2003 Buick Rendezvous: brake failure

Filed Mar 17, 2015 · Brakes · 178,000 miles · IL

On 3/13/2015 my car had gone to a firestone location in indiana due to a check gauges light on.they replaced my alternator and battery. My vehicle was only kicking out 300 cca. I took my car home and parked it. The following day I put approximately 350 miles of interstate driving on my truck. When arriving home, I parked my truck. On 3/15/15 I took a short 2 mile drive and lost my brakes.I have a severe back problem, which makes quick and sudden moves painful. The brake pedal went all the way to the floor. I was on a winding road and it made it difficult to control the truck at 40 MPH. There was no warning to my brakes going out. I had to have my car towed in to the shop as I was not going to attempt to drive it any further with no brakes. I have own many different makers of cars and never encountered this type of problem. If there was any kind of hint it was going , you would think they would have caught it 2 days earlier when it was in the shop. I am currently unemployed and expenses like this are very hard to accommodate.

Filed Jul 29, 2014 · Brakes · 134,000 miles · OH

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 buick rendezvous. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, the brakes failed and the emergency brake was used to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who noticed that the warning indicator low brake fluids warning light was illuminated. The mechanic diagnosed that the brake lines that crossed over from the drivers side to the passenger side were fractured due to rust on the inside. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 134,000. Updated 09/05/14*lj the consumer stated the brake line was rusted which caused the leak. The rust was hidden under the shield. Updated 12/4/2014

Filed Jun 23, 2014 · Brakes, Fuel system · 180,000 miles · OH

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 buick rendezvous. While driving 35 MPH, the brakes failed to respond when the brake pedal was depressed to the floorboard. The dealer stated that the brake and fuel lines were severely rusted and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 180,000.

Filed Jan 2, 2014 · Brakes · 100,000 miles · WA · crash · 1 injury

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 buick rendezvous. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, the brakes failed when engaged and the brake pedal became stuck to the floorboard. As a result, the contact crashed into the rear of a parked vehicle. In addition, the engine rpms increased excessively. The contact was able to stop the failure by shifting into park while the vehicle was still in motion. The contact sustained injuries to the hip, shoulder, knee and ankle from the impact. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed a local body repair center fo further inspection. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileage was 100,000.

Filed Nov 4, 2013 · Brakes · 111,000 miles · OH

Rear brake line broke because of rust. Pedal went to the floor then lost all brake fluid for rear brakes after a couple stops.

Filed Mar 2, 2012 · Brakes · 163,000 miles · PA

I was driving home from work, I tried to stop my car and the brakes went to the floor, the car started smoking, and I had to put the car in low so it would slow down. And when it slowed I finally got it to stop. The mechanic said the car was put together funny and that the brake line corroded cause its over the exhaust. I didn't get hurt but I could have, but if it were someone who didn't know how to slow down a car, or a new driver it could have been bad.

Filed Sep 19, 2011 · Brakes · 137,000 miles · MN

I was parked on a hill facing up wards. I made a u turn in the street to go down the hill as I always do. As I approached the stop sign I lost all pressure to the brakes and the pedal went to the floor. I went through the stop sign but no accident occurred. I was able to come to a very slow stop. While I continued driving to the nearest mechanic I noticed smoke coming from under the hood and now the "low brake fluid" warning light came on and warning chimes were ringing constantly. I pulled over and noticed brake fluid hitting hot engine components causing the smoke. I could see brake fluid dripping under the vehicle too but under the engine. The mechanic inspected the line and said that the line runs up to the fire wall behind the top of the engine and that he didn't want to work on it. "real nice". I have to find a shop who is competent to do this job. I would have no doubt been in a very serious accident had I been on the freeway while this happened. From reading some other similar issues online this should be a recall issue. Apparently all these brake lines run up to the fire wall where installation holds moisture and causes failure. This is not a normal wear and tear issue. If the line wasn't in or close to insulation this wouldn't be happening. *tr

Filed Jun 13, 2011 · Brakes · 109,248 miles · MI

Brake failure due to corroded brake line on firewall above exhaust pipe. I was able to bring car to full stop using emergency brake. Because of light traffic and low speed major accident was avoid. Brake line fixed by shelton buick dealer in rochester hills and price was $429.70. I'm finding out that this is common problem with this type of gm vehicles.

Filed Aug 23, 2010 · Brakes · 54,000 miles · 00

Brake failure due to corroded brake line on firewall above exhaust pipe. Those 2 brake lines are shielded together by a heat shielded insulation which in return keeps in moisture and corrodes brake lines,very poor design. Called gm to see if there is a recall and see if they can do anything about this problem financially ,waiting for answer. This is going to be a common problem and expensive one,on top of being a dangerous one. Have to replace front and rear passenger brake lines,if one corroded the other one will follow.

Filed Oct 10, 2007 · Transmission · 90,000 miles · KS

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 buick rendezvous. While making a right or left turn, the vehicle made a grinding noise. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The contact had to replace the front driver side tire. When the spare was placed on the vehicle, the all wheel drive system had to be disabled. Ironically, the noise stopped immediately afterwards. Once the repairs were made, the all wheel drive was reactivated and the noise returned. When attempting to stop the vehicle, she heard a dinging noise and the all wheel drive indicator light illuminated. The brakes failed and the contact drove off the road in order to stop the vehicle. The brakes locked, which caused the all wheel drive to engage. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and they stated that this was impossible. They stated that the two front all wheel drive sensors needed to be replaced and a code was received for the ABS light. The contact stated that the ABS light never illuminated. The current and failure mileages were 90,000.

Filed Jul 18, 2007 · Brakes · 36,480 miles · NY

Brake failure on a 2003 buick rendezvous, 36,440 miles due to rusted through brake line at firewall above exhaust. My wife was barely able to get the car safely off the road. Car was towed to the dealer; not warranty; very expensive; towed to transmission shop for repair. This could have resulted in a major accident.

Filed Jul 7, 2005 · Brakes, Engine · 1,000 miles · MD

Transmission failure- replaced 12/04, wheel hub bearing failure-replaced 06/05, heating/AC problems since new 09/03, brake problems since new, window regulators replaced 2x's, hatch latch failure-multiple, parking brake failure 07/04-present, overheating 07/04-present