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.
Total brake failure when attempting to slow/stop vehicle to make a turn. Drove into parking lot to get off of roadway, hit sign, tree, parked vehicle before vehicle finally stopped.
On 4/28/2016 traveling to work following a tractor trailer in a 55 mph zone, the tractor trailer abruptly merged into the right turn lane after a curve without a signal leaving two stopped cars in my travel lane making a left turn. I applied hard pressure to my brakes and the pedal went to the floor. I impacted an Avalanche that was pushed into a small compact car causing substantial damage to my vehicle and the Avalanche. The driver of the Avalanche was transported to the hospital with minor injuries. While at the accident scene I noticed fluid leaking under my truck just behind the left rear tire. The truck was towed from the scene to a body shop where they discovered 2 ruptured brake lines in between the master cylinder and proportioning valve. Attached pictures show severally rusted brake lines with no other rust or corrosion on parts in the surrounding area. Initial estimate for repairs on my truck were $6,371 before tear down.
Brake failure today on Chevy siverado. Driving 55 mph on highway. The car ahead of me slowed and I braked. Peddle went to the floor without stopping vehical. Was able to come to stop and could see rusted brake lines by driver door. Had wife press brake peddle to see fluid sraying from rusted area. Had zero braking power when first went out
- Florissant, MO, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
Rear brake line blew when trying to apply brakes. No indicator lights or anything pedal just went straight to the floor. Had to swerve off the road into an embankment to avoid a collision at a red light! mechanic said that all my brake lines were rusted and it was just a matter of time before another one was to fail.
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 30 mph, the brakes suddenly failed and the driver lost control of the vehicle. As a result, the contact crashed into a ditch. The contact indicated that when depressing the brake pedal, it extended to the floorboard. The independent mechanic examined the vehicle and discovered that brake lines had rusted. The contact also discovered that the frame, the rocker panels and the tailgate hinges had also rusted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 113,000. The VIN was not available.
Brake pedal went to the floor trying to avoid hitting another car traveling at 60 mph on the interstate, steel brake line under drivers door rusted and broke.
I was driving on rt.7 in schenectady NY, speed was around 35mph, traffic signal changed to red, as I was appling the brakes the peddal suddenly went to the floor, lucky for me there were no cars in front of me, or in the intersection. My truck did envetually stop, but it was after passing thru the intersection. The red light on the dash did not come on till the brakes failed. Further inspection revealed main brake line to the rear wheels blew due to rust.
Brakes failed suddenly due to severely corroded brake lines. Brake pedal was slightly mushy at stop sign coming off of freeway. At the next stop sign (3-way intersection on 55-mph county highway) the pedal went right to the floor. Fortunately there was nobody in the intersection or a serious accident may have occurred. Apparently GM's position is that brake lines are maintenance item, and this is normal wear and tear, which is ridiculous. I've owned older vehicles (including a nearly 50-year old Chevrolet truck) in snow country and have never seen brake lines this rusty. I am very fortunate the rupture did not occur in an emergency braking situation.
While exiting of a highway and traveling 25 mph my brakes completely failed. I pushed the pedal to the floor several times but it did not slow the truck. As a result I rear ended a vehicle in front of me. I had now warning or check light for the brakes previous or since. Upon inspection I discovered corroded and leaking brake lines in the middle section of my truck.
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado. While driving approximately 55 mph, the brake pedal was depressed but failed to respond. The brake fluid warning indicator illuminated. The failure recurred on two other occasions. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the brake line was rusted and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 54,000.
I was driving along and had to hit the brakes immediately. I almost hit the car in front of me. I noticed I had to start putting the brakes all the way to the floor in order to stop, especially on an incline. The brake light went on and off a few times so I took it to a shop to have it looked at. They told me that my brake line blew and all the other brake lines are rusted and the truck is not safe to drive. This truck is only 11 years old, that is absolutely unacceptable that all the brake lines are rusted. The truck only has 108K miles. I called a local Chevy dealership and they quoted me 3K+ to fix it. It involved at least 20 hours of labor and they needed to lift the frame off to fix. I can not believe their are no recalls from GM or atleast them offering any help to pay for this. The dealer did not offer me any help or remedy to the situation, just wanted me to fork up 3K.
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado. While driving at an unknown speed, the brake pedal was depressed and extended to the floorboard. The contact placed the vehicle in neutral and was able to stop the vehicle. The contact then placed the vehicle in park, depressed the brake pedal once more and the brake pedal went to the floorboard and the brake warning light illuminated. The contact stated that upon inspection, the brake lines underneath of the vehicle were corroded. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 54,527.
My brother inlaw owns a 2003 GMC Sierra and experienced total brake failure due to corroded brake lines in 2009. Upon inspecting my brake lines on my 2004 Silverado I observed the the brake lines were corroded and would have to be replaced before they failed as well. My truck was only 5 years old at the time! after much discussion with the dealership where I purchased this vehicle I determined that they would not stand behind their product and had to pay out of pocket for the repairs. I still have the corroded brake lines, receipt and pictures of lines on truck before replacement. Keeping all evidence in case of recall. By the way, my exhaust system looks like brand new. Why didn't they use the same material for the brake lines? I don't expect anything to be done about this until cnn starts running stories about people getting killed by this problem!
I was towing my rv. When I hit the brakes and the brake pedal went to the floor. Scared the blank out of me since I had my wife and two kids with me. The brake line for the rear brakes blew due to corrosion. The only thing that saved us was the trailer brakes or we would have had a serious accident. GM is so cheap they build their brake system with lines that easily corrode in stead of stainless. There should be a recall. The internet is littered with this issue. There should be a regulation forcing manufacters to use corrosion proof brake lines. Ridiculous!!!
The brake lines on my truck are completely rotted out. When I went to get into my truck and drive away no brake pedal exsisted. Yet again another quality GM product made from inferior materials.
This is the (2) times losing my brakes due to rusted brake lines. Today 7-11-2015 I lost them again and once again due to rusted brake lines. I ended up driving into some bushes to stop and just missing (2) trees. Im not the only one in the us that is having this dangerous problem with rusted brake lines on this type of make. I ask that you recall this make a.S.a.P. before any lives are lost. Once again I repeat recall this make a.S.a.P. if I hit those trees I'd be dead!! P.S. help help!!!!!!
Wife was driving on 301 South in Maryland on 10\27\2012 when she applied the brakes when pulling over to get gas. Pedal went to the floor and brake fluid was visible on ground by the drivers side door. She had to leave it at the gas station until I was able to repair. Brake line was rusted through I replaced it and got truck home. Replaced 2nd brake line on 11/08/15. Now 07/10/2015 another line has rusted through in the process of replacing the remaining lines.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Kiln, MS, USA