2003 Chevrolet Avalanche 1500: brake failure

Filed Apr 2, 2019 · Brakes · 90,000 miles · NY

Brakes went out with no warning, two different times. On a highway stopping for a red light.

Filed Sep 27, 2017 · Brakes · 95,000 miles · NJ

Was driving home and brakes failed. Massive holes in the lines, pedal down to the floor no brake warning light until it was too late. Thank god my wife and kids were not with me this time. Lucky I'm alive. I was not on a main highway. So far the cost is up to $2000.00 to replace all the lines. Also now the master cylinder seems to be faulty. Another $400.00. I have read way tooo many complaints about gm brake lines rusting out way too soon many with low mileage. Something has to be done about this in the form of compensation. Lives could be lost and some probably have.

Filed Aug 27, 2017 · Brakes · 176,000 miles · FL

I have read the federal safety agency # 05v37900 and see that addresses the brake problems with brake line that I am having problems where the brake goes to the floor with no warning that is the same as the 2002 that is included in your recall. It appears that the same brake lines were used on the 2003 model. So why was the 2003 model not included in the recall as losing the brakes not a safety hazard. I was driving down the road when the brakes went out and was lucky there was no other traffic in the area.

Filed Jun 9, 2017 · Brakes · 79,200 miles · WI

While braking for a red stop light the truck was stopping normally and was almost stopped when the brake pedal went nearly to the floor and braking action was severely affected causing a much delayed completion to the stop. When the brake pedal collapsed a chime came on and a brake failure light appeared on the dash panel. Luckily I was able to avoid hitting the car in front of me. I was able to drive the car slowly out of traffic going very slow and using the emergency brake. Upon initial inspection, brake fluid was observed leaking from somewhere under the truck. The truck was towed to a service garage where the initial diagnosis was a rusted out brake line.

Filed Jul 2, 2016 · Brakes · 179,000 miles · NY

I lost the complete hydraulic braking system due to a line(s) burst due to rust. Thankfully I was just coming out of a parking lot so I was not going fast. My foot immediately went to the floor, the warning sound and indicator came on, but I had absolutely no brakes other than the emergency brake, which I used to pull over. It goes to the shop on tuesday so I will know then the extent of the damage. Had I been going 30 or 40 and coming to a crowed intersection, someone surely would have been hurt, there would have been absolutely no way for me to stop in time. I had no pre-warning of an issue, no low fluid indications, no brake warning lights, just my foot going to the floor. Pretty scary.

Filed Sep 28, 2014 · Brakes · 62,000 miles · MA

Loss of brakes occurred when applying brake peddle. Inspection by local mechanic showed both front brake lines had rusted through. Further mechanic inspection revealed that the remaining rear lines were also corroded to the point where failure was imminent. Local chevrolet dealer service department indicated cost of repair would be thousands of dollars and that there were no oem pre-shaped lines produced by any manufacturer for such repairs. Hence, this would require custom brake line bending and substantially increased repair costs. Second occurrence resulted in a complete lost of all braking ability. This vehicle is often used to haul horses with a horse trailer. We are extremely lucky we were not hauling horses at the time of the brake lines ruptured and failed. Research on various chevy and avalanche internet sites / boards as of this date shows this has become an increasingly common problem for chevy trucks of this vintage. The true incidence of this problem is likely hidden by fact that people are forced to seek repair alternatives other than at chevy dealers as the dealer quoted repair costs are outrageous. It is incredible that with all the press about recent recalls on large numbers of chevy vehicles, and the government and taxpayer money that went into bailing out chevy, that something as serious as increasingly frequent chevy truck brake failures, which could put people's lives at risk, have been ignored.

Filed Jul 9, 2014 · Brakes · 150,000 miles · MI

I was driving northbound on old us 23 in brighton, mi and stepped on the brake. The pedal went all the way to the floor and barely got the truck stopped. One of the brake lines had ruptured. Polarchios auto repair (brighton, mi) identified the problem as a ruptured brake line due to corrosion. I had never heard of brake lines corroding and while not happy about the approx. $350 repair did not think too much of the incident thinking this was not a common problem. Polarchios told me this was not an isolated problem and had repaired several other trucks for this problem. I saw that this agency was investigating the problem and was encouraging gm to recall and repair these vehicles and wanted to provide my experience. I would think a recall is in order as I only had one line fail, there are 3 more......when will those fail? As serious as the gm ignition key issues are, I would think the ability to stop would be at least as important. Please call me at if you have any questions - thank you for the good work that you do!

Filed Jul 7, 2014 · Brakes · 171,000 miles · MN

Shifted from park to drive. Brake went to the floor, and brake fluid gushed from brake line under driver's seat. Also leaked on driver's rear passenger side. Total loss of braking power.

Filed Jul 6, 2014 · Brakes · 120,000 miles · KY

Brakes went all the way to the floor and was getting no braking at all unless emergency brake was applied...luckily was at a stop in a parking lot when this happened and not trying to stop on at am intersection or on the highway...was able to limp home using emergency brake to stop...aren't these supposed to have a split system so you cannot lose all brakes at once...pads are not worn low...and fluid is spraying from brake line directly under drivers side door...

Filed Jun 24, 2013 · Brakes · PA

2003 chevrolet avalanche 1500. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle complete brake failure. *smd the consumer stated while driving 70 MPH, the brake light failure light illuminated. When the consumer applied the brake, there was no response. The consumer was able to pull over safely. The vehicle was towed to a certified chevrolet dealer, where an inspection revealed, the brake failure was due to a break in one of the brake lines, and all of the brake lines were so deteriorated and rust encrusted, that all of the lines had to be replaced.

Filed Dec 17, 2012 · Brakes · 67,000 miles · NJ

Brake lines are leaking so I took truck to the dealer and they advised me the lines were corroded and it would cost me $1200. To $1500. To fix and it was not safe to drive. Lucky I noticed the leaking before my brakes failed me. I don't know why this was not recalled and fixed at no cost by gm dealer. Please let me know gm's responsibility here.

Filed Sep 5, 2012 · Brakes · 127,000 miles · NC

While driving the vehicle there was complete loss of the braking system. There was no warning of this happening. When it happened the pedal went to the floor and there was no slowing of the vehicle. When it was towed to a repair shop I was told that a brake line rusted through and 8ft of brake line had to be replaced. Fortunately the car was going slow due to traffic. Had I been moving faster or on a highway this could have been very dangerous. Consider the number of complaints about this issue on gm trucks I firmly believe that the manufacturer is responsible for replacing all the brake lines before people start dieing. I am aware of the federal safety agency investigating this problem with number ea11001. This is why I made it a point to write. I am hoping that this problem gets resolved quickly.