2003 Chevrolet Tahoe problems
NHTSA has received 628 complaints about the 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe, and 31% of them involve electrical system. Next are brakes (19%) and steering (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 628 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 31% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 26 and 11
- Injuries and deaths
- 19 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 73,000 miles 490 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 72 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 48 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 67 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 82 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 68 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 53 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 35 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 22 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 21 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 6 |
| 200k+ miles | 16 |
What the data shows
Of the 490 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 73,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 73,000 miles (152 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 26 complaints mention a crash; 11 complaints mention a fire; 19 injuries reported; 1 death reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 7th most-complained-about out of 32 model years of the Chevrolet Tahoe with enough data (337 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet tahoe. The contact stated that while driving 55 MPH, the driver attempted to avoid crashing into a deer and lost control of the vehicle. As a result, the vehicle was flipped several times. The air bags failed to deploy and the driver was killed. The contact did not confirm if the driver was secured by the seat vehicle safety belt. The vehicle was destroyed and had not been inspected for the air bag failure. The VIN was not available.
Ltr on behalf of, who suffered burns when their 2003 chevrolet tahoe caught fire while driving; they did not rec'd response to 3/23/10 ltr FWD to NHTSA; reply attn keith nelson/roseville ofc; es have no rec of prev correspond *tgw the fan motor did not shut off even though the engine was turned off and the key were not in the ignition.
2003 chevrolet tahoe caught on fire the consumer stated the fan motor would not shut off. The consumer stated her father received 2nd degree burns on his when tried to put the fire out.
There a noticable shaking when it coming to a stop and sometimes it will turn off. It also turns off when making a right / left turn and sometimes even when truck is running. There a click noise then turning. Also window's will get stuck and will not go up completely and now the left side windows are completely dead (do not go up or down).
Speedometer not working correctly. Shows 50 MPH when stopped and 120 MPH when on city streets. Was working without any issues and then today it is incorrect. I have searched the internet and noticed this is becoming widespread.