2003 Chevrolet Suburban 1500: Reliability Data

223
Total Complaints
90,005mi
Median Mileage
Service Brakes
Top Issue
6
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

58,800 25th Percentile
90,005 Median Mileage
124,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Service Brakes
42
Instrument Cluster/Panel
37
Electrical System
23
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
15
Steering
8
Vehicle Speed Control
7
Body
6
Fuel/Propulsion System
6
Seat Belts
4
Unknown Or Other
4

Severity Assessment

6
Crashes
3
Fires
4
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE I NOTICED THE AIR CONDITIONING COMPRESSOR WAS AUDIBLE WHILE RUNNING. I AM NOT THE PRIMARY DRIVER, SO I WROTE THE NOISE OFF AS NORMAL. A FEW DAYS LATER HOME MY WIFE STARTED THE VEHICLE AND TURNED THE AIR CONDITIONING ON AND SMELLED SOMETHING BURNING. THE COMPRESSOR HAD SE..."
"WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE I NOTICED THE AIR CONDITIONING COMPRESSOR WAS AUDIBLE WHILE RUNNING. I AM NOT THE PRIMARY DRIVER, SO I WROTE THE NOISE OFF AS NORMAL. A FEW DAYS LATER HOME MY WIFE STARTED THE VEHICLE AND TURNED THE AIR CONDITIONING ON AND SMELLED SOMETHING BURNING. THE COMPRESSOR HAD SE..."
"DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED WITHOUT INCIDENT. THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED BY A DEALER WHO DETERMINED THE LEFT REAR STRUT HAD WORN INTO THE REAR FUEL LINE ASSEMBLY AND MADE A PINHOLE SIZED PUNCTURE. THE DEALER REPLACED THE PUNCTURED FUEL LI..."

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 42 complaints
25th: 93,725 mi Median: 145,000 mi 75th: 180,315 mi
Instrument Cluster/Panel 37 complaints
25th: 55,000 mi Median: 72,227 mi 75th: 90,000 mi
Electrical System 23 complaints
25th: 69,000 mi Median: 100,000 mi 75th: 125,000 mi
Service Brakes, Hydraulic 15 complaints
25th: 55,376 mi Median: 79,950 mi 75th: 92,500 mi
Steering 8 complaints
25th: 17,250 mi Median: 55,650 mi 75th: 106,335 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

TX: 39 MI: 17 NY: 17 VA: 13 MD: 13 NJ: 12 OH: 12 FL: 8 IL: 8 CA: 8

Who Files Complaints?

13.9%
Original Owners
86.1%
Second+ Owners

Chevrolet Suburban 1500 — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

YearComplaintsCrashes
1997210
1999916
2000726
20011029
20021443
20042202
20051022
2006350
20072405
20081314
2009700
2010700
20111081
2023250
2025310

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