This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
As I was about to park my Avalanche in the street in front of my home I pressed the brake pedal to come to a stop and the brake pedal was firm and then became soft and depressed quickly quite farther than normal. The Avalanche continued to roll and I had to pump the brakes to get it to come to a full stop. After getting out of the vehicle I inspected the underside of the vehicle and found a great deal of brake fluid on the under body and puddled on the ground. As I inspected the vehicle I found that the brake lines were heavily corroded and flaking off rusted material. The brake line failed because of weakened tubing caused by excessive corrosion. The brake light did not come on and there was no preliminary warning of brake failure. The failure of the brakes caused the vehicle to have an excessively longer distance to stop than normally would be acceptable. I frequently tow a 6,500 lb pull behind camper with my Avalanche and if this brake failure had occurred during towing and in traffic during a stop it most likely could have caused an accident.
The contact owns a 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche. The contact stated that while stopped at a traffic light with the brakes applied, the vehicle continued to move forward. The contact inspected the vehicle and discovered that the brake fluid reservoir was completely empty. The contact added more brake fluid to the vehicle and noticed later that there was an abnormal increase in stopping distance and time after the adding the brake fluid. The contact later discovered that the brake lines were rusted. The contact took the vehicle to a local mechanic to have the brake line replaced. The failure mileage was 115,000.
Rear brake line had completely rusted and caused brake line to rupture. Causing no brakes and had to put truck in ditch to stop vehicle. Rusted line was above frame rail just above left rear tire. Found other area where line was rusted severely.
Im getting ready for a trip, from Texas to Ohio in Sept. Pulling another vehicle. I decided to get the truck ready before such a long trip. It started fine, no signs of problems, I pushed on the brake before changing gears, and my pedal went to the floor. I could hear squirting and air. I knew I had a leak. I investigated the issue and found hydraulic fluid under the driver side seat. I found one of the lines had split above the ehcu unit, spitting fluid all over the under body. This line was severely rusted. The other lines have some surface rust but nothing like this line. It is no longer tubular looking and looks more like a wet stick with a lot of missing branches, and is much larger looking than the others. Also, I found a leak on a line that runs to the rear axle, on the driver side frame that was severely rusted like the one described above. Im pretty sure this is the line that is split, but its hard to tell, I cant find a diagram to help trace the lines. After investigating the issue, I rechecked my dash lights to see if an ABS or a brake light, none are on. I have contacted dealers and brake mechanics for repair, and have to have it towed as there is not enough pressure in the line to stop the vehicle. The truck was purchased in Ohio. I would have imagined that they would be coated or stainless since it is a salt belt state, and im not sure why only one line degraded like it did.. this is a 2002 Avalanche 1500 4WD with Z71 off road package, it is expected to get dirty and wet. I believe better standards are in order to improve safety, and that there should, with this many people affected, definitely be a recall on the lines. Had it decided to hold up until my trip, this could have been very disastrous.
I was traveling at 45 mph when the car in front of me slowed down to turn. I attempted to brake and the pedal felt soft then went right to the floor. I began pumping the brakes in order to slow the vehicle down. I was only able to stop the vehicle after manually shifting the transmission into 1st gear and pressing on the emergency brake. When I inspected the vehicle, the rear wheel and undercarriage were covered in brake fluid from a corroded steel brake line. Upon further investigation all of the brake lines in the vehicle that were installed in locations unable to be routinely cleaned were severely rusted.
- Mcafee, NJ, USA
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Attempted to stop at a stop sign. The brakes were working until I had slowed to about 5 mph. Then the brake pedal went to the floor. The car in front of me had already started moving forward so no accident occurred.
I noticed that by brakes felt like I was losing braking power. I suddenly was able to push my brake pedal to the floor and my braking was reduced. I got home an noticed that my main brake line was severely rusted and fluid was squirting out of a pinhole of my brake line. I searched the internet and found that this is a common occurrence among Chevrolet truck owners.
I was traveling at approximately 35 mph when a car in front of me stopped short and I was forced to apply heavy brake pressure. The brake pedal went almost all the way to the floor I was forced to steer off the road in order not to hit the vehicle in front of me, the Avalanche had almost total brake failure. Upon inspection of the vehicle it was found that the brake line had burst due to severe corrosion and the brake fluid was pouring out of the vehicle right above the rear axle.
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- Huxley, IA, USA