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2003 Chevrolet Suburban electrical complaints

Page 3 of 4: complaints 41 to 70 of 81, newest first, as owners wrote them.

See the summary of 2003 Chevrolet Suburban electrical problems: which part fails, at what mileage and related recalls.

Filed Jan 12, 2008 · Electrical · 50,000 miles · CO

The instrument panel on my 2003 chevrolet suburban does not accurately display speed. The needle either sticks or jumps around or just doesn't display speed accurately. This has created a situation wherein I do not ever know my actual speed creating a safety hazard for the occupants of my vehicle and others on the road. Gm is apparently aware of the problem and is fixing those vehicles with less than 70,000 miles, but mine has greater mileage and they have refused to correct my problem. I think they should be compelled to correct this safety defect that they obviously agree exists.

Filed Jan 3, 2008 · Electrical · 71,000 miles · OH

Speedometer randomly goes 5 to 50 miles faster than actual speed of the car. I checked it with a GPS--if it goes off speed, it has read as high as 40 MPH at a standstill and as high as 120 MPH at 70 MPH.

Filed Jan 2, 2008 · Electrical · MD

I had the same problem like others with the speedometer in my 2003 suburban. Early 2007, I had less then 70k on it and when I contacted the dealer, there was no recall. The fix was about $500. Now (2008), gm says they will fix it if the truck has less than 70k. How convenient?! Gm waited until more cars are above 70k and then decides to recall it. Where is the federal safety agency? This problem has been reported for years.

Filed Dec 25, 2007 · Electrical · 48,000 miles · CA

I almost got hit by another driver because of the problem with the speedometer on my 2003 suburban z71 the speedometer read now when is park from 35 miles to 75 miles and when im driving sometimes it reads 0 or 120 miles doesn't work how is supposed to.

Filed Nov 27, 2007 · Electrical · GA

Speedometer sticks cant ever tell what speed I am traveling at. This seems to be a common problem why wont they recall them!

Filed Nov 17, 2007 · Electrical · KS

I have a 2003 chevrolet suburban with the instrument panel acting erratic. It states that I have 0 oil pressure and that I am doing 100 MPH when I am actually doing 40 MPH. The tachometer is sticking at 2.1 RPM. I have searched the internet for solutions and have ran into thousands of posting the same problems with gm vehicles. Who should I send all of my speeding tickets to?

Filed Oct 25, 2007 · Electrical · 80,000 miles · TN

Speedometer failure. The speedometer on my 2003 chevrolet suburban does not register the correct speed. It either does not move at all or randomly jumps from 0 to 120 or off the register and then may get stuck in any position for lengthy periods of time.

Filed Sep 10, 2007 · Brakes, Electrical · 1 miles · MO

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet suburban. The same day the vehicle was purchased, the contact attempted to apply the parking brake and the vehicle rolled forward. The vehicle has been to the repair shop three times and each time the mechanic stated that everything was fine. The emergency brake has not worked since the vehicle was purchased. The current mileage was 62,000 and failure mileage was 1. The consumer stated the sunroof leaked, a blown fuse was replaced. The temperature gauge in the rear view mirror was inoperative, the dealer tightened the connection, there was a rattle coming from thee left side of the vehicle when going over bumps in the road. Updated 10/24/07.

Filed Aug 11, 2007 · Electrical · 95,000 miles · IL

Without warning my speedometer constantly says I am going 120/hr. This seems to be an important instrument to drive your suburban. To repair this instrument runs approximately $600.00 and from my understanding there have been thousands of suburbans that have encountered this problem.

Filed Aug 1, 2007 · Electrical · 40,000 miles · FL

2003 suburban z71 speedometer fails to read properly. Usually shows slower than actual speed.

Filed Jul 6, 2007 · Electrical · IL

My speedometer on my chevy suburban is malfunctioning. I can't tell how fast I am really going - pretty dangerous if you ask me!

Filed Mar 28, 2007 · Electrical, Seats · 55,000 miles · AL

The 2003 chevy suburban has an intermittent, recurring issue with the cluster that causes it to short out. There are many examples of this problem from other customers listed on the internet. In my personal experience, this problem results in electronic failures that present themselves in these ways: 1) the speedometer either fails to operate or displays the max speed. 2) when turning off the vehicle, the radio will automatically turn on and begin playing as your exiting the vehicle 3) when placing the key in the ignition, the automatic seat will begin moving by itself, does not remember the previous settings and will force you into the steering wheel. I could not stop the seat from jamming me into the steering wheel. When I contacted the dealership, they knew exactly what the problem was without even looking at the car. The reason they know about it is because they have replaced so many of them already. When I contacted gm, all they would do is offer me a one time service of $200 which would not apply to fixing the faulty cluster.

Filed Mar 2, 2007 · Electrical · TX

Speedometer sticks intermittently while driving. Vehicle is a 2003 chevy suburban z71. Internet search finds that this is a common occurrence with these vehicles. Can not accurately adjust speed for safe driving which results in a hazard to other drivers.

Filed Mar 2, 2007 · Electrical · 81,000 miles · WA

I have a 2003 chevrolet tahoe that had a speedometer failure. The dealer charged me $500 to replace it. I noticed on the news that this is a wide spread problem. This is safety related and it should be a recall. Http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/nw_030107wabspeedometersuitsw.b8bbb09.html lawsuit claims gm uses faulty speedometers.

Filed Feb 26, 2007 · Electrical · 58,526 miles · MI

Speedometer in the instrument cluster failed on my suburban z71 model year 2003 with 59,611 miles. Speedometer readings ranged from 0 MPH to 120 MPH. I had to use a GPS to regulate vehicle speed until the truck could be repaired. I had the instrument cluster remove and repair on february 12, 2007 by dealer at a cost of $448.89 and only a 1 year guarantee on the replacement cluster. The dealer has indicated that this is a common problem with the vehicle.

Filed Feb 13, 2007 · Electrical · 50,000 miles · CO

Speedometer head catastrophically failed. It was bouncing all around reading 0 then 120 MPH. I had my wife immediately drop it off at the service vendor closest to her (not chevy ). They analyzed the problem and determined that the speedometer head was faulty. I called the service manager at fischer chevrolet in boulder and confirmed the diagnosis. I asked the service manager if they had seen others like this from this year. He said he had seen a larger number of failures of this type. I asked the price for replacement. He said it would be nearly twice that of the 3rd party service company. I chose to have it fixed and submit the complaint to chevy/gm

Filed Feb 2, 2007 · Electrical, Steering · TX

The fuel gauge quit first, then the speedometer. There is a knocking sound in the steering column when a turn is made.

Filed Jan 24, 2007 · Electrical · 79,900 miles · IN

2003 chevrolet suburban. Speedometer is sometimes jerky, and will read higher speeds than what is actually being done. This isn't the typical small error that most have, this is a substantial amount. Then, when coming to a full stop, the speedometer will stay stuck at a certain speed, and only read from there on out, making that MPH the amount over being read.

Filed Jan 12, 2007 · Electrical · 63,500 miles · CO

Speedometer failure.

Filed Dec 12, 2006 · Electrical · 46,500 miles · TX

I have a 2003 chevy suburban with 46,000 miles and the speedometer not working. I called the dealer and he said it is a common problem but I am still going to have to pay to fix it. The speedometer was reading 120 miles per hour and I was going less than 50 miles per hour. I researched this problem on the internet and I found hundreds of other people with the same problem in tahoes and silverados.

Filed Dec 8, 2006 · Electrical · 85,000 miles · IL

2003 chevy suburban, while driving steady @ at approximately 65 MPH, speedometer became erratic, indicating 0 MPH; slowed to 55 and exited highway. Shut engine off and speedometer went to 55 MPH and remained. Stared engine and indicator went to 30 MPH. All other indications and gauges seemed to indicate normal.

Filed Oct 27, 2006 · Electrical · 25,000 miles · HI

2003 chevrolet suburban. Speedometer worked erratically and now it just sits on 0 regardless of the speed being travelled. Started at around 25,000 miles. Complaint seems to be common among other gm SUV owners. Requesting pressure to be put on gm to declare a recall.

Filed Sep 30, 2006 · Acceleration, Electrical · 62,000 miles · CA

Speedometer quits registering speed of vehicle at times, the odometer continues to work. Next time driving vehicle speedometer works. Dealer said this is a very common occurrence and eventually the speedometer will quit and I will have to buy a new one. I do feel that a non working speedometer is a safety issue.

Filed Sep 6, 2006 · Electrical, Locks · 14,000 miles · MD

Dt*: the contact stated the vehicle had keyless entry and the power supply failed, which resulted in no way to get in or out of the vehicle. The contact expressed concern that if someone was to be inside the vehicle when the power supply failed, they would not be able to exit the vehicle and could cause a life threatening concern.

Filed Jan 28, 2006 · Electrical · 42,000 miles · TN

My wife drives a chevrolet tahoe 2003 ls with about 48 000 miles on it. Recently I was driving on the interstate and noticed the speedometer was showing 90 MPH. I looked at other cars around me and decided may be I was going a little fast. So I slowed down a bit. The speedometer went up to 100. After I pulling over and stopped it went down slowly after I stopped. During the next week, the speedometer continued to increase and eventually stuck at the highest speed. So I made some calls to various dealers , and was told that several people have had this problem, and that it was going to cost $500 to fix the instrument cluster. I think this is a safety issue and want to notify chevrolet. I think this is their problem. I don't want to pay for this one. Yesterday evening, the speedometer appeared to be working again. This time I've noticed it will track on the right speed and then have to come to a complete stop to sort of reset it.

Filed Jan 27, 2006 · Electrical · 53,000 miles · CA

Dt*: the contact stated the vehicle looses power intermittently. The first time this occurred, the dealership determined a rodent had chewed through the wires. The wires were replaced. The second time this occurred, the dealership determined a clip was loose. The third time, the battery had just been charged and after driving for 40 minutes the vehicle lost all power. The vehicle would not restart, so it was jumped. The vehicle lost power again and would only travel at 10-15 MPH. The vehicle was towed to the dealership. The dealership checked the battery and alternator, but determined both components were in good condition. The dealership was unable to duplicate the problem and no codes were present.

Filed Jan 2, 2006 · Electrical · CA

Positive battery cable completely eroded from side post.

Filed Dec 19, 2005 · Electrical · VA

Speedometer gauge stopped working. Would register as going 20 MPH or even up to 80 MPH when parked. Occasionally would appear to track then would register significantly too high or too low (usually too high). Dropped off at dealer & told it needed instrument panel cluster replacement but was on back order nationwide. Called gm customer assistance who confirmed with the dealer that it is a "high failure item". Initial attempt at replacing. Same as other complaints that I have read. I was also told that the replacement of this is expensive.

Filed Dec 14, 2005 · Electrical · 50,900 miles · ID

Speedometer gauge stopped working. Would register as going 20 MPH or even up to 80 MPH when parked. Occasionally would appear to track then would register significantly too high or too low (usually too high). Dropped off at dealer & told it needed instrument panel cluster replacement but was on back order nationwide. Called gm customer assistance who confirmed with the dealer that it is a "high failure item". Initial attempt at replacing ipc failed, still awaiting another new part & hoping to get vehicle back soon.

Filed Nov 29, 2005 · Acceleration, Electrical · CA

Dt: contact stated while driving the speedometer malfunctioned, and at different speeds it stuck. This occurred more frequently when it was hot outside or when the cluster panel heated up.

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