Problems with 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Takata recall, today, may 31, 2019, i drove my truck to a meeting at 1:30 in the afternoon and parked my vehicle in the parking lot (it was stationary in a city parking lot). when i returned to my car after the meeting at 3:30 in the afternoon i open my car and the interior was engulfed in smoke. a component of the power seat on the drivers side started the fire. it was fortunate no one was in the truck at the time and the windows were closed. after the fire ignited and used up all the oxygen in the interior the fire burned out on it's own. i did call the fire department he had never seen anything like this before. (i've included the fire department investigators card and i can obtain a report if needed). the investigator was the one that determined where the fire started. he explained that the top layer of the seat upholstery has some fire retardant but the underside does not. you can see that the seat was burned from the bottom to the top, the electrical was still operational as you can see from the lights that are on in the photos. i can find no recall on this issue and your assistance would be appreciated. i can only imagine what would have happen if i had been behind the wheel while driving and or had my daughter with me. i am the sole owner of this chevy tahoe since 2003. i was completely stock and no outside work has ever been done to it. i have had it regularly serviced and it was running great. i have never noticed any problems with my seats. i do not smoke and had no other combustibles in the car. please see photo's attached. ## vin passed ## chevy tahoe 2003 ##

While driving my instrument cluster stopped working pulled over unplugged battery started working but been happening a lot it has 180,000 on it

My tahoe caught fire inside the driver side dash. it was parked, no one had driven it that day. i put in a claim with gm (claim #sr 8-2955875514) and it was denied as they said there are no recalls for my tahoe. this fire started out of no where. thank goodness our neighbor came banging at the door to let us know that our tahoe was on fire. we weren't home at the time but my son was, we arrived to find him with the water hose extinguishing the flames that were coming from inside the vehicle. i sent the pics to gm and they just denied it with no other explanation other than there was no current recall. they didn't even tell me why the fire started no one came out to see the vehicle.

While driving on the interstate at 70 mph the car switched to reduced engine power and reduced speed immediately to 25 mph, leaving me in the position to navigate through rush hour traffic to get to the side of the road. after happening a couple of times over a 30 period, it is now a regular occurrence. each attempt to take the car in to a mechanic to be repaired results in the same issue occurring afterwards. mechanics seem not to be able to determine the cause resulting in a completely unsafe car. the throttle body has been replaced, wire harness, pedal sensor, and throttle body sensor. nothing has solved the problem!

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet tahoe. while approaching a stop, the vehicle began to vibrate severely and the check engine warning light illuminated. in addition, the vehicle failed to accelerate when the accelerator pedal was depressed. the failure recurred intermittently. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the throttle position sensor failed and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. the vehicle was also taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the wiring harness failed and needed to be repaired. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failures. the approximate failure mileage was 166,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet tahoe. the contact stated that when the ignition switch was placed in the off position, the key would not release from the ignition switch. the failure occurred on several occasions. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was unknown.

Speedometer quit working. gm needs to step up and fix this problem. *tr

When i when to pull out of my drive way 3 or 4 weeks ago i turned on my left turn signal and the four hazards started flashing! it stopped and started back up again and now does it all the time! *tr

Yesterday was driving home from work and came to a round about, slowed down and vehicle died (alternator gauge went below 14, oil pressure dropped below 40, and battery light came on). i lost all steering and brake pedal was stiff. now vehicle continuously idles rough and will stall out if not on the throttle, idles 500 and lower. i have replaced mass air flow sensor, air filter, plugs, wires, o2 sensors, fuel filter, evap canister, alternator, and had throttle body cleaned. see there are many complaints filed of the same issues and wondering if anyone at gm has found a solution. also have noticed gm has recalled the intake gasket but i have not received anything on this recall. *tr

Abs, brake service light comes, door locks cycle repeatedly, loses power and won't start. *tr

Not sure what is happening to my car but it is very scary when it happens. shortly after i start my car and it is warmed up, when i am driving it and i put the brakes on to slow down on a corner or at a intersection, my car will shut off. i can't steer and the brakes are hard to push. please help, don't want to kill myself or my family. *tr

My instrument cluster went bad while driving. i took it to chevrolet and was told there was a recall on the part but only up to 7years or 70, 000 miles. from what i know, gm was well aware that they made defective instrument cluster and don't want to replace them. i have 6 children to transport back and forth from school and practice, my speedometer not working is unsafe for my children. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet tahoe. the contact stated that smoke came from under the hood. the contact took the vehicle to the dealer where it was determined that the blower relay resister module failed. this failure caused the air conditioner to fail and it smelled like plastic was burning. the vehicle had not been repaired. the failure and current mileages were 135,000. *tr

When driving, i noticed my speedometer registered around 80 and it was on a road that i normally go about 55. many others were passing me, and i couldn't believe people would be going 90 or 100. and i certainly didn't feel i was going 80. i slowed down to 55, and i was crawling. i came to a stop light, and my speedometer went down to 15 at a stand still. i sped up again, and the same thing. now it is stuck at 40 when sitting still and goes to about 100 when i drive. apparently googling this, it appears to be a massive problem and no one can understand why a recall hasn't been issued. the dealer told me a bad cluster at $650 to repair. this needs to be escalated and chevrolet needs to cover this problem. it is an extreme hazard on the road, and probably has caused many accidents and fatalities because of faulty readings. please let me know what else i can do to get resolution. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet tahoe. the contact stated that the instrument panel gauges all failed and she was unable to read the fuel gauge, speedometer, thermometer, etc. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis where they advised that the instrument cluster failed and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was later contacted and advised that there were no recalls for the failure. the failure mileage was unknown. the current mileage was approximately 168,286.

I was driving my 03 tahoe, when an explosion went off in my vehicle. my entire back end of my tahoe was literally blow to bits. there were no other vehicles or people around me. i immediately called the police dept. they were shocked to see the condition of my vehicle and said it looked to them, that it was a chevy malfunction of some sort. i called my insurance company right away. they came out and towed the vehicle. they were also shocked to see the damage, and had no idea what or why it had happened. after assessing all the damage they found it would cost $2000 to fix the damage. ins. said they were willing to cover the damage, we had to pay a $500 deductible. i have five kids who are normally in the truck with me, thank god that morning, they were not. glass was blown all over the inside of my truck, the noise alone would have damaged their ears, mine were ringing all day. i also contacted chevy's customer service line. i spoke with an agent there who as no help, asked to speak to her supervisor, and she was no help. i then asked for whoever was above her, and i was told there was no one else to help me. i asked for a name, a phone number, an email anything for someone with more authority and was told that there was no one. this is wrong! what if i had been driving down i95, or what if i had my children with me?? then id be suing chevy for millions! im asking is that they cover the $500 deductible since this is obviously something that is a safety issue. this wasn't normal wear and tare, this wasn't something that was just out of warranty and isn't covered. this is crazy! this is obviously a chevy defect and needs to be addressed. i am sending pictures so you can see how horrible this was. this wasn't just the back glass shattered, this was like a bomb literally blew off my back door, while i was driving. chevy needs to take responsibility for this. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet tahoe k1500. the contact stated that the heater failed and would only emit extremely hot air. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where they advised the contact that the blower resister and plug needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered no assistance. the failure mileage was approximately 130,000. updated 05/21/12

I have noticed several complaints about this issue and it appears gm does not care. my speedometer is never correct. it runs 20-30 mph over (and sometimes under) what we are actually doing. this first was noticed several weeks ago (prior to actually failing) when it appeared that the needle would jerk (or step action) up or down, i know chevrolet sent out a notice on this a year or so ago, but my vehicle was beyond their (gm) mileage requirement. i feel that their "bean counters" knew this at the time and it was against the american consumer. anyway, this should be a safety concern by not only gm, but dot as well simply on the fact that one does not know how fast they are going. if caught off guard - thinking they are going 70 mph but doing 90 mph, loose control or run into someone. on the opposite side, doing 70 mph, glance down and see that they are doing 90 mph, they may hit the brake too hard to slow down and loose control or get rear ended. i could go on more with this issue, but it will probably not help (except add to the piles of complaints you are already receiving), so i'll quit for now. thank you and please "light a fire" under gm's corporate people before someone gets killed over this. *tr

I can be going down the highway running 65-70 mph and the reduced engine power light will come on and reduces my speed to 10 mph! i pull over, disconnect the battery cable and replace it, then i could continue for another week or so. finally, i left the diagonstic computer in my truck and was able to capture the code p1125. the mechanic said to replace the throttle body. that was done in october. it ran fine for a while, but it started doing it again. the throttle body was replaced again! now, two months later, it's doing it again! no one can seem to fix the problem. meanwhile, i am a female who travels the highways everyday going back and forth to work and i have been in several dangerous situations due to this problem that will not stop! as of now, i can not drive my truck and having to rely on carpooling again until it's fixed for the third time in the past 6 months. it also appears that several people are having the same problem with no results. someone is going to get killed if this is not addressed soon!

2003 tahoe has a defective instrument panel cluster - gm refuses to repair under their "special coverage" because that coverage expired at 80,000 miles. my vehicle is setup with a tow package allowing you to tow up to 7,000 pounds. it is critically important that you know your speed when towing a trailer or you can easily loose control. my speedometer is currently stuck at 10 miles per hour. gm has diagnosed and stated the instrument cluster is defective. gm does not consider a speedometer to be a safety device, but because they promote this vehicle with a "tow package" speed becomes a much more critical factor in vehicle operation. *tr

The speedometer failed - indicating incorrect speed. for example, driving through town at the normal flow of traffic (20-30 mph) the speedometer indicates 50+ mph. *tr

03 chevy tahoe with 28,000 miles,all gauges quit working,have no idea how fast we are going,no idea on gas,oil pressure etc. i am afraid to drive this and can not afford 700. to fix what should have been a safety recall. *tr

My control panel lights and heat and air control knobs are going out. my back seat seatbelt sometimes want latch and my 3rd row seating will not latch to the bracket. my stearing is bad it will not line up and thats just the begining of the problems that should not happen. my grandkids ride in this vehicle.

Speedometer not working correctly. shows 50 mph when stopped and 120 mph when on city streets. was working without any issues and then today it is incorrect. i have searched the internet and noticed this is becoming widespread. *tr

Driving along the highway at the posted speed of 65 mph the speedometer suddenly dropped to 0 and the needle ceased to move. upon stopping at the next rest stop and checking for circuit breakers i realized that the problem was probably within the instrument itself and continued. returning to the freeway i noticed the speedometer was once again functioning but cars were passing me at an excessive speed. i estimated, by traveling with the flow of traffic, our speedometer was reading 15-20 mph fast. after stopping again and troubleshooting with no success we resumed our trip with the speedometer reading approximately 10-15 slower than actual speed. upon notifying our dealer i was told the speedometers in this year vehicle were failing at a excessive rate and the manufacturer had decided to offer and extended warranty to 70000 miles for replacement. i was never notified of this problem and warned of the defective parts in my vehicle. this particular trip was to mexico and the reliability of my speedometer would be a particular concern on the roads i travelled. this part should have been recalled due to the excessive rate of failure and the manufacturer should have notified the consumer immediately.

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet tahoe. the contact stated while driving various speeds the speedometer and fuel gauge malfunctioned. the contact was unable to determine how fast the vehicle was traveling. the manufacturer mailed the contact a letter regarding the defect with the instrument cluster. when the letter was received the contact did not have an issue with the instrument cluster on the vehicle. the letter stated that the manufacturer extended the warranty to seven years from the date that the vehicle was in service or 70,000 miles. the contact exceeded the extended warranty and the dealer will not repair the instrument cluster under the warranty; however, the manufacturer should be responsible for the repairs since this was a known safety issue. the failure mileage was 55,000.

Tl*-the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet tahoe. the contact stated that the speedometer functioned intermittently and the failure was progressively becoming worse. the dealer stated that there was no warranty and the contact would be responsible for repair costs. the current and failure mileages were approximately 129,000.

I purchased a new battery for my truck and now whenever i get to a stop sign or red light it goes dead. i don't understand. everything was fine before i put in another battery. also, while driving the speedometer needle was higher than the speed i was going and the fuel needle showed more than actually was in the truck. *tr

Speedometer on 2003 chevy tahoe defective - while driving on the freeway on my way home from work in moderate traffic, i look down and my speedo is displaying over 120mph. this caught me off-guard and i stepped on the brakes, almost getting rear-ended. i called the dealer and they stated that there is a service bulletin out that would cover this safety issue. however since my vehicle has 85k it does not qualify. upon searching on the internet, this appears to be a major safety issue and it is evident this is a known problem for many years. dealer wants to charge over $750-$1000 to fix this safety problem! something needs to done! *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet tahoe. while traveling at speeds of 60 mph, the contact noticed that the instrument panel had become inoperable. the vehicle was taken to a local mechanic where the contact was informed that the dashboard would need to be replaced. the failure mileage was 8,000 and the current mileage was 12,000.

Our 2003 tahoe has strange speedometer readings that are not correct. it caused us to travel faster than was safe on the road. when noticed we slowed down pulled over and waited for another car to follow. *tr

2003 tahoe speedometer displays inaccurate value. do not know at what speed vehicle is traveling. doesn't seem to be any common denominator as to what speed it displays and you don't know when it is accurate or not. this is scary! internet search reports a on going problem. what does it take to make this addressed and corrected? *tr

Approx. every other time i drive my 2003 chevy tahoe the speedometer misreads. it is usually off by around 20-30 mph under the actual speed of the vehicle. the oil pressure is also affected by dropping to almost zero. i have heard there is a recall for 2005 silverado with similar problems however i have not found a recall for my vehicle. thank you. *tr

Speedometer on 2003 chevy tahoe defective - while driving the other day at 55mph speedometer jumped to over 100 mph. this caught me off-guard and i stepped on the brakes, almost getting rear-ended in moderate traffic. a major safety issue, in my opinion!! now when vehicle is stopped speedometer reading 50 mph. reading on the web it is evident this is a known problem for many years. dealer wants to charge over $800 to fix this safety problem! *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet tahoe. all of the gauges on the instrument control panel have failed. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection. the technician stated that since the warranty expired, he was ineligible for a free remedy. the failure mileage was 110,000.

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet tahoe. the contact stated that the gauges on the instrument panel were not functional. at the time of the complaint, the fuel gauge and tachometer were not working at all. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the instrument cluster needed to be replaced. the vehicle had not been repaired. the contact called the manufacturer who took a complaint but offered no further assistance. the current mileage was approximately 80,000. the failure mileage was approximately 77,000.

I bought a 2003 tahoe with 69,000 miles on it and about 20,000 miles later the speedometer stops working it is hard to drive this way. i found out that there was an issue with this on other g.m vehicles and was covered if the miles were under 70,000 miles. now i am struck with the repair costs. if there was some sort of recall then my truck should have been fixed before i bought it, but nothing was said about it. *tr

2003 chevy tahoe, under 80k miles, speedometer "sticks". currently registering 120 mph while sitting still. takes several days for speedometer to return to zero or show correct speed. have found multiple descriptions of same issue on many internet forums. *tr

My husband and i were traveling to houston this past weekend, when we looked down at the speedometer to see that we were traveling at a rate of 120 mph. since flow of traffic was passing us quite easily, we were assured that we were not, in fact, traveling 120 mph. when we parked the car, we were still traveling at 120 mph. gm is aware of this issue with their product, but has not done a full scale recall. instead, they have a 7 year/70,000 mile warranty extension. the issue with that is that we purchased this car with more than 70k miles on it. the dealership knowingly sold us a vehicle that had major issues with the speedometer. *tr

Instrument panel failing on 2003 chevy tahoe. problem began around 119,000. speedometer gives inaccurate readings or doesn't work at all. instrument panel lights are beginning to malfunction as well. *tr

Speedometer on 03 tahoe stuck on 90mph. have heard tons of complaints on this and still no recall issued. what to do???????*tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet tahoe. while driving approximately 57 mph on normal road conditions the speed odometer displayed inaccurate readings. the vehicle has not been repaired for the failure. the failure mileage was 114,000. the current mileage was 116,671. bl updated 10/5/09 *cn updated 10/07/09

We noticed the speedometer and the battery was losing charge for several months. we have replaced the battery multiple times and had alternator and starter checked but could not find anything wrong with them. did not take the vehicle to a chevrolet dealer cause couldn't afford it the computer analyzing cost. looked up on computer and in 2009 there was a recall on the "cluster" of the 2003 tahoe and we were never notified. chevrolet now says the recall has expired. we did not change addresses at all during this time period. (i also have a friend with a 2003 tahoe and she did not receive a notice of recall either and has the same problems). what do i do about getting this problem fixed without it costing me a great deal of money. if they know something is wrong with one of their vehicles they should correct the problem especially if someone has a vehicle with a problem and never received a recall notice. *tr

Ihave a 2003 chevy tahoewith less than 41,000 miles on it. speedometer doesnt work ,stock to 120 mph. i heard that some people who have the same problem about their instrument panel called chevy/gmc and admit that certain vins had defective cluster(including mine)yet they will not recall or replace unless the vehicle has less than 70,000 miles on it,but i called chevy and they dont admit about this but instead they suggest to bring my truck to a dealer to diagnose what the problem is with my own expenses.right now ive been laid off from my job,cant even pay my mortgage,bills.he.........llppppppp. *tr

I purchased a 03 chevy tahoe that currently only has 45,000 miles. recently, my speedometer intermittently stops working. i notice it happened once on a trip out of state, now it is happening more frequently. i am also experiencing my radio changing stations on its own at the start up of my vehicle. i also have the left thermostat adjuster lighting that went out about the same time my speedometer started acting up. *tr

The speed gauge was struck on 10 than 20 it stop working all together about two months go. iam going to get it fix. *tr

Instrument cluster failure on 2003 chevy tahoe. speedometer failure. speed registers 60-80 mph faster than actual speed. chevrolet is aware of problem and has a "program" to replace on vehicles up to 80k miles only (increased from previous 70k miles). this replacement should apply to all affected tahoes, regardless of mileage, as it could present a safety hazard and certainly presents a vehicle inspection problem. the speed reading problem occurs daily, with each drive. *tr

Engine light ,oil pressure gauge dropped to zero ,but had no motor symptoms.also 3 chimes rang.would like to have history of repairs and previous codes. thank you. [xxx] please email to me or i can download from my p/c information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

Recently purchased (3 days ago) a 2003 chevrolet tahoe and both my wife and i noticed erratic behavior from speedometer. after much research and another family member with the same problem on a 2004 tahoe, we realized that this was a serious safety issue that an extreme amount of other people were having. the speedometer "sticks" at different points while accelerating or decelerating, i wish to get this issue resolved as soon as possible via recall. gm is well aware of this problem and it should issue a full recall on the instrument cluster to fix the problem. a simple "special situation" warranty is not good enough. gm must issue a recall on this very widely experienced problem. they also said that although my mileage was only 2000 miles over the "70,000" mile mark, they wouldn't fix it. this is a serious safety issue! gm...do the right thing! reference blogs and gm class action lawsuit at: http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f11f710/159 and also at http://www.lrolaw.com/pdf/gmspeed.pdf. *tr

Speedometer in 2003 tahoe failing to give accurate speed. speed does not register at all sometimes. needle to speedometer is "jerky" when it does work. have not had repaired yet because i was searching out possible solutions when i discovered that numerous tahoe owners are having the same problem. if the manufacturer is admitting there is a problem them why should "we" have to pay for it. especially after discovering the cost ( from $500-$575). please help! *tr