Most common 2003 GMC Sierra problems
Share of the 206 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
GMC Sierra complaints by model year
Best Sierra years: 2020, 2018, 2009. Years to avoid: 1999, 2000, 1995, 1996, 1997. Compare all years →
2003 GMC Sierra recalls (6)
Seat belts › Rear/other
On certain crew cab pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, the 2nd row center occupant seat belt routing May make it difficult to position the lap portion of the safety belt low around the hips of occupants, especially smaller occupants, seated in this position.
Remedy: Dealers will cut open the guide loop, remove a portion of the loop, and then the remaining two sides should be folded over and secured with a retainer free of charge. The recall began on July 21, 2005.
Parking brake
On certain pickup trucks equipped with manual transmissions and built with either pbr parking brake systems or trw parking brake systems, the parking brake friction linings May wear to an extent where the parking brake can become ineffective in immobilizing a parked vehicle.
Remedy: Dealers will install a low-force spring clip retainer for vehicles equipped with a pbr parking brake system. On vehicles equipped with the trw parking brake system, dealers will install a redesigned parking brake cable…
Seat belts › Front › Anchorage
Certain extended and regular cab pickup trucks and cargo vans converted to compressed natural gas (cng) fail to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no.
Remedy: To bring the standard cab and cargo van vehicles into compliance, dealers will inject epoxy into the air bag off switch to prevent air bag activation, relocate the switch behind the instrument panel and then install a…
Structure › Body › Tailgate › Hinge and attachments
On certain pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, the galvanized steel tailgate support cables that retain the tailgate in the full open (horizontal) position May corrode, weaken, and eventually fracture. If both cables fractured, the tailgate would suddenly drop and strike the top surface of the rear bumper.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the cables. Interim owner notification began on April 7, 20004. The recall began on September 24, 2004, when replacement parts were available, and will continue through October 29, 2004.
Service brakes, hydraulic
Certain sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks, and passenger vans fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 135, ?passenger car brake systems.? Some of these vehicles were produced with an out-of-specification brake hydro-boost housing relief valve bore.
Remedy: Dealers are to replace the hydro-boost relief valve. The recall began on June 18, 2004. Owners should contact Cadillac at 1-866-982-2339; Chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438; GMC at 1-866-996-9463; or Hummer at 1-866-486-6376.
Visibility › Windshield
Certain pickup trucks fail to conform to federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 212, "windshield mounting." some of these vehicles lack a continuous urethane bonding bead between the body surface and the windshield.
Remedy: Dealers will remove, reseal, and reinstall the windshield. Owner notification began on January 28, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free…
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 5 possible defects involving the 2003 GMC Sierra:
Brake line corrosion failure
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received Defect Petition DP10-003 on March 2, 2010, requesting the investigation of model year (MY) 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD 4WD pickup trucks for corrosion failures of the vehicle brake lines.DP10-003 was granted and on March 30, 2010, Preliminary Evaluation PE10-010 was opened on more than six million model year 1999 through 2003 light trucks and sport utility…
Parking brake failure
Odi opened pe03-057 to assess parking brake ineffectiveness in the subject vehicles.these vehicles are equipped with four wheel disc brakes that incorporate a single-shoe drum-in-hat parking brake independent of the service brakes.complaint and warranty data indicate that the parking brake linings tend to wear out early in the life of the vehicle (at an average of 24 months in service), reducing the parking brake…
Parking brake failure
In a letter dated April 20, 2005, GM notified NHTSA that it had decided that defects that relate to motor vehicle safety exist in certain model year (my) 1999-2002 c/k 1500 series (pbr parking brake system) and my 2001-2005 c/k 2500 and 3500 series (trw parking brake system) pickups with manual transmissions.according to GM, some of these vehicles May have conditions that cause the friction linings to wear to an…
Tailgate cable breakage
General motors filed a defect notice 04v-129 on March 17, 2004, which outlines a program to replace the tailgate cables installed in affected model year 2000-2004 vehicles.refer to odi's closing report for ea04-005 for additional information.odi is aware of reports of tailgate cable breakage occurring in model year 1999 and earlier vehicles.these vehicles were equipped with similar tailgate cables as addressed by…
Parking brake failure
Odi's review of complaint data received since the close of ea04-011 revealed no indication that the investigation should be re-opened.more details can be found in the federal register notice enclosed in the dp05-009 public file.odi reserves the right to reopen the investigation in the future should conditions warrant.
What 2003 GMC Sierra owners say
Brakes all 83 →
When exiting the toll road, I applied brakes to slow down. It appeared we were going to roll thru the gate, I let off the brake, and then the car in front of me re-applied her brake. And when I re-applied my brakes, they went to the floor. No warning, no warning lights - the truck did not stop. I hit the car infront of me. Luckily I wasn't traveling at a high rate of speed, as nobody was hurt. After the incident, I noticed all the brake fluid had leaked out, and then my service lights came on. Had to be towed home and there I discovered that my brake lines had disintegrated - totally rusted out. I'm at the conclusion that the brake line wall was so thin, that when I applied the brakes the last time, the pressure blew out the line. No secondary line function. Yes, all lines appear to be totally rusted out. Truck is originally from ohio, I live in texas. …
I was approaching a stop light driving on a 4 lane 55 MPH speed zone. As I was approaching the stop light I starting pressing on the brake pedal. The pedal had no resistance it kept going to the floor. I started pumping the pedal trying to slow my truck down, no use. I pushed pedal all the way to the floor. This slowed a little. But not enough. I down shifted the automatic lever and starting guiding the truck off the road to avoid the stopped vehicles. I missed the vehicles. Luckily I was only 3 miles from home. I managed to limp home by driving very, very slow and using the gear shifter to slow me down. When investigating the cause at home I found the brake line on the right front had rusted through and there was a leak. All the brake lines on this truck are rusted and in bad shape. I called the dealer glenn Buick GMC where I purchased the truck new in 2003. …
Electrical system all 31 →
On May 31st, the rear end differential assembly exploded sending the pinon thru the housing and the rear axle caught on fire. The truck was in the shop (perry cheverolet, inc., columbia, mo)until 6-9-03. When I arrived in bozeman, mt on 7-2-03 I was having problems with the wiring. There was a fire when I plugged the rv electrical plug into the truck's trailer plug. There was also a blown rear tail light bulb. In bozman, they replaced the complete wiring harness, the tow receptacle and 2 fuse kits. It was the opinion of the shop in bozeman (j.c.billion, GMC) that the wiring damage was part of the original fire and differential assembly damage. Although GMC paid for my out of pocket expenses and for the waranty work, I am left to wonder what will happen next and just how safe am I going to be in this truck? …
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. …
Transmission & drivetrain all 29 →
On May 31st, the rear end differential assembly exploded sending the pinon thru the housing and the rear axle caught on fire. The truck was in the shop (perry cheverolet, inc., columbia, mo)until 6-9-03. When I arrived in bozeman, mt on 7-2-03 I was having problems with the wiring. There was a fire when I plugged the rv electrical plug into the truck's trailer plug. There was also a blown rear tail light bulb. In bozman, they replaced the complete wiring harness, the tow receptacle and 2 fuse kits. It was the opinion of the shop in bozeman (j.c.billion, GMC) that the wiring damage was part of the original fire and differential assembly damage. Although GMC paid for my out of pocket expenses and for the waranty work, I am left to wonder what will happen next and just how safe am I going to be in this truck? …
I was parked on a sloped driveway (about 10 - 15 degrees). I started the engine, stepped on the brake pedal and took the car out of park into drive. Brake pedal was normal. I started to roll forward and when I pushed the brake pedal the car did not slow. I slammed the brake pedal and it went all the way to the floor. At this point I went off the end of the driveway onto a 45 degree downward sloped lawn; then into a wooded area at the top of a ravine. I slammed into a tree. The car was judged a total loss by my insurance company. I did not get a brake warning light. The airbags did not deploy. The car was serviced at a union park GMC (wilmington, de) two days prior. Including brake inspection. Cause of brake failure was determined to be ruptured brake line. Both front and rear brakes were failed.
2003 GMC Sierra engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.3L 6-cyl | 4-speed automatic | RWD | 14 / 19 / 16 |
| 4.3L 6-cyl | 5-speed manual | RWD | 14 / 19 / 16 |
| 4.8L 8-cyl | 5-speed manual | RWD | 14 / 19 / 16 |
| 4.8L 8-cyl | 4-speed automatic | RWD | 14 / 18 / 15 |
| 5.3L 8-cyl | 4-speed automatic | RWD | 13 / 17 / 15 |
| 4.3L 6-cyl | 4-speed automatic | 4WD/AWD | 13 / 17 / 15 |
| 4.3L 6-cyl | 5-speed manual | 4WD/AWD | 13 / 17 / 14 |
| 4.8L 8-cyl | 4-speed automatic | 4WD/AWD | 13 / 16 / 14 |
| 4.8L 8-cyl | 5-speed manual | 4WD/AWD | 13 / 16 / 14 |
| 5.3L 8-cyl | 4-speed automatic | 4WD/AWD | 13 / 16 / 14 |
| 6.0L 8-cyl | 4-speed automatic | 4WD/AWD | 11 / 15 / 13 |
EPA ratings. Class: Full-size pickup.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2003 GMC Sierra a good car?
Based on 206 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2003 Sierra rates use caution: 1.7× as many complaints as a typical year of the Sierra at the same age. It is one of the Sierra years we suggest avoiding. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.
What is the most common problem with the 2003 GMC Sierra?
The brakes — 83 complaints, 40% of all complaints for this model year, most often about antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip. Next are the electrical system (31) and transmission & drivetrain (29).
How many recalls does the 2003 GMC Sierra have?
There are 6 recalls for the 2003 GMC Sierra, the most recent from April 22, 2005 (rear/other). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the GMC Sierra?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2020, 2018 and 2009. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 1999, 2000, 1995, 1996 and 1997. See the full GMC Sierra years comparison.
At what mileage do 2003 GMC Sierra problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 57,000 miles; 46% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 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.