Chevrolet defect petition DP10003
Brake line failure due to corrosion. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this defect petition about the service brakes, hydraulic on 1 model year (2003). Opened Mar 29, 2010, closed Apr 5, 2010 after 7 days without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThe Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received a defect petition on March 2, 2010, requesting the investigation of model year (MY) 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD 4WD pickup trucks for corrosion failures of the vehicle brake lines. The petitioner's vehicle suffered a sudden loss of brake effectiveness and extended stopping due to the bursting of a corroded brake line. ODI has received 110 owner complaints for MY 1999 through 2003 Chevrolet and GMC C/K series pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles of which 3 are MY2003 2500 series trucks. The complaints allege the loss of braking effectiveness due to brake line rupture because of corrosion. In 37 of these complaints, the brake line failure was confirmed by a dealer inspection. Three complaints allege that corroded brake line failure resulted in a crash. A Preliminary Evaluation has been opened to determine the frequency, scope and safety consequences of the alleged defect in the subject vehicles.
A Defect Petition is a petition from a member of the public asking NHTSA to open a defect investigation; the agency grants or denies it and publishes the reasons. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the opening and closing resumes with the full reasoning are on NHTSA’s site under this number.
What this means for an owner
Source: and what happens nextAn investigation is not a finding that a defect exists, and it puts no duty on anyone. NHTSA opens a Preliminary Evaluation when complaints and other reports suggest a condition worth asking the manufacturer about; it upgrades to an Engineering Analysis when the answers warrant testing; it closes either when it recommends a recall, when the manufacturer recalls on its own, or when no defect trend is found. The agency’s own goals are about four months for a petition, eight for a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query and eighteen for an Engineering Analysis; many run longer.
This one closed without a recall. That means NHTSA found no defect trend it chose to act on at the time, or the manufacturer addressed the condition another way (a service campaign or a bulletin, which have their own pages). A closed file can be reopened if new reports arrive.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named: 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD.
A vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs DP10003 a recall?
No. A defect petition is NHTSA asking questions, not a recall. A safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number and a duty to repair for free; this one closed without one. Whether one particular vehicle has an open recall is a VIN question at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is DP10003 still open?
No. It closed on Apr 5, 2010 without a recall.
Which vehicles does DP10003 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 1 model year: 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.