to replace the hydo valves discs and rotors all costing me close to $1000. I feel that the 2003 Suburban should be added on the recall list mentioned above because the same exact thing happened to my Suburban. Thank god my wife and know one else was hurt!.
Doing normal braking, the consumer experienced a soft pedal application which caused extended stopping distance. The dealer has inspected the vehicle and a manufacturer service rep. Both informed the consumer that was the normal characteristic of that vehicle.