How many miles will a 2003 GMC Sierra 2500 last?
Half of the 141 NHTSA owner complaints on the 2003 GMC Sierra 2500 that list mileage came after 72,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 156,000 miles. NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026 holds 160 complaints on this model year; each mileage is the odometer when an owner reported a safety problem, not how long the vehicle lasted.
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See what the paid report includes →Of the 141 complaints on the 2003 GMC Sierra 2500 that list mileage, the middle half came between 47,000 and 112,000 miles; 49 (35%) came after 100,000 miles, 15 (11%) after 150,000 and 6 (4%) after 200,000.
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How many miles will a 2003 Sierra 2500 last?
The 141 mileages owners gave run from 1 to 350,000 miles. A quarter are at or under 47,583 miles, half at or under 73,000, three quarters at or under 112,000 and nine in ten at or under 157,000; 49 (35%) came after 100,000 miles, 15 (11%) after 150,000 and 6 (4%) after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2003 Sierra 2500 wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 1 mile |
| 25th percentile | 47,583 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 73,000 miles |
| 75th percentile | 112,000 miles |
| 90th percentile | 157,000 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 350,000 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 49 (35%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | 15 (11%) |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | 6 (4%) |
Every model year together: Half of the 1,149 NHTSA owner complaints on the GMC Sierra 2500 that list mileage came after 60,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a GMC Sierra 2500 last? →
Common problems with the 2003 Sierra 2500
NHTSA's file holds 160 owner complaints on the 2003 GMC Sierra 2500. Owners named the brakes most often: 43 complaints, and half of the 40 that list a mileage came after 57,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 43 | 40 | 57,480 |
| Electrical System | 36 | 33 | 92,000 |
| Service Brakes | 28 | 26 | 108,500 |
| Power Train | 13 | 10 | 41,000 |
| Steering | 10 | 9 | 53,000 |
Of the 160 complaints, 7 report a crash, 4 report a fire and 4 report an injury (4 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 2003 Sierra 2500 a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2003 is a good or a bad Sierra 2500: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2003 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 160 complaints, the 2003 drew the most of the 30 GMC Sierra 2500 model years from 1997 to 2026 with 10 or more complaints. The fewest: the 2010 (10).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 Sierra 2500 | 14 | 7 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1998 Sierra 2500 | 15 | 5 | Under 10 mileages |
| 1999 Sierra 2500 | 36 | 22 | 100,000 |
| 2000 Sierra 2500 | 48 | 39 | 91,000 |
| 2001 Sierra 2500 | 134 | 109 | 65,000 |
| 2002 Sierra 2500 | 134 | 114 | 85,000 |
| 2003 (this page) | 160 | 141 | 73,000 |
| 2004 Sierra 2500 | 143 | 122 | 60,000 |
| 2005 Sierra 2500 | 115 | 104 | 60,000 |
| 2006 Sierra 2500 | 66 | 59 | 43,500 |
| 2007 Sierra 2500 | 83 | 39 | 70,000 |
| 2008 Sierra 2500 | 63 | 30 | 65,000 |
| 2009 Sierra 2500 | 31 | 28 | 39,200 |
| 2010 Sierra 2500 | 10 | 5 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2011 Sierra 2500 | 63 | 34 | 54,000 |
| 2012 Sierra 2500 | 31 | 22 | 67,000 |
| 2013 Sierra 2500 | 46 | 24 | 58,000 |
| 2014 Sierra 2500 | 30 | 23 | 39,000 |
| 2015 Sierra 2500 | 91 | 58 | 37,023 |
| 2016 Sierra 2500 | 59 | 27 | 29,500 |
| 2017 Sierra 2500 | 37 | 14 | 18,120 |
| 2018 Sierra 2500 | 35 | 14 | 8,000 |
| 2019 Sierra 2500 | 32 | 12 | 25,458 |
| 2020 Sierra 2500 | 80 | 26 | 31,800 |
| 2021 Sierra 2500 | 53 | 16 | 51,248 |
| 2022 Sierra 2500 | 45 | 10 | 12,000 |
| 2023 Sierra 2500 | 34 | 8 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2024 Sierra 2500 | 109 | 31 | 11,000 |
| 2025 Sierra 2500 | 28 | 4 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2026 Sierra 2500 | 16 | 2 | Under 10 mileages |
2003 GMC Sierra 2500 recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 3 recall campaigns that name the 2003 GMC Sierra 2500 (0 vehicle campaigns and 3 equipment or tire campaigns that name this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2003 Sierra 2500 lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2003 Sierra 2500.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 19 of the 160 complaints on the 2003 GMC Sierra 2500 give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA names counted: SIERRA 2500 and SIERRA 2500 HD. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only these.
- Recall-file name matched: SIERRA 2500.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2003 GMC Sierra 2500 questions
How many miles will a 2003 GMC Sierra 2500 last?
Half of the 141 NHTSA owner complaints on the 2003 GMC Sierra 2500 that list mileage came after 72,000 miles, and 1 in 10 after 156,000 miles. Of the 141 complaints on the 2003 GMC Sierra 2500 that list mileage, the middle half came between 47,000 and 112,000 miles; 49 (35%) came after 100,000 miles, 15 (11%) after 150,000 and 6 (4%) after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem, not a lifespan: the file holds no 2003 Sierra 2500 that never had one.
What are the most common 2003 GMC Sierra 2500 problems?
NHTSA's file holds 160 owner complaints on the 2003 GMC Sierra 2500. Owners named the brakes most often: 43 complaints, and half of the 40 that list a mileage came after 57,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 160 complaints, 7 report a crash, 4 report a fire and 4 report an injury (4 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Is the 2003 GMC Sierra 2500 a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2003 is a good or a bad Sierra 2500: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2003 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 160 complaints, the 2003 drew the most of the 30 GMC Sierra 2500 model years from 1997 to 2026 with 10 or more complaints. The fewest: the 2010 (10).
How many recalls does the 2003 GMC Sierra 2500 have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 3 recall campaigns that name the 2003 GMC Sierra 2500 (0 vehicle campaigns and 3 equipment or tire campaigns that name this model year, often for aftermarket parts). A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2003 GMC Sierra 2500 before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2003 GMC Sierra 2500.