With my avalanche, I was towing a trailer with a car loaded and traveling at less than 10 MPH, I applied the brakes to slow for a turn and lost nearly all the braking power. I pulled to the shoulder and noticed that one of the brake lines forward of the ABS module located inside the left frame rail directly beneath the drivers seat had ruptured due to corrosion. Further inspection showed all brake lines in that area were covered with corrosion. All brake line were replaced with new stainless steel lines after researching that this very common problem was not authorized for recall. Repair cost: $950.00. It would appear that brake problems of this frequency and magnitude should have been subject to recall as it is apparent that it is a design flaw and very dangerous.
2002 Chevrolet Avalanche 2500 brakes problems
18 complaints (30% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 80,000. 2 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 18
- of this car's complaints
- 30%
- typical mileage
- 80,000
- crashes
- 2
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Foundation components: hoses, lines/piping, and fittings1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Chevrolet Avalanche 2500 brakes problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche 2500 brakes
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Brake line corrosion failure
On January 11, 2011, ODI opened EA11-001 to investigate allegations of premature brake line corrosion failure in model year (MY) 1999 through 2003 General Motors (GM) full-size pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles sold or registered in the following region of the United States that the federal safety agency has viewed as salt states for investigations of corrosion related issues:Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin.The subject vehicles represent the first five MY's of GM's GMT800 platform production, of which approximately 2,038,504 vehicles were sold in salt states (the subject vehicles).The GMT800 platform includes the following vehicles:1999-2007 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 1500, 2500 and 3500 series pick-up trucks; 2000-2006 Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon sport utility vehicles; and 2002-2006 Cadillac Escalade and Chevrolet Avalanche sport-utility vehicles.General Motors produced a total of approximately 10,427,062 GMT800 vehicles for sales in the United States, including almost 5 million that were sold in salt states.Although there are over 60 different brake pipe routing configuration used in GMT800 vehicles, with the exception of the rear crossover pipes in MY 200x-2007 vehicles that changed from rear disc to drum brakes, all of the vehicles use brake pipes from the same supplier with a common double-wall, brazed steel pipe design with a combination of hot dip Zinc-Aluminum corrosion protection coating and Aluminum paint outer layer known in the industry as AlGal (ASTM-B750). ODI analysis of field data regarding GMT800 vehicles identified a total of 3,645 complaints of brake pipe corrosion failures, including 107 alleging crashes, and 40 injuries.Though only 20% of total GMT800 production, due to age and region the subject vehicles account for a disproportionate share of the failure experience; with 2,702 of the complaints (75%), 88 of the crashes (82%) and 20 of the injuries (50%) reported in those vehicles.Analysis of the complaints showed strong correlations to vehicle age and region.For vehicles with less than 8 years of service, the complaint rates were minimal for all regions.In the salt states the failure rates begin to climb as the vehicles advance in age, particularly in the Northeast corner of the United States.The complaint rates in the salt states go from less than 0.1 incident per thousand vehicles (IPTV) at 7 years in service to over 1.0 IPTV after the 12th year of service for the subject pickup trucks and utility vehicles.Most of the failures reported to ODI occurred in vehicles with more than 10 years in service.ODI?s investigation did not identify any specific defect conditions that were causing or contributing to the brake pipe failures.Nor did the analysis isolate the problem to any subject vehicle sub-populations when analyzed by vehicle type or production range.The investigation found that vehicles experiencing brake pipe corrosion failures were likely to have general patterns of excessive corrosion on the majority of the brake pipe assembly and appear to be occurring due to expected wear out for the brake pipe coating material used in the subject vehicles and the environmental conditions in severe corrosion states.A safety-related defect has not been identified at this time.Accordingly, this investigation is closed.The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that a safety-related defect does not exist.The agency will monitor t
EA11001
What 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche 2500 owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
My son was driving my 2002 avalanche when the brake pedal went to the floor without any prior warning or dash lights. Although he did go through the intersection he was trying to stop for there was no traffic and no accident. The problem was a brake line failing.
Saturday january 23, 2016 during a snow storm my 2002 chevy avalanche 2500 VIN# [xxx] lost all brake control due to failed and corroded brake line under driver side door at retainer clip on side of frame without any warning signs of soft pedal or intermittent braking. This is the second truck driven a 2004 1500 with the same failed line in same place on frame. Just before the brake line failed there was a small car in front of me with two small children in the back seat that turned right if they came to a full stop I would have not been able to negotiate around them that could have resulted in injury and or death of the other occupants in the car. I do think that this is a big safety concern for all not just drivers of the affected trucks but anyone or object in its path. I asking for gm to recall all affected vehicles for a repair and replacement of all brake lines at the cost of general motors with brake lines coated like the poly armor lines to aid in the resistance of corrosion. The current lines are only made of steel with no top coating and are routed in direct spray off of tires and road with no splash shield to protect line from spray or foreign objects from striking lines. Sincerely [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
The avalanche is our tow vehicle (only) which is why it has so few miles for a 2002 model year vehicle. Normally it is towing a 9000 pound 28 foot toy hauler, but just by pure luck it was towing a single axle flat bed trailer with the cab for a 1935 chevrolet pickup on it back from the body shop. I pulled into the driveway and tried to stop and there were no brakes. Tried to apply the parking brakes and the cable snapped. Stopped by driving up a hill into the grass. Took the avalanche to the dealer where they told me the brake lines all had to be replaced and they were no longer available from the manufacturer. In the course of getting the brake lines out they found that the fuel lines were also leaking and had to be replaced. The total bill for repair was $2900.00, plus the vehicle was out of service for 6 weeks. Granted the vehicle is 12 years old, but I have a 1963 studebaker that still has solid brake and fuel lines. It is only by the grace of god that the avalanche wasn't towing a 9000 pound 28 foot long trailer at 70 MPH when the brakes failed. There was no warning light, no indication at all that there was a pending problem. Someone could have been killed. These vehicles need to be recalled, and I need to be reimbursed for the repairs.
Brake pedal went to the floor, used emergency brake to stop. Found brake line under drivers door rusted through and gushing fluid.
Complete brake failure while towing a trailer, pedal right to the floor I'm lucky to be alive. No warning whatsoever brakes had been working fine before incident. Subsequent inspection revealed blown brake line below drivers door at frame rail and all lines look terrible. Online investigation shows this to be very common problem lets get this recall issued before anyone dies. The ability to stop is priority one there is nothing more important.
When pulling into my driveway, the brakes pedal went all the way to the floor. I ran into my utility trailer, but no damage was caused. Avalanche is at the garage now, he informed me this is common with chevy trucks. All brake lines need to be replaced and it will cost between $1000 and $1200.
Driving on the highway at 50 MPH applied brakes to stop at traffic light and pedal went to the floor. I had no brakes, pulled over to the side of the road and after examination saw brake fluid under truck.
Rusted brake lines burst causing brake failure.
The first time this happened I was going home from work on the freeway. I was going 65 MPH and my engine died I had no power steering and the brake pedal was very hard to push. I was able to put my truck in neutral and restart it. The second time the engine died I was sitting at a red light and it shut off. The third time it happened I was going home from work, just got off the freeway and stopped at the red light. When the light turned green I made a left and was going to the next light to make a right and the engine died. I tried to put the brakes on, but they were very tight and I had no power steering. I had to fight to turn the wheel and just made the turn without hitting the other traffic.
Questions about the 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche 2500 brakes
Does the 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche 2500 have brakes problems?
Owners have filed 18 complaints about the brakes of the 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche 2500, 30% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche 2500 brakes problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 80,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche 2500 brakes?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
Other 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche 2500 problems
Engine 31Electrical 5Fuel system 5Airbags 1Lights 1Steering 1Tires 1Transmission 1Visibility 1
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