2002 Chevrolet Astro brakes problems

Filed Apr 19, 2015 · Brakes · 113,000 miles · PA

I got in my van to drive to a store and the brake pedal went right to the floor. There was brake fluid leaking from near the rear tire. The steel hard brake line running from the ABS unit to the rear axle is rusted through and is leaking. This was a sudden event. Also the fuel lines look to be just as bad. I'm sure stainless steel lines would not have added much to the vehicles cost and would have prevented this hazard and expense.

Filed Oct 7, 2013 · Brakes, Electrical · 120,000 miles · AZ

Vehicle lost all electrical power to every system that is controlled by the ignition being turned on. Driver was in the process of making a u-turn around a curbing island in the divided traffic road when all electrical was interrupted while the steering wheel was turned all the way to the left. Condition caused steering to become difficult, brake pedal went clear to the floor, air conditioning and radio and headlights all went off. Condition was repeatable with exception of brake pedal, each time steering was turned to the left. Inspection under vehicle found that main power cable is routed across front side of main frame motor mount member. There was a slight curve in the way the wire was routed and each time the steering was turned to the left, the inner tie rod end for the right wheel came in contact with the wire harness. After many miles, the protective cover and then the actual wire insulation was rubbed through. This caused a direct short to ground through the steering parts of all (switched while running) electrical components of the vehicle. Problem was corrected by taping the wire insulation, then taping the protective covering. I then had to fabricate a bracket to screw to the steel crumple member to hold the harness back from the steering linkage.

Filed Jul 28, 2012 · Brakes · 79,000 miles · FL

Abs was activated at slow speeds causing a substantial drop in braking power.

Filed Oct 24, 2011 · Brakes, Driver assistance · 106,872 miles · IL

Abs coming on at very low speeds on dry pavement (under 5mph/8kmh). It doesn't do it every time, but quite often at low speeds, like coming to a red light, stop sign or parking. Of course, there is no need for the ABS come on at such low speeds and especially not on dry pavement.

Filed Oct 21, 2011 · Brakes · MI

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 chevrolet astro. The contact stated that the front brake lines were rusted. The ABS unit was not working properly and the rear brakes had already failed. The vehicle was not inspected by the dealer but was repaired by the contact. The current mileage was 79,000 and the failure mileage was unknown.

Filed Mar 12, 2010 · Brakes · 76,000 miles · MI

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 chevrolet astro van. When driving at low speeds the anti-lock braking system would activate without warning, increasing the vehicle's stopping distance. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer. The current and failure mileages were 76,000. Updated 5/12/10 *cn updated 06/18/10.

Filed Mar 2, 2010 · Brakes, Steering · 25,000 miles · MD

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 chevrolet astro van. The contact stated that while driving in reserve at approximately 5 MPH, the brakes and the power steering malfunctioned. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic. The mechanic could not remedy the problem. The contact stated that the vehicle was unsafe to drive. The failure mileage was 25,000.

Filed Feb 24, 2009 · Brakes · 50,000 miles · CA · crash · 1 injury

Tl. Contact owns a 2002 chevy astro van. Current mileage was 97,000 and failure mileage were 50,000. Contact stated upon purchasing the vehicle from enterprise car rental the brakes have been bad. Contact stated that the vehicle has been in the shop over 20 time most of the time for the brakes. Contact has crash the due to the brakes on the vehicle. Contact feels thatthe vehicle was a lemon upon purchase and does not feel this vehicle should be on the road. Jo

Filed Nov 10, 2008 · Brakes · 94,339 miles · VA · crash

On march 26, 2008, I took my 2002 chevy astro van to be serviced. Mileage 93,829,I had no brakes. The master cylinder was determined to be the cause of the failure and was replaced. On april 12, 2008, once again I had no brakes, this time it resulted in me getting into and accident. I took the van back to the same repair shop. When they put it on the lift they said the whole braking system was melted until the point of the hose bursting. He said he never saw anything like this in his 20 years of service. They did not want to touch it stating it was now a liability to them and directed me to chevy. Chevy concurred, four different people said they have never seen or have a clue at what caused this. They called in gm, who also never had seen this, but bounced the blame on a questionably installed master cylinder. Chevy said they can replace the whole braking system because they do not know what is wrong, but since they do not know what caused this or why fuses didn't blow to prevent it, it could happen again. We hired our own car consultant to look at the van, he too has never seen or heard of anything like this. The heat and melted brake lines ran closer than 1/4 inch away from the gas tank. I do not want to take the risk of driving again with my children and loosing brakes or possibly igniting the gas tank.

Filed Sep 24, 2007 · Brakes · 123,000 miles · TN · fire

Operated the van for 30 minutes. Parked it in a garage and shutoff engine. Ten minutes later the garage smoke alarm sounded. The van had filled the garage full of smoke. Opened the door and attempted to restart the engine to remove from garage. Display reported an assortment of warnings and engine starter failed to activate. Opened hood to discover flames coming from the underside on the engine. Called for fire department and made first attempt to use a fire extinguisher to stop flames from the engine compartment, was unsuccessful. Went under the van's driver-side and could now see the source of fire. Extinguished the fire, then it shortly erupted again. Extinguished again. Placed the key into the steering column to move transmission to neutral, so that I could push the vehicle out of the garage. Sparks immediately flew from the driver-side underside and re-ignited the fire. The transmission lever was no longer engaged to the transmission (control was limp) and the key seized in the column. Went underneath the vehicle to extinguish the fire a third time. After this I removed the positive power lead from the battery to stop any further electrical shorts. Fire subsided. Fire department arrived and ordered a wrecker to drag the vehicle from the garage for safety of the house. At this time it was discovered that the fire had also destroyed the emergency brake system. The parking brake was seized in the off position. Chevrolet dealership repair order states as follows: "appears ebcm shorted and caught fire burning a hole through the brake line. Parking brake cable. Shifter cable and wiring harness." the ebcm fire not only caused the loss of normal braking operation, the poor location of unit and subsequent fire it started destroyed the emergency braking system and severed the controls to the transmission. This leaves a driver with a complete loss of braking functions and no means to slow the vehicle through down shifting the transmission. $6000 of damage.