2003 Chevrolet Suburban Consumer Reviews

Chevy Diehard

Written by: BenGrainger on 02/24/2008

Vehicle

2003 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 LT 4WD 4dr SUV (5.3L 8cyl 4A)

Review

I have driven Chevy's all my life. But this one may send me away. Nothing but dash problem everything has to be serviced because of lights coming on even after I have it serviced. Airbag went out right after warranty. Goes into 4 wheel low by itself. Replaced Horn, entire AC. DVD player in roof causing whole roof to droop. I love my truck but it is driving me crazy with expenses and dash lights always on. I always have things flushed and take care of my vehicles. $1000 dollars for air bag replacement now is out of my budget. Can not afford to take in to figure out why it goes into 4 wheel on its own. New horn now has problems again. This is at least my 7th Chevy could be last.

Favorite Features

4 wheel drive buttons, walk in between back seats. Stereo sounds good. heated seats on cold days.

Suggested Improvements

Gas mileage, instrument cluster. Far back seat lay flat or go into compartment like vans.

5 out 5 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post

Surprisingly Good Truck

Written by: Mark Cee on 01/21/2008

Vehicle

2003 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 LT 4WD 4dr SUV (5.3L 8cyl 4A)

Review

After years of driving Toyota pickups and RAV-4, I was hesitant to buy a Chevy but I did because I needed the extra size. I've got to admit - I am very surprised at the quality and reliability of this truck. I bought the truck when it was 2 years old with 30,000 miles on it. I now have over 90,000 miles on the truck and the only problems I've had so far was the Instrument Panel ($400) and the A/C belt tensioner ($250). It has the same "tight" quality feel that I grew accustomed to as a Toyota owner. It's clear that, at least on this model, GM has finally learned it's lesson and built a high-quality automobile. That was certainly not the case 15 years ago!

Favorite Features

Excellent highway vehicle - plenty of passing power. If I drive 65 MPH or less I get between 19 and 20 MPG on the highway. I get 15 MPH in town, which is fine for a vehicle this size.

Suggested Improvements

The rear seat has surprisingly little leg room, and a lamp under the hood would be nice. The front bulbs (turn signals, driving lights) don't seem to last more than 6 or 9 months - cheap to replace but kind of irritating.

2 out 2 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post

Never again

Written by: Terry on 11/13/2007

Vehicle

2003 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 LT 4WD 4dr SUV (5.3L 8cyl 4A)

Review

Sorry. My family dream car has been a nightmare. We have drove this vehicle to the dealership so many times to be repaired that they are even sorry they sold it to us. We have drove this car for over half of its miles with the amber engine light on. (bought it new ) wire harness, gas tank, struts, radio, fuel pump, mass air flow sensor, trailer tow short in steering wheel, steering collum, front wheel seals, ghost signals to amber light, wheel bearings, and now the transmission just went out at 115k, we kept thinking nothing else could go wrong, now we know we were wrong. GM says they are sorry for our troubles, and they have assigned me a case number that no doubt will be lost in cyberspace.

Favorite Features

The ride of this vehicle is very nice and the xm radio is an excellent feature. The 327 engine has amazing power, and quick response. Lots of bells and whistles.

Suggested Improvements

Interior durability is very poor, plastic looses its color easily, no need for adjustable pedals. Let a family of 8 use it for a year before putting it on the market for unsuspecting buyers to take their own risks

1 out 2 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post

Perfect SUV

Written by: Perfect SUV on 09/17/2007

Vehicle

2003 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 LT Rwd 4dr SUV (5.3L 8cyl 4A)

Review

We just bought a 2003 Suburban LT, and this has got to be the perfect SUV! We traded a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan for this truck, and we are so pleased with this Suv. It has 70,000 miles on it, and runs like brand new. The turning radius is excellent, the 5.3 vortec V8 is extremely strong, and rides very nice. Ours has 4 bucket seats and a 3rd row bench seat, and it can seat 7 adults very comfortably. It also has a very large cargo area in the rear to hold all of the kids stuff. I also have a 99 Chevy Z71 Truck with 170,000 miles on it, so I know how dependable and reliable Chevy trucks are. I am so glad to have my wife and 3 kiddos in a big, strong, dependable truck. We all love it.!

Favorite Features

Leather, DVD player, so much interior space, Extremely Comfortable, strong 5.3 Vortec V8, Tow/Haul mode, Gets really good gas mileage considering the bulk of this SUV. We do around 99% city driving and average 15.5 to 16.9 MPG. That's real good when you think about this big SUV.

Suggested Improvements

I just wish that Chevy and GMC would advertise more often. It seems like everytime you turn on the TV all you see is Ford or Toyota commercials. I've driven Chevy, Ford, Dodge, Toyota, and Jeeps, and I rank Chevy/GMC at the very top. They are simply the best in reliability, and gas mileage.

9 out 9 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post

Amazing car?

Written by: Gaucho blue on 08/13/2007

Vehicle

2003 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 LT 4WD 4dr SUV (5.3L 8cyl 4A)

Review

I traded in a 740 BMW for this cruiser. No it is not a race car but for everyday and for vacation you cannot beat the comfort. It rides like a Cadillac deville.Lots of room. Mileage is poor. I average about 15-16 miles per gallon. One trip the best I got for 4 hours driving was 19.6 miles per gallon. You cannot fill the tail end of this car!

Favorite Features

Size, comfort, reliability, solid vehicle drives like a car

Suggested Improvements

Better gas mileage

3 out 4 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post

5.3 seem bulletproof

Written by: consolidatedwm on 01/20/2007

Vehicle

2003 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 LT 4WD 4dr SUV (5.3L 8cyl 4A)

Review

Bought the our '03 z71 burb after an accident sidelined our same style Tahoe. We had 160K on the clock with the Tahoe and I'm convinced it would have gone well past 200K with no major repairs. Very dependable and it never left us stuck. I'm sticking with the 5.3 engine and glad I did with the 'burb. Ride quality is incredible and we are amazed at the steering radius in the 'burb vs our older Tahoe. Creature features all are good quality and overall we give kudos to GM for quality, looks, and performance. We did change out all fluids to synthetics as we had good luck last time - why tempt fate. We will be in the market for a brand new one it two years, very happy with what we have to get us there.

Favorite Features

Her: Heated seats. Him: Automatic seat adjust per driver, lumbar and overall added capacity over the Tahoe.

Suggested Improvements

Mileage, but what can you do? If you want a bus you're gonna pay. We still get about 17mpg avg

5 out 5 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post

Poor Reliability

Written by: Bryce Christensen on 01/08/2007

Vehicle

2003 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 LT 4WD 4dr SUV (5.3L 8cyl 4A)

Review

Z71 Ride quality is very good and the vehicle is fun to drive. However the vehicle has had numerous reliability problems at 50,000 miles. The instrument cluster has gone bad, front end is loosening up, shocks gave out, replaced side mirrors, lights, etc. Recommend selling once the warranty expires or purchasing an extended warranty. Or purchase a better engineered SUV and avoid the extended warranty and service hassles all together. Actual gas mileage is around 13 MPG on average.

Favorite Features

Suggested Improvements

Fix the poorly engineered dash electrical cluster and side mirror features. Front end suspension is highly questionable

3 out 3 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post

Transfer Case and Transmission replaced

Written by: NNN from DC on 05/28/2006

Vehicle

2003 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 LS 4WD 4dr SUV (5.3L 8cyl 4A)

Review

After driving 87,000 freeway miles in 3 years, the transfer case and transmission went out at the same time. So much for being built to last. Not certain if I will ever buy American again as our qualilty can not compete!

Favorite Features

Bose system rocks!

Suggested Improvements

Focus on quality! Offer 10/100K as a standard warranty.

1 out 1 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post

2003 Z71 4X4

Written by: z71 on 03/28/2006

Vehicle

2003 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 LT 4WD 4dr SUV (5.3L 8cyl 4A)

Review

First off, not going to complain about MPG because I knew it when I bought it. 18 hwy, 14 city. 17 hwy with 6 passengers and a weeks worth of luggage. Drives great, like sitting up high. I have the Z71 package, handling is better than expected, parking is easy. We have two minivans as well, 4 kids and the Suburban is the vehicle of choice for long trips - only one that can hold all our luggage. Have the 2nd row captain chairs which makes it easier to access the third row, but not as easy as the minivans. That is the only advantage the minivans have. My wife preferred the minivan because of ease of access, but now she wants a Suburban when we replace hers, probably in 08.

Favorite Features

Cargo room behind third seat; center console is the best I've ever had; message center has tons of info; I hear lots of complaints about interior quality but have yet to have anything break (w/ 4 kids!); Bose sound system is great;

Suggested Improvements

Put cruise buttons on steering wheel; Split folding third row seat; flat folding third row seat; waiting for the Duramax diesel, even if it is only offered in the 2500 and cost $5K more! Removable or flatter folding 2nd row - easier to fit a 8'X4' sheet of plywood. Ditch XM and pick up Sirius

2 out 2 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post

Last Chevy

Written by: PW on 03/14/2006

Vehicle

2003 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 LS 4WD 4dr SUV (5.3L 8cyl 4A)

Review

Where to begin, probably the worst truck I ever owned. Four Wheel Drive front end was replaced, steering box of some sort replaced, speedometer cable/control, catalytic converter, battery leaked and went dead (15K miles), acid ate through the pump for the windshield washer. Tons of problems. Biggest pile of junk I have owned. Latest problem I have is it slips into 4wd, but the indicator light does not go on, happened twice. I am going back to Ford.

Favorite Features

Size

Suggested Improvements

Quality. GM spends more man hours to build a vehicle, but it sure doesn't show

0 out 1 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post