Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (service brakes, ABS, rotors and pads, parking brake).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Driving through a rural town going about 45 miles an hour, I applied the brakes and they were very soft, brake pedal went near the floor, eased it home on front brakes (as rear line had ruptured). Upon inspection brake line had rusted in two just behind the fuel tank (long section had rusted away). Replaced line going to rear brakes.
I have a 2003 Chevy k3500 Silverado truck, with about 60,000 miles. As of December 2010, I have suffered two brake line failures due to corrosion, wherein a steel rigid brake line rusted completely through, resulting in brake loss. I live in ohio, and salt is used on roads, however, in my 30 years of driving, I have never had another vehicle, regardless of age or miles, which suffered a catastrophic failure of the steel brake lines. In both cases of failure, I was lucky in that I was not in a heavy pressure situation, and luckily avoided accidents. I have now largely replaced the entire brake line infrastructure of the truck, at considerable personal time and expense, however, problems still include the fact that corrosion continuously affects the performance of the front wheel speed sensors as they input to the ABS system. …
First failure was the dual braking system I was hooked up to a trailer and started down the driveway (about 0.4mile long) and stepped on the brake pedal which went to the floor boards. There was no stopping effort from the brakes. I used the manual control of the trailer brakes to stop the vehicle. Both brake lines under the cab area had rusted out and ruptured at the same time. Had I been on the road at speed this would have been a crash. The dealer who picked up the truck commented that this happens "sometimes". He repleced the lines with non-GM ones so they would last longer. This winter I was having trouble starting the truck in cold weather and noted that I needed to operate the manual fuel priming pump to get the truck started. (truck is equipped with the optional diesel engine. The dealer when working on this noted that the lines were very rusty and need to be replaced. …
Thank god my husband was with me and knew what to do. I was driving. As we were going down the interstate at 65 MPH we hear a noise not having a clue in the world. He said we need to find a pull off and see what that could be. As I went to exit off I discovered I had no brakes. None whatsoever. As my husband gets it to a stop we discover brake fluid pouring out from behind the fuel tank and between the cab. I was panicking. My husband crawls up under it to discover all the brake lines are rusted out and busted. We purchased this vehicle the first of March 2014 from jerry (todd) hunt auto sale in lexington nc. How could he even be allowed to sell such an unsafe vehicle? That was a matter of life and death. How can Chevrolet even put such brake lines on as that? As I called Chevrolet they don't want to do anything. I called todd hunts to have the lady yelling at me! Rude! …
I was driving to work in the morning on 9/23/14 and went to apply the brakes to slow down, when the brake pedal went all the way to the floor. I was able to slow down while down shifting the transmission and narrowly missing hitting the vehicle in front of me. I pulled over and noticed brake fluid leaking from beneath the brake master cylinder. I purchased a large bottle of brake fluid from a gas station and continued to fill the brake reservoir until I made it back to my local auto repair facility. During the shop's investigation, they discovered that a steel brake line had burst due to rust. In further investigation they noticed that all steel brake lines needed to be replaced, because they were nearly rusted through. I authorized the repair at a cost of nearly $1000.00. …
On the above listed date the brakes on my truck failed while going down hill not far from my house, this was not a complete failure as I was able to stop, get turned around and go home. Upon further investigation I found a brake line that rusted through. While looking on line for parts and guidance I came across an article which prompted me to further inspect the under carriage of my truck. I must say that I totally agree all the comments made regarding rust on these vehicles, it is quite excessive. As I looked closely you can see a lot of rust on all components of the under carriage, ie cab mounts, bed mounts all brake lines, springs, spring shackles, the entire frame and the list goes on and on. My other vehicle is a 1993 Toyota corolla which has been in upstate new york since new. The under carriage looks new compared to the Chevy. I feel g.m. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 3500. The contact stated that while braking to a stop, the brake pedal went to the floorboard abnormally and he was unable to engage the brakes. The contact stated that he had to shift into neutral in order to stop the vehicle. He also mentioned that after he inspected the vehicle, he noticed that the brake lines were corroded and brake fluid was leaking. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer and the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 111,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 3500. The contact stated that the brakes failed with no warning. The contact attempted to drive the vehicle on a residential road and upon applying the brakes, the pedal extended to the floorboard. The contact was able to drive the vehicle onto the emergency lane, noticed there was a leak underneath the vehicle and that the brake line had burst. The vehicle was scheduled to be inspected and repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 121,938.
Brake lines rust through with no advance warning. In my case it was at highway speeds while the truck was loaded with approx. 1000 lbs of material. Fortunately it was just the rear lines so I still had front brakes to bring the vehicle to a complete stop. When researching this event I found cases that the front and rear brakes rusted through at the same time. Due to the amount of weight these trucks can haul or tow I believe the chances of a serious accident are great enough to warrant NHTSA to investigate this farther.
Wife was coming home from work at night went to stop and lost brakes. I got it back home and inspected it and found that it blew a rear and front brake line. The brake lines were rotted so bad we replaced them all. Upon replacing brake lines I noticed that fuel lines were also rotted severely and one was wet with diesel. The truck is used everyday and doesn't sit. These lines should not rot this bad this fast. Some thing GM should address before someone gets killed. Thank you
Brake complaints in other Silverado 3500 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are brake problems on the 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 3500?
NHTSA has 24 complaints about the brakes of the 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 3500, 57% of the model year's 42 complaints. The component named most often is antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip › control unit/module (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 brake problems?
No. NHTSA lists no brakes recall for the 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 3500. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 brake problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 85,000 miles, and 4% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.