2003 GMC Envoy XL problems
Owners have filed 296 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 GMC Envoy XL. Fuel system is the most reported problem area, at 22% of complaints. Next are electrical system (18%) and wipers, windshield & visibility (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 296 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Fuel system 22% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 17 and 4
- Injuries and deaths
- 61 and 2
- Typical mileage
- 81,000 miles 249 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 | 20 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 20 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 38 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 41 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 46 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 31 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 18 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 17 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 6 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 8 |
| 200k+ miles | 4 |
What the data shows
Of the 249 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 81,000 miles. For fuel system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 68,000 miles (56 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 17 complaints mention a crash; 4 complaints mention a fire; 61 injuries reported; 2 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 1st most-complained-about out of 4 model years of the GMC Envoy XL with enough data (161 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 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 owned a 2003 GMC envoy xl. While driving approximately 50 MPH, the contact lost control of the vehicle and drove into a ditch. While driving out of the ditch, she struck a large culvert and the vehicle went airborne. The vehicle rolled several before finally coming to a stop. The passenger side seat belt snapped, which caused the passenger to be ejected from the vehicle and killed between the second or third rollover. None of the air bags deployed.
Tl* the contact owned a 2003 GMC envoy xl. The contact stated that the vehicle lost control while driving 25 MPH on a slightly icy roadway. As a result, the contact crashed into another vehicle and the air bags did not deploy. The contact also stated that the limited slip differential system failed to engage during the failure. The contact, as well as a passenger suffered minor injuries during the crash. In addition, the driver of the second vehicle involved in the crash suffered minor injuries.
The tachometer started acting erratically showing surges in the engine RPM. This problem came and went and now, february 2009, the speedometer is doing the same thing. I was doing 90 MPH while the vehicle was turned off. I see this is a problem on GM vehicles and they are not addressing it. They are leaving it to the owner to pay a dealer $600 or more for repairs.
My car will shut off when I am either turning or slowing down without any warning, I put the car in neutral, turn the key off then on again and it starts like nothing happened. The engine doesn't show any warning lights it just shuts off. This has happened now about 6 times. I don't have the money to take it to the dealer, but if I am given an idea of what to look for I can take it to my mechanic who is very qualified and did replace a sensor that went bad. Please help