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.
The brake lining on my 2004, Silverado with 49,000 miles failed due to the lines rusting and causing a massive leak. I had no brake pressure and luckily it happened when I was going from park to reverse.
I noticed a trail of fluid on my driveway as I was moving my truck and trailer around. When I stopped, my brake pedal went all the way to the floor. I put the truck on a set of ramps to find the problem. I noticed fluid dripping from the chassis slightly behind the driver's door. Investigation showed that it is brake fluid leaking from a severely rusted brake line.
I was in stop and go traffic for about 3mi. When the car in front of me stopped, when I applied the brakes the peddle went to the floor and I hit the car in front of me on the rear bumper. Thank goodness I was moving very slowly when I hit him and there was now damage to either vehicle. I pulled off the road and looked under my truck and noticed a pool of brake fluid on the ground. I had the truck towed to the repair shop and after the mechanic did an inspection he told me he was surprised that I had made it this long.he showed me the lines when he had it on the lift and although the rear brake line ruptured, all the brake lines were rusted to the point of failure and must be replaced. I asked him what could have caused the lines to rust so quickly and he told me that this has been a problem with this model and year of truck. How could Chevrolet allow such a safety issue to exist. Must someone die before a recall is issued.
Unable to stop. Avoided vehicle in front of me, went off road no damage to vehicle but loss of braking. Upon inspection found brake lines severely corroded and seeping brake fluid.
Brake line rusted out caused loss of all brake fluid on interstate 95. Pedal when to floor resulting in total loss of braking. Emergency brake was used to stop but hard to control vehicle.
- Macedon, NY, USA
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Went to shop for sched. Service and it was discovered that the brake lines were rusted and should be replaced. Scheduled for replacement on 5/14/13 at considerable cost.
The brake lines have rusted through and brake fluid leaked out into my driveway. This is the second incident I have had with a brake line leak within the past year. Very poor design on the brake line system in this vehicle..
I was driving along the interstate and traffic abruptly stopped in front of me. When pressed on the brake pedal, I slowed down a little, but then the pedal went to the floor, and I rear-ended the car in front of me. After the police report was filed, I got it to a Chevy dealer and they said that one of the steel brake lines from the master cylinder to the front passenger side was rusted and had burst, spilling all of the brake fluid. The wreck damaged the front passenger side bumper, and broke the grille and the headlight support bracket.
Driving 35 mph when I came to next red light and brake pedal hit the floor. Took very long to come to a complete stop. Noticed later brake lines are corroded and leaking directly underneath passenger side door. Appear to be rusting all along the length of the tube. Luckily no vehicles were in front of me and was not traveling any faster.
While backing out at a little league parking lot, the brake pedal went to floor and I had to use the emergency brake to stop. All brake lines were rusted/ruptured. I do not live or drive in the "rust belt". this could have been much worse to include pedestrian or occupant fatalities.
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while braking for a traffic stop, the brakes abnormally traveled to the floorboard and the vehicle did not respond. As a result, the contact crashed into a pedestrian. The pedestrian was injured and transported to the hospital. A police report was filed of the incident. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic, where it was discovered that the entire brake line was completely rusted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 100,000 and the current mileage was 115,000.
Driving down a busy 4 lane road. Approached a red light and attempted to stop, when pushing the pedal it gave free and depressed all the way to the floor. I had to switch lanes quickly to avoid a car and blew through the red light. While I was able to avoid the accident it was very scary. Upon inspection of my brake lines 1 had burst and the rest were so rusted it was only a matter of time till the rest blew. ## VIN failed ##
Today on my way home from a doctors visit I was leaving route 509 off ramp from heading North bound in seattle Washington. I applied the brakes to slow down and as I approached the stop light suddenly the brake pedal collapsed to the floor corresponding with the service brake light turning on. Luckily the light changed to green so I was able to avoid an accident. After making the turn I drove slowly until it was safe to stop as this is a very industrial area with no place to stop. I had to use the emergency brake to stop the vehicle, once I was safe I examined the brake system and saw fluid dropping below the master cylinder onto the ground. When I looked closer I found a rusted brake line rupture on the front passenger brake line depressurizing the system. I looked online to see if there were any additional complaints and have found a very common issue here and realized I should share my story. The truck is not that old and having been an automotive technician there is no excuse for brake lines to fail like this regardless of the regional climates. This truck resided prominently in Florida and Texas and only recently has arrived in Washington. I hope this helps and Chevy really does need to take responsibility for a major safety problem like this. I cant trust any of the lines in the truck after this and intend to replace all of them. Here is a blog from edmonds.com with a large complaint history I found online that raised my concerns:townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.F0D4fe5/281.
Brakes failed. China made steel brake lines rusted out and disintegrated. Could have been killed. Had to get repair to steel brake lines from ABS pump to master cylinder and front calipers. Also make up and replace steel brake line to rear axle and to rear left and right rear calipers. Also had to replace bleed screws in all calipers.
I was traveling at slightly less than the posted speed limit when I noticed that cars ahead of me had stopped. I applied my brakes and the pedal immediately went to the floor, the brake warning light on the dash came on as did a "service brakes" where my odometer is. The bell inside the cab started to ding. I had to swerve into the middle of the street toward the centerline to avoid hitting the car in front of me. I pushed the pedal to the floor hard and eventually rolled to a stop. I pulled to the side of the road and my husband (who was in the truck with me) had me pump the brakes and brake fluid poured down from under the front driver side of the truck. I called a tow company and they took the truck to the nearest Chevy dealer. The dealer diagnosed that all of the brake lines where rusted and some were leaking and others would soon be. They said all the brakes lines from front to rear needed to be replaced. This is a very well cared for truck. I have never owned a vehicle that had brake lines corrode and I have always lived in new england.
On 7/7/09, driving slowly down driveway, brake pedal went all the way to the floor and had to use emergency brake to stop vehicle after bouncing over curb. Took the car to jeff barnes Chevrolet and they replaced brake line that was completely rusted through. On 6/26/12, driving on a rural road, brakes went out unexpectedly. Again, used the emergency brake to stop vehicle. Drove to nearby merchants tire and they replaced 20 foot of brake line and couplings that had rusted through leaking all brake fluid.
I have been dealing with rusting brake components since the calipers rusted and fell off at 36,000 miles. Now my garage kept Silverado has brake lines falling off that nearly cause an accident.
I was notified by a GM service center that the brake lines were very rusty and needed replacing.. while replacing the brake lines, I was told that the fuel lines were leaking, needing replacement and also the fuel sender unit needed replacing due to corrosion. This was a very costly repair and should not happen on a low mileage vehicle. I was told that this is a big problem on many GM trucks. I think I should be reimbursed for these repairs.
I was driving down rte 3 near my house going approximately 35 miles per hour in mid afternoon. When I tried to apply my brakes the peddle went all the way to the floor and I was unable to stop. I immediately depressed my emergency brake and was able to coast to a safe stop on the side of the road. I had the vehicle towed to a local midas shop and was informed that my brake lines had rusted through and had to be replaced at a cost of nearly $1,400. I feel extremely lucky that I was not at excessive speed or that anybody was in front of me as this situation could have resulted in serious injury or a fatality.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Ligonier, PA, USA