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Engine coolingPart report

2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Engine cooling Problems

Complaints
20about this part
Share
2%of 805 total for the year
Median mileage
80,317miles
Trend
StableComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are within 25% of the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 20 complaints about the engine cooling of the 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, 2% of the 805 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 80,317 miles. 1 a fire, according to the filers.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“The suburban would stall while waiting in drive thru lines. Several times. Dies while in gear, put in park and would then start up. Dealer could not find any problems. I knew I had gotten a bad tank of gas, 2 months earlier. So we tried fuel injections, etc... The suburban would die and would be towed back to the dealer. They decided I needed to replace the fuel module. $800 later and it was still happening. The dealer was driving my car more than I. Putting miles on the car and gmc decided I had too many miles on the vehicle to do anything about it. Now, it dies while driving the vehicle. …”

NHTSA complaint #10424647, filed 2011-09, 134,000 miles

“Major repairs first the axle seal started leaking 24000 miles,also notified manufacturer didn't get repair until , return for check at 36000 ,I fixed the truck myself because wasn't getting service from dealership where I purchased my truck,flow Chevrolet,of winston salem. Now I had noticed ticking when I would start the engine cold and have been left to settle with having the truck repaired with it costing me the consumer, even if ,the dealership I working with me. But at 51000 or better I shouldn't behaving these type of repairs.”

NHTSA complaint #10109818, filed 2005-02, 51,000 miles

“My complaint is the braking system on my 2003 Chevrolet SILVERADO 1500 extended cab, 4x4 truck. The brakes have always felt spongy. After complaining about the low brake pedal, my dealer advised that I needed to have my rear rotors repaired & the rear brake shoes replaced., so I had the work done. One week later, I again complained that now when I'm stopped at a traffic light, the brake pedal would go even lower. The braking system was checked out, the master cylinder was checked, & I was told everything was ok, there were no leaks. …”

NHTSA complaint #10116382, filed 2005-04, 40,000 miles

“Just 100 miles after PCM was replaced , out of warranty, engine warning light came on. Since unable to get to dealership fast enough I did some research in my manual, which stated that if I shut down vehicle and light goes off then probably nothing major to worry about. Intermittently the light has came on, then gone off for the past 4000 miles. So with my oil change, had dealership run test on diagnostics, found bad catalytic converter. Cost of repair, $ 862. Well, I don't have that kind of money just floating around. Therefore, I couldn't get it done this time around. …”

NHTSA complaint #10190099, filed 2007-05, 80,317 miles

“The truck was purchased the 17th of june and two wks later the service engine light came on and its was real hard to get in 2nd gear. We took it to the chevy dealership and they checked it out for us. The problems are there is no cat converter,two seals and a sensor that needs to be replaced. Not to mention 2nd gear is messed .the service manager told us and gave us the list of things wrong and they are the 2nd gear ,the synchroni,3nd gear,synchroni and the ring in first. All this is to do with the transmission and the cat converter. A and z autos got mad that we took it to the chevy dealer. …”

NHTSA complaint #10238794, filed 2008-08, 120,835 miles

Related service bulletins

Engine cooling: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
202511%
2024206%
2023267%
2022254%
2021607%
2020263%
2019505%
2018102%
201741%
201610%
2015121%
201491%
201321%
201131%
201051%
200951%
200871%
2007273%
2006134%
2005183%
2004253%
2003202%
2002133%
2001174%
2000112%
1999102%
1998175%
1997356%
1996114%
1994220%

Other parts of the 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1500

Brakes
429 complaints
Electrical system
195 complaints
Steering
56 complaints
Vehicle speed control
29 complaints
Fuel system
28 complaints
Body and structure
27 complaints
Transmission and drivetrain
26 complaints
Air bags
21 complaints
Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
17 complaints
Engine
15 complaints
Other or unknown
14 complaints
Suspension
14 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1500

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 29, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology