Front suspension issues, electrical gauges, replacement of fuel tank pump, door latches failing to open on sliding side door making exiting of vehicle impossible, recall of 02v328000 unable to be confirmed as handled by any dealers.
2003 Chevrolet Astro: doors won't lock, open or latch
5 of the 62 complaints about the 2003 Chevrolet Astro describe doors won't lock, open or latch.
- owner complaints
- 5
- of this car's complaints
- 8%
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
Doors won't lock, open or latch by model year
What owners say
2003 chevrolet astro van. Consumer states the steering knuckle/arm is designed in a way that causes it to come into contact with a wiring harness when the vehicle is turned to the left *tgw over a period of time, the constant contact damaged the wiring harness and allowed the steering knuckle/arm to touch the wires inside the wiring harness. The end result caused damage to other wires. The consumer stated the problem started in february 2011 when making a left turn would sometimes cause the radio and the AC to die. The ABS light and brake light would also come on and the brake pedal would sink to the floor. The dealer was unable to duplicate the problem. Two weeks ago, while pulling out of a parking space, everything died. The engine would not restart and nothing electrical worked. The consumer was unable to exit the vehicle and there was a smell of burning wires. The consumer was finally able to manually push up the door locks to exit the vehicle. *jb the consumer stated he discovered a tsb and found the steering knuckle was not the source of the problem, but the battery cable retaining clips were not properly secured in their retaining holes in the engine cradle frame below the engine oil pan. As a result, the battery cable made contact with the steering linkage components and rubbed through the insulation on the cable. Updated 06/01/11
Potentially dangerous defect in the 2003 chevrolet astro van. The steering knuckle/arm is designed in a way that causes it to come into contact with a wiring harness when the vehicle is turned sharply to the left. Over a period of time, this constant contact damages the wiring harness and allows the steering knuckle/arm to touch the wires inside the wiring harness. The wiring harness is connected directly to the battery so the end result is damage to other wires also sheathed in that wiring harness. Two weeks ago, while pulling out of a grocery store parking space, everything died. The engine would not re-start and nothing electrical worked, from the door locks to the radio. Everything was dead. We could smell burning wires and tried to get out of the vehicle. Because the doors were locked we could not get them open. We had to manually push up our door locks; each of us pushing up the lock of our own door, so that we could get out of the vehicle. Since then when the problem occurred, additional issue was that the ABS light and brake light would come on and the brake pedal would sink to the floor. We came close to rear-ending someone several times. On april 23, 2011, we showed the damaged wiring harness to the mechanic at the chevrolet dealership. Within two hours, we received a call to let us know the electronic control module (ECM) and the anti-lock brake (ABS) module had been damaged. Both had to be replaced at a cost of over $2,100. We contacted general motors customer service this morning. Their response was that they considered this issue to be caused by ?normal wear, based upon the age of the vehicle.? We disagree with their findings. Concern is that this defect can cause damage to important safety items, such as the brakes and door locks. The area of the wiring harness that is coming into contact with the steering knuckle/arm should either be moved or better protected. We don't want other drivers injured.
Dutch door locking mechinism failed at about 10000 miles. It was always hard to get the lock to engage on the right side of the hatch. It has now failed again and it will not unlock preventing us from using the cargo area behind the back seat.*ak this is the second occurance of the lock failing
Sliding door will not lock open. Can be pushed closed from the locked open posiiton with one finger. On a slight decline the door will unlatch, and slam shut.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2003 Chevrolet Astro door locks
Is doors won't lock, open or latch a common problem on the 2003 Chevrolet Astro?
5 of 62 owner complaints about the 2003 Chevrolet Astro (8%) mention doors won't lock, open or latch. The model year with the most reports is 1999.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2003 Chevrolet Astro?
There is no recall or service bulletin for this area of the car on record.
Other symptoms on the 2003 Chevrolet Astro
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