2003 GMC Sierra problems
Owners have filed 248 complaints about the 2003 GMC Sierra with NHTSA. Service brakes account for 18.1% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of service brakes, hydraulic at 16.1%.
Complaints248
Crashes16
Fires3
Injuries11
Deaths2
What owners report breaking
Service brakes 18.1% · 45
Service brakes, hydraulic 16.1% · 40
Power train 12.5% · 31
Electrical system 12.5% · 31
Steering 11.3% · 28
Vehicle speed control 4.8% · 12
Engine and engine cooling 4.0% · 10
Suspension 2.4% · 6
Severity
Of those complaints, 16 describe a crash, 3 describe a fire, 11 report an injury and 2 report a death.
Reading the numbers
Across the 14 model years of the GMC Sierra in this data, 2003 sits 8th by complaint volume. 1999 draws the most.
Filings are rising — 54 in the last three years against 34 in the three before. For a vehicle this age that usually points to a wear-related failure owners are hitting now.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 50,750 miles.
In owners' own words
Backing out of a parking space I applied the brakes and the pedal went to the floor. I hit a steel pole causing damage to my rear bumper. I was pretty sure I knew what was wrong. I inspected the truck and found brake fluid dripping from under the vehicle in the area of the drivers door. Further inspection showed the brake lines were very rusted which I attribute to the brake line failure. Service brakes · reported at 155,000 miles
Pulled up to the carwash. As I was preparing to put money in the machine,I heard a hissing sound. Brake pedal went to the floor & brake light came on. I had no brakes whatsoever. Was able to roll back to a vacant area & stop with emergency brake. Truck is still in the shop where mechanic is replacing all the brake lines. He said this was common for this truck & the lines were all bad. Service brakes · reported at 99,000 miles
Was coming up on a single lane bridge . When I started to brake my foot went to the floor. Lucky for me I did not have any oncoming traffic, and drove over the bridge safely. I then noticed check brake system sign on dash board. Pulled over and there was brake fluid dripping from the drivers side around gas tank area. The line was corroded and burst. Service brakes · reported at 115,000 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…
Other GMC Sierra years
1999 721 complaints · 40.4% service brakes, hydraulic 2000 557 complaints · 35.0% service brakes, hydraulic 2001 333 complaints · 30.9% service brakes, hydraulic 2002 291 complaints · 34.4% service brakes, hydraulic 2004 224 complaints · 19.6% service brakes 2005 152 complaints · 17.8% service brakes