2003 Chevrolet Silverado 2500: sudden loss of power

Filed Apr 29, 2017 · Electrical · TX

Gauge cluster malfunction reduced engine power

Filed Dec 8, 2016 · Engine · 178,000 miles · FL

The vehicle goes into reduced engine power while driving. The engine loses power to about 20 MPH. If driving 70 MPH it is very dangerous because the sudden reduced engine power will cause a severe accident and possibly kill somebody. This has been happening the last few months.

Filed Feb 23, 2016 · Airbags, Engine · 196,000 miles · NY · crash · 1 injury

Tl* the contact owned a 2003 chevrolet silverado 2500. While driving 25 MPH, the contact made a left turn and the reduced engine power light illuminated. The steering failed and the vehicle crashed into a tree. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was destroyed. The contact suffered nerve pain in the back and legs from the impact of the crash. Medical attention was not received. A police report was filed and the vehicle was towed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 196,000.

Filed Jan 13, 2016 · Driver assistance · NY

With my 03 chevy silvarado 2500 hd this reduced power engine light comes on.shuts the vehicle off to 30 MPH.this happens on a regular basis.does not matter where your driving.especially on a highway.the truck will jerk one way or the other then u have no speed no control for a little bit .very dangerous.have to pull over when you gain control shut the truck off.then wait about a couple minutes then start the truck and off il go.happen about 5-6 times a day now.this problem can not be fixed,even if you go to a dealer they will replace all the sensors for the throttle you will spend a small fortune and the problem still persists.this is a serious problem and a very dangerous problem and happens to many of these trucks.look it up on youtube or google it.im very surprised not to see this on the complaint board.please if you have this problem post it so it can be recalled.I travel with my dog all the time and if something happens to him it would be very traumatic to me.what if you have children or guests in your truck.its wrong that this issue is not being addressed.I have complained to this company and also to chevrolet to no avail.im worried someone has to be hurt bad or killed to have this matter taken seriously.wow the truck has a recall for the tailgate wires.the bumpers are crapp and rusty junk but no recall there as well.please take this serious and all complain about it cause this is very dangerous.I hate this and I refuse to spend money on some defect in the electrical system.this needs to be recalled an absolute must.I know im not the only one so please post your complaints about this reduced engine power light that randomly comes on without warning.I know you would not want to be towing with this problem.also you will not be able to resell this vehicle honestly.you will have to lie to someone and if they get hurt or you get sued that will not be good.

Filed Oct 5, 2015 · Electrical, Engine · 195,000 miles · NY

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet silverado 2500. While driving 40 MPH, the reduced engine power light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle stalled in the middle of the highway, but the contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed, but not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 195,000.

Filed Jan 6, 2015 · Transmission · 109,000 miles · NV

On november 17, 2014, I was stopped in the middle lane of a highway waiting to pull into business parking lot, when I accelerated to pull in, my truck moved forward and then would only rev up the RPM's, almost getting hit by on coming traffic on the highway, I coasted in the parking lot, as the RPM's were still up, the transmission engaged and the truck moved forward with a loud thump. Local dealership replaced a part ($900) and sent me on my way. On december 27, 2014 while driving away from my house, once again the engine would rev up and the truck just coasted until it engaged causing a loud thump. I called and left message with service writer. On january 02, 2015, I was with 1/2 mile of my house and truck would not shift, I was able to turn around and drive back to the house at a very low speed keeping the RPM's low. Truck is currently at local dealership waiting for my approval to replace transfer case which has a pin hole in it and some other parts for $3100. I realize that problems can happen with any manufacture, however this gm issue with a pinhole in the transfer case that is caused by an internal part that breaks and drivers losing power to the drive train is a regular occurrence. I found many forums and solutions on the internet and one on the federal safety agency. After market parts have been developed to replace the cheap parts within the transfer case to prevent this from happening, unfortunately I did not research this issue prior to having the issue. In addition, I called a local repair shop to get an estimate for the transfer case replacement, I was told they repaired three in the last two weeks and two are in the shop for the same problem. Loss of power to the drive train is not something to ignore, from personal vehicles to public safety vehicles, this power loss could turn into something much larger than some atf stain in the driveway. Thank you

Filed Jun 8, 2014 · Electrical, Fuel system · 131,000 miles · IN

When driving the truck whether on a regular street or at high speeds on the highway, the engine suddenly either dies, reduces down to idle speed or idles very roughly. The reduced power signal comes on, along with the engine light. This has happened to us, several times while driving on the highway and on regular streets. We were extremely lucky not to have been killed. I researched this and found that many owners of the 2003 chevy silverado 2500hd had the same problem. We spent a lot of money at penske chevrolet, and according to them, they don't know how to fix it. We bought the truck in 8/2013, without any warranty and this problem was not disclosed to us. Since 12/2013, the problem has become more frequent and now we don't drive the vehicle because it is just too dangerous. There has to be some way to fix this problem and the chevrolet company has to know about this because there are so many complaints out there.

Filed Jan 18, 2014 · Acceleration, Engine · NY

While driving, the check engine light comes on and "reduced engine power" is illuminated on the dash. Stepping on the gas does nothing. The vehicle just coasts along and runs rough. I have to pull over and shut it off for a few seconds. Sometimes it doesn't clear the problem right away and needs to be restarted several times. There is no rhyme or reason as to when this happens. It happens almost every day, on busy expressways or on main roads and side roads. The gas pedal loses communication with the throttle body. This is nerve wracking when driving 65 MPH on the expressway and all of a sudden the vehicle wont respond to stepping on the gas pedal. Trying to get over several lanes to the side of the road is dangerous when there is no acceleration. It is also bad when on a busy, main road, the vehicle "acts up". I have to pull over, blocking traffic, until I can get it going again.

Filed Jun 28, 2010 · Acceleration · 110,000 miles · CT

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet silverado 2500 heavy duty. While attempting to accelerate from a traffic stop, the accelerator pedal fell into the floorboard much farther than normal however; the vehicle would not accelerate over 25 MPH. The reduced power warning light was illuminated and the contact moved the vehicle off the roadway. The contact shut off and restarted the vehicle. The vehicle resumed normal operation. The failure recurred two additional times. The dealer re-routed the inside engine harness yet the failure continued to recur intermittently. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where they performed an engine relearn service. The failure persisted. The failure mileage was 110,000 and the current mileage was 117,000.

Filed Jun 25, 2009 · Electrical · 147,000 miles · PA

The 2003 chevrolet silverado 2500 hd "reduced engine power" displays on the dash. This causes the vehicle to lose power at any time. This happened back in february, took it into the dealership for service, and they replaced the throttle body housing. I was driving the vehicle after the housing was replaced, and lost power 2 more times before I could get it in for service. Took it back to the dealer, and they replaced the electronic throttle component. I received the message 2 more times. Took the truck back, and they replaced the computer. Same problem. The truck is at the dealer now.

Filed Apr 8, 2009 · Electrical · 82,000 miles · KY

Instrument cluster suddenly losing power and going off and on. Research on recall states recall is only good up to 70,000 miles and 2003 chevy 2500hd has 82,000 miles on it.

Filed Mar 30, 2009 · Brakes · 200 miles · NY

On my 2003 chevy silverado 2500hd with vortec 8100 (496 in3) engine, the power steering pump also acts as the power source for the brake booster (I believe). Thus, many times when I have my foot on the brake there's a partial loss of power steering. In order to fully regain the power steering, I have to let my foot up off the brake pedal. This power-steering-pump-as-brake-booster set-up is unique to this engine. So far, I have been able to get by without experiencing a critical situation. The loss of power steering was worse before I replaced the serpentine belt two years ago (<10,000 miles). I had goodyear install a high-quality belt they manufacture themselves. Cold weather start-up conditions are the worse; thus in cold weather I prefer to let the engine warm up to eliminate the potential for loss of power steering. I just think that owners of this vehicle (with the 8100 engine) should be fully aware of this problem.