2003 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 Engine Problems

DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AND I LOST ALL POWER. IT SAID (REDUCED ENGINE POWER) ON THE DASH. THIS HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES AND I HAVEN'T FOUND A MECHANIC WHO CAN FIX IT. I'VE LOOKED ALL OVER THE INTERNET AND THERE ARE MANY OTHER PEOPLE WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS AND ALMOST CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. IT COMES OUT OF NOWHERE AND FOR THIS TO HAPPEN TO SOMEONE FOR THE FIRST TIME, IT'S GOING TO CAUSE SOME DEADLY CRASHES. *TR

NHTSA ID

10668397

Incident

Aug 15, 2013

Mileage

114,000 mi

JUST FINISHED DRIVING VEHICLE FOR 1 HOUR AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS WITHOUT INCIDENT. PARKED CAR FOR 5 MINUTES, UPON TRYING TO RESTART, THE CAR DISPLAYED "REDUCED ENGINE POWER" ON THE DRIVER INFORMATION CONSOLE. APPROXIMATELY 8 RESTARTS AND THE MESSAGE DID NOT DISPLAY. DROVE CAR 5 MINUTES AND PARKED IT FOR 1 HOUR, UPON RESTART DISPLAYED SAME MESSAGE, CAR WAS VIRTUALLY UNDRIVEABLE. 3 RESTARTS LATER MESSAGE NO LONGER DISPLAYED. THIS MESSAGE HAS NOW INTERMITTENTLY OCCURRED EVER SINCE SEEMINGLY WITHOUT ANY PATTERN. THE MESSAGE IS RELATED TO A FAILURE IN THE "DRIVE BY WIRE" SYSTEM THAT ALLOWS FOR THE ELIMINATION OF A PHYSICAL CABLE FROM THE GAS PEDAL. IT CAUSES THE CAR TO BE COMPLETELY UNDRIVEABLE UNTIL SEEMINGLY RANDOMLY FIXING ITSELF. *TR

NHTSA ID

10495328

Incident

Nov 2, 2012

Mileage

195,000 mi

"REDUCED ENGINE POWER" LIGHT COMES ON AND TRUCK SLOWS TO LESS THAN 10 MPH AND THE POWER STEERING STOP WORKING. THIS HAS HAPPENED SIX TIMES IN THE LAST YEAR. 1ST INCIDENT I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY SAID NOTHING WAS WRONG WITH IT. DIAGNOSTICS PERFORMED AND NOTHING CAME BACK WRONG. I THINK THE WIRING TO THE THROTTLE IS POSSIBLY TO BLAME. IF I HIT A BUMP IN THE ROAD OR CROSS RAILROAD TRACKS, THE REDUCED ENGINE POWER CAN COME ON. I HAVE A HUNCH AFTER RESEARCHING ONLINE & FINDING THAT SEVERAL OTHER PEOPLE HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM, THAT LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THAT CHEVY KNOWS ABOUT IT & IS DOING NOTHING ABOUT IT. "TYPICAL"!! I AM VERY DISPLEASED, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE I LOVE MY SUBURBAN. I SUGGEST AN INVESTIGATION & RECALL OF THIS PROBLEM.I ASK THAT CHEVY TAKES RESPONSIBILITY FOR POOR QUALITY & REPAIRS THE PROBLEM PRONTO! OH, AND THE POWER SEATING FUSE CAUGHT FIRE AND EXPLODED THE LITTLE FUSE IN THE FUSE BOX, NOW THE SEATS WON'T WORK & NEITHER DOES THE PASSENGER SIDE WINDOWS. THE WIRING DONE ON THIS TRUCK IS CHEAP! THE PARTS ARE CHEAP! NOT A HAPPY CUSTOMER! *TR

NHTSA ID

10452049

Incident

Mar 19, 2011

SUBURBAN LOSES POWER AND ENGINE DIES WHILE DRIVING. NO WARNINGS BEFORE SHUT OFF AND NO CODES AFTER SHUT OFF. AFTER WAITING 5-10 MINUTES, VEHICLE CRANKS AND RUNS AGAIN. RANDOMLY, IT MAY SHUT OFF AGAIN IN 1-2 MILES OR RUN FOR DAYS WITHOUT THE PROBLEM. THIS IS VERY DISTURBING WHEN ONE IS ON THE INTERSTATE RUNNING 70 MPH AND YOUR ENGINE SHUTS OFF. YOU LOSE POWER STEERING AND BRAKES AS YOU TRY TO MAKE IT TO THE EMERGENCY LANE. SOMEONE IS GOING TO GET KILLED!!! THE BATTERY DIED AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO RESTART YESTERDAY. THE DEALER CANNOT IDENTIFY WHY THE ENGINE SHUTS OFF, SO NO REPAIRS HAVE BEEN MADE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10419470

Incident

May 25, 2011

Mileage

151,525 mi

2003 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN 5.3L GAS ENGINE. VEHICLE STARTED MAKING A TICKING SOUND. UPON INVESTIGATION I FOUND THE DRIVER SIDE REAR EXHAUST MANIFOLD BOLT HEAD HAD SNAPPED OFF. NO WORK HAD BEEN DONE TO THE VEHICLES EXHAUST SYSTEM PRIOR TO THIS. UPON FURTHER INSPECTION VISUAL SOOT CAN BE SEEN ON THE FIREWALL INDICATIMG EXHAUST GASSES ARE COMING IN CONACT WITH THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. I FEEL THIS POSES A HUGE FIRE HAZARD IF LEFT RUNNING LONG ENOUGHT TO GENERATE SUFFICIENT HEAT FOR COMBUSTION. I ALSO FEEL IT IS AN EMISSIONS RELATED CONCERN SINCE EXHAUST GASSES ARE ESCAPNG THE SYSTEM UPSTRAM FROM THE CATALYTIC CONVERTERS AND POSING THE RISK OF EXHAUST GASSES ENTERING THE VEHICLE. I HAVE CONTACTED GM AND HAVE RECIEVED NO POSITIVE RESPONSE TO DEALING WITH THIS ISSUE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10415247

Incident

May 16, 2011

Mileage

89,265 mi

2003 CHEVY SUBURBAN 1500 4WD 5.3L GM HAS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH THE HEADS ON THESE VEHICLES WITH THE 5.3L ENGINES. THE COMPANY (CASTECH) WHO MADE THE HEADS LET THEM GO WITH A DEFECT THAT ALLOWS COOLANT TO LEAK INTO THE MOTOR. GM HAS A TSB ON IT AS WELL #06-06-01-019B IT CAN CAUSE POSSIBLE OVERHEATING DUE TO COOLANT LOSS, AS IT LEAKS INTO THE ENGINE IT CREATES ROUGH IDLE AND A SLIGHT MISSFIRE WHICH WILL DAMAGE THE CONVERTER SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE. THEY KNOW ABOUT THIS DEFECT AND SHOULD BE FORCED TO REPLACE THESE HEADS WITH DIFFERENT ONES. THE ONLY WAY TO CORRECT THIS ISSUE IS TO REPLACE THE HEADS WITH ANOTHER COMPANY. *TR

NHTSA ID

10401373

Incident

Nov 28, 2009

FOR THE PAST 4 YEARS I HAVE OWNED A 2003 SUBURBAN 1500 Z71.3 OF THOSE YEARS I'VE HAD A/C PROBLEMS. WE HAVE REPLACED EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH A/C. THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS AND NOW SOMETHING ELSE HAS COME UP. DRIVER SIDE HOT AIR BLOWS OUT AND PASSENGER SIDE COLD AIR COMES OUT. WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THIS SUBURBAN ANYMORE. I HAVE FRIENDS WITH SUBURBANS AND HAVE THE EXACT SAME PROBLEMS WITH IT,WHAT CAN WE DO? *TR

NHTSA ID

10343455

Incident

Sep 22, 2006

Mileage

99,000 mi

VEHICLE STALLS AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, SPECIFICALLY, UNDER LOAD (UP HILLS, ACCELERATING, ETC...) WHEN GAS IS GIVEN, THE CAR STALLS. THE TACH STILL READS A NUMBER, AND ALL CABIN ELECTRONICS REMAIN ACTIVE, WITHOUT SHOWING ANY HINT OF A PROBLEM (NO SPIKE, DIMMING OF LIGHTS, ETC...) ENGINE JUST DIES. (AGAIN, THIS TYPICALLY HAPPENS AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS [40-80 MPH.]) NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON, AND THERE IS NO INDICATION OF THE POSSIBILITY OF A FAILURE ELECTRONICALLY [IE, NO "MESSAGES."] THE ONLY DISCERNIBLE SYMPTOM IS SLUGGISHNESS ON THE PART OF THE ACCELERATOR, AS IF SLAMMING THE ACCELERATOR TO THE FLOOR WOULD CUT OUT THE ENGINE, BUT SLOWLY PUSHING THE ACCELERATOR TO THE FLOOR WOULD PERMIT (SOMEWHAT) THE ACCELERATION. (MIND YOU, THAT I ALMOST NEVER PUSH MY ACCELERATOR ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR.) FURTHER, ANY ACCELERATION (HOWEVER SLIGHT,) CAN CAUSE THE ENGINE TO STALL WHEN THE CAR IS IN THE MOOD TO WANT TO STALL. (THE PROBLEM IS SOMEWHAT INTERMEDIATE - IT HAS HAPPENED ABOUT 10-15 TIMES IN THE PAST 6 MONTHS, ONCE ON THE THROGSNECK BRIDGE IN NY.) THE PROBLEM HAS HAPPENED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS, (THE FIRST TIME AROUND THE BEGINNING OF JULY '06, [ABOUT 2 OCCASIONS ON ONE DAY, 4 MORE ANOTHER DAY THAT WEEK,) AND THEN AGAIN AROUND OCTOBER 10TH, ON WHICH THERE WERE ANOTHER 5 OR SO INCIDENTS. ON OCT 11TH, I BROUGHT THE CAR BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP, AND THEY SAW NO ERROR CODES, SO COULDN'T DO ANYTHING TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. ONSTAR WAS SIMILARLY UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE ANY ERRORS WITH THE VEHICLE. *JB

NHTSA ID

10173298

Incident

Oct 10, 2006

Mileage

43,500 mi