Gm had repaired the rust brake defects on my type of vehicle in many salt states that endure cold weather. But because there was not enough outrage they did not repair this same defect in my state. There is a problem with the wheel bearings where rust causes the anti lock braking system to needless engage when it should not during slow speeds sometimes making braking dangerous in slow turning and parking situations. I have already spent thousands of dollars fixing these defects on my own but because of a faulty design in the system this problem has a tendency to re occur.
2002 Chevrolet Avalanche brakes complaints
Page 2 of 8: complaints 11 to 40 of 200, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Driving the vehicle while towing a horse trailer, went to apply the brakes and didn't have any brakes the brake lines broke.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 chevrolet avalanche. The contact stated the brake and fuel lines was rusted and leaking fluid. In addition, the contact stated that the frame was rusted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 110,000 and the current mileage was 140,000. Updated 10/7/14
Pulling boat (22 ft ) from the boat launch to the make ready area. Stepped on brakes and peddle suddenly and without warning went to the floor ! Upon inspection of the brake lines, they are rusted and in bad shape. The brake line that runs on top of the frame rail on the drivers side and goes to the rear wheels had blown out !!
When applying the brake to shift from park the brake pedal goes to the floor. This happened in july and november 2013, and again about two weeks ago.
Was driving around the block as I had just jump started the dead battery. As I approached a stop the brakes were applied and the truck kept rolling as the brakes were spongy. As I applied more pressure the pedal hit the floor. I narrowly missed hitting a car coming from the side street. I coasted the truck home and there was fluid pouring from the lines just behind the ABS module. All the lines are severely rusted.
As I was approaching a stop light at approximately 25 MPH I applied the brakes and the brake pedal suddenly went to the floor and I lost the brakes causing me to roll through the traffic light. Fortunately no one was coming through from the other direction. It was taken to my mechanic where he discovered that the rear brake lines were so corroded that they burst when the brakes were applied. Entire rear brake line system needed to be replaced at my expense.
When approaching a stop light changing to red, brakes were applied moderately hard and the pedal went to the floor with severely reduced braking resulting in a stopping distance about 1 car length longer than normal. No brake warning light during this incident. I continued another mile to my destination with reduced braking. When the warning light appeared, the leak in a corroded line on top of the frame on the left side of the engine was apparent. I drove the vehicle to a chevrolet dealer about 1 more mile for repairs.
Antilock brake lights came on...there was a recall for "salt" belt states, however, areas that get snow and roads are salted as well such as reno, nv, truckee, ca etc and other states that have similar conditions to those that were already included in the previous recall should have been included as well.... Same problem, similar conditions. Why would my area not be included as well??
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 chevrolet avalanche. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed and the ABS engaged without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. There was a recall related to the failure under the federal safety agency campaign id number 05v379000 (service brakes, hydraulic) and the contact's VIN was included in the recall however, the contact's state was not mentioned as one of the salt belt states that were eligible for repairs under the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 180,000.
I was driving home around 9:30 pm. As I was going down a hill I stepped on my brakes and the pedal went to the floor. No brakes at all, no saftey features kicked in, no warning lights. Just a catastrophic brake failure. Luckily for me it was a small hill and I was able to stop by going into low gear and using the emergency brake. I turns out that the brakelines from the master cylinder to the ABS control box were rotted and finally gave out. This is a 2002 truck with 62,000 miles on it. I know from previous experience with older cars that if a brake line fails, there is a valve that is supposed to cut off the open line so there is some brakes left. I repeat, no saftey features worked, no warning lights, no valve kicking in,nothing. This is a known issue with gm. A quick search on the web brought up thousands of hits on this problem. Just 20 minutes earlier I was on the nys thruway doing 65 MPH. If I lost brakes at that speed and with the other traffic, there most certainly wood have been a crash and possible loss of life.
Slowed rapidly for a vehicle that pulled out in front of me. Brakes worked fine until speed dropped to 15 MPH. Then brake peddle went to the floor and brake light flashed and warning chime sounded. Limped vehicle to dealership at closing time. Awaiting estimate and cause.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 chevrolet avalanche 2500. The contact stated that while driving at low speeds, the ABS engaged without warning. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 05v379000 (service brakes, hydraulic). The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 100,000 and the current mileage was 150,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 chevrolet avalanche. The contact stated that a strong gasoline odor was inside the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic for inspection, who stated that the fuel lines were corroded and caused fuel to leak. The fuel lines were replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure and current mileage was 157,000. Updated 2/11/14*cn also, the brake lines were replaced as well. Updated 02/18/14
Was driving on street from store to home when I noticed brake light on dash came on and then parked in driveway. My son went to use the truck the next day and when he pulled out of driveway to street, could barely stop. Subsequently discovered brake fluid on driveway. Checked brakeline and it was rusted completely with a hole in it. Car has been laid up and not drive-able. Rusting through the brakeline should not happen. This should be repaired under a recall.
Was driving on ny state thruway with wife and three small children. Women cut in front of me. I pushed on brakes and pedal went to floor. I swerved out of the way and went off the road. Luckily it happened near a clearing otherwise we would have hit something and been seriously hurt and/or killed. Turns out all of my brake line are rusted out and need replacement. Turns out gm used cheaper brake lines and not stainless steel ones.
1. First incident: 10/14/12. Catastrophic brakeline rupture due to corrosion near rear left tire resulting in complete loss of brakes 2. Second incident: 10/19/13. Catastrophic brakeline rupture due to corrosion on side of frame near driver side door resulting in complete loss of brakes.
When leaving the highway I applied the brakes and they immediately went to the floor, almost rear ending the truck ahead of me. I was able to limp the vehicle home using low gear and what I found out were the rear brakes. After getting home I looked underneath the front end and noticed brake fluid dripping from the front of the truck. The brake lines were horribly rusted. I can't believe in today's age that steel lines would be used when stainless lines are available. The entire brake line system will need replaced.
Coming up to a traffic light at 45mph the light turned red ,I stepped on the brake and it went to the floor. I pumped the brake and used the emergency brake to stop the truck but not it did not stop until I was through the intersection . Luckily there was no crash. The brake line to the rear brakes was blown do to corrosion . After inspecting all the brake lines all were heavily corroded . I replaced all the brake lines with stainless steel lines. After being under the truck for a few days I can see the fuel lines will be the next to change plus the frame and drive shafts look like they came up with the titanic. I really don't expect anything to come of this , as this my way of telling gm how disgusting I find there business model of maximum profit over safety. For a few dollars more for better material this could all have been avoided . If this was toyota or honda the news media would be all over it but because it's gm we here crickets.
While backing up to connect to a travel trailer brake pedal went to floor and fluid leak developed from underside truck. Limped truck to repair station and have been quoted a price of $1,300 to replace all brake lines. According to shop owner, all of the brake lines appeared to be compromised due to premature rust and were unsafe. *ln updated 1/15/2014
Sitting at red light all of a sudden brakes seemed to let go car started to roll back a bit had to push brake pedal to the floor.
10/2009: as I was driving and approaching a red light my brakes went to the floor. Almost going through a busy intersection I was able to maneuver around traffic until I came to a stop. 8/2013: as I was approaching a red light my brakes went to the floor. My brake lines are so badly corroded and rusted as well as my fuel line. Total cost to fix everything is $1500, which with the value of the truck seems absurd to fix, but with the economy I can't afford to trade in and have car payments. I feel that something like this shouldn't be happening multiple times as it is costly and dangerous, I was fortunate to avoid an accident both times. I feel that these lines should have more life to them and shouldn't be so cheap but yet so expensive to fix. Something needs to be done with how "cheaply" vehicles are being made and especially something like this that can cause a fatal accident.
A guy pulled out in front of me and I almost t boned him if he didn't get out of the way, since I didn't get it stopped for another 40 yards past were the accident would have happened. After further inspection the brakeline exploded causing loss of brakepeddle pressure. All of the break lines, especially in the back, are rotted and scaling, and rotor splash guards have rotted away completely. I'm sure gm will point to mileage as a excuse, but there really isn't any rust on or under the except on the brakelines and my none existent splash guards. I drive 600 high way miles a week and expect normal pad/rotor/bearing wear and tear but this is clearly a faulty part.
During a recent brake job done by a dealer, on my front axle, a brake line that runs from the left to right was found to be rusted out and leaking. On further inspection, other lines were identified as having rust on them. The two lines coming directly from the brake cylinder assembly showed heavy rusting where they bend to go back under the chassis. If one of these would have rusted through, half of the braking system would be inoperable. With both of these lines, being installed during manufacture and being in the same environmental conditions, there is a possibility of both failing at the same time or shortly after the other one. If that would happen, the driver would have no way to brake and stop the vehicle.
I was parking and when I stepped onto the brake pedal it went the wholeway to floor. Luckily there was a curb in front of me or I wouldhave crashed into a stored loaded with people. After investigation found out brake line rusted through. Found out you are investigating. How many years is it gonna take or how many must die before you take action.
Driving with my children on the highway.. Went to apply the brake to stop.. Pedal went to the floor and vehicle won't stop... Then went to apply e-brake and that failed as well... (I up keep the truck very well so this was not issue)... I was lucky enough to avoid a serious wreck... Upon investigation I have found all of the brake lines rusted out.. I also have researched this as a major issue... With these trucks.... Are we really gonna wait till somebody is killed?
Brake line burst while driving at 30mph. Had two brake lines replaced. Then three weeks later another brake line popped. Had two more brake lines replaced. Total cost $900.
Wife driving home when approaching a stop sign she applied brakes. Vehicle continued through stop sign exposing my wife and 14 year old daughter to possible injury from cross traffic. Wife had to pull vehicle onto grassy median to get it to stop completely since (by her estimate) brakes barely worked at all (maybe 20%). The brake warning light only came on after I had the vehicle almost to the repair facility. There was no other warning or indication that anything was wrong with the brakes before they failed. I managed to get the truck to a repair facility after noting severe leakage from one of the rear brake lines and topping off the brake fluid reservoir. Waiting on confirmation from repair shop but it appears that all the brake lines are rusted to a great and will need to be replaced to ensure safety of vehicle operators. I am shocked and dismayed that the federal safety agency has allowed this issue to go on without some type of notification from chevy or the federal safety agency regarding this very serious safety issue. Why would chevrolet build this truck with a stainless steel exhaust system yet use inferior meatl on the brake lines?
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 chevrolet avalanche. The contact stated that while driving 7 MPH and applying the brakes, the vehicle did not slow down. The contact stated the ABS was active but the vehicle would not stop. The contact then pumped the brakes to stop the vehicle. The contact took the vehicle to a local mechanic and the mechanic discovered rust around the ABS and brake drum. The mechanic stated the ABS sensors needed to be replaced and the brake drums and mounts needed to be cleaned. The contact referenced the federal safety agency campaign I.d. 05v379000 (service brakes, hydraulic) and called the manufacturer. The manufacturer stated that due to the state the vehicle was registered in, the vehicle was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was 93,000.
2002 chevy avalanche brake lines rusted through. We bought the car two years ago in pa. With the carfax showing it has been housed only in nj and pa since 2002. We currently live in nc moving here only last october. Yesterday while driving with my family going 45 miles per hour, a car in front of me was making a right hand turn and as per proper procedure I attempted to slow down. My brake pedal went completely to the floor board of the truck with no resistance, and I was unable to stop myself. I ended up in the ditch to avoid an accident with the vehicle in front of me, and have continued to have issues with no resistance on the brakes. My husband original thought the issue was the cylinder. But as he was starting to replace that part he noticed a fluid dripping from the truck. And upon further investigation discovered that it was brake fluid. He bought all new brake lines and is in the process of the long job of reinstalling them.
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