Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING | |||
| 05/05/2010 | |||
| I previously had to have the power steering cooler replaced because of leaking corroded lines. just recently had to have trans cooler replaced because of leaking corroded lines. mechanic said all lines underneath (brake, steering, etc) are terribly corroded and we will definitely pay attention to all corroded lines, etc in future oil change visits. the undercarriage of my truck is a corroded disaster. the rocker panels are gone. corroded railer hitch was replaced. luckily nothing has totally failed yet to cause an accident. | |||
| 08/19/2004 | 4500 | ||
| Starting at <5k miles the vehicle power train clunked when shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear. now at 70k miles it clunks when shifting between all gears except final drive. the dealership replaced the output shaft on the tranny, then the u-joints, and modified the electrical shift patern. it still clunks. power steering intermittently locks up at slow speed turns, especially when braking. light bulbs burn out almost every three months. had to pay ($486.00) for replacing the intake manifold gasket when vehicle had little over 40k miles. brakes fade and the pedal almost goes to the floor, again intermittent. i have almost caused several accidents due to the steering and brake issues. gmc issued a letter stating this is a normal occurance and will not cause damage. well, it's getting worse in sound and clunking harder during shifting. | |||
| 03/18/2010 | 15000 | ||
| 2003 gmc half ton sierra truck. 3 time since 2003 that i've had to take it in for clunking noise felt thru steering wheel. lubed a couple times then replaced the intermediate steering shaft. still no guarantees that it won't happen again. also very hard to steer when braking and brakes don't respond well when applied quickly. the first time the intermediate steering shaft needed attention the truck only had 15,000 miles on it. the second time was 30,000 miles and the last time was 45,000 miles and occured in march 2010. | |||
| 03/22/2007 | 9669 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 gmc sierra 1500. he had to replace the steering intermediate shaft when the vehicle had 9,669 miles on it since it was defective. he was concerned that he had to replace the part with since the mileage was so low. the current and failure mileages were 9,669. | |||
| 06/12/2009 | 26000 | 1 | |
| 2003 gmc sierra - intermediate steering shaft. second failure of the steering shaft, truck has only 56,000 miles. original equipment shaft failed at 26,000 miles and was replaced under warranty. hundreds of similar complaints in various gm truck internet forums. a new, improved replacement part is now available, gm part #19153614. there needs to be a recall to force gm to replace the first generation part. *tr | |||
| 04/28/2006 | 16491 | 2 | 12/01/2002 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 gmc sierra 1500. whenever the vehicle is driven at any speed, the contact feels bumping or banging in the steering wheel. the vehicle was repaired by the dealer; however, the failure persists. the failure mileage was 16491 and current mileage is 36,000. updated 10/14/08 *bf the dealer replaced the steering shaft twice. updated 10/23/08. *jb | |||
| 04/11/2008 | 60000 | 1 | |
| Clunking noise and vibration in steering column at low speeds on bumpy roads, especially when turning corners. feels like serious front-end mechanical problems. current mileage on my 2003 gmc sierra is 60,000. i learned from gm that the intermediate steering shaft had already been replaced at 24,000 miles under warranty, but it needed replacing again. $207 for new shaft and $92 labor. new, improved part # is 19153614. if gm knew the original shaft was defective, why didn't they have to recall it? *tr | |||
| 03/03/2008 | 3 | 04/01/2003 | |
| 2003 gmc sierra with several problems. consumer states that the transmission failed. passenger side window motor broke, speedometer failed due to stepper motor failure, truck is on the third set of front brake rotors, and upper support column bearings, and more problems. *kb the consumer stated the dealer refused to replace the upper support bearing, but replaced the intermediate shaft instead. the rear planatery forward clutch was burnt, which caused the transmission to fail. *jb | |||
| 02/25/2008 | 80845 | 3 | 11/25/2006 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 gmc sierra 1500. the headlights dim and the engine shuts off when the contact depresses the brake pedal. the steering wheel does not move and the contact was almost involved in a crash. the dealer could not determine the cause of the failure. the manufacturer would not assist the dealer in locating the failure. the current and failure mileages were 80,845. updated 4/2/08 *cn the consumer stated when the engine shuts off and vehicle is still, the steering wheel becomes inoperable. updated 04/02/08 *tr | |||
| STEERING - COLUMN | |||
| 07/09/2006 | 40000 | 2 | 07/10/2003 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 gmc sierra 1500. the contact heard a rubbing sound coming from the steering column. the dealer stated that the steering column needed to be replaced and they replaced the column with the original design. one year later, the failure recurred. the dealer stated that there was a new design for the steering column, but the contact would have to pay to have the new part installed. the failure mileage was 40,000 and current mileage was 50,000. | |||
| STEERING - GEAR BOX - SHAFT SECTOR | |||
| 11/22/2006 | 24000 | 2 | |
| I have a 2003 gmc sierra ext cab short bed pickup. at 24,000 miles i had to have the steering shaft replaced because it was wore out and causing a popping noise when i turned or went over a bump. i now have 44,000 miles on the truck and the shaft is already worn out again! it seems like these are only lasting for about 20,000 miles. *jb | |||
| 09/06/2006 | 51000 | 1 | |
| Dt*: the contact stated while driving various speeds on any road conditions, whenever the vehicle hit a bump in the road there was a knocking noise in the steering gear box. the noise got louder when the steering wheel was turned to either direction. the vehicle was not taken in for service. | |||