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.
After a morning of driving around town doing errands I returned home with groceries. While there I decided to swap out my reverse light bulbs before driving my son to baseball practice. While making this maintenance repair the brakes on my truck failed completely. The brakes sank all the way to the floor. Fortunately I was able to keep the truck from backing into the cars parked across the street behind me..and that I had not gone right out to drive my son to baseball. When I got out to inspect the brake lines had completely imploded and brake fluid was leaking everywhere. After having it towed to a repair shop I was told my brakes had completely rusted out.
Brakes failed as I tried to stop. All brake lines had to be replaced due to corrosion. The vehicle was purchased new and is always kept in a dry garage.
ABS and brake light dashboard indicator light activates after any rain or underside of car becoming wet due to road moisture. Water, salt, and other environmental contaminants cause various components of the ABS to fail triggering the ABS and/or brake failure light on dashboard to turn on. Various GM dealer recommend replacement of the electronic brake control module and brake pressure valve in addition to associated connection hardware. Estimated cost of parts is in excess of $2K and labor is $500. No assurances are given this will fix problem. Previous recalls by GM, vehicle owner complaints, internet websites, and internet forums address ongoing ABS and brake light system problems due to exposure to water, moisture, and other environmental elements; indicates the life cycle of GM ABS and brake systems are severely reduced in comparison to all other makes and model cars/trucks with ABS systems. The number one NHTSA complaint issue remains the ABS brake system on GMC Yukon produced from 2000 to 2006. There have been various NHTSA/GMC recall notices that address partial fixes to the ABS but none requiring the recall of the complete ABS system itself. Failure of the ABS will result in brake lockup at any speed. The failure of the ABS system to function properly because GM did not design the system for it's operating environment has created a dangerous expensive problem for GMC Yukon owner/operators.
I noticed some fluid under the middle of vehicle and thought it was water but as I was heading to church Sunday night my brake peddle went all the way to the floor, was very disturbing and scary to me but was able to stop and get home safely. Next day in the daylight I check out my fluid and the brake fluid box was completely empty! took to dealership and was informed that brake lines rusted and leaking per say $1500 job to fix. Also, informed that I needed a new water pump too. I just replaced the power steering pump 2 weeks before this occurred. GMC needs to make this a recall immediately before someone gets killed.
Driving on rt 22 in NJ at 55mph when traffic light changed to red and stepped on brakes and the pedal went all the way to the floor. The car only slowed slightly and ended up in the middle of the intersection before it stopped. Lucky that it was in the mid afternoon and the traffic was light because the distance to stop was about 5 times the normal distance and had to use emergency brake to stop the car. There was a sudden failure of the brake line due to corrosion, I had the car inspected by a mechanic, causing the pressure to drop in the system. After the incident I went online and found that this is a problem for years with this make and model. I am a surgeon and find it worrisome that this Agency has not recalled this defect and that GMC has not notified consumers of the possibility so they can have the brake lines changed.
- Bridgewater, NJ, USA
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I have just submitted a first complaint # 10552595 for defective GMC Yukon brake lines. I am now submitting second complaint for a subsequent incident with the same vehicle. On Oct. 5, 2013 I was driving alone to the supermarket in Pennsylvania. As I was stopping for an upcoming stop sign, my brakes failed to operate, again! the brake pedal again went completely to the floor. As there was almost no stopping power left, I again pulled the emergency brake and downshifted to low, and partially slowed, and stopped just after the intersection. I was within sight of my auto shop, and I very slowly proceeded through one additional intersection to the shop. When I pulled into his parking lot, I could see the hydraulic brake fluid was running out of the rear brake line onto the pavement! my mechanic now told me that the rear brake lines were rusted to the point of causing a major brake fluid loss. He replaced the rear brake lines with stainless steel tubing and fittings. I had to pay $509.45 to make this additional brake line repair. Based upon the NHTSA is investigating these dangerous and defective GMC brake lines in the 'rust states' including my home in Pennsylvania, the us govt must now force GMC to recall these inferior corrosive brake lines to avoid the chance for fatal accidents. GMC should reimburse me for my costs, now totaling $ $994.80. This is now the second NHTSA incident complaint I have filed in 2013 for the total failure of my corroded and burst GMC Yukon brake lines. (please note the mileage of my vehicle on 4/19/13 was 132,593 and then on 10/5/13 it was 137,813.) -[xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
On April 19, 2013 I was driving with my daughter in wilmington de to the amtrak station. Approximately 3 blocks away from arriving, my brakes failed as I attempted to stop at a traffic light. The brake pedal went completely to the floor. As there was almost no stopping power left, I pulled the emergency brake and downshifted to low, and partially slowed, stopped in the last section of the intersection. I pulled to the side of the road and had the car towed to my auto shop. My mechanic told me the front brake lines were rusted to the point of causing a major brake fluid loss. He replaced the brake lines with stainless steel tubing and fittings. I had to pay $485.35 to make this repair. I now know NHTSA is investigating these dangerous and defective GMC brake lines in the 'rust states' including my home in Pennsylvania. The us govt should force GMC to recall these inferior corrosive brake lines to avoid the chance for fatal accidents, and GMC should reimburse me for my costs. I will now file a second NHTSA incident report for a second "rear" brake line failure in Oct 2013. -[xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Brake fluid leaking - brakes went out. Found a premature leak in a brake line about 12 inches below the master cylinder. All lines are severely corroded and must be replaced.
The rear main brake line broke right half into when I had to apply a very hard stop on interstate 64 I was traveling at 65 mph when a small car abruptly changed lanes there wasn't efficient enough space for the car to move in as he moved over I had to hit my brake rather hard to give this idiot enough room to merge in the ABS kicked in and the tires squealed I came very very close to rear ending this guy but I had just enough brake to slow my car up without incident after that my brakes went to the floor when I exited the interstate somehow it did stop lucky me. Soon as I saw a store I stopped and purchased 4 cans of brake fluid refilled the reservoir and made it home with that. I jacked my Yukon up and saw a very rusty steel line broke off at the fitting it didn't pull out of the fitting it actually broke into and of course fluid was everywhere. This incident could have been a bad disaster there was a lot of traffic on the interstate right at the peak of the day when everyone was leaving work trying to get home. I am thanking my lucky stars I made it home safe. Now I have to figure out the repair part of this whole thing.
Hit brakes, started to slow then peddle dropped, no warning light. Peddle sank to floor, pumped peddle to stop, hit lightpole after which brake warning light came on. On inspection, brake line between ABS box and rear axle badly rusted, failed at point above crossmember, in front of gas tank. Have had about 16 cars, never saw line rust this bad on a car less then 20 years old.
2002 GMC Yukon suffered multiple brakeline failures due to corrosion. Rear brake lines running along the axle were originally replaced upon visual inspection. The rear main line from the ABS modulator failed shortly after from a corrosion induced leak where the line passes over the fuel tank. The front lines were scheduled for replacement as a precaution but failed prior to repair where the line passes over the radiator brace. All brake lines and fuel lines show significant corrosion damage.
Brake pedal went to the floor when applied at 30 mph. All lines and hoses were severely corroded, not merely surface rusted. Brake hose nuts rusted to calipers, could not be removed, requiring 2 calipers to be replaced.
Brake lines severely rusted. While driving home from town, brakes went from working great---to brake pedal hitting the floor, stopped and found large amount of brake fluid leaking onto ground. Was able to make it home with brake peddle hitting floor and brake line failure light and audio warning. Approx. One month earlier, parking brake line, rusted through and broke. Upon searching for brake line leak, I was frightened on how rusted out all the brakes lines are, .
On October 9th, 2012 I entered my Yukon at approximately 9pm in a parking lot in downtown cincinnati, Ohio. I put my foot on the brake pedal and start my vehicle. I shifted into reverse and began backup when I pressed on the brake pedal it went all the way to the floor and never regained any brake pressure. I did manage to get my wife and I home safely. I understand that NHTSA already has an open investigation per following: "in 2010, after receiving owner complaints, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) initiated a preliminary evaluation of brake failure trends among six million General Motors vehicles build between 1999-2003, including the Chevy Avalanche and Silverado, the GMC Sierra and some of the automaker's heavy duty trucks. Initially, about 100 owners reported failure of corroded brake lines, resulting in either lengthy stopping distances or crashes." "the problem has escalated, with more owners reporting brake line failure, and so far GM has not kicked-in repair dollars. In early 2011, NHTSA upgraded the preliminary investigation to an engineering analysis." From about.com. While my wife and I did return home safely it was rather terrifying to drive 25 miles with virtually no brakes. Why didn't GM initiate a recall to fix this problem if NHTSA is already aware of the problem. I would like to file a complaint against general motor as we feel they could have put our lives in danger if this had happened in a way that I wasn't aware and had to brake for an emergency. From a cost perspective GMC dealership is charging $2000 replace the corroded brake lines.
Complete brake failure caused by rusted brake lines. When applying brake to shift into drive the pedal went to the floor. Was taken to a near by garage and shown 4 separate leaks in the lines. Estimate to repair was $1800-2000. Im lucky no-one was injured or killed. After asking friends and family who have similar GM fullsize trucks and SUVS around the same year 5 of them reported the same issue which is quite disturbing. One of which was involved in an accident as a result.
The contact owns a 2002 GMC Yukon. The contact stated that while engaging the brakes, the pedal went all the way to the floorboard and the vehicle failed to stop. The contact mentioned that after the vehicle slowed down and he shifted into park he noticed brake fluid leaking from the front and rear brakes. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the brake lines were completely corroded. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included on any recalls. The failure mileage was 68,000 and the current mileage was 69,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Spring Valley, NY, USA