2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Service Brakes Problems
- 270
- Owner complaint records in our dataset
Records are owner complaints, not a measured failure rate.
Owner complaint recordsComplaint records reflect reports in our dataset and do not measure how frequently the problem occurs across all vehicles.
Among these 270 stored complaint records:
- 15 indicate a crash
- 2 indicate injury
- 1 indicate fire
What owners report
- brake lines · 71 records
- brake pedal · 51 records
- brake line · 51 records
- went floor · 37 records
- pedal went · 34 records
- brake fluid · 22 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 100–150k mi | 97 |
| 60–100k mi | 91 |
| 150–400k mi | 38 |
| 30–60k mi | 26 |
| 1–30k mi | 14 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Service Brakes
Came out of a store at a shopping mall and noticed a massive amount of brake fluid on the ground. A brake line between the fuel tank and truck bed has ruptured causing an almost complete loss of fluid.
ODI 10746009
Service Brakes
Hopped into my vehicle friday morning and the brake pedal went to the floor. Rear brake line rusted away. Fortunately it happened in my driveway. The day before i was pulling my boat on the interstate at 70 mph. There's a scary thought. Btw, vehicle has not been operated during the winter months the past three years.
ODI 10732020
Service Brakes
No warning!!!(soft brakes or dashboard lights), truck brakes completely failed in traffic! After stop light, in slow moving traffic. Silverado crashed into small car and then, that car into another. No injuries, minor damage. I loved this truck. I have a folder an inch thick on this vehicle's maintenance! Never has it's service been ignored! Chevy should be accountable for this catastrophic failure of brake system.…
Crash reported
ODI 10730871
Service Brakes
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet silverado 1500. While driving approximately 35 mph, the brake pedal traveled to the floor when it was depressed and failed to stop the vehicle. The brake and abs warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was stopped with the emergency brake and the contact was able to coast over to an emergency lane. The contact exited the vehicle and noticed that the brake lines were corroded and…
ODI 10724669
Service Brakes
My brakes failed coming back from a 356 mile trip. I was backing up my boat into the garage when the brakes failed. Luckily i stepped on the parking brake and was able to stop without hitting something. I think i am really lucky the failure did not happen on the expressway or when my wife was driving. There looks like 4 brake lines running from the master cylinder down under the driver side to the antilock brake…
ODI 10722804
Service Brakes
I was getting ready to leave work and as i rolled towards the stop sign i attempted to brake but the pedal went straight to the floor. I rolled through the stop sign and into the next lane, fortunately there were no other vehicles at the time. When i exited the vehicle i immediately saw the trail of brake fluid and under closer inspection i could see where not one but two lines had ruptured at once. I was leaving to…
ODI 10705616
Service Brakes
On april 11, 2015 i was driving my 2003 silverado 1500 to work. While driving across town i approached a stop light. My breaks felt very soft and had almost no resistance. While at the stop light my vehicle continued to creep forward very slowly into the intersection. Luckily, the light turned green shortly thereafter. I continued approximately 1 mile with no need for slowing down and arrived at my next turn. I went…
ODI 10705257
Service Brakes
I was backing out of my driveway and noticed a fluid puddle in the spot where it was parked. Upon investigating,it has been determined that one of the front brake lines has ruptured. After further inspection,all brake lines are severely corroded and soon to accompany the ruptured line. I'm displeased that such a valuable safety aspect of my vehicle has been compromised by general motors. I feel that general motors…
ODI 10703726
Service Brakes
I was towing my boat down a 4 lane highway, approximately 100 miles from home. As i approached a traffic light, it turned yellow and i pressed on the brake pedal. The brake pedal suddenly went all the way to the floor with no braking power and i rolled through a red light. As i coasted i tried the parking brake, which also had no braking power. As this occurred, i had to roll through another red light, thankfully i…
ODI 10704615
Service Brakes
I was starting up my 2003 chevy silverado this morning to go to work when the brake pedal quickly went to the floor board. After rolling backwards for a little i was able to stop the truck. After this happened i received the "service brake system" message on the control cluster. Looking outside the vehicle, i could tell a brake line had broken or had a significant leak as there was a puddle by the front passenger…
ODI 10692379
Service Brakes
Noticed brake fluid on the floor of my garage as a result of brake line rust thru. Upon inspection i found that all of the steel lines in the brake system were corroded and required replacing. Even though the brake fluid level has leaked down significantly and the brake pedal is nearly on the floor, no brake warning light has activated indicating a brake system failure. Because i have prior experience working on…
ODI 10700641
Service Brakes
As luck would have it, i had just left a very busy highway and pulled into a parking lot when my brakes failed completely. The brake petal went down to the floor and rather than risking a collision with any cars or people, i drove into a snow bank. When i got out of the truck to look for the problem, the metal brake line had split and was leaking fluid. When the brakes fail on your car, it always happens when you…
Crash reported
ODI 10691221
Service Brakes
Attempted to stop vehicle, brakes failed (later found to be due to corrosion) crashed into garage. *tr
Crash reported
ODI 10683075
Service Brakes
Driving my '03 chevy silverado 1500 (108,850 miles on the vehicle) on my way to get my oil changed, my brakes seemed to all of a sudden loose most of their stopping ability. I first noticed it approaching a stop light after traveling on a stretch of highway at 45 mph. I had to press the brake pedal in much further than normal. No warning lights were on indicating a problem. The next set of lights, maybe a 1.5 miles…
ODI 10682725
Service Brakes
Second failure of brake lines due to road salt. First time back brake lines. This time front brake line. Mechanic said brake lines he uses nickel and will not rot. How come the truck is not made with nickel brake lines? This will cost me close to one thousand dollars! Every mechanic i talked to repairs several of these problems a month. Some just a few years old. My wife was driving this time with my kids after sled…
ODI 10680997
Service Brakes
At less than 18000 odometer miles, the dtc co265-ebcm motor relay circuit had a fault. The three: abs, brake and service brake now lights came on. On 1/12/2015 the rusted ebcm ground had been removed and cleaned as per the 2003 chevrolet k silverado - 4wd service manual document id:2245394. This procedure didn't solve the brake light problem. The system is apparently the same in 1999 to 2007 silverado yet gm only…
ODI 10672275
Service Brakes
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet silverado 1500. While driving approximately 10 mph, the brake pedal was depressed but the brakes failed to respond. As a result, the contact crashed into a pole. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the brake lines and fuel lines were rusted, and needed to be replaced. The front passenger…
Crash reported
ODI 10759939
Service Brakes
This truck has mostly highway miles so the brakes are not overused. While pulling into a parking lot the brake line broke and my peddle went to the floor. When looking online to see if this is normal i found that many people have had their brake line break in the same spot. A truck should be built to last more then 10 years since they will be sold and resold many times in it's lifespan. I do live in salt belt,…
ODI 10667777
Service Brakes
Was coasting down a hill and went to step on the brakes. The pedal then felt very soft. The truck proceeded to stop after several feet longer than normally. The next time i stepped in the brakes the pedal went to the floor with very, very little resistance. The truck had to be manually downshifted to come to a stop. Had to limp the truck home and only lightly use the brakes. *js
ODI 10662063
Service Brakes
Earlier this year had monroe muffler and brakes repair a brake line. Last week a second line rusted through. Pep boys stated three lines needed replacement. *tr
ODI 10662546
Service Brakes
The brake lines are corroded and brakes gave out. I narrowly missed hitting my neighbor's car. There was no warning, the brake pedal went all the way to the floor. I put on the ebrake. It was towed to the local dealer and they confirmed it needs all new brake lines. Estimate is $1215 plus tax. This truck has had all of its service done at the local dealer and is in very good condition. I bought it certified used…
ODI 10660883
Service Brakes
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet silverado 1500. While driving 45 mph, the service brake system warning light illuminated and the vehicle failed to respond when the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The technician diagnosed that the brake lines needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 80,000.
ODI 10655371
Service Brakes
I was driving my 2003 silverado 1500 down a [redacted] in congested traffic up to a stoplight at speeds ranging from 15-45 mph. I noticed that my breaks felt different than they normally did, requiring me to depress the brake pedal all the way to the floor to get "modest" breaking, not nearly the normal emergency/quick breaking action i'm used to. After slowly coming to a stop, i noticed that if i held the brake…
Fire reported
ODI 10653648
Service Brakes · Vehicle Speed Control
I left my home and drove approximately 10 miles before pulling into a parking lot. I was away from the vehicle for about 45 minutes.upon starting the vehicle i depressed the brake pedal and engaged the transmission. At this point the pedal seemed to travel further than usual. I left the parking lot and drove about 200' before having to stop; this time the pedal went to the floorboard but slowed the vehicle…
ODI 10667114
Service Brakes
While driving through subdivision approx. 20 mph i applied brakes. Pedal dropped to floor, sudden loss of brakes with no warning. Brake fluid is leaking from driver side lines rear of module. This is a known problem due to galvanic corrosion. Why has there not been a recall ?? *tr
ODI 10653610
Catalog parts for this system
Catalog year/make/model rows for 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1500.
Catalog fitment does not by itself prove OEM-equivalent compatibility.