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 contact owns a 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that the brake pedal felt like a sponge when it was depressed. The contact discovered that the brake lines were rusted and corroded and the brake fluid reservoir was empty due to brake fluid leaking from the vehicle. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 81,845.
On May 20, 2015 our 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe experienced a hydraulic brake line explosion due to excessive corrosion almost causing an accident. There was no warning light indication. The warning light came on long after the fact when testing the brakes while the vehicle was stationary.the steel hydraulic brake line to the left rear wheel ruptured totally unexspectedly. This is a serious safety related problem. General Motors is aware and only a technical service bulletin has been issued, no recall. The NHTSA must demand that GM recall these vehicles for replacement of all these inferior hydraulic brake lines before deaths and serious injuries occur. I am submitting this form to make it public knowledge that this is a serious problem that could cause death and serious property damage if not addressed on all the affected vehicles. I am truly grateful that my wife was not injured or killed.
My daughter was driving our 2001 Chevy Tahoe, that we have owned since new, in columbus Ohio. She was doing 35 mph down a city street, when she went to stop, the brakes went to the floor. After running a few red lights and almost getting into 2 accidents, she slowed the vehicle down and into a parking space. I had it towed to jack maxton Chevy and they said the brake lines were completely rusted away and gave me a quote of $5000 to replace everything. I did not do the repair and am currently weighing my options.
Steel brake lines are rusted. All of the under body lines show a lot of rust. Rear feed line from ABS block ruptured at rear axle. I repaired that line, when I attempted to bleed the system the rear feed line and the in flow line popped leaks. Luckily I had enough braking to stop.
My wife was executing a turn, headed downhill, and stepped on the brake pedal, only to have it travel to the floor, and not stop the truck. I had been towing a trailer with surge brakes the day before, which would not have activated without being able to slow the vehicle. The problem was a failed front brake line from the master cylinder to the antilock actuator, resulting in a complete loss of front brake hydraulic pressure. I had also had it inspected recently and it passed safety. In locating the burst brake line, it was above the frame rail, in a spot I would not expect to be visually inspectable. I am replacing all the lines in the truck with the same material used by BMW and Volvo now, and consulting with my service tech about relocating the antilock actuator to an accessible area under the hood, for less line exposure to elements. This truck has been garaged most of it's life, and undercarriage washed after exposure to road salt. This is clearly a manufacturer defect. I have a 2006 Tahoe at work, garaged all it's life and rarely driven in wet weather, 60,000 miles, that had a rear brake line fail in 2011 or 2012. I'll file a separate complaint for that, but as a fleet vehicle, it's maintained meticulously. It's also essentially the same vehicle as my 2001, which had it's lines last longer, but still fail without warning. I want GM to recall these vehicles and fix the problem. Mine will be fixed with better materials, so I don't want a recall on mine, to have cheap cost-cutter parts installed. I want them recalled before someone like my daughter, an inexperienced new driver, has to deal with a loss of brakes during a normal life and maintenance routine of her vehicle.
- Elverson , PA, USA
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When coming to a stop antilock fires noisily then the brake pedal goes to the floor and vehicle keeps rolling forward (in traffic- into buildings- into fences- onto curbs) antilock brakes are failing and making the system not work properly.
Our son and a friend were traveling on major street approaching a stop light controlled intersection, applied the service brake to have it push to the floorboard. He narrowly avoided rear ending stopped traffic and swerved across the yellow line onto a side-street in attempt to stop vehicle without a crash, next to the police station. All the brake lines required replacing due to the hidden rust on the lines as they are mounted on top of the frame. Our son had just returned from college with the vehicle, had this happened on the highway at 75 mph this could have had tragic results. The repair shops were familiar with this issue as a number of customers with similar GM models have recently experienced the same issue. This was a very time consuming and expensive repair, and we consider ourselves lucky to not have a different conclusion.
The contact owns a 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 mph and attempting to stop, the brakes malfunctioned and caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle. The contact crashed into an embankment and several trees. The contact suffered from a left leg injury, multiple hip abrasions and contusions. A police report was filed at the scene. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the failure was caused by a ruptured brake line and the fact that there was no brake fluid in the vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 141,597.
When attempting to stop my vehicle going about 5 mph, there was a vibration in my brake pedal and the vehicle continued to role in the path way of a tractor trailer. I thought my life was about to end so I hit the gas and ended driving up on the curb to get out of ongoing traffic. My boss told me that there was a recall on our department vehicles that were Tahoe because of an antilocking brake issue. I looked up the recall on motortrend and the recall explains exactly what happened to me when I almost died. I took my vehicle to the Chevy dealer and the guy ran man VIN number and stated there are no active recalls on my vehicle. I called the Chevy dealer and the female on the phone stated that recalls are done by VIN numbers and maybe my number was accidentally skipped. This is off motortrend. Recall date: Aug 29, 2005 model affected: 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe summary: Certain pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles may experience unwanted antilock brake system (ABS) activation. This condition is more likely to occur in environmentally corrosive areas. This recall will be launched in the "salt belt" states of Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia only. Consequences: This can cause increased stopping distances during low-speed brake applications, which could result in a crash. Potential units affected: 1353718 notes: General Motors Corp. Read more: www.motortrend.com/cars/2001/Chevrolet/Tahoe/recalls/#ixzz38lpommdc.
Brakes failed do to rusted brake lines. Driving on 55 mph road stoplight turned just as I approached it stepped on the brake peddle and it slowly went to the floorboard. I could not stop in time and went through a red light, I was lucky, this could have been a disaster with loss of life. I was told all my brake lines were rusted and needed to be replaced at a cost of $1500.
The parking brakes do not work have owned the Tahoe for 2 years and never used the parking brakes now all the sudden the parking brakes makes a loud squealing noise and I think there is enough complaints about the brakes to warrant a recall before some one does get killed or injured.also they had a recall on the brakes and ABS but only in the so called salt belt and the owners that don't live there shouldn't have to pay to get the same thing fixed that the recall should cover in the first place no matter where you live.
ABS brake light would come on when trying to stop then it would not stop correctly and almost ran over curb onto sidewalk. Replaced sensor twice before the light and brakes worked correctly.
Driving home and pressed on brakes at a stop light and petal went to the floor. Pumped brakes and just barely stopped before hitting another car. Tahoe brake lines were completely rusted to nothing. This is a big problem!! many people don't look at their brake lines until they crash. Please get GM to fix this problem before more customers are hurt.
I had just come off the highway and fortunately was completing a parallel park when the brake pedal could be pressed to the floor. The car did not stop. I essentially rolled into the car in front of me to stop. A large amount of brake fluid was on the ground near the rear drivers side wheel. When the car was stopped I opened the door and looked back as I pushed the brake pedal to the floor. I saw colored fluid spraying out sideways from the rear. Subsequently had brake line repaired.
I had to replace 2 brake lines that failed on separate occasions.the brake lines are covered in rust, the ABS system does not work and is now disconnected.the dealer stated ABS problem was front wheel sensors, after they replaced both sensors they than determined it was my ABS computer.I told them to learn how to troubleshoot on someones else's vehicle and removed it. The under carriage of this vehicle had been coated with a lite undercoating from the factory, as the coating falls you can see extensive rust on the exposed metal surfaces. In my opinion the metal was not prepared correctly before it was coated, for this to happen.the service manager from the dealer stated, the rust condition should be a class action law suit.I have purchase no corrosive brake line and will change lines as needed.
ABS brake light on dash stays on. I had all the sensors tested and they are ok. I had the computer tested and it shows a fault. But the ABS seems to be working fine. It appears that in order to get this error light to go off I have to spend a $1000 for a computer, even thought he system appears to be working properly. I have had numerous electrical issues with this vehicle since purchase.
In pressing the brake pedal it went all the way to the floor because, as I found out later, all of the brake fluid had leaked out due to brake line rust and corrosion. No warning at all (e.g. soft pedal) and this vehicle doesn't have a speck of rust on it. I replaced all of the brake lines at a cost of nearly $1400.
Brakes went to floor before holding - no hydraulics. Brake line failure/rupture with heavy leak of brake fluid under driver seat area. Suspected corrosion.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Millersville , PA, USA