Owner-reported complaints naming the electrical system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2003 GMC Sierra submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 32 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 32, in the owner's own words
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 GMC SIERRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT ALL THE GAUGES ON THE INSTRUMENTAL PANEL FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE PANEL CLUSTER FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000 UPDATED 1/28/15*CN
2003 GMC SIERRA. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO A SPEEDOMETER FAILURE. *TGW THE CONSUMER STATED SHE WAS DRIVING 55 MPH. HOWEVER, THE SPEEDOMETER SHOWED 100 MPH. IT WENT ON FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS AND THEN WENT BACK TO NORMAL. THE NEXT DAY, THE SPEEDOMETER WAS ACTING ERRATIC AGAIN. THE CONSUMER TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER, HOPING IT WOULD BE SOMETHING SMALL, BUT IT TURNED OUT TO BE A $700 EXPENSE. *JB
VEHICLE GOES INTO REDUCED ENGINE POWER MODE AT INTERSTATE SPEEDS WITHOUT WARNING AND INCREASES RISK OF BEING REAR ENDED, DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH POWER TO SAFELY GET THE VEHICLE OFF THE ROAD WHEN IN THE LEFT LANE WITH OTHER CARS BEHIND. MORE INSTANCES OF THIS SAME SCENARIO OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS THAN I CAN COUNT. THROTTLE BODY HAS BEEN CLEANED. THERE ARE TOO MANY INTERNET FORUM POSTS DETAILING MANY DIFFERENT PARTS HAVING BEEN REPLACED BY DEALERSHIPS AND OTHER MECHANICS AND THE PROBLEM STILL EXISTING TO JUST START REPLACING PARTS BECAUSE THE COSTS TOO QUICKLY IS UNSUSTAINABLE. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 GMC SIERRA HD. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE WIRING SYSTEM CAUSED THE BATTERY AND THE ALTERNATOR TO MALFUNCTION. IN ADDITION, THE DASH CLUSTER MALFUNCTIONED AND THE REDUCED ENGINE POWER WARNING LIGHT REMAINED ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT HAD TO RESTART THE VEHICLE FOR THE DASH CLUSTER TO FUNCTION PROPERLY. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER WHERE HE WAS ADVISED THAT THERE WAS AN UNKNOWN ELECTRICAL ISSUE WITH THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 170,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 GMC SIERRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED AND THE ENGINE WAS TURNED OFF WHEN HE HEARD A NOISE AND NOTICED THAT THE AIR CONDITIONING BLOWER HAD INDEPENDENTLY ACTIVATED. THE FAILURE RECURRED AND THE BATTERY WAS DISCONNECTED IN ORDER TO DEACTIVATE THE BLOWER MOTOR. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE AUTHORIZED DEALER WHERE THE BLOWER MOTOR RESISTER WAS REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE DEFECT AND THEY INFORMED THERE WAS NO RECALL. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 111,000.
THE SPEEDOMETER IN THE TRUCK REGISTERS FALSE MPH. FOR EXAMPLE WHEN PARKED THE SPEEDOMETER READS 50 MPH, WHEN TRAVELING ON THE ROAD THE SPEEDOMETER WILL REGISTER 80 MPH AND THE ACTUAL SPEED MAY BE ONLY 30 MPH. *TR
2003 GMC SIERRA PICK-UP I WAS DRIVING TODAY ABOUT 45 TO 50 MILES AN HOUR AND WAS RUNNING GREAT AND ABOUT AN HOUR LATER, MY SPEEDOMETER WENT UP TO 120 MILES AN HOUR AND WOULD NOT GO BACK DOWN. WHEN I GOT HOME AND PUT MY VEHICLE IN PARK, THE SPEEDOMETER WOULD ONLY GO DOWN TO 70 MILES AN HOUR. I HAVE ALMOST 68,000 MILES ON IT. WHAT IS WRONG AND WHAT CAN I DO TO GET THIS FIXED IMMEDIATELY BEFORE I GET A TICKET? *TR
DRIVING 2003 SIERRA 2500 HD 4WD CREW CAB AND ALL OF SUDDEN THE SPEEDOMETER NEEDLE QUIT STOPPED ON ZERO AND NEVER MOVED. THEN THE INSTRUMENT GAUGES OR CLUSTER COMPLETELY STOPPED WORKING. THE DEFECTIVE STEPPER MOTOR IN THE CLUSTER IS THE PROBLEM. *TR
SPEEDOMETER FAILS TO WORK. IT OCCURS CONTINUOUSLY. NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO FIX THE PROBLEM. *TR
SUMMER 2007 WE RECEIVED A NOTICE FROM GMC FOR OUR 2003 GMC SIERRA THAT STATED "YOUR VEHICLE COULD DEVELOP A CONDITION WHERE ONE OR MORE OF THE INSTRUMENT PANEL GAUGE NEEDLES MAY STICK, FLUTTER, OR BECOME INOPERATIVE. THIS MAY CAUSE INACCURATE READINGS, INCLUDING THE SPEEDOMETER AND THE FUEL GAUGE." THEY OFFER TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM IF IT OCCURS IN VEHICLES WITHIN 7 YEARS OR 70,000 MILES, WHICHEVER IS LESS. OUR GMC SIERRA DEVELOPED THIS CONDITION RECENTLY AT 5 YEARS AND 90,000. THE SPEEDOMETER BEGAN TO DISPLAY INACCURATE SPEEDS AND EVENTUALLY STARTED ERRATICALLY PULSING AND SOMETIMES DISPLAYING NO SPEED. THIS IS VERY UNSAFE TO HAVE THIS HAPPEN WHEN YOU ARE DRIVING. THERE ARE NUMEROUS ENTRIES ONLINE INDICATING THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED TO MANY OF THE VEHICLES IN THE 5 YEAR RANGE, MANY JUST AFTER THE MILEAGE CUT OFF. DISPLAYING PROPER SPEED IS IMPORTANT TO SAFETY AND IF THEIR INSTRUMENT PANELS ARE FAILING ON MULTIPLE VEHICLES THE MANUFACTURER SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR REPLACING THEM REGARDLESS OF AGE OR MILEAGE. *TR
INSTRUMENT CLUSTER INOPERATIVE. 2003 GMC SIERRA PICK UP. RECEIVED A LETTER FROM GM AND DUE TO THE MILEAGE THEY WILL NOT REPAIR THE CLUSTER EVEN THOUGH THE VEHICLE IS WITHIN THE DATE RANGE. THE MILEAGE LISTED IS NOT REASONABLE SINCE THEY ONLY ALLOW 10K PER YEAR. THEY WERE CALLED WHEN I RECEIVED THE LETTER AT 104K AND NOW AT 111K THEY CAN ONLY APOLOGIZE FOR THE PROBLEM BUT NOT FIX IT UNDER WARRANTY. I FEEL IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE BUT THEY DO NOT. SO I AM HAVING IT FIXED FOR ALMOST 600 DOLLARS WITH NO HELP FROM GM. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL SINCE THEY KNEW OF THE PROBLEM AND IT HAS OCCURRED ENOUGH TO WARRANT SENDING OUT LETTERS NOTIFYING THE OWNERS OF A POTENTIAL PROBLEM. *TR
1. STARTED VEHICLE AND SPEEDOMETER INDICATED 50 MPH. SPEEDOMETER INCREASED AS SPEED INCREASED AND DECREASED AS SPEED DECREASED. WHEN VEHICLE IS TURNED OFF SPEEDOMETER INDICATES 50 MPH. 2. UNABLE TO CORRECTLY DETERMINE TRUE SPEED OF VEHICLE. 3. NONE. *TR
SPEEDOMETER FAILURE WHILE DRIVING.. HAD NO IDEA HOW FAST I WAS GOING, ENDED UP GETTING A SPEEDING TICKET AND HAD TO GET IT REPAIRED PER POLICE OFFICER. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 GMC SIERRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SPEEDOMETER FAILED AT VARIOUS SPEEDS. WHILE IDLING AT A STOP SIGN, THE SPEEDOMETER WOULD DISPLAY 160 MPH. WHILE DRIVING, THE SPEEDOMETER WOULD REMAIN AT ZERO. THE FAILURE BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 27, 2007 AND HAS BEEN OCCURRING INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN IN FOR REPAIR ON OCTOBER 1, 2007. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 11,108.
DAY TIME RUNNING LIGHT BURNED OUT. WHEN I REPLACED IT THE BOTTOM OF THE BULB WAS BURNED AND THE PLASTIC WIRING SOCKET WAS PARTIALLY MELTED AND BRITTLE AROUND THE BULB BASE. I CHANGED THE BULB AND THE LIGHT STILL WORKS. HOWEVER, I ALSO HAD TROUBLE WITH ONE OF MY TWO HORNS NOT WORKING, BUT AFTER REPLACING THE BURNED OUT BULB, BOTH HORNS WORKED. WIRING SEEMS TO BE IN SERIES WITH HORN(S) AND BURNED OUT BULB DISABLES HORN. *JB
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 GMC SIERRA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH UNDER ANY CONDITIONS, THE VEHICLE'S ODOMETER FAILS. THE FAILURE OCCURS WHEN THE VEHICLE STOPS AND STARTS. THE CONTACT WOULD HAVE TO SHUT THE VEHICLE OFF AND RESTART IT IN ORDER TO MAKE THE SPEEDOMETER WORK PROPERLY. THE FAILURE OCCURS INTERMITTENTLY. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE INSTRUMENT PANEL NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 27,051. THE SPEEDOMETER WOULD NOT FUNCTION AFTER DRIVING 45 MINUTES WHEN ON CRUISE CONTROL. UPDATED 06/13/07. *JB
I OWN A 2003 GMC SIERRA WITH 39,543 MILES AS OF 3/5/07. A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO THE SPEEDOMETER BEGAN READING ERRATICALLY AND HAS NOW COMPLETELY QUIT WORKING. IN DOING SOME RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET I SEE I'M NOT THE ONLY PERSON THAT IS HAVING THIS PROBLEM. *JB
SPEEDOMETER FAILURE. REPLACED AT A COST OD APPROXIMATELY $450.00. FAILURE ON MY OTHER TRUCK. GMC 2500HD 4X4 IN 2006. *JB
THE TRANSMISSION CLUNKS WHEN SHIFTING FROM 2ND - 3 RD AND AT TIMES THE ENGINE WILL REV AND FINALLY IT WILL TAKE OFF, THIS HAS CAUSED AN ISSUE WHEN GOING THROUGH AN INTERSECTION. THE DEALERSHIP ATTEMPTED FOUR REPAIRS AND IT IS NOT FIXED. THE ISSUE STARTED WHEN THE VEHICLE HAD 6K MILES ON IT AND IT IS GETTING WORSE. THE SPEEDOMETER IS SPORADIC IN THAT IT WILL SHOW SPEED REDUCTION/INCREASE IN SEGMENTS - AS IF IT WERE STICKING. THE ERRONEOUS SPEED INDICATION CAUSES AN ISSUE WHEN GOING TOO SLOW OR TOO FAST IN TRAFFIC. *NM
THE SPEEDOMETER ON MANY OF THE 01-06 MODEL GMC/CHEV TRUCKS INCLUDING MY 2003 GMC SIERRA WILL GO OUT. THE FAILURE STARTS WITH THE SPEEDOMETER STICKING 20-30 MPH HIGH AND WILL FUNCTION CORRECTLY WITH THAT DELTA. EVENTUALLY THIS DELTA WILL GROW AND CAN ONLY BE REDUCED BY STARTING THE ENGINE REPEATEDLY. THE SPEED WILL GO DOWN BY A CONSTANT 5 MPH EACH TIME YOU RESTART BUT THIS WILL EVENTUALLY LEAD TO BURNING A STARTER. THIS ALSO LEAVES THE DRIVER TO GUESS WHAT THE CORRECT DELTA IS. THIS MORNING THE SPEEDOMETER CONTINUED TO CLIMB EVEN THOUGH I WAS GOING A CONSTANT 30 MPH ON A CITY STREET. I KNOW THIS BECAUSE I WAS SPOKE A FRIEND THAT IS A COUNTY SHERIFF THAT WAS CLOCKING TRAFFIC AT THE TIME. THE SPEEDOMETER CONTINUED TO CLIMB UP TO THE LIMIT SPEED OF 120 MPH WHILE I WAS STILL GOING 30 MPH. THE SPEEDOMETER EVENTUALLY PASSED 120 MPH AND RESTED AT 245 DEGREES FROM THE 0 POSITION. THIS LEFT ME WITH ZERO SPEED INDICATION WHETHER IT BE A DELTA OR TRUE. THIS WAS A SIGNIFICANT SAFETY EVENT AND I DIDN'T FEEL VERY SAFE DRIVING THE VEHICLE THIS WAY. AFTER I ARRIVED AT WORK I BEGAN SEARCHING THE WEB TO FIND A SOLUTION, AND THAT I DID. I HAVE FOUND HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM IN MANY GMC/CHEVROLET TRUCKS. HTTP://WWW.TOPIX.NET/FORUM/AUTOS/CHEVROLET-TAHOE/T2BGKBGI55EKNU77C/P5 THIS WIDESPREAD PROBLEM MUST BE REVIEWED AND IN MY OPINION (I AM A MECHANICAL ENGINEER FOR A LARGE MANUFACTURER) THIS SHOULD BE FIXED BY THE COMPANY AT FAULT WHICH IS GM. THIS VEHICLE WILL BE PARKED ONCE I GET IT HOME AND I WILL DRIVE A DIFFERENT VEHICLE BECAUSE THIS LOSS OF A BASIC SAFETY INDICATION CAN BE DEVASTATING TO NOT ONLY MYSELF AND FAMILY, BUT TO ALL MOTORISTS. MANY PEOPLE THAT I HAVE SPOKEN WITH ARE NOT FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO HAVE A SECOND VEHICLE AND THEREFORE PLAN ON CONTINUED USE OF THE FAULTY VEHICLE. THIS CONTINUED OPERATION IS UNACCEPTABLE TO SAFETY AND SHOULD BE FIXED. I WAS QUOTED A PRICE OF $2000 THIS MORNING TO FIX THIS SAFETY ISSUE ON A 3 YEAR OLD TRUCK. *NM
SPEEDOMETER ON 2003 GMC SIERRA FAILS CONSTANTLY AND WHEN IT WORKS, IT WORKS ERRATICALLY THE HEAT GAUGE, AND BATTERY GAUGE WORK PART OF THE TIME OR ERRATICALLY OR DO NOT WORK AT ALL. I'VE READ MESSAGE BOARDS OF OTHERS THAT HAVE COMPLAINED OF THE SAME PROBLEM ON 2003 GMC. *JB
THE SPEEDOMETER ON MY 2003 GMC SIERRA STOPPED WORKING. FIRST IT WOULD GIVE INACCURATE READINGS, THEN IT STOPPED WORKING ALL TOGETHER. *NM
DAY TIME RUNNING LIGHT BURNED OUT. WHEN I WENT TO REPLACE IT (STILL THE ORIGINAL BULB) THE BOTTOM OF THE BULB WAS BURNT BAD AND THE PLASTIC WIRING SOCKET WAS STARTING TO MELT AROUND THE BULB BASE. I CHANGED THE BULB AND THE LIGHT STILL COMES ON. I THOUGHT I BETTER CHECK THE HEADLIGHTS. CHANGED THOSE BULBS BUT THE WIRES LOOK LIKE THEY ARE BLISTERING FROM OVER HEATING. NEVER DID BLOW A FUSE. SEEMS TO ME LIKE WIRES ARE TOO SMALL FOR THE AMPS THE LIGHTS DRAW, ESPECIALLY THE DAYTIME LIGHTS. NO FIRE YET BUT SEEMS LIKE THIS COULD POSSIBLY SET THINGS UP FOR A FIRE. *NM
THE SPEEDOMETER NEEDLE ON MY 2003 GMC SIERRA TRUCK IS STUCK AT 140 MPH. I WAS STOPPED BY A POLICE OFFICER FOR AN UNRELATED INCIDENT AND WAS ISSUED A CITATION FOR HAVING A BROKEN SPEEDOMETER. I NEED TO GET IT FIXED, BUT GMC DEALER IS NOT COOPERATING. *NM
I HAVE A 2003 GMC SIERRA AND THE SPEEDOMETER IS STUCK AT 45-60 MPH, AND GOES UP PAST THE 120 MPH MARK WHEN IN MOTION. I BELIEVE THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARD, AND FROM A SEARCH ONLINE, I FOUND THAT THIS PROBLEM IS FOUND ON MANY OTHER 2003-2006 GM TRUCKS. THIS NEEDS TO BE RECALLED IMMEDIATELY DUE TO EXPIRED WARRANTIES FOR MANY OTHER GM TRUCK OWNERS THAT HAVE THIS FAULTY SPEEDOMETER PROBLEM, AND THE EXPENSIVE COST TO REPAIR/REPLACE. THANK YOU. *JB
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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