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 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that the emergency brake makes it difficult to park on hills or inclines. The emergency brake could not be used in the event of an emergency. The failure mileage was 220,000.
Rear brakes on my '02 Tahoe started grinding a little while after buying the car new in Feb. '02. Took the wheels off, pads seemed to be fine with little or no wear. Took the rear rotors off to find one emergency brake pad on each side worn to metal! replaced both rotors and pad sets with the newly re-designed retainer clips. My wife drives the car with our four children so I don't know when it started but it seems every time she comes home and I'm there in the garage the rear wheels are too hot to touch. Seems to me the same problem is occurring again. After all the blogs/complaints I've read, GM should have a recall in effect! discussed the problem with the dealer, their reply was that they hadn't heard of the problem(although I had to go to Napa to get the parts because they were out).
I own a 2002 Chevy Tahoe, the power steering has progressively gotten worse. At all times and instances you can not turn the steering wheel to the right, at any time you can turn the steering to the left, try parking, or turning right and it is not a task a large man can do easily, and I am a woman, there is no power steering turning to the right. The vehicle has been babied from day one, no excessive use or wear, the car is a 2002 and only has 53,000 miles on it, so I would gather the car is not abused. The vehicle has only been driven on paved roads. I took the vehicle to nimnicht Chevrolet in jacksonville Florida to have them diagnose the vehicle, and the steering gear is bad at 53,000 miles and of course the upper intermediate shaft is rattling, and the parking brake wont hold the vehicle. I contacted Chevy customer service and they told me it was normal wear and tear and since I was the second owner and the vehicle was outside of warranty they would not cover the repairs. Mind you this vehicle only has 53,000 miles. I have owned several vehicles and driven them to well over 100,000 miles and in every vehicle I have owned, Nissan, Datsun, 2 Volkswagen, never has the steering gone bad. Even with over 100,000 miles. This is a safety issue and is common for Chevy, records indicate Chevy has been having problems since 1999 with numerous components on all of their vehicles, especially steering and brakes for this vehicle alone their are over 190 service bulletins pertaining to defects in this vehicle alone, same vehicle 2003 has over 300 service related repair bulletins. I am scared to death to drive the vehicle this is my only transportation. I would hate to have an accident because of defects Chevy is aware of and is relying on a bean counter for repair recall this is not normal for a vehicle to be broken at 53,000 miles. Brakes, tires, battery, belts that is normal wear and tear. The manufacturer should repair these defects free of charge.
Noticed a grove in both rear rotors, upon inspection of the brakes it was determined that the parking brake shoes slipped down from it's mounting and scored the rotors. I was unable to remove the rotors on both sides, without damaging them. I had to use a puller to remove them. Both parking brake shoes were worn out and the braking plates were rusted out. This is the second time this has happened in 90,000 miles.
The air conditioner belt and tensionor have failed as a result of the air compressor. I have been told there is high compression in the revalve and intermittent in the compressor. The failure has caused the belt to shred. Also, about a year after I purchased the Tahoe brand new, the emergency/parking break started losing it's tension. Now, it will not prevent the vehicle from rolling.
- Little Rock, AR, USA
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I purchased a 'certified pre-owned' 2002 Tahoe 8/2004 that had 26,000 miles. I took it through state inspection 8/2005 and failed because I had no emergency brake. The inspector said he has encountered this problem several times. I went to mathis tire and they said my brake pads were to the rotors and it would cost $350. I went to the dealer and asked them how it passed their 150 point inspection with a worn emergency brake. They tried to explain that the emergency brake is not part of the brake system. They initially wanted to charge me over $350 until I asked to speak to the owner. I ended up paying $184 to fix it. I took my truck through inspection 7/11/08 and failed because of the emergency brake. I have never heard of an emergency brake wearing away more than once but to have it happen twice. And, no I do not ride with the emergency brake engaged.
My vehicle failed inspection due to the emergency brake being out of order. I have not had it fixed yet but I did a search for the parts online and came upon a website with many owners of my vehicle with same problem. I think that this matter certainly is something that needs some serious investigation time spent on it. I have owned my truck for three years now and I have not once used the emergency brake once.
I have a 2002 Chevy Tahoe with emergency brake problems. I have taken my vehicle into gmac for brake inspections with only 20,000 miles and was told that is the way emergency brakes are. I have to put my foot to the floor of the vehicle to engage E-brake. The vehicle will move (drive) with the E-brake on. Now, I am up to 70,000 miles and I'm scared that the vehicle won't stop when I need it too. I have heard this is a common problem with Chevy Tahoe in years 200-2003 due to a brake pad issue. Please do something before someone dies.
Our 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe failed the annual safety inspection due to the parking brake not functioning at all. Was advised by the inspector that this is a common problem in the Tahoe and other GM SUVS due to a poor design of the parking brake shoe attachment. Since the parking brake did not function at all, it indicated that both parking brake shoes were not functioning. As explained by the inspector: The attachment point fails easily allowing the parking brake shoe to drop down and come into contact with the rotor, which then renders the parking brake useless. If not caught relatively soon, the pad will be worn off from contact with the rotor and the underlying metal of the shoe can damage the rotor. Both parking brake shoes were detached and the minimum cost was $120 if the shoes only needed re-attachment, however since both pads were worn from rubbing the rotors the cost to repair was quoted as $250. A second estimate was $300. Actual cost of repair was $234.43. The second repair shop that quoted $300, also stated that this is a common problem with GM SUVS. The inspector told us that GM is aware of this defect, but has chosen to do nothing about it. The end result of a poorly designed parking brake shoe is a useless parking brake that the consumer is not aware of until inspected or an accident occurs and then an extremely costly repair. After a quick search on the internet, it is clear that this is a common problem and that accidents have already occurred. The following news link lead us to report this to the NHTSA: www.azcentral.com/12news/consumer/articles/chevytahoe09152004-cr.html.
: the contact stated the vehicle's emergency brake failed while changing a tire. The vehicle rolled off the jack, should have stopped, but rolled a few feet before the contact was able to stop the vehicle. No injuries were sustained. The emergency brake light was not illuminated.
Problem with braking system of my 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe ls 1500. Within a year of purchasing the Tahoe the braking system began to act strangely. For example, while driving my daughter to preschool in san francisco, ca. There is hill I drive down with a stop sign at the bottom. There is a bump in the road approx. 30 feet from the stop sign - almost every time I hit this bump, with the brake already engaged - the brake system "disengages" when I hit the bump and I have to frantically push the brake again to try to stop the vehicle. A few times I have ended up in the middle of the street before the brake engages. It is only pure luck that no one has been hit or killed. I know now to avoid this street, but it happens approx. 5 to 10 times a month at different times, weather conditions, road surfaces, etc. I am utterly paranoid about this and drive very cautiously - it is only for that reason that I haven't been in an accident. In may of 2005 I finally insisted on replacing the brakes at my own expense, yet this hasn't solved the problem. The emergency brake problem is horrible. This started as soon as the brakes were replaced in May 2005- it started sticking once in a while and worked its way up to a few times a day. The emergency brake was replaced in April of 2006 yet this solved nothing, the problem is just as bad if not worse now. The Chevrolet dealer I have been working with, putnam Chevrolet in burlingame, ca., acts as if I am driving the vehicle like a maniac and it is all my fault. For the first time tonight, in a terrible case of frustration, I turned to the internet to investigate and was stunned by what I discovered-a problem with ABS brakes for this vehicle that has been recalled in only 20 states, and a known defect with the emergency brake that has resulted in bulletins to the dealer but no recall. Five other people I know have experienced the same type of problems with either a Tahoe or Yukon - huge problem and needs to be investigated.
Rear brakes make noise. After removing rear brake rotors the problem was found. The emergency brake pads slid down and drag, extremely wearing the brake surface. Also the backing plates rust through in some areas. G.M. has a new brake shoe clip to hold shoes in place. They did not cover any of the repair. The rotors have to be replaced, the emergency brake pads and the pad clips. This could be a very dangerous condition. The dealer told me this is a large problem with the Tahoe and the full size pickups.
The emergency brake stopped working. Has been to the dealership, and the dealership said that the emergency brake system was a wear and tire problem. Contacted GMC, and they said there was no recall on this vehicle. Emergency brake had not worked for a month. The vehicle is in the repair shop right now.
Emergency brake failed. Emergency brake is seldom used but was in working order. Attempted to have vehicle inspected and was informed the emergency brake failed to hold car. This same vehicle passed inspection the prior year. There was a cost of over $400 to repair this. I was informed by the repair facility that this was common in this type of vehicle.
I have a 2002 Chevrolet. I have never needed to use may parking brake and when I went to get it inspected, I was notified that it failed the test due to a defective parking brake. I understand this is a common problem on these model vehicles.
Parking brake didn't work properly when we purchased the vehicle. I didn't need it and didn't say anything to the dealer until months later (not sure when). They were completely worn down and I never used the brake! it is again feeling like they are worn out again and I still haven't used the brake a significant amount. I would not place the vehicle in a situation that would depend on the emergency brake working.
I had a 2002 Chevy Tahoe. About 1 year into owning the vehicle, strange brake noises occured intermittenly. It also was getting very poor gas mileage, down about 2-3 miles per gallon. I brought it in several times to brown and brown at superstition springs and asked them to check the brakes, which they never did. Finally, after about 6-8 months of this problem, the issue was identified after my family and I were driving home one night and we smelled brakes burning. I took the Tahoe back to brown and brown the next day. They found that the emergency brake had been stuck on the brakes for months, and finally burned up. The problem was fixed, under warranty, but with no apologies from Chevy. Unfortuneately, I had already received compensation from Chevy for other issues relating to this Tahoe. So I could not file a lemon law suit again. I ended up trading the vehicle in for another, due to all the issues. The vehicle was just constantly in the shop.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Raleigh, NC, USA