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.
On 11-30-2015 I lost the brake system while driving on a city street. Upon inspection I found a ruptured brake line from the primary side of the master cylinder. The brake line had failed due to corrosion. Inspecting other brake lines, I found others that had corrosion where plastic clips were used to locate lines. I have owned this truck since new and have cared for it meticulously. The truck has 66,00 miles on it. I have never owned any vehicle that had it brake lines rust through like this. A major catastrophe to me and my family was averted by pulling over at the first sign of failure. GM should be held liable for every vehicle it manufactured with poor quality materials that can cause failure to the single most important part of an automobile, the brakes. As you can see from the attached photos, this truck is not rusted anywhere else.
Vehicle was stopped. Brake peddle went to the floorboard. Not able to pump up any pressure. Investigation showed brake fluid coming from perforated brake line at left front wheel. No braking action available! appears to be some type of corrosive reaction between the brake line and the clamps used to fasten the line to the chassis. Note: This vehicle has never been operated in snow or road salt to my knowledge.
Brake failure do to rusted out lines.a ongoing problem that GM will not take responsibility for the poor quality of these lines putting people's lives at risk.
Without any warning, my brake lines failed and I could not stop my truck. I live in the northeast and it would seem reasonable for brake lines to rust out. However, my truck is only 10 years old and I have spent thousands of dollars keeping it washed, including the undercarriage. I have never had a brake line fail on another car and I have driven some really old vehicles. I have also never heard of anyone I know having a problem with their vehicles. This is because it is a specific problem with GMC Sierra and Chevy Silverado.
A vehicle approaching from my left side was speeding and ran the stop light in front of me at approximately 40mph. I slammed on my brakes to avoid the collision and my brakes wet to the floor. I missed hitting the car by about 1 foot. At an inspection at a dealership it appears the brake lines had rusted through under the drivers side of the truck. Apparently form road salt corrosion,
- Bennington, VT, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
Another GM rusty brake line failure while attempting to stop on a 2005 GMC Sierra 1500. I don't expect things to last forever, but brake lines are essential to the safety of a vehicle and they should not be rusting to failure at this point. I don't care what the climate is. At this point my truck is in the shop getting fixed on my dime (GM refuses to repair it). But they need to look into this. I have worked on/driven many much older cars in the same condition, and I have never seen brake lines rust to this extent in 10 years. My last car was a 20 year old Monte Carlo that still had original brake lines. In my opinion this has the potential to turn into bigger safety issue at some time. In my opinion, it is only a matter of time.
Went to stop at stop sign, brakes felt spongy. Stopped up the road about 2 miles at my moms house to get my kids, looked under the truck and saw brake fluid dripping down on the left side of the frame behind the left front wheel.I have to replace all of my brake lines now due to rust.
I was traveling at 35 mph and approached a stop light. The brakes failed and I went through the red light. I nearly was hit by oncoming traffic. The brake line has a sever leak at a rusted area in the line.
Around the middle of December 2014 the "service brake system" message appeared on my 2005 GMC 1500 Sierra sle. I checked the brake fluid reservoir and it was nearly empty. I could not find where the fluid had leaked from so I serviced the reservoir with 12 ounces brake fluid to the full mark. From about December 15, 2014 until 28 December 2014, I lost about 7 ounces of brake fluid. No trace of brake fluid can be found on the driveway. I crawled under the truck and had my wife press the brakes while I looked for a leak. I found the leak near the left rear wheel area on a very corroded bracket. It appears to be a very small hole because the fluid comes out as a fine mist and not a stream. The rigid brake line connects to a flexible brake line at the bracket and there is a lot of rust at the connection as well as the brake line. I have found rust forming on other brake lines as well.
The vehicle was purchased new and has been regularly maintained. The brake lines and frame are heavily corroded. While pulling out of a parking spot on 10/26/14 brakes were applied abruptly which caused a rupture of the corroded brake lines. All brake lines will need to be replaced in order to safely return the vehicle to service. Other family members have 2004 Chevy Yukon and 1994 GMC 2500, both vehicles had brake lines fail due to corrosion and required complete replacement in order to safely return the vehicles to service. This is a serious safety concern and these brake line failures are not normal wear and tear. I have had several vehicles much older than this vehicle which still have stock brake lines with no corrosion.
I went out to move the truck and noticed there was fluid on the driveway. I examined the rear driver side and there was a brake line that had rusted through. I contacted the local dealership and they stated they were unaware of this being an issue with those trucks. I had researched and found that there have been multiple complaints to GM about this issue. Fortunately, this occurred when the vehicle was parked and did not fail while driving my family in the vehicle. What I have read is that the brake lines were manufactured with poor quality materials and that they fail. The article referenced is: mobile.nytimes.com/2014/07/08/automobiles/GM-resists-recalling-trucks-over-brake-line-problem.html?referrer=&_R=1.
Helped friend with plumbing problem, as I backed out his drive way brakes seemed a little soft. At first stop sign brake pedal went down about 1/4 more on travel than normal. At next stop sign a car was already stopped, I applied my brakes, pedal to floor, no brakes at all. Dropped transmission into first gear, slowed some. The car at stop sign luckily proceeded on thru. I was not able to make a complete stop, and rolled thru the stop sign. Just about hit another car. I was able to nurse truck home. I have a garage at home with a car lift in it. I like working on old cars, and motorcycles. Worked on cars and trucks since I was 16, am 61 now, and by no means a novice working on, or racing cars!!! after checking trucks braking system. Left front steel brake line was rusted badly and had ruptured. As I continued checking the brake system, all brake lines extremely rusted. I have a 1952 styleline deluxe that the original brake lines look better. Truck my have seen snow 3 to 4 times in its life, pretty sad. I am lucky to not have killed some one or myself. Have pictures of brake lines and truck is still on lift. Extremely poor quality brake lines. GMC should recall. With out a doubt sure some has been killed or injured, there will be more if not addressed now!!!!!!!!!
I drove into lumber yard hit the brakes and they were gone. As my speed was low due to parking lot, I was able to stop without incident. Brake lines were completely rusted and all the brake fluid drained into parking lot. I had the brake lines repaired at considerable cost as they were all rusted. They needed to be custom bent by the shop. Luckily no one was hurt or killed. This should not have happened. I had rust in all lines and the grouping of lines over the drivers side frame rail next to front tire was the culprit area with all lines rusted thru. I had no stopping power. I had to use parking brake to stop.
I took my truck into fitzgerald auto mall, with whom I've had a great relationship, for some power steering issues. I was told that the brake system piping itself was rusting and would need to be replaced to the tune of $1600. I researched this and found that this is a common issue with GM trucks and there hasn't been anything done about it. GM has reduced the cost of the repair "kit" to $500, but who is going to install it? I have had many vehicles and lived in many states where salt is used on the road. I've never seen a vehicle that had so much damage because of it, especially a critical system like brakes. This should have been a recall years ago. I don't think the owners of these affected vehicles should have to pay to fix an engineering mistake. GM should be liable and fix it for free. Thank you.
2005 GMC Sierra Z71. I am the original owner. This vehicle has 18K miles, yes 18 thousand original miles. This truck does not get beat on at all, no off road etc, and it has been well taken care of since new. There is a rust issue with these trucks. On 5-19-2014, on my way to the car wash my brakes started to feel very soft and the truck was not stopping. I changed routes to my mechanics shop, and while en route lost the rear brakes. I thankfully arrived (driving very slowly) to the front of his shop. I got out and saw a puddle of brake fluid leaking out of the rear end brake lines rear lines were completely rusted. He inspected the vehicle, and as if this wasn't enough, informed that the transmission lines were also leaking (rusted). Mechanic added that I should be prepared for the fuel lines to rust through next. This line replacement job will cost me about 2K. Not to mention the issue with the lower rockers and cab corners rusting. That estimated is for another 2K. I purchased this truck to last me, and apparently GM does not build a quality product anymore. There a numerous complaints about this issue, and GM refuses to acknowledge the problem. Very unhappy!
I was driving on a highway getting ready to make a left hand turn off the highway when all of a sudden my brake pedal went to the instead of continuing the turn I pulled onto the center median so I would not hit the on coming traffic. I ruptured a brake line and had to have my truck towed to a repair shop.after reading on line I understand this is a persistent problem with the Sierra and Silverado. I also have read that GM is aware of the problem but refuses to issue a recall because they feel it is not a safety issue. We'll if I had not pulled the wheel back to the right and went into the median I would have been involved in a head on crash, I would call that a safety issue.
I was stopped at a traffic light with my foot on the brake pedal when suddenly the pedal went almost completely to the floor. After getting safely off the roadway, I inspected the truck and saw a lot of fluid leaking from beneath the rear of the cargo bed. I then discovered that a rear brake line had ruptured, apparently from corrosion. I checked the brake reservoir and found that it was almost empty. Once I got the truck to a repair shop I saw that all the tubular brake lines were severely corroded and all needed to be replaced. I had stainless steel lines installed and repair costs exceeded $1.200.00. I've owned this truck since it was brand new and have always kept it very well maintained.
Was traveling on baldwin rd., clermont county, Ohio. I applied the brakes to slow for a corner and the brake pedal went to the floor board.I finally got the vehicle stopped and I realized what had happened. I had a discussion with a mechanic at my dealership while my truck was still under warranty about the condition of the brake lines in the engine compartment, and was told that the rust was just discoloration and nothing to worry about. When I called the dealership on 3/7/2014, I was told by the service manager that he was not aware of any investigation.
Began to back out of parking space when the brake pedal fell flat to the floor. Lost all braking power and was unable to stop. Brake fluid leaking from rusted line.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- North Port, FL, USA