2003 Chevrolet Suburban LT review from North America

The suburban, with the steering fixed, drives a dream. The 5.3 gets up and goes on the highway and pulls whatever I need to pull. I do my share of off-road driving when I'm pheasant hunting in MN, and this suburban will go through it all. It has room for eight people and is both a hunter's dream and a basketball mom's dream. It can transport 8 people and haul lots of gear. I've never once not felt safe in this ride.

Shortly after I purchased the vehicle, I noticed a tapping in the steering wheel when making both right and left turns. As more miles were accumulated on the vehicle, the tapping sensation got worse. I took it to the dealership and they fixed the problems. 18,000 miles later the problems were back. Luckily, I had purchased the extended warranty and the car was covered.

At the 38,000 mile mark, an ugly sound started coming form the vehicle's underbelly. From the time I pressed the gas pedal at a standstill until I got up to 15-20 miles per hour; there was a loud vibration. I took the truck back to the dealership and they determined it was a corroded muffler. Apparently, the metal inside the muffler broke off and was vibrating inside and the muffler had to be replaced. The downside is that no muffler shop in the area could get his or her hands on a muffler, because the patent wasn't out on it yet. The dealership wanted $765.00, but luckily, a local guy had a take-off from a 2004 suburban that he put in my vehicle for $150. That too is now is beginning to make the same rattling sound and here we go again. Hopefully the patent is out and Midas or Car-X can do the job.

The gas mileage is more noticeable now with gas prices being higher than when I purchased it. The gas mileage really goes down when the 4x4 is engaged... even in the "auto 4wd" mode.

The suburban, with the steering fixed, drives a dream. The 5.3 gets up and goes on the highway and pulls whatever I need to pull. I do my share of off-road driving when I'm pheasant hunting in MN, and this suburban will go through it all. It has room for eight people and is both a hunter's dream and a basketball mom's dream. It can transport 8 people and haul lots of gear. I've never once not felt safe in this ride.