2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500: brake failure

Filed Apr 1, 2026 · Brakes · CA

Parking brake pad failure has occurred twice. Last month at 31,668 mi, truck was taken in for servicing a warning light due to TPM failure (all replaced), and I asked for parking brake inspection because I was pushing pedal to the floor in order to engage. Mechanic said "Left rear prkg brake shoe has section missing." He had never seen that before and I exclaimed that it happened first in Apr 2021 at 18,770 mi. I am not sure which side it was since it was not written on the service invoice, but I suspect the right side because during a Nov 2021 oil change the invoice included "adjusted rear rh parking brake." OEM replacement pads were installed both times. I have the latest failed pad which shows about 2 in of material missing from the shoe substrate, not the 2021. Kearny Mesa Chevy repaired this in 2021; Walt's Danville Service in 2026. No safety issue, but could have been a problem in event of brake failure an need to stop vehicle by applying parking brake that would not hold. I asked KMChevy if this should be a warranty repair or a recall issue and they refused to consider in 2021. It cannot be coincidence that this happened to Chevy OEM equipment, I suspect to both sides. I paid ~$500 each time and feel that Chevy corporate should compensate me.

Filed Mar 18, 2025 · Brakes · 90,000 miles · NY

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact attempted to depress the brake pedal; however, the brakes failed to engage as needed. The contact stated that the more consistently the brake pedal was depressed, the more the brakes failed to function as needed. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the brake vacuum pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

Filed Nov 30, 2022 · Brakes · MN

The brakes failed to work when I was in a parking lot. As I was pulling into a parking spot, the brakes did not work even when I pumped them. I was going approximately 3mph. It startled me, so I put the truck in neutral and then into park. Then I turned the vehicle off. Fortunately, this happened in a parking lot and I was able to avoid hitting anything, including a pedestrian. Also, this put my husband and me at great risk because if I had not chosen to go back into a parking lot, and had gone into an intersection and been unable to stop, I could have entered the intersection and been in a serious accident. The truck functioned well enough to get to my dealership. I avoided driving it for a couple of weeks until they could run diagnostics. Between the time it first happened and bringing it to the dealership, the problem did not occur. However, when the technician was driving it into the shop, it happened to him too. They did perform diagnostics and found a problem with a brake Pump 3.280 (Part No. 12696313). I had it repaired at my own expense ($587.65) on Nov. 22, 2022. NOTE: This truck has only 25,673 miles on it. There has been a recall for this problem on Silverados from this year, but my VIN number was not included in the recall. There were no warnings prior to this event. I would like to have this repair cost reimbursed.

Filed Jun 30, 2022 · Brakes · CT

While towing a trailer the service trailer brake system light/alarm came on, trailer brakes stopped working and the alarm persisted for hours. It was extremely distracting and dangerous, and interrupted hands free phone calls.

Filed Sep 22, 2021 · Brakes · FL

When driving the brake pedal goes soft. In parking lots, areas of low speeds, making u-turns the brake pedal goes all the way to the floor and doesn’t stop. The brakes completely stop working until you release and pump the brakes again quickly before hitting something or someone.

Filed Mar 10, 2021 · Brakes, Electrical · 18,000 miles · FL

When the vehicle was started, a loud squealing sound was heard coming from the vicinity of the front of the engine. While under the oem bumper to bumper warranted period, chevrolet dealer number one was not able to determine the problem or repair it. Furthermore, the problem was not reported in the vehicle history as reported. A short period later, chevrolet dealer number two was able to locate the problem and repair it at my personal expense as the warranted expired on time as opposed to mileage. I learned that the same problem was a part of a previous recall which dealt with failure of the brake assist pump. Gm rectified the recall by changing the computer software to overdrive the pump beyond it's original design speed. This provided an increase in pressure which temporarily corrected the failure. The corrective action added more stress to the original design of the pump and now the pump is mechanically failing as a result. This failure could potentially cause an immediate unexpected brake failure potentially resulting in frontal collision and loss of life!. The dealers have not provided copies of service orders or replaced parts. I only have rental agreements to substantiate that something was done to the vehicle. Gm's customer care is investigating the unprecedented behavior of the franchised dealers with no reply to me at this time.

Filed Jan 19, 2021 · Brakes · 38,000 miles · FL

At low speeds, such as parking lot, or traffic jam, and even while at a stop light, the brake pedal pushes up and becomes very hard. The brakes stop working and the truck must be taken out of drive. Chevy has issued a recall on silverado trucks 2014-2018 equipped with 5.3l motors the recall number is 20v603000. Everything that happens as a result of the faulty brake assist is exactly what is happening to my 2018 silverado (5.3l) bomnin chevrolet dadeland and chevy is telling me that my VIN number doesn't qualify me for the recall, yet my truck description and brake problem, both match the recall perfect. To add insult to injury bomnin charged me $630 and when I went to pick up the truck it is exactly the same. No brakes at idle.

Filed Dec 21, 2018 · Brakes · 42,155 miles · AR

The brake peddle went solid hard and loss of braking happened while backing a boat trailer down a boat launch ramp. When the brakes failed the dash flashed service brake assist. Loss of power brakes caused the truck to not stop even with pushing down on the peddle as hard as possible. This occurred while coasting in reverse off of the throttle using the brake to slow the vehicle and boat down while going down the launch ramp in reverse. Speed was approximately 5 MPH. I managed to stop the vehicle at the water line by applying the emergency brake. The local chevrolet dealership where the vehicle was purchased replaced the vacuum pump under warranty due to weak vacuum. I lost power brakes again on the way home from the dealership when backing down an incline on my driveway at low speed. The dash flashed service brake assist again. Returned truck to dealership the next morning and took a technician on a test drive with me. Showed technician loss of power brakes and service brake assist message on dash when braking in reverse on an incline. Chevrolet dealership says they contacted chevrolet technical support and replaced brake booster and replaced vacuum pump for the second time. This is on a 2018 chevrolet silverado 1500 lt1 with the 6.2l engine and 42,155 miles.