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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

What owners actually said

180 reports
42,200 miles · Sep 22, 2010
Service Brakes, Hydraulic

WHILE DRIVING HOME FROM WORK, I TRIED TO STOP AT A STOP LIGHT. PUSHED THE BRAKE PEDAL AND IT WENT TO THE FLOOR. GOT IT STOPPED BY USING THE PARKING BRAKE. SERVICE BRAKE LIGHT ON. AFTER PARKING THE TRUCK, NOTICED LIQUID ON DRIVEWAY. TRACED THE LIQUID BACK TO A RUSTED BRAKE LINE. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10357053

106,000 miles · Jul 20, 2010
Service Brakes, Hydraulic

I OWN A 2003 GMC SIERRA 1500 HD. THIS PAST WINTER I ALMOST HIT A SNOW PLOW DUE TO A BRAKE LINE RUPTURE. UPON INSPECTION IT WAS FOUND THAT ALL THE BRAKE LINES WERE SEVERELY RUSTED AND VERY BRITTLE. I HAD THE ONE LINE REPLACE WHICH COST ME NEARLY $300. NO THIS PAST WEEK ANOTHER RUPTURE ALMOST CAUSED ME TO REAR END ANOTHER VEHI…

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I OWN A 2003 GMC SIERRA 1500 HD. THIS PAST WINTER I ALMOST HIT A SNOW PLOW DUE TO A BRAKE LINE RUPTURE. UPON INSPECTION IT WAS FOUND THAT ALL THE BRAKE LINES WERE SEVERELY RUSTED AND VERY BRITTLE. I HAD THE ONE LINE REPLACE WHICH COST ME NEARLY $300. NO THIS PAST WEEK ANOTHER RUPTURE ALMOST CAUSED ME TO REAR END ANOTHER VEHICLE. THIS TIME I'M GOING TO HAVE TO REPLACE EVERY LINE IN THE BRAKING SYSTEM. ALSO THE ABS SYSTEM KICKS IN WHEN TRAVELING AT SLOWER SPEEDS (5-10 MPH). THE CAUSE OF THIS IS UNKNOWN TO ME AT THIS TIME. UPON DOING A LITTLE RESEARCH ONLINE I FIND THAT THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WITH THE SAME MODEL AND NEARLY THE SAME YEAR VEHICLES, HAVING EXACTLY THE SAME PROBLEMS. THEN I FIND ON YOUR SITE WHERE YOU HAVE STARTED AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE PROBLEM. NHTSA ACTION NUMBER: PE10010 THIS TRUCK HAS BEEN VERY WELL TAKEN CARE OF AND THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR THESE LINES TO BE FAULTY IN ONLY 6-7 YEARS TIME. IT'S LIKELY TO COST ME NEARLY A $1,000 TO HAVE ALL OF THESE LINES CHANGED. MY QUESTION IS IF THE NHTSA FINDS GM RESPONSIBLE FOR THESE FAULTY LINES AND THEY ISSUE A RECALL, WILL I BE REIMBURSED FOR HAVING ALREADY PAID FOR THE REPAIR? *TR

NHTSA ODI #10344132

13,312 miles · Jul 17, 2010
Service Brakes, Hydraulic

2003 GMC TRUCK FAILED SAFETY INSPECTION DEW TO EXTREMELY RUSTED BRAKE LINES. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10343715

47,500 miles · Jul 8, 2010
Service Brakes, HydraulicSuspension

HAD DEALERSHIP REPLACE DRIVER SIDE FRONT WHEEL BEARING BECAUSE IT WAS MAKING A GRINDING NOISE. A COUPLE MONTHS LATER THE FRONT BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS WERE REPLACED. AFTER THE BRAKES WERE SERVICED, I STARTED NOTICING THAT THE BRAKES WERE PULSATING, WHICH WAS FELT IN THE PEDAL, AT LOW SPEEDS. TOOK VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP AND T…

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HAD DEALERSHIP REPLACE DRIVER SIDE FRONT WHEEL BEARING BECAUSE IT WAS MAKING A GRINDING NOISE. A COUPLE MONTHS LATER THE FRONT BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS WERE REPLACED. AFTER THE BRAKES WERE SERVICED, I STARTED NOTICING THAT THE BRAKES WERE PULSATING, WHICH WAS FELT IN THE PEDAL, AT LOW SPEEDS. TOOK VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID DURING THE TEST DRIVE THAT THE ABS SYSTEM WAS ACTIVATING UNNECESSARILY. THEY THEN PUT IT ON THE DIAGNOSTIC MACHINE FOR SOME REASONS. I WAS TOLD I NEEDED TO REPLACE BOTH WHEEL ABS SENSORS. THE DEALERSHIP SAID THAT THE ABS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS. WHEN THE PADS AND ROTORS WERE REPLACED, AGAIN THE VEHICLE WAS PUT ON THE DIAGNOSTIC MACHINE, BUT DIDN'T PICK UP THAT THE SENSORS WERE FIRING. I'M DOUBTING IT IS COINCIDENCE THAT THESE THINGS ARE HAPPENING AT RANDOM. THERE HAS TO BE SOME KIND OF CORRELATION BETWEEN THE WHEEL BEARING BEING REPLACED, THE PADS AND ROTORS BEING REPLACED, AND NOW THE SENSORS NEEDING TO BE REPLACED. MY VEHICLE IS A 2003 GMC SIERRA AND HAS 47000 MILES ON IT. ALL THIS HAPPENED WITHIN THE LAST 6 MONTHS AND 1500 MILES. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10341952

80,000 miles · Jun 23, 2010
Electrical System

MY 2003 GMC SIERRA 1500 SPEEDOMETER DOESN'T WORK. IT SHOWS HIGH SPEEDS AFTER THE TRUCK IS SHUT OFF. IT SEEMS TO WORK IN WARM WEATHER BUT DOESN'T WORK IN COLD WEATHER. NOT SURE WHEN THE SPEEDOMETER IS ACCURATE. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10339682

58,700 miles · Jun 5, 2010
Service Brakes, Hydraulic

LOST APPROXIMATELY 80% OF BRAKING POWER IN A 2003 GMC SIERRA 1500 WITH 60,000 MILES. SMALL LEAK DEVELOPED IN THE METAL BRAKE LINES. THERE WAS NO SENSOR INDICATION THAT FLUID WAS LOW DESPITE BRAKE FLUID BEING ONE QUART LOW. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10334728

62,300 miles · May 31, 2010
Service Brakes, Hydraulic

TOTAL BRAKE FAILURE ON A 2003 GMC SIERRA PICKUP TRUCK 62,000 MILES. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10333947

77,448 miles · May 26, 2010
Service Brakes, Hydraulic

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 GMC SIERRA 1500. WHILE DRIVING IN REVERSE AND ATTEMPTING TO DEPRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL, THE PEDAL EXTENDED TO THE FLOOR. HE STATED THAT THE BRAKE LIGHT ALSO ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE CONTACT WAS FORCED TO APPLY CONTINUOUS PRESSURE TO THE BRAKES IN ORDER TO STOP THE VEHICLE. WHEN THE CONTACT…

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TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 GMC SIERRA 1500. WHILE DRIVING IN REVERSE AND ATTEMPTING TO DEPRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL, THE PEDAL EXTENDED TO THE FLOOR. HE STATED THAT THE BRAKE LIGHT ALSO ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE CONTACT WAS FORCED TO APPLY CONTINUOUS PRESSURE TO THE BRAKES IN ORDER TO STOP THE VEHICLE. WHEN THE CONTACT STEPPED OUT OF THE VEHICLE, HE NOTICED FLUID LEAKING FROM THE BRAKE LINE WHICH WAS COVERED WITH RUST. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL MECHANIC WHO STATED THAT ALL FOUR BRAKE LINES WERE COVERED WITH RUST. ONE OF THE BRAKE LINES WERE REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 77,448. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 77,548.

NHTSA ODI #10332391

4,500 miles · Apr 12, 2010
Power TrainService Brakes, HydraulicSteering

STARTING AT <5K MILES THE VEHICLE POWER TRAIN CLUNKED WHEN SHIFTING FROM 2ND TO 3RD GEAR. NOW AT 70K MILES IT CLUNKS WHEN SHIFTING BETWEEN ALL GEARS EXCEPT FINAL DRIVE. THE DEALERSHIP REPLACED THE OUTPUT SHAFT ON THE TRANNY, THEN THE U-JOINTS, AND MODIFIED THE ELECTRICAL SHIFT PATERN. IT STILL CLUNKS. POWER STEERING INTERMITT…

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STARTING AT <5K MILES THE VEHICLE POWER TRAIN CLUNKED WHEN SHIFTING FROM 2ND TO 3RD GEAR. NOW AT 70K MILES IT CLUNKS WHEN SHIFTING BETWEEN ALL GEARS EXCEPT FINAL DRIVE. THE DEALERSHIP REPLACED THE OUTPUT SHAFT ON THE TRANNY, THEN THE U-JOINTS, AND MODIFIED THE ELECTRICAL SHIFT PATERN. IT STILL CLUNKS. POWER STEERING INTERMITTENTLY LOCKS UP AT SLOW SPEED TURNS, ESPECIALLY WHEN BRAKING. LIGHT BULBS BURN OUT ALMOST EVERY THREE MONTHS. HAD TO PAY ($486.00) FOR REPLACING THE INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET WHEN VEHICLE HAD LITTLE OVER 40K MILES. BRAKES FADE AND THE PEDAL ALMOST GOES TO THE FLOOR, AGAIN INTERMITTENT. I HAVE ALMOST CAUSED SEVERAL ACCIDENTS DUE TO THE STEERING AND BRAKE ISSUES. GMC ISSUED A LETTER STATING "THIS IS A NORMAL OCCURANCE AND WILL NOT CAUSE DAMAGE." WELL, IT'S GETTING WORSE IN SOUND AND CLUNKING HARDER DURING SHIFTING. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10325225

Mileage unknown · Apr 12, 2010
Service Brakes, Hydraulic

REGARDING NHTSA INVESTIGATION PE10010. I HAVE A 2003 GMC SIERRA AND THE STEEL BRAKE LINES ARE CORRODED BEYOND RECOGNITION. A RECALL TO REPLACE THESE LINES NEEDS TO BE INSTITUTED. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10325124

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.