2003 GMC Yukon XL 1500 problems
Owners have filed 87 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 GMC Yukon XL 1500. Electrical system is the most reported problem area, at 28% of complaints. After that come brakes (21%) and cruise control (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 87 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 28% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 7 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 19 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 97,000 miles 66 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 | 4 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 1 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 5 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 15 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 10 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 6 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 4 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 8 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 5 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 4 |
| 200k+ miles | 4 |
What the data shows
Among the 66 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 97,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 94,000 miles (16 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 7 complaints mention a crash; 19 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 7 model years of the GMC Yukon XL 1500 with enough data (28 complaints in that window).
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.
There is an error message that displays on the dash for myself and thousands of others who own gmc/chevy trucks with these motors. They have a defective throttle position sensor with the truck where it says "reduced engine power". I've found 2 technical service bulletins that somewhat address the issue, but many people take their trucks to mechanics and dealerships to get the issue fixed and spend thousands of dollars in repairs and troubleshooting to get the issue resolved, to no avail.
Speedometer, tachometer, oil pressure gauge read incorrectly or not all . Intermittent problem. The issue comes on gradually so there is a period of time with the speedometer you really DOT not know how fast you are traveling. With some simple research on the internet it is obvious this is a common problem across GM line.
When traveling at any rate of speed, the reduce engine power light comes on at I lose all power. I must try and pull over at a safe place, stop the car, turn off ignition and wait 10-15 second before starting and just hope it will return to normal mode. This can happen many times in one day and then it may not happen at all for long periods of time. Very dangerous! I have been driving 70 MPH and had to immediately try and pull over out of speeding traffic, onto a shoulder and stop my car with my children.