IllustrationCOMMON SPEEDOMETER PROBLEM ON MY 2003 SUBURBAN (79K MILES). GAUGE READS ERRATIC INCORRECT SPEEDS. PULLING THE IPC/DIC FUSE RESETS THE GAUGE TEMPORARILY. MANY, MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS ISSUE CAN BE FOUND, YET NO RECALL HAS BEEN ISSUED. *TR
2003 Chevrolet Suburban 1500
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most Suburban 1500 years
Owner complaints for the 2003 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 are substantially higher than the model-year median of 53.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Suburban 1500 years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
40–25K
1825–50K
3450–75K
3375–100K
37100–150K
25150K+
151 reports with mileage · 24 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Electrical System. Review the 60 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes. Review the 42 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 18 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
6 crash reports1 fire reports3 injury reports
What owners actually said
175 reportsSPEEDOMETER READS 120 WHEN STOPPED. WORKS WHEN IT WANTS, BUT RIGHT NOW THE SPEEDO IS BURIED AS FAR AS IT CAN GO. DEALER WANTS $500.00 TO FIX WHEN THEY KNOW THE STEPPER MOTORS ARE BAD. VERY UNSAFE!!! *TR
SPEEDOMETER DEFECTIVE, JERKY BEHAVIOR, INCORRECT SPEED DISPLAYED, NOT RETURNING TO ZERO WHEN CAR IS STATIONARY. *TR
DEFECTIVE FUEL LEVEL SENSOR PROVIDES ERRONEOUS DATA TO FUEL GAUGE RESULTING IN GAUGE SHOWING MORE FUEL AVAILABLE THAN ACTUALLY IN THE TANK. HAZARD OF LEAVING MOTORISTS STRANDED IN REMOTE OR UNSAFE LOCATIONS/CONDITIONS, OR OF RUNNING OUT OF FUEL DURING VEHICLE OPERATION. CHEVROLET HAS IDENTIFIED THE PROBLEM AS A FAULTY FUEL L…
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DEFECTIVE FUEL LEVEL SENSOR PROVIDES ERRONEOUS DATA TO FUEL GAUGE RESULTING IN GAUGE SHOWING MORE FUEL AVAILABLE THAN ACTUALLY IN THE TANK. HAZARD OF LEAVING MOTORISTS STRANDED IN REMOTE OR UNSAFE LOCATIONS/CONDITIONS, OR OF RUNNING OUT OF FUEL DURING VEHICLE OPERATION. CHEVROLET HAS IDENTIFIED THE PROBLEM AS A FAULTY FUEL LEVEL SENSOR/FUEL STRAINER AND DOCUMENTED THE PROBLEM BY CORPORATE BULLETIN 04-06-04-012C BUT IS NOT OFFERING REPAIR OF THE PROBLEM FOR OUT OF WARRANTY VEHICLES. *TR
DRIVING 65 MPH ON HIGHWAY, SPEEDOMETER CREEPS UP TO 90 MPH. WHEN I STOP IT STAYS AT 30 MPH, THEN CREEPS UP TO 90 AGAIN. ALSO OIL GAUGE IS PEGGED ALL THE WAY TO THE RIGHT. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN 1500. WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED, THE SPEEDOMETER WOULD DISPLAY INACCURATE READINGS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THIS WAS AN INTERMITTENT FAILURE. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE MOTORS INSIDE THE SPEEDOMETER FAILED. AS OF OCTOBER 30, 2007, THE DEALER HAD NOT REPAIRED THE VEHICLE. THE FA…
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TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN 1500. WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED, THE SPEEDOMETER WOULD DISPLAY INACCURATE READINGS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THIS WAS AN INTERMITTENT FAILURE. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE MOTORS INSIDE THE SPEEDOMETER FAILED. AS OF OCTOBER 30, 2007, THE DEALER HAD NOT REPAIRED THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 35,000 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 49,000.
SPEEDOMETER CLICKING, STICKING. THIS HAPPENED WITHOUT ANY WARNING. STARTED ACTING ERRATIC. STOPPED VEHICLE AND SPEEDOMETER SHOWED 80 MPH. STARTED DRIVING SLOWLY AND REGISTERED 110 MPH. THROUGH RESEARCH ON INTERNET FOUND MANY HAD SAME ISSUE. CAN TURN OFF ENGINE AND RESTART MULTIPLE TIMES TO GET SPEEDOMETER BACK TO ZERO, HOWEVER, …
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SPEEDOMETER CLICKING, STICKING. THIS HAPPENED WITHOUT ANY WARNING. STARTED ACTING ERRATIC. STOPPED VEHICLE AND SPEEDOMETER SHOWED 80 MPH. STARTED DRIVING SLOWLY AND REGISTERED 110 MPH. THROUGH RESEARCH ON INTERNET FOUND MANY HAD SAME ISSUE. CAN TURN OFF ENGINE AND RESTART MULTIPLE TIMES TO GET SPEEDOMETER BACK TO ZERO, HOWEVER, WITHIN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME IT IS STUCK BACK ON A HIGHER SPEED WHEN STOPPED. CANNOT TELL WHAT THE CORRECT SPEED OF THE VEHICLE DUE TO THIS PROBLEM. *JB
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN 1500. WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH, ONE OF THE TIRES FLATTENED. THE CONTACT WAS UNABLE TO USE THE SPARE TIRE BECAUSE THE TIRE RELEASE CABLE LATCH WAS RUSTED AND IMPOSSIBLE TO REMOVE. HE WALKED TO A GAS STATION AND HAD THE FLAT TIRE REPAIRED. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THE VE…
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TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN 1500. WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH, ONE OF THE TIRES FLATTENED. THE CONTACT WAS UNABLE TO USE THE SPARE TIRE BECAUSE THE TIRE RELEASE CABLE LATCH WAS RUSTED AND IMPOSSIBLE TO REMOVE. HE WALKED TO A GAS STATION AND HAD THE FLAT TIRE REPAIRED. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS TEN MONTHS OVER ITS WARRANTY. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 32,200. *UPDATED 12/12/07 *BF
SPEEDOMETER STUCK WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEED HOME FROM WISCONSIN AND KEEPS GOING UP UNTIL IT TOPS OUT AROUND 140 MPH. SPEEDOMETER DOES NOT GO DOWN WHEN DECELERATING. WHEN SHUT OFF NEEDLE RETURNS TO ABOUT 70 MPH AND DOES THE SAME THING. CANNOT DETERMINE WHAT SPEED VEHICLE IS TRAVELING. *JB
I HAD TO HAVE ALL 4 ROTORS REPLACED AT 40,000 MILES. THEY WERE FULL OF RUST AND DOWN TO THE METAL. MOST OF MY MILES ARE HIGHWAY AND THIS REPAIR WAS EXPENSIVE.
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.