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2003 GMC Sierra 1500

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2003 GMC Sierra 1500 do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 181.

About this comparison →

How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

Compare all Sierra 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

162 reports with mileage · 18 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.

  • Service Brakes. Review the 55 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 50 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 43 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

13 crash reports4 fire reports6 injury reports

Structure complaints

4 reports
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100,000 miles · Mar 19, 2014
Service BrakesStructureCrashInjury

WHILE SLOWING DOWN FOR A LIGHT ON A 4 LANE HIGHWAY MY BRAKE LINES BURST IN TWO PLACES FAILED FROM BEING WEAKEN BY RUST....I HAD NO CHANCE TO STOP OR ADVERT THE CAR AND CRASHED INTO AND TOTALED A NEW BUICK.....THE DRIVER WAS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL...THE FRONT OF MY TRUCK NEED REPAIR....GM MADE THE LINES OUT OF STEEL EVEN THOUGHT T…

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WHILE SLOWING DOWN FOR A LIGHT ON A 4 LANE HIGHWAY MY BRAKE LINES BURST IN TWO PLACES FAILED FROM BEING WEAKEN BY RUST....I HAD NO CHANCE TO STOP OR ADVERT THE CAR AND CRASHED INTO AND TOTALED A NEW BUICK.....THE DRIVER WAS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL...THE FRONT OF MY TRUCK NEED REPAIR....GM MADE THE LINES OUT OF STEEL EVEN THOUGHT THE EXHAUST SYSTEM AND FUEL LINE WERE MADE OUT OF RUST RESISTANT MATERIAL ( GO FIGURE)....I HAVE MY TRUCK SERVICED AT THE LOCAL GM DEALERS AND THEY NEVER MENTIONED THE POTENTIAL HAZARD....WHEN SEARCHING THE INTERNET I FOUND THAT MANY OTHER OWNERS HAD THE SAME EXPERIENCE.....I HAD ALSO BEEN ON THE LOCAL AND NATIONAL NEWS YET GM BUT THEY NEVER ADVISE ME OF THIS CONDITION, AND I'M THE ORIGINAL OWNER....UNDER DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES IT COULD OF BEEN MUCH WORSE...MY INSURANCE WENT UP 1000.00 AND THE AGENT SAID THE BREAK LINES ON HER GM TRUCK HAD JUST BURST AND CRASHED IN A DITCH...PEOPLE ARE DRIVING THEIR CARS LONGER AND THERES GOING TO BE A BAD ACCIDENT...I SEE ON THE NET YOUR DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN INVESTIGATING IT FOR SEVERAL YEARS, YET NO ACTION....YOU COULD AT THE VERY LEAST ADVISE OWNERS OF THE DANGER....I FILED A CLAIM WITH GM FOR HELP IN THIS MATTER AND WAS DENIED BECAUSE I ALREADY HAD THE BRAKE LINED REPAIRED.... *TR

NHTSA ODI #10573404

Mileage unknown · Sep 26, 2011
SteeringStructure

I PREVIOUSLY HAD TO HAVE THE POWER STEERING COOLER REPLACED BECAUSE OF LEAKING CORRODED LINES. JUST RECENTLY HAD TO HAVE TRANS COOLER REPLACED BECAUSE OF LEAKING CORRODED LINES. MECHANIC SAID ALL LINES UNDERNEATH (BRAKE, STEERING, ETC) ARE TERRIBLY CORRODED AND WE WILL DEFINITELY PAY ATTENTION TO ALL CORRODED LINES, ETC IN FUTUR…

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I PREVIOUSLY HAD TO HAVE THE POWER STEERING COOLER REPLACED BECAUSE OF LEAKING CORRODED LINES. JUST RECENTLY HAD TO HAVE TRANS COOLER REPLACED BECAUSE OF LEAKING CORRODED LINES. MECHANIC SAID ALL LINES UNDERNEATH (BRAKE, STEERING, ETC) ARE TERRIBLY CORRODED AND WE WILL DEFINITELY PAY ATTENTION TO ALL CORRODED LINES, ETC IN FUTURE OIL CHANGE VISITS. THE UNDERCARRIAGE OF MY TRUCK IS A CORRODED DISASTER. THE ROCKER PANELS ARE GONE. CORRODED RAILER HITCH WAS REPLACED. LUCKILY NOTHING HAS TOTALLY FAILED YET TO CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10427191

Mileage unknown · Jan 4, 2011
Structure

2003 GMC SIERRA 1500 TRUCK. CONSUMER STATES PROBLEMS WITH RUST AND ROT *TGW THE CONSUMER STATED THE DEALER RECTIFIED THE RUST PROBLEMS. *JB

NHTSA ODI #10374439

72,000 miles · Oct 21, 2010
Service Brakes, HydraulicStructure

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 GMC SIERRA 1500. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A STATE INSPECTION STATION WHERE THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED BY THE TECHNICIAN THAT THE BRAKE LINES EXHIBITED SEVERE RUST. THE DEALER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE BUT BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WAS OUTSIDE OF WARRANTY, THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. IN ADDITION, THE CONTA…

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 GMC SIERRA 1500. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A STATE INSPECTION STATION WHERE THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED BY THE TECHNICIAN THAT THE BRAKE LINES EXHIBITED SEVERE RUST. THE DEALER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE BUT BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WAS OUTSIDE OF WARRANTY, THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. IN ADDITION, THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MAIN FRAME ALSO EXHIBITED RUST AND CORROSION. THE CONTACT WAS IN THE PROCESS OF TAKING THE VEHICLE TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR REPAIR. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 72,000.

NHTSA ODI #10361538

Official recalls

1

04V562000 · Equipment Adaptive/mobility

Nov 26, 2004

ON CERTAIN VANS EQUIPPED WITH SURE-LOK WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT SYSTEMS, THE SPROCKET TEETH OF THE RETRACTOR ASSEMBLY IS OUT OF ALIGNMENT.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: IN THE EVENT OF A VEHICLE CRASH, THE WHEELCHAIR MAY NOT BE ADEQUATELY SECURED POSSIBLY RESULTING IN INJURIES TO A WHEELCHAIR OCCUPANT.

Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND REPLACE THE WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT RETRACTORS AS NECESSARY. SURE-LOK WILL HANDLE THE REPAIRS FOR THIS CAMPAIGN. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT SURE-LOCK AT 1-908-231-1804 OR MOBILITYWORKS AT 1-800-769-8267.

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

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.