Problems with 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

I bought my 2003 silverado new. no complaints until 2008 when the brake rotors and calipers started rusting.toward the end of the year i replaced the front rotors with new and exercised the calipers. i drove it a month and the rear brakes were acting up. i parked it until 2009 and tried driving it again. the rear brakes were acting as if they were not even there. i removed the wheels and found nothing but rust. not just surface rust but deep pitted rust on the rotors and calipers. i replaced the rear rotors and calipers, installed new pads and bled the system, front and rear. also noticed the brake lines are severely rusted but did not change them yet. i drove the truck for a week and was pleased with the way the brakes were working. then the anti-lock brake light came on followed by the regular brake light. everything looked normal, fluid level, no leaks, brakes seemed to work ok but wasn't going to chance it. i parked the truck and called the dealer and they said the only recall was for front abs sensors. how can a vehicle with less than 35,000 miles have its brakes turn into a ball of rust ! i owned a 88 silverado with 210,000 miles with no problems with the brakes. they must be using cheap chinese rotors and calipers. i'm luckier than most, i haven't had any close calls. i'm just disappointed in gm accountability. hope you enjoyed your bonus i gave you. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet silverado 2500. the contact stated that the transfer case was designed with a defect. as a result, the pump in the transfer case wore a hole from the inside to the outside of the transfer case. this allowed the oil in the transfer case to pump out the hole and caused the transfer case to run drive. the dealer stated that the vehicle was out of warranty and the contact would have to pay for the repair. the failure mileage was 130,000. updated 3/16/09 *cn the power steering started leaking fluid. the dealer informed the consumer the power steering fluid leak was coming from the hydro booster onto the power steering gear. the consumer lost his brakes. it was discovered the booster rod was missing. the parking brake did not work and the instrument cluster failed as well. the speedometer did not work it was reading 60 mph even when the vehicle was parked. updated 03/18/09. *jb

Brake lines ruptured causing failure of braking system on my 2003 chevrolet silverado 2500hd. this truck has only 45,000 miles on it. chevrolet told me that this was normal wear. i then asked them if it was normal for a person who bought one of their vehicles to expect a life endangering situation after only 45,000 miles, and they said yes. this is on tape, as they asked me if they could tape my phone call, and i agreed. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet silverado 2500 hd. while driving at any speed, the brake pedal would pulsate. the dealer stated that all of the brakes, abs sensors, front and rear rotors, and front wheel bearings needed to be replaced. in addition, the brake line and transmission needed to be flushed. the current mileage was 36,400 and failure mileage was 35,700.

2003 chevrolet silverado brake problem. contact states brakes pulsated in rear rotors. brake were heavily corroded and dealer replaced rear rotors. *bf the dealer told the consumer that since the use of asbestos brakes had been discontinued, brake quality and performance had been reduced. the dealer went on to explain that the pad material forms deposits on the rotors causing the surface to become less smooth and eventually giving a pulsating sensation leading to poor braking performance. on july 20, 2007 the consumer began experiencing the pulsating issue again, only to be told that the brake problem was due to non-use, however the consumer disagreed with their findings, stating the vehicle was driven at least once a week. the consumer took possession of the old rotors and soon discovered that the rear rotors were worn twice as hard as the front rotors that were original for the vehicle. the consumer stated the rear brakes were producing the majority of stopping power on the vehicle. the left rear door would not close properly. the dealer ordered a new latch *jb

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet silverado 2500 hd. while driving 20 mph, the abs warning light and service brake light illuminated. the dealer stated that the electronic control module should be replaced. the contact replaced the electronic control module and there had been no further occurrences. the failure mileage was 65,500 and current mileage was 66,000. updated 03/13/08 *lj.

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet silverado 2500 hd. after taking the vehicle to have a recall repair performed on the tires, the contact was informed that the rotors and brake pads were worn. general motors informed him that a dealer needed to inspect the vehicle. the contact was charged a fee for the inspection. the current mileage was 73,800 and failure mileage was 73,000. updated 01/08/08 *bf updated *jb

When coming to a stop the brakes work fine up to about 10 mph then the brakes seem to release. this creates a very dangerous situation. if coming to a stop with normal stopping distance the problem could cause a crash to occur. *jb

Rusted out brake lines with subsequent loss of brakes. this is the second time the brake lines failed. lines were replaced. damaged lines were saved and are available for inspection. dimmitt chevrolet and general motors customer assistant center refused to investigate this problem! *tr

I have a 2003 chev. 2500 4x4 est. cab long box. it has 18000 miles on it. i had to replace the rear brakes and rotors at 18000 miles. this is unacceptable for a truck of this type. (heavy duty). i also had a dim brake light on the dash, which i had checked out at the dealer. they said it was in the dash board and would cost 400.00+ to fix. the dealer also said the steering was loose and this was caused by the factory when installed, 250.00+ to fix. what kind of product are they making? *nm

Dt*: the contact stated while traveling 50 mph, power steering was lost and braking became harder. the vehicle was pulled over and power steering fluid was replaced, but that did not correct the problem. the vehicle was driven to the residence and the power steering pump was replaced, this did not repair the problem. the dealership determined there was a collapsed hose. the hose was replaced, but the problem persisted. there was a nhtsa recall, # 04v045000, regarding the brakes. the vehicle was not included in the recall due to the vin.

2003 chevy 2500hd truck. brake rotors "severely rusted" as stated by dealer. truck only has 37,500 miles; brake pads only making contact with 1/3 of rotor surface on all 4 rotors. dealer resurfaced rotors but expects problem to continue, with all 4 rotors need to be replaced in near future due to poor rotor quality; was told even if i replaced the rotors, i'd still have the same problem again within 30k miles. *nm

Today i was told my 2003 chevrolet silverado (diesel, crew cab) needed a new transfer case. the vehicle has approximately 125,000. our company owns two other similar 2003 vehicles (gmc model). the same thing happened to both other vehicles. one at approximately 12,000 miles, the other at 140,000 miles. something happens within the transfer case that causes the case to be punctured and lose fluid. the case overheats and eventually the vehicle seizes up. the cost to repair this condition is $3,200. in addition it causes the anti-lock brake module to fail, resulting in another $500 of damage. i assume the anti-lock brakes no longer works once this happens. i wonder how many vehicles this is happening to. all 3 of our 2003 models experienced this. we were unable to find any transfer cases at the junk yards. the last repair we had for this took 2 weeks to get the parts - there are none in stock apparently. all of this leads me to believe this is a design defect in these vehicles and it may be potentially dangerous if it does indeed cause the anti-lock brake module to fail. it took 2 weeks at the dealer to figure out that the damaged transfer case was causing the modules to fail. are you getting lots of complaints on this? is there a silent recall or campaign covering this problem? it is hard to pay this kind of money on a vehicle that has a $700/month payment and was presumably purchased for it's durability and safety. *nm

Inferior brake performance of chevy. 2500 trucks. the brakes are inadequate and wear out pre-maturely, causing un-safe braking performance. contacted g.m. customer service and they agreed to take care of problem: which was approved and denied twice. contacted area district service rep for g.m. and he also denied a problem with brakes. spoke with dealer service manager and he said it is an ongoing problem with g.m. brakes; the manufacture will not admit a defect in inferior brake quality. the brakes degrade gradually, with very few miles: 15,000- 20,000 miles. *tr

Consumer complaint concerning transmission failures on 2003 silverado. *ts the transmission fluid was burnt, the reverse gear was inoperable and the transmission shifter was loose. the power steering fluid was low. fluid was leaking from the gear box. the front seal on the power steering pump was worn and leaking, as well as the lower hose. the water pump gasket and lower radiator hose was leaking. the battery was replaced because it would not hold a charge. the a/c would only blow out air from the defrost vents. the a/c heater mode door actuator was worn. the check engine light illuminated. the fuel filter was replaced. the panel on the drivers seat was warped. the tires were replaced, however months later one of the tires developed a slow leak, due to a pin hole located in the sidewall. the rear pads and rotors were replaced. the front and rear shocks were replaced. the tail gate support cables were replaced. the rear tire blew out while driving. the second row seat belt was inoperative. *jb

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet silverado 2500 hd. the contact stated that the brake lines on the vehicle were corroded. the dealer was not familiar with any brake lines corroding for this year, make and model vehicle. the contact stated that the vehicle had never been driven in snow or ice. the dealer stated that they would not be able to replace the brake lines. the vin was not available. the failure and current mileages were 66000.

On my 2003 chevy silverado 2500hd with vortec 8100 (496 in3) engine, the power steering pump also acts as the power source for the brake booster (i believe). thus, many times when i have my foot on the brake there's a partial loss of power steering. in order to fully regain the power steering, i have to let my foot up off the brake pedal. this power-steering-pump-as-brake-booster set-up is unique to this engine. so far, i have been able to get by without experiencing a critical situation. the loss of power steering was worse before i replaced the serpentine belt two years ago (<10,000 miles). i had goodyear install a high-quality belt they manufacture themselves. cold weather start-up conditions are the worse; thus in cold weather i prefer to let the engine warm up to eliminate the potential for loss of power steering. i just think that owners of this vehicle (with the 8100 engine) should be fully aware of this problem. *tr