"How reliable is the 2003 Chevrolet Silverado?"

"Based on 852 NHTSA complaints, the 2003 Chevrolet Silverado has a median complaint mileage of 38875 miles. The most common issue is Service Brakes."

"What are common problems with the 2003 Chevrolet Silverado?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2003 Chevrolet Silverado is Service Brakes, accounting for a significant portion of the 852 total complaints filed."

2003 Chevrolet Silverado: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 852 complaints

852

Total Complaints

38,875mi

Median Mileage

Service Brakes

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

15,000 25th Percentile

38,875 Median Mileage

75,593 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Service Brakes

124

Electrical System

Instrument Cluster/Panel

Service Brakes, Hydraulic

Automatic Transmission

Steering

Rotor

Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip

Vehicle Speed Control

Transfer Case (4-Wheel Drive)

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"THE VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A FRONTAL COLLISION AT HIGHWAY SPEED. UPON IMPACT THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOYED. MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION.*JB"

"THE TRANSMISSION SLIPS WHEN EITHER STARTING FROM A COMPLETE STOP OR WHEN SHIFTING FROM 1ST TO 2ND GEARS. YOU CAN FEEL THE TRUCK THEN JERK INTO GEAR WHEN ENGAGED. NOTE: THIS IS AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION AND DOES NOT DO IT ON A CONSISTENT BASIS. IT SEEMS THAT TEMPERATURE OR ROAD CONDITIONS ARE NOT A F..."

"JUST PURCHASED 2003 4 DOOR CHEVY SILVERADO WITH LATCH SYSTEM. TRIED USING SYSTEM WITH EVENFLO BASE UNIT BUT LATCH BELT DOES NOT FIT PROPERLY DUE TO THE BELT TIGHTENING UNIT BECOMING TO CLOSE TO PLASTIC HOLDER ALLOWING BELT IN SLIPPING OVER BASE UNIT."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Service Brakes 124 complaints

25th: 73,529 mi Median: 92,900 mi 75th: 130,750 mi

Electrical System 61 complaints

25th: 35,500 mi Median: 55,000 mi 75th: 95,500 mi

Instrument Cluster/Panel 46 complaints

25th: 49,000 mi Median: 67,000 mi 75th: 82,500 mi

Service Brakes, Hydraulic 45 complaints

25th: 30,590 mi Median: 57,100 mi 75th: 78,000 mi

Automatic Transmission 44 complaints

25th: 2,451 mi Median: 7,255 mi 75th: 18,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

NY: 65 OH: 63 MI: 48 CA: 47 PA: 42 TX: 41 GA: 40 FL: 38 VA: 35 MD: 25

Who Files Complaints?

46.9%

Original Owners

53.1%

Second+ Owners

Chevrolet Silverado — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1990	37	-	Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip	4
1992	51	160,000	Motor	1
1993	77	187,000	Recliner	1
1994	235	121,500	Motor	11
1995	331	143,000	Motor	20
1996	230	75,000	Motor	17
1997	365	72,000	Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip	25
1998	335	73,500	Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip	19
1999	2104	63,512	Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip	126
2000	1614	55,000	Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip	163
2001	1048	49,008	Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip	115
2002	853	46,000	Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip	85
2004	723	45,000	Service Brakes	68
2005	361	53,474	Service Brakes	16
2006	223	54,000	Service Brakes	11
2007	253	55,612	Air Bags	11
2008	221	62,722	Air Bags	18
2009	103	58,500	Electrical System	9
2010	91	42,344	Unknown Or Other	2
2011	99	55,000	Air Bags	15
2012	91	19,423	Air Bags	13
2013	87	10,100	Power Train	14
2014	195	3,900	Power Train	29
2015	111	5,200	Engine	9
2017	156	26,250	Power Train	15

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28