Imagine this, while riding your 2003 Chevy Silverado, you see an error message on your dashboard “service brake booster”. Plus, your car is making a weird “hissing” sound as well. How would you solve this issue?
Well, the message “Service Brake Booster” on 2003 Chevy Silverado is a common topic on the internet forums. That’s why I’m here to give you an easy guide on this error message so you can solve it quickly.
If you see the “Service Brake Booster” error message, you should understand that you have a leak in the brake booster and need to remedy it. The solutions can be many ranging from plugging a leak to changing the whole system. It depends on the reason for the error. And to fix most of them, you will need a professional.
Now, are you interested to know more about this topic? If so, let’s dive a bit deeper into it right away.
“Service Brake Booster”: Understanding The Problem
In order to solve the issue behind the “service brake booster” error message, you need to understand what a brake booster is in detail.
In simple terms, a brake booster (AKA vacuum booster or brake servo) is the device that amplifies the force you put on your brake pedal. More specifically, the brake booster takes the force you exert on the brake pedal and multiplies it manifold.
It does this by utilizing the atmospheric pressure by the means of a vacuum chamber component. Then, it applies the amplified force on the brake shoes of your car. In turn, the wheels of your car get stopped immediately. In essence, the whole braking system of your car fully relies on the brake booster.
Components of the brake booster
The brake booster unit has the following main components:
- Vacuum hose
- Diaphragm
- Master cylinder
- Vacuum booster
- Brake pedal
- Push rod
- Vacuum board
Now, you should understand that seeing the “service brake booster” message on your car dashboard means that one or more of the above-mentioned components are faulty.
So, you either have to replace the particular faulty component to solve this issue. Or you might have to replace the whole brake booster unit altogether.
Troubleshoot The Service Brake Booster Issue And Solve It
To troubleshoot which component of your brake booster is faulty, you can check the steps below. In most cases, following the below-mentioned steps will also reset service brake system light silverado.
1. Looking for weird sounds
Start your car and open up the front hood. Then, you need to check whether your brake booster unit is making any weird hissing sound or not. If you find that your car is making a “hissing” or “whining” sound, you need to understand that there’s a leak in the vacuum hose of your brake booster.
Solution:
In this case, you have to replace the vacuum hose of your brake booster. However, this is not a DIY job if you don’t have any expertise in this. So, take professional help here.
2. Checking if the brake takes longer to activate
If the master cylinder of your brake booster unit is problematic, it will lose vacuum strength. As a result, the braking capability of your car will weaken significantly.
So, go ahead and activate your brake pedal to find out if it’s taking longer for your car to brake or not.
If you notice that your braking action is getting delayed more than usual, you should replace the master chamber of your braking booster.
Solution:
Just like the above-mentioned problem, this is not a DIY job either. So, you should consider taking the service from a professional automobile mechanic to replace your master cylinder.
3. Checking if the brake pedal is stiff
Check whether your brake pedal feels a bit stiff or not.
More specifically, if you notice that your brake pedal is a bit higher from the ground than usual, it would feel a bit too stiff. That means your brake booster does not have enough vacuum power.
This can be due to a leak or faulty hardware in the brake booster unit.
Solution:
Check whether there is any liquid leaking from the components of your brake booster. Sometimes, the brake fluid gets leaked and discharged. If this is the case, you must plug the leak or change the leaking component altogether.
4. Checking if there is vacuum in the brake booster unit:
Lastly, you might also need to check whether there’s enough vacuum being generated in the brake booster unit or not. To do that, pop out the front hood of your car and disassemble the vacuum hose from the brake boosters with a Vise Grip (check out this top-grade vise grip).
Now, stick your finger to the opening where the vacuum hose was connected. At this point, if you feel that your finger is being sucked inside the vacuum booster unit, there is suction in it.
However, if your finger is not being sucked in, then there’s no vacuum in the vacuum booster unit.
Solution:
In this particular case, you might have to take apart the whole brake booster unit and check each component to troubleshoot the issue.
If you don’t have any prior experience in doing this, then you should definitely see a professional mechanic.
Note: if you found these solutions useful, you should also check out my other guide on trailer brake warning 2015 chevy silverado
FAQs:
Depending on the quality of the hardware you pick, you might have to spend anything between $300 to $1,200.
If your vehicle is used normally, a newly installed brake booster should be able to last until your car reaches the 150,000 miles limit.
In cases like that, you have to disconnect your car battery and press on your car brake for a long time. This will discharge the existing electricity in your car. And, when you connect the battery back in, your car will reset and the light will not be ON this time.
Yes, you might need to bleed the brake fluids to adjust the brakes of your car after installing a new brake booster unit.
Final Verdict
Well, that’s all there’s to it, people. To wrap it all up, if you are receiving the signal “service brake booster” in 2003 chevy silverado, your car needs immediate attention from a professional mechanic.
So, don’t procrastinate before giving proper attention to this issue.
Best of luck to you and peace out!!!
