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9.0

really awful
Typical Repair Cost:
$600
Average Mileage:
118,900 miles
Total Complaints:
32 complaints

Most Common Solutions:

  1. replace brake lines (20 reports)
  2. report it to nhtsa for a recall solution! (11 reports)
  3. not sure (1 reports)
2000 Chevrolet Silverado brakes problems

brakes problem

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2000 Chevrolet Silverado Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #32

Apr 132018

Silverado

  • Automatic transmission
  • 195,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Had spent all winter rigging my new trailer and kayak up to go to a bass fishing tournament. Early in the morning 5 miles from the lake, the car in front of me brakes abruptly to avoid hitting a crossing goose. Going about 50 miles per hour. I pushed on the brakes hard. Then they go all the way to the floor.

I had installed new brake pads and calipers at all four axles last year when I first purchased the truck. It was a rusted brake line. I managed to not hit the person in front of me but had to ditch the truck and trailer at over 50 miles an hour into somebody's front yard destroyed my trailer and kayak. I will never buy another Chevy product again. The last person's comment about stop crying and comparing 1960 vehicles to vehicles being built in 2000 makes absolutely no sense. That's like comparing Model T to 1950s cars or Model T to horse-drawn carriages. They should have used Hickory brakes instead of the Old Pine brakes on the horse-drawn carriages. There are no brake lines reported rusting out the same year of truck with Chrysler or Ford. Chevy cut corners on their brake lines instead of installing stainless steel like the rest of the truck manufacturers.

They obviously do not care about safety or fatalities of their vehicles causing. Kind of explains why Obama had to bail them out and Ford didn't have to get bailed out. I ban Chevy vehicles for life. Hopefully it'll become a generational thing, where my kids and grandchildren also ban Chevy. Don't buy Chevy. Buy Ford, Chrysler, Nissan, Honda, anything but a Chevy.

- Bill D., Delaware, OH, US

problem #31

Feb 062012

Silverado LS 5.3L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 114,000 miles

I live in the Chicago area where winters can be really rough and road salt can be a major problem, so I try to keep the truck washed off frequently. I had a brake line rust out when the truck was 12 years old. Ironically, it happened when pulling into a car wash. The line that rusted through was the one going over the rear axle to the splitter for the rear brakes. I was annoyed at first, but these were bare metal lines and weren't coated with anything when the truck was built, just like the good old vehicles in the 1960's and 1970's. So after thinking about it, in this area, I felt they lasted a decent time before a rust through occurred.

I recalled: As a teenager, I had an 1963 Oldsmobile that was garage kept, had less than 40,000 miles on it and was rarely driven in winter. A brake line broke when it was 14 years old. That summer I eventually replaced all of them, as they were developing new leaks on a weekly basis.

Later I had a 1972 Buick, dealer undercoated when it was new, which is a lot better that nothing, I also tried to keep the road salt washed off of it. The Buick was driven through many harsh winters. When it was about ten years old, it had rusted through (at more that one location) brake and fuel lines. This was no easy repair, I had to park it until summer. Then I found it also had dry rotting rubber brake and fuel lines, ready to pop at any time. I ended up replacing all of the brake and fuel lines.

SO STOP WHINING! You should be know if bare metal lines are on your vehicle. Nothing has changed since the old days, if left uncoated and you live in rust country: THEY WILL RUST THROUGH! Also after all this time; GM WILL NEVER ISSUE A RECALL CONCERNING THIS ISSUE! THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN!!!

So my advice is, buy a vehicle that has some factory coating already applied to the lines or are made of rustproof material. If you buy a newer vehicle with bare metal lines and live in areas that use road salt, you must do something to coat them. Get the vehicle undercoated, either professionally or do it yourself. Inspect it and touch it up annually.

Even spreading and spraying grease on the gently cleaned rusting lines, before every winter, will make a difference. That is what I did on my Silverado after the first brake line rotted through. That worked until I could get the rest of them replaced, five years later. (I probably could have went further, if I had to.) Then I bought a line kit, all new soft lines, calipers, master cylinder etc., sprayed undercoating on the new lines and will check them every summer. I'm sure the lines will be fine as long as I keep up the annual inspections and touch-ups.

- Lewis D., Tinley Park, IL, US

problem #30

Apr 202014

Silverado LS 5.3L V8

  • Automatic transmission
  • 185,000 miles

I recently changed out all of the brake lines on my truck, because of the rust issue. My truck currently has 201,000 Miles on it. Back when I had 180,000 miles, the brake line went out on me suddenly on the road while I was driving. It was definitely something I don't want to experience again. After we replaced it, the other looked rusted but figured they would last. Then it happened again driving. After that I replaced them all. They are made form a very cheap metal. I think Chevy should do a recall, before someone gets killed. It's definitely a dangerous thing. Chevy should really use better material. I hope that they do have a recall, this problem is so common, its unbelievable they can't take the blame for their s**t brake lines. I have had many friend's who have had the same problem. It's definitely a huge flaw, that Chevy needs to address like I said before, before someone gets killed. Not sure about buying another Chevy product just because of this experience.

- jakev, Columbus, MN, US

problem #29

Aug 162015

Silverado LS 5.3L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 14,260 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Failed steel brake lines on truck. GM Blames on salt on roads in winter. How come no other trucks by Ford or Chrysler are having this problem. Est cost of repair by dealer $1600. Do not buy a GM truck until they fix this situation! Involves 1.7 million vehicle's.

- don8157, Elkins Park, PA, US

problem #28

Mar 182015

Silverado

  • 115,000 miles

Some of the design and money savings GM did with this truck is terrible. The way they ran the brake lines is just wrong. This is the worst brake line routing I have even seen.

- Eric H., La Porte, IN, US

problem #27

Aug 212010

Silverado

  • Automatic transmission
  • 57,000 miles

Brakes went out while out of town. Had to go to a not GM garage to get on the road. Then a couple of years later, the brake lines went out. We were out of state going down a mountain, riding on the side of road to try and slow down the truck with us scared and trying to stay alive. Again no GM place around to fix, so had to get just enough to get to Ohio. Then when we got back they finished repairing the brake lines

we have had brakes and brake shoes replaced on a truck that is not got a lot of mile more than 3 times with over 2,000 and brake lines 2 times. This is scary and dangerous and its not like we travel places where there is always a dealer around on vacation expecting our vehicle to be braking down and repaired.

We are retired GM employees and have always bought GM products but let me tell you this, that this truck has had so many brake issues of which we have reported and not one penny of re-embursement and you just don't care if we die in this truck. Shame on you and it is listed that we feel this has bad brake system and now to add the abs is not working. Would you like your kid to ride with us? We are seniors and

are riding in a coffin with wheel and no brakes.

- Robert C., Fairborn, OH, US

problem #26

Jun 092014

Silverado 1500 4.3L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 107,005 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I was behind a woman who stopped (NOW!!!!!) to allow traffic from the interstate to proceed in front of her. It doesn't matter that they have 600 ft to wait in, and the yield sign, she felt it necessary to slam on brakes to let them in. We were accelerating up hill and picking up speed when she did this. I felt my pickup slow, then the pedal went to the floor. I was able to get around her and into a restaurant parking lot, only to have someone cut me off ( in spite of the flashers, and constant horn). I exited the parking lot, and the only option was into town. I navigated traffic for over a mile, on the edge of rush hour and found another driver who realized that I was having a problem, they ran interference for me and allowed me to get into a church parking lot.

I used rubber hose and clamps to make band aids ( 3 of them ), and made it the other two miles home. I thought this may have just been a freak thing, but after reading the post about this problem I think I am correct to conclude, GM will do nothing about this, and someone driving one of these trucks will kill a family, because of the lack of care, concern, and don't give a damn attitude of this manufacturer. I had a rice burner ( 1990 Nissan ) that I used for work, It had 125000 miles on it, when I got my hands on a 1997 motor, I changed the motor out ran up 151000 miles on the second motor. The truck lived in WV, where salt is used on the roads, it was used for work and the kindness it was shown was fluid changes and simple maintenance. The brake lines NEVER FAILED!!! GET IT GM? You kinda SUCK to me!!!!!!!!!!!!

- Dale O., Nitro, WV, US

problem #25

Mar 042014

Silverado LX 5.3L V8

  • Automatic transmission
  • 104,245 miles

This is very bad all of my front brakes lines are rusted bad and on march 5, 2014 when I was driving and I was coming to a stop my brake pedal when all the way to the floor. Luckily I was diving slow and down shifted to 1st and apply the parking brake. This is a disaster in the making and Chevy needs to have a recall ASAP to fix this before someone dies.

- William C., Kapolei, HI, US

problem #24

Oct 012013

Silverado 4.3L V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 110,999 miles

GM should have to fix these bad brake lines for free. This is definitely a big problem. I have owned many vehicles through the years and this is the first time I have ever seen a hard brake line fail. This could have been deadly due to the fact that there was no warning that the brakes were going to fail. Thankfully we were on our private drive in the process of turning around when the line failed. If we had been on the high way and had to panic stop, we could have been in a serious or fatal accident!!!! Sounds like GM would have a lot of lawsuits due to this problem. Also, this truck has been well taken care of here in NC and both rear wheel wells are rusted completely out!! No wonder they almost went out of business. I am going to try and take off the bad brake lines today and try find replacements. Shame on you GM!!!

- brianriggs, Fairview, NC, US

problem #23

Aug 102013

Silverado

  • Automatic transmission
  • 233,111 miles

On 8/10/13 was driving in my 2000 Silverado (that I bought new) into town when a vehicle stopped to make a left hand turn and the truck behind him stopped under the viaduct and as I attempted to stop the brake line under the driver's door blew leaving me with no brakes and no place to go. I hit the truck which caused very little damage since I was only going about 20mph I really think since this is happening a lot that this truck should be recalled before people start getting killed in accidents.

I hope that since you are aware of this problem that you give it your attention immediately. Thanks

- Dennis M., Defiance, OH, US

problem #22

Aug 192013

Silverado LS 5.3L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 150,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The brake lines are badly rusted . They should have been recalled. They are an accident waiting to happen. The alloy used in the metal lines must be bad.

- Francisco R., Holly, MI, US

problem #21

May 262013

Silverado Z71 5.3

  • Automatic transmission
  • 90,000 miles

My wife and I were on our way home from an outing and one of the brake lines blew. I took it home and got under the truck to see which one, and they were all rusted to pieces. I replaced all the lines with non-corroding materiel, and went to bleed the brakes. All the bleeders were rusted so bad I couldn't get a wrench on them. Had to replace all the calipers. I already replaced the parking brake cables due to rust. But since the axels have to be pulled in order to replace the parking brake shoes, I guess I will have to rely on the main brakes and hope they do not fail. Hello GM- I would have been happy to pay extra for a "harsh climate" package with stainless brake and fuel lines.

- Mike T., Akron, OH, US

problem #20

Mar 102013

Silverado LS 5.3L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 117,376 miles

I read a lot of complaints about rusted brake lines and someone mentioned it could be due to road salt, but I've owned my truck since it was new and only lived in Texas and Florida, so GM really sucks for using inferior quality material in such a critical component. My brakes went out today on my way home from playing golf, so it looks like I will miss a few days of work before I can have this fixed. Not only do I have to pay for the repairs ,I won't be making any money either, thanks GM.!!!

- Jerry M., West Palm Beach, FL, US

problem #19

Nov 012012

Silverado 5.3L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 105,000 miles

Almost died twice had to get entire breakline system replaced

- crawfobr, Severna Park, MD, US

problem #18

Nov 202012

Silverado LS/Z71 5.3L V8

  • Automatic transmission
  • 263,300 miles

Besides the engine clatter on start-up and the rusting rocker panels...this truck has been a pretty good one. But now with the brake lines rusting through, I'm pretty upset with GM using inferior materials to run brake lines with. I think they should have been stainless from day one. From what I've read here, its going to cost me around $1400-$1500 to repair if I take it to the dealer.

Sad to say, GM isn't doing anything about the problem, understandably, I've had it for 12 years now and driven a lot of miles. But shouldn't safety be priority one?

I'm damn lucky I wasn't driving when the lines failed. My situation is like most, the lines rusted through under the drivers seat at the attachment point (plastic holder).

- Tony P., Cincinnati, OH, US

problem #17

May 242012

Silverado LS 3.8L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 105,000 miles

pressed pedal went to floor.had aaa tow to dealer. lines that go into block on drivers side

rusted out.estimate to repair 1400.00!! no pre-made lines available.i bought my 1st gm

4 wheel drive in 1972 and have never had the corrosion problems that i have had with this truck.i e mailed gm. they contacted me by phone the next day. it took the rep a half hour

to tell me that they would do nothing to help. i am 70 yrs old and retired and unable to afford a new vehicle. if I could it wont be a gm!!

Update from Jun 5, 2012: lines were replaced by dealer. took about 4 days &1451.00. shop manager says problem is due to liquid salt used on roads in northeast. i have no problem with dealer(sutliff chev) they have treated me honestly &fairly for many years! i do have a problem with gm!! thank you for having aforum where we can spout off.

- Robert S., Steelton, PA, US

problem #16

Apr 062012

Silverado 3.8L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 102,000 miles

brakes were never any good even when the truck was new had it back to 2 different dealers they said they were in spec rotors rusted out but they would not cover them had to put rotors on 2 times now the lines are all rusted out no brakes don't know much it's going to cost gm should have a recall i worked for gm 30 years and this is what i get

- loggerps, Dayton, OH, US

problem #15

Sep 082011

Silverado LX 6.0L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 150,000 miles

Just had new rotors pads tie rods complete front end replace now bake lines failed.

BUY AMERICAN WORST VEHICLE I ever OWNED can't wait to get this bill.

- nj nappy, South Hackensack, NJ, US

problem #14

May 152011

Silverado Z71

  • Automatic transmission
  • 15,000 miles

Brakes on truck always weak, rotors all needed replaced because of rust pitting big pits in rotors would eat up pads, also replaced all calipers, now brake lines are bursting from corrosion in particular where they are clipped in on frame. Climate here is corrosive but these trucks were built with defective materials in something as important as the brakes.

This truck is not my daily driver and I seldom use it, to date other than brakes, the other failures are, air conditioning only works on high speed, electric mirrors wont adjust, 4 wheel drive works sometimes.

My last GM product I will ever purchase.

- Don G., St Thomas, VI, Virgin Islands (US)

problem #13

May 162011

Silverado LS 5.3L V8

  • Automatic transmission
  • 140,000 miles

Rusty brake lines cause safety issues. Poor design and product by GM. What a piece of crap. First one brake line blew and I replace that. Then another blew and I fixed that but when I went to take off a third rusty line let go and put ne into my garage and smashed stuff and took my mirror off. This truck is a rusty crap truck. The rocker panel are rusted thru. Oh, and GM does not make original equipment brake line replacements either in the parts department.

Shame on you GM. You suck. No wonder the Japanese and other car makers are doing better than you. Make a good product damnit. I was a GM man my whole life but this truck is junk with the power windows issue, transfer case shot, knocking engine. POS

- stevesearles, Marshall, MI, US

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