2003 Chevrolet Venture Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Venture years
- About as many complaints as other years 7th of 10 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 5 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 185 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Chevrolet Venture. That ranks 7th out of 10 Venture model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is exterior lighting (30 complaints, 16%), typically at around 75,000 miles. Complaints mention 19 crashes, 4 fires, 34 injuries. There are 5 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 1 defect investigation involving it.
- 185owner complaints
- 5safety recalls
- 1NHTSA investigations
- 19complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2003 Chevrolet Venture problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exterior Lighting | 30 | 16% | 75,000 | — | — |
| Structure | 27 | 15% | 54,844 | — | — |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 23 | 12% | 60,667 | — | — |
| Air Bags | 17 | 9% | 102,000 | — | — |
| Electrical System | 17 | 9% | 70,300 | — | — |
| Power Train | 16 | 9% | 70,000 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 14 | 8% | 65,000 | — | — |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 11 | 6% | 19,228 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 11 | 6% | 50,515 | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 10 | 5% | 8,894 | — | — |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 8 | 4% | 109,500 | — | — |
| Suspension | 8 | 4% | 33,332 | — | — |
| Visibility | 7 | 4% | 33,484 | — | — |
| Engine | 5 | 3% | 90,300 | — | — |
| Tires | 5 | 3% | 13,750 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 4 | 2% | 106,600 | — | — |
| Seats | 2 | 1% | 45,334 | — | — |
| Steering | 2 | 1% | 500 | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 2 | 1% | 103,200 | — | — |
| Child Seat | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Equipment | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Fuel System, Other | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Service Brakes | 1 | 1% | 161,000 | — | — |
| Visibility/wiper | 1 | 1% | 48,000 | — | — |
| Wheels | 1 | 1% | 169,743 | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2003 Chevrolet Venture recalls (5)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Fuel system, gasoline:storage
Problem: On certain vehicles, variations in the manufacturing process or exposure to high ambient temperatures may lead to fracture of the fuel tank inlet check valve (icv).
Risk: A fracture may allow fuel vapors to pass through and allow droplets of fuel to accumulate on the side of the fuel tank. Fuel leakage, in the presence of an ignition source, could result in a fire.
Fix: Dealers will replace the fuel tank. The recall will be mailed in two phases with the first phase beginning on december 4, 2007. The second phase will be mailed on december 13, 2007. Owners may contact buick at 1-866-608-8080; chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438; or pontiac at 1-800-620-7668. The vehicle population includes buick rendezvous and pontiac aztek vehicle built in may 2003; chevrolet venture and pontiac montana vehicles built from june through august 2002; and all vehicles registered in nevada, arizona, virgin islands, puerto rico, and hawaii.
Latches/locks/linkages:doors:latch
Problem: On certain minivans equipped with second-row bucket seats or captain's chairs and a power sliding door on the passenger side of the vehicle, a passenger using the interior handle to open the power sliding door could be injured.
Risk: If a passenger uses the interior handle to open the power sliding door and holds onto the handle while it is being opened by the motor, the passenger's arm may be pushed into the seat back or armrest and a wrist or lower arm injury may result.
Fix: Dealers will replace the power sliding door interior handle on the passenger-side. If the vehicle is equipped with a power or manual sliding door on the driver-side, the interior handle will also be replaced for appearance reasons. Note: before the vehicle is serviced, gm advises owners to not use the interior door handle to open the door. The driver can open and close the door from switches at the driver's position or by using the remote key fob. The driver should tell passengers to use the switch located in front of the door to open or close it. The driver should use the override switch to prevent operation of the power door by children or by others who are not familiar with its use. The owner notification letter mailing will be conducted in phases with the first phase beginning on may 31, 2005. The second phase mailing began on july 18, 2005. The recall began on may 31, 2005. Phase 2 began on july 18, 2005. Phase 3 (final phase) began on august 24, 2005, to all remaining customers. Owners should contact chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438; pontiac at 1-800-620-7668; or oldsmobile at 1-800-630-6537.
Equipment:other:owners/service/other manual
Problem: Certain minivans, passenger and sport utility vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 225, "child restraint anchorage system." the owner's manual does not explain the meaning of the location symbols for the child restraint lower universal anchorage system.
Risk: This does not meet the requirements of the standard.
Fix: Owners will be provided with a supplement for their owner's manual. This supplement describes and shows the location symbols for the child restraint anchors that are located in the vehicle and on the child restraint or booster cushion. Owner notification began august 18, 2003. Owners should contact buick at 1-866-608-8080, cadillac at 1-866-982-2339, chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, gmc at 1-866-996-9463, pontiac at 1-800-620-7668, or oldsmobile at 1-800-630-6537.
Air bags:frontal:driver side:inflator module
Problem: On certain mini vans, passenger and sport utility vehicles, some of these vehicles have a driver's side air bag that may not deploy as designed. In addition, the air bag inflator could rupture.
Risk: This could result in reduced capability of the air bag to protect the driver. Also if the air bag inflator ruptured, pieces of the inflator could strike and injure the vehicle occupants.
Fix: Dealers will inspect, and if necessary, install a new driver's air bag. Owner notification began on march 11, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact buick at 1-800-521-7300, cadillac at 1-800-458-8006, chevrolet at 1-800-222-1020, gmc at 1-800-462-8782, or pontiac at 1-800-762-2737.
Air bags:frontal
Problem: Certain passenger, mini vans, and sport utility vehicles have an air bag inflator on the driver's side that could fracture at a weld during a deployment.
Risk: Pieces of the inflator could strike and injure vehicle occupants and the air bag cushion would not inflate fully, reducing the capability of the bag to protect the driver.
Fix: Dealers will inspect, and replace, if necessary, the air bag module assembly on the driver's side. Owner notification began august 15, 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact buick at 1-800-521-7300, cadillac at 1-800-458-8006, chevrolet at 1-800-222-1020, gmc at 1-800-462-8782, oldsmobile at 1-800-442-6537, or pontiac at 1-800-762-2737.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
NHTSA defect investigations
- Power-sliding door (PE04064) — opened Sep 17, 2004, closed Dec 22, 2004, led to recall 04V597000.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
Driving on a driveway (estimated speed 5-10 mph) when I noted that the driver side door didn't seem completely closed. I tugged on the door handle to shut it and instantaneously felt the driver-side side airbag deploy, scraping my left forearm, left ear, and rupturing the left eardrum. There had…
I was adding fuel to my car and noticed a strong fuel smell. I only traveled a few miles but my fuel gauge dropped from 3/4 to 1/4 full in only a few miles. When I got home I told my husband. He checked the vehicle and found that fuel was leaking from the inlet on the fuel tank. My husband searched…
Left turn signal wiring shorted out & as result all lights on left front do not work now. Pigtails not available for this application!!!
The buttons for my control dash where radio and heat adjustment are, the panel,. Gets blazing hot to the touch. Everytime we drive it. It's overheating so much i am concerned it wasn't fixed by a recall previously claimed. The buttons decals have melted off on some buttons. This happens when the…
After refueling, the vehicle began leaking fuel from the tank near the area where the fuel inlet enters the tank. There is a safety recall bulletin, 06230, and the vin numbers of vehicles affected does include my vehicle. However gm will not cover the cost to repair, claiming my vehicle is not…
Other Chevrolet Venture years
← 2002 Venture · 2004 Venture →
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 Venture | 42 | 1 |
| 2004 Venture | 124 | 3 |
| 2003 | 185 | 5 |
| 2002 Venture | 220 | 3 |
| 2001 Venture | 222 | 9 |
| 2000 Venture | 350 | 5 |
| 1999 Venture | 349 | 4 |
| 1998 Venture | 409 | 7 |
| 1997 Venture | 432 | 6 |
| 1996 Venture | 2 | 0 |
See all Chevrolet Venture problems by year, every Chevrolet model, or the Chevrolet VIN decoder.
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2003 Chevrolet Venture?
Owners most often report exterior lighting, structure, engine and engine cooling problems. The top one, exterior lighting, accounts for 30 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2003 Chevrolet Venture?
Yes, 5 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2003 Chevrolet Venture a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Venture model years, the 2003 has about as many complaints as a typical year. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.