Engine & cooling

2003 Chevrolet Astro Engine problems

Owners have filed 5 complaints about the 2003 Chevrolet Astro's engine & cooling with NHTSA - 6% of all its complaints, most recently on July 31, 2007. They describe 0 crashes, 1 fire and 0 injuries. Stalling, loss of power, oil consumption, overheating, head gaskets, timing chains and engine failure.

Had this problem? Share it All 2003 Astro problems

Complaints: 5
Recalls: 0
Crashes: 0
Fires: 1
Injuries: 0
Deaths: 0

Engine complaints

Engine & cooling

My fiance and I bought a 2003 chevy impala in nov of 2006 with only 40,000 miles. In july of 2007, the car was started and shut off by itself a few minutes later. It would then not start. We first had it towed to a local shop that informed us that the upper intake manifold had cracked. It leaked antifreeze into the cylinders, the spark plugs and other parts of the engine and the cost for repair would be 1400.00. We had the car towed to a 2nd shop for a 2nd opinion. They told us that the antifreeze that leaked had...

Read the full complaint

totally locked up the engine and we needed a whole new one. That was going to cost us at least 2,000 for a used one. We than decided that a 4 year old car with 60k miles on it should not be in need of a new engine so we again had it towed to a chevrolet dealer repair shop. They told us the same thing. The car was officially in need of a whole new engine. We contacted chevrolet's customer care dept and they are so far unwilling to help. We've only had the car 8-9 months and are continuing to make payments on the loan. Per the dealer, the used engine will cost us 3000.00 And a new one will cost is 5050.00. *Jb

BrakesEngine & coolingElectrical systemFire

On september 9, 2005 my 2003 chevrolet astro van exploded and caught fire in a parking lot. The fire dept. Arrived and put out the fire; the firemen disconnected the battery cable. The van was towed to huffines chevrolet in plano, tx. The cause of the incident according to the chevrolet mechanics is as follows: 1) every time the steering wheel was turned, the tie rods etc. Would chafe against a bracket on the chassis that held down a battery cable. 2) Eventually the bracket failed. 3) The battery cable arced...

Read the full complaint

against the brake line. 4) The brake line ruptured spraying hydraulic fluid over the hot engine manifold. 5) The ensuing fire burned through, among other things, the a/c hose carrying freon. 6) When the a/c hosed was severed, the freon gas escaped causing the loud explosion that we heard some distance away. 7) The smoke that we saw in the air was actually the escaping freon gas. All was supposedly repaired in three weeks. On november 8, 2005, the brakes failed while under way. The chevrolet mechanics stated that the cause of the brake failure was traced to a small pinhole caused by the arcing battery cable several weeks ago. Eventually the entire brake line failed. If this story seems preposterous to you, it does to me too but this is the story we got from chevrolet. In my opinion, my 2003 chevy astro van suffers from a fatal flaw in design and/or manufacturer. It is unsafe and should be taken off the road forever. *Jb

Engine & coolingTransmission & drivetrain

Dt: 2003 chevrolet astro, vehicle has stalled numerous times, around at least 12 times, this happened on major highways endangering the consumer and her family, the consumer has had it towed to the dealer around 5 or 6 of these times, the dealer said they could not find the problem, vehicle usually starts back up after at least 2-3 hours after stalling, vehicle only has 36,000 miles, consumer has gotten in contact with the manufacture, chevrolet has yet to get back to the consumer, the dealer said that there were...

Read the full complaint

possible problems with the vehicles transmission , power control module, possible transference problem, or possible other problem, dealer also said there was a loud rear chatter. *Jb

SuspensionBrakesEngine & coolingTransmission & drivetrain

After ball joint recall, I have had nothing but problems with steering, braking and suspension. Front left side continually pops and grinds, shock boot was replaced twice, the shocks have been replaced 3 times. The third time may have fixed it, just got the van back today. Brakes are intermittent. Heard loud bang from rear end, dealership tightened backing plate. Transmission slips, shudder is felt from rear end at 30+ mph. Dealership put balances on torque converter and the drive shaft, had to cut the rear springs...

Read the full complaint

to do this. Service manager stated the problem was not gone, but livable. Vehicle runs rough at idle, almost stalling, service manager experienced the problem as well. Said fuel injector port was fill with carbon, but cleaning it did not fix the problem. Check engine light came on during a trip, stayed on for the 6 hour drive home, there was no heat at all, service manager said he could not get the computer to reproduce the code, but replaced the thermostat, water pump and two clamps.*Ak

Engine & cooling

The muffler on my 2003 chevrolet silverado needs its second muffler in as many years. It appears the baffle is becoming loose due to insufficient welds within the muffler. This is causing a vibration a various rpm/speeds.*Ak

Chevrolet Astro engine complaints by year

'83 '84 '85 '86 '87 '88 '89 '90 '91 '92 '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 5'03 '04 '05

Astro engine problems, every year

Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked yesterday. Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data

2003 Chevrolet Astro Engine problems

Engine complaints

Chevrolet Astro engine complaints by year

Had a engine problem with your 2003 Astro? Tell other owners.