2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 engine problems

34 complaints about engine have been filed for the 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, which is 4% of all its NHTSA complaints.

Complaints: 34 4% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage: 121,000 miles 27 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires: 0 and 1
Injuries and deaths: 0 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When engine problems show up

Based on 27 complaints that include mileage. 26% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.

View the numbers

Mileage	Complaints
0k to 20k miles	1
20k to 40k miles	0
40k to 60k miles	6
60k to 80k miles	0
80k to 100k miles	2
100k to 120k miles	3
120k to 140k miles	7
140k to 160k miles	4
160k to 180k miles	1
180k to 200k miles	2
200k+ miles	1

What the data shows

Of the 27 engine complaints that report mileage, the median is about 121,000 miles, and 26% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 1 fire.

What owners wrote

2003 chevrolet silverado 1500 (v6) was apparently designed with the air conditioner evaporator coil situated over the distributor and points. The condensor coil drips moisture onto and into the distributor causing corrosion. This corrosion causes the engine to hesitate and vibrates excessively at acceleration to 45 MPH. My new vehicle has already had the distributor and points replaced to "remedy" the situation.

Reported at 5,000 miles, November 2003 Fire

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet silverado 1500. The contact stated that the second gear was not catching and the check engine warning light on the instrument panel. The failure was noticed while driving 50 MPH. The chevrolet dealer stated that the catalytic converter had been cut out, which was illegal. The failure mileage was 120,535 and current mileage was 120,640. Updated 09/10/08.

Reported at 120,535 miles, July 2008

Engine problems in other years

Engine problems across all Chevrolet models