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.
I was driving at a speed of 50 mph approaching stopped traffic, when I applied the brakes, the brake peddle went to the floor and the vehicle do not slow down. The brake light came and I applied the emergency brake to slow to a stop. I then had the vehicle towed to a repair shop where they told me that all four of the brake linings were rusted through. I hunt and fish with this vehicle and go off road a lot, this is why I purchased this vehicle in the first place. To have a off road vehicle manufactured with brake linings that rust through is criminal.
The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Avalanche 1500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 mph, he depressed the brakes and the brake pedal traveled to the floor board. The contact inspected the vehicle and noticed that the brake lines were corroded and fractured. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 105,000.
Driving went to stop didn't have any brakes I replace all the brake lines and replace bumper lights cost about 4, 000.00 the ABS went out which is not fix.
08/31/2011 brake line failure. Second brake lie failure occurred 04/15/2012.third brake line failure occurred 7/28/2012.fourth brake line failure occurred 1/27/2013. At that time it was highly recommended to replace all remaining brake line segments which were showing signs of corrosion. The total for the incidences mentioned was $1586.15.
Put my foot on the brake pedal to stop, pedal went to the floor. I was going uphill. That was probably wen front brake line blew. Had a little brake power left, turned truck around, went one block to my home, plled into my driveway going uphill again when the rear brake ine blew, stoped the truck with the emergency brake. Had to have all break lines replaced due to rust. Forty years servicing aotos never had all or any breakline rust out. Replaced flexiable hoses on brake calipers when the became brittle, but never hard lines, even on a 1971 caddy I had for 25 years. This happened one block from home at the beginning of a planned 100 mile highway trip, at 65mph we probably could have been killed. Someone was watching over us, not GM, they don't even have premade brakelines to fix a known problem!
- Wayne, NJ, USA
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Started driving and the brake pedal suddenly went all the way down to the floor. The vehicle eventually stopped and a warning light finally turned on to "service brake system". I got out of the vehicle to check and see if the brake fluid was low and saw that the brake lines were rusted. Underneath the vehicle, I was able to see brake fluid leaking at a consistent rate. Prior from this happening, there were no warning lights or alerts.
I was driving the vehicle at 45 mph and the brakes went out without warning or a warning light. It made me almost hit another vehicle in front of me. My pregnant wife and I were in the vehicle at the time. It seems many other people have had this problem, it should be fixed asap.
I was about to slow down to make a turn on to a side street and my brakes went to the floor. I had to take back roads and plan my stops while driving in low gear to safely make it to the shop. A brake line burst. I was told that the lines are rusted and rotted. All the lines had to be replaced. It cost me about $1800.
I was applying brakes and a front brake line blew out. The truck had a tough time stopping almost hitting another vehicle, I had it towed to a repair facility and they replaced the line $300. The repair facility stated to me that it was very common for Chevy vehicle to have bad brake lines. To replace the rest of the lines it would cost me $ 900 to $1200. Chevy should of recalled these vehicles for bad brake lines.
Brake lines are leaking so I took truck to the dealer and they advised me the lines were corroded and it would cost me $1200. To $1500. To fix and it was not safe to drive. Lucky I noticed the leaking before my brakes failed me. I don't know why this was not recalled and fixed at no cost by GM dealer. Please let me know GM's responsibility here.
Went to apply brakes and brake pedal went to the floor. A complete failure of the braking system. Immediately shifted the truck into neutral and applied the emergency brake to come to a stop. No prior warning on the instrument panel and brakes failed completely, front and back.
A very good friend notified me yesterday that his same year Avalanche experienced a burst brake line and caused him to have to crash his vehicle to stop it. He told me where the line had burst and stated that Chevrolet uses steel brake line instead of stainless steel. I inspected my 2003 Avalanche and noticed that my brake lines are showing severe signs of corrosion. Lmc truck parts sells a replacement brake line kit for this vehicle for a reasonable price of $379. It is that hard to force vehicle manufactures to use stainless steel instead of regular steel in their braking systems. You forced seat belts, anti-lock brakes, traction control, stability control, daytime driving lights, etc... why not this!
I was in ansonia ct on 6th October 2012 at approximately 09:47. Had pulled off the highway to refuel. No issues as I traveled in the morning. After leaving the service station to head back to the highway I went to place on the brakes while going downhill approaching an intersection at approximately 35mph. Brake pedal went straight to the floor. Within 2 seconds dash warning of " check brake system " flashed on information display. Had no brakes, non at all. Pulled into lowest gear and ran thru the red light at the intersection. I proceeded to pull a sharp right turn into a commuter lot using the curb to stop the vehicle. Emergency brake ineffective at reducing speed. Called aaa and discovered ruptured brake lines along the frame rail below drivers side footwell area.
I had just left a store and stopped at a signal light with no problems but when I processed to the next light I put my foot onto the brake pedal and my truck started to slow down and then all the sudden the brake piddle went to the floor and I went through a red light, luckily the other driver on the opposite side of the signal light did not leave to go through the light right away and that gave me time to go through without incident but nevertheless it was very scary and could of been real bad, and now it is costing me $1400 to replace all of my brake lines due to this incident and cause GM does not make the pre-bent brake lines for my truck anymore (which is stupid). As much as these vehicles cost I would of thought that these brake lines would be made of stainless steel and not (probably) china metal.
While driving the vehicle there was complete loss of the braking system. There was no warning of this happening. When it happened the pedal went to the floor and there was no slowing of the vehicle. When it was towed to a repair shop I was told that a brake line rusted through and 8ft of brake line had to be replaced. Fortunately the car was going slow due to traffic. Had I been moving faster or on a highway this could have been very dangerous. Consider the number of complaints about this issue on GM trucks I firmly believe that the manufacturer is responsible for replacing all the brake lines before people start dieing. I am aware of the NHTSA investigating this problem with number EA11001. This is why I made it a point to write. I am hoping that this problem gets resolved quickly.
I was taking my 3 boys to school when the vehicle lost all pressure in the brakes. Once again one of the brake lines on the truck has rusted through and is now leaking. This is the second time I have had an issue with a rusty brake line in the past two years. There is no reason that these lines should be rusting out so prematurely. I have lived in the same area my entire life and have never had this problem with any of my other vehicles. I owned a 1988 Chevrolet S-10 Blazer for nearly 20 years and happily put over 228,000 miles on it and never once had a brake line rust through. I am replacing the defective part with an improved teflon coated brake line. I do not want the same inferior original equipment put back in place of the current rusted line. The lines have rusted out because they were not manufactured to proper standards. The worst part is now wondering which brake line will be next. All GM vehicles affected by this issue should have been recalled. You can find thousands of stories just like mine all over the internet. Yesterday I spoke to a GM employee where I bought my truck and he had the same problem with his 2002 Tahoe. GM agreed to replace every brake line on his truck for a flat fee of $250 because they know that the brake lines are defective. This issue needs to be addressed now because four lives were at stake on 8/29/2012 when I lost all the brakes on my truck. I was lucky to be able to handle the situation but no one should die over an issue such as this which has been documented many times already.
I was backing out of a parking space and as I went to stop the brake pedal went soft as soon as the brake pedal was depressed, going to the very nearly to the floor. (normally the pedal stays several inches further above the floor.) the service brakes light came on along with the truck's warning chimes. I got out of the truck and saw large amounts of brake fluid dripping off the undercarriage near the left side rear tire. About 1 to 1.5 hours earlier, when I was parking the truck, the brakes operated normally. A Chevrolet dealer had to remove and replace that brake line. Approximately 3 months prior to this incident the Chevrolet dealer who normally services the truck alerted to me to extensive rusting of all of the truck's brake lines. They did not think there as immediate danger of a brake line failure, but strongly recommended that all brake lines be replaced prior to the oncoming winter where corrosion might become accelerated.
The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Avalanche 1500. The contact was driving 5 mph when the brakes were depressed to the floorboard and the vehicle failed to stop properly. The contact mentioned that after inspecting the vehicle he noticed that there was brake fluid leaking from the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 190,000.
On approaching a stop sign the rear brakes failed. The line had rusted thru above the left rear spring. This is the second time a line has rusted thru. The first time I lost both brakes. I had it repaired by a Chevrolet dealership. As you can see they did not replace all the problem lines. I had it done by oakwood service center in auburn, NY. At least now I believe I am safe.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Fallston, MD, USA