2003 Chevrolet Suburban electrical problems

Filed May 21, 2026 · Electrical · 291,000 miles · MI

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban. It was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a dealer sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 291,000 and at the time of inspection, it was discovered that the odometer was tampered with, and without disclosure of these modifications.

Filed Jul 19, 2024 · Electrical · CO

The cluster of the speedometer

Filed Jan 17, 2017 · Electrical · 225,000 miles · GA

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet suburban. At various times, the ignition switch failed and all the warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 225,000.

Filed Dec 7, 2016 · Electrical · 85,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet suburban. The contact stated the instrument cluster inadvertently disabled. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the instrument cluster needed to be replaced, but was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure the failure mileage was 85,000. Updated 02/14/17*lj consumer stated techometer, oil pressure gauge. Gear indicator lights offer lights stopped working. Updated 7/16/18

Filed Oct 18, 2016 · Electrical · 178,000 miles · FL

Saturday, I was driving approximately 45 to 50 MPH on a split two lane road to pick up my grandchildren and all of a sudden my instrument panel stopped working. All gauges went to 0. There was no digital readings either. It just went dead. Pulled over and turned the vehicle off and back on, nothing changed. Plugged my garmin GPS in for my speed guide and filled my gas tank so I knew that it was full. Called mechanic to bring vehicle in for him to check out on tuesday. Tuesday, (today) on my way to work, driving on 4 lane interstate, 60 to 70 MPH, all of a sudden, all of the gauges and digital readings came on and began working correctly. I still took my vehicle to the mechanic, he stated that he will look at it and call me later. I depend on my car, just like everyone else. I can not just go out and buy a new one every time something goes wrong. I pray that this does not cause an accident. I transport my grandchildren and worry about their safety. I am a safety director and safety is very passionate to me. There must be something that can be done about this issue. I love my suburban and plan on purchasing another one some day. It has always been a very dependable vehicle but this issue has me spooked.

Filed Jul 17, 2016 · Electrical, Engine · 149,000 miles · AR

Vehicle suddenly started going into reduced power mode and providing an error code indicating a problem with the throttle control sensor. From the hundreds of online posts (some by gm mechanics) this is an ongoing problem with many 2003-2008 trucks and suvs made by gm. When I began trying to repair this problem myself, I found out from my local chevy parts department that "they can not keep these throttle control assemblies in stock because we are replacing so many of them..." there seems to be a know problem that gm is not adequately being proactive about. This happens while driving highway, local streets and at startup. This becomes a serious safety issue when the vehicle goes into reduced power mode while the vehicle is in traffic.

Filed Jul 27, 2015 · Electrical · 76,731 miles · NE

All gauges in instrument cluster went low or no reading, including speedometer, fuel, tachometer, temp. The repair was done at willie's auto repair inc.at 901 s. Cliff ave. In sioux falls, sd. The gm remanufactured instrument cluster part was $453 and labor was $126, with tax the total cost of the repair was $613 which gm should be paying for !! I know several people at work that have had to have this done to their gm trucks and tahoes, suburbans. This is so widespread there should be a class action suit !! You know the component they replace can't be much on a board in these "remanufactured clusters" gm needs to replace these at their expense !!!

Filed Jul 22, 2015 · Electrical · 75,000 miles · WA

The rear lift tailgate and window will not unlock when using the remote key button, or when using the unlock button on the drivers door arm rest. There is no manual key lock for the rear lift tailgate or window, nor any inside button to manually unlock the tailgate. When sleeping in the rear of the suburban you have do way to exit the car except by climbing over seats and exiting using the front doors. Driving the car and stopping to try to unlock the rear lift gate will eventually allow you to unlock the tailgate, some times after many tries. Also it some times will unlock when alternating between the driver door unlock button and the remote unlock button. This could be a dangerous problem . This failure of the rear tailgate is a common problem with suburbans. This link provides more information on this problem: " http://www.chefseattle.com/blog/site-news/suburban-rear-liftgate-wont-unlock-how-to-fix/ "

Filed Mar 10, 2015 · Electrical · 125,000 miles · NJ

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet suburban. While driving at 50 MPH, the gauges on the instrument panel failed. A month later, the failure recurred and all the meters, gauges, and warning lights on the instrument cluster panel failed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 125,000.

Filed Jan 8, 2015 · Electrical, Lights · 152,000 miles · MD · fire

I am a teacher and got a call in my classroom that my suburban was on fire parked in the parking lot. The fire department was called and when I got outside, sure enough there was smoke all in the suburban and smoke coming from the roof of the vehicle (not the hood). When the fire department arrived, they entered the vehicle, disconnected the battery, and proceeded to tear out my rear headliner to extinguish the electrical fire that was occurring. My insurance company had the vehicle towed and it was deemed reparable, which I was not too happy about seeing as we don't really know the cause of the fire beyond electrical. The fire originated near the rear dome light and burned the headliner and melted the paint off the roof the vehicle. The location of the fire was not a in a place where any mechanic could check to have prevented this from occurring and I am concerned about the safety of the vehicle moving forward. I am not in a financial position to afford a new suburban and do love mine, but am now just concerned. I am thankful no one was in the vehicle and that no one was hurt.. But had a parent dropping a kid off to school not noticed the smoke coming off the roof of my car in the parking lot, things could have been much worse. I had also just filled my tank up the day before so the car was sitting with 30 gallons of gasoline in it. I am also thankful that I was not trying to scramble to get my 4 kids out of the car (and yes we do use the 3rd row seat daily). I think this incident needs to be looked at to prevent any other owner of a 2003 suburban from having a similar experience. There were no recalls on my vehicle that would have lead to this issue.