I was driving home from having dinner with friends. Luckily for me and others on the road it was a late saturday evening during a beautiful florida summer. I was driving on ulmerton rd which is a 4 lane rd in pinellas county. I was driving at about 45 MPH and the light turned red. I started to apply the brakes pretty softly as the light was some distance away. All of the sudden the brake pedal went to the floor and all the bells and whistles on the dash started going off. I realized I have no brakes. I start to panic and then decide I better try the emergency brake as I do not want to run the red light and get into a possible accident. I must emphasize the anger I felt at this moment as my wife usually drives this truck and there is no way she would have thought to use the emergency brake which is rather difficult to use in the first place in this truck as it is up and to the left a good ways. I used the emergency brake the rest of the way home. Applying the brake and then pulling the release which is not an easy task to do. My brake lines were so rusted they exploded doing 45 MPH. This truck was purchased brand new by my father and was given to me when he passed away. He had free car washes at the dealership he bought it from and had the truck washed constantly. I am furious that this $30,000+ vehicle is completely rusting on the undercarriage. In my opinion gm sold us a lemon. They chose to put profit before the safety of its customers and if my wife was driving this vehicle during rush hour as this vehicle is used for daily driving to and from work could have been seriously injured or worse killed because of this not to mention the safety of any innocent people in her way. This report is being reported 2 years after the incident because I did not know this site existed and I just saw the same complaint on a forum which mentioned this site.
2003 Chevrolet Silverado brakes complaints
Page 4 of 10: complaints 71 to 100 of 257, newest first, as owners wrote them.
While on my way to work monday morning the brake pedal went right to the floor. I was able to get the truck back to the house to inspect the problem. I found that the brake lines were completely rotted out. Thank god I was only a few miles from the house. I live in a rural area with steep and winding mountain roads and have to drive the interstate to get to work, thank god it didn't happen there. It happened with no warning, a few people I know have experienced the same problem with their chevy pickups. The steel brake lines are a bad design, I live in pa. Where the brake lines are subject to salt they should be stainless steel. I'm sure someone is going to get killed if this problem is not resolved.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet silverado. The contact stated that while driving 40 MPH, the brakes failed when engaged. In addition, the parking brake abnormally traveled to the floorboard. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 98,000.
Front brake line rusted through. Hard to understand how a vehicle manufacturer can produce a vehicle with stainless exhaust that lasts as long as the truck but still assemble vehicle with steel brake lines that rust through causing brake failure. There are better materials to make brake lines from and chevrolet should be forced to use them.
Brakeline rusted out and complete brake line and hose had to be replaced. Failure would happen if not replaced.
I was drive on the interstate going about 70mph went to hit the brakes and it was like they were not there or just very weak so I limped the truck home when I got out of the truck there was brake fluid all over the driveway looked under the truck and seen that the brake line were rusted out.
Main hard line brake lines rusted through causing a leak in system resulting in brake failure while driving. Thankfully emergency brake worked to bring vehicle to a stop before accident or injury occurred. Thought chevy was built " solid as a rock" they should have went with stainless steel brake lines instead of the cheap steel brake lines they used. Cut cost somewhere else, don't play with the lives of good paying consumers. I am disappointed with the quality of this 2003 silverado, instrument cluster starting to act up with only 67000 miles on truck thinking about trading for ford or toyota.
I was in a parked position. I pushed the brake pedal down to put the truck in drive. The brake pedal went to the floor and a alarm bell came on. Message on dash said have brake system looked at. I put the parking brake on and got out of the truck. I looked under the truck and saw brake fluid running on the ground. Had truck towed to repair shop. Mechanic said brake lines are rusted out and all of them need to be replaced. I know six other people that had the same problem with their gm. Trucks for 2003 year. I think their needs to be a safety recall on those years trucks!
Chevrolet silverado lt 3500 4wd crew cab we were on the way to go on a road trip and had my trailer hooked up to the truck. When I got out on my driveway the brake pedal went all the way to the bottom and it was no brakes left. It was no warning before and it was no brakes at all on the truck. All the brake lines were rusty and left front was broken. We replaced all the lines on the truck before we could drive it again.total cost $ 665 if this would have happened on the highway I probably had caused an accident.this time we were lucky.
Went to store and came out . Got into truck and started it. Brake pedal went to floor . Drove 2 miles to home on back road using emergency brake and low gear to brake. Examined under truck at home and found driver"s side rear brake line rusted out and leaking fluid. Examined all lines and they also look as if they will fail any time due to severe corrosion in all for brake lines.
Had slowly come to a stop then pop and brake pedal went to the floor, leaving me with no brakes. Steel brake line has failed due to rust through.
While changing my oil I noticed excessive rust on the brake fluid lines running from the front of the truck to the electronic brake module under the truck (along to frame rail). I began to search for pre-bend replacements and found several reports of issues with chevrolet vehicles having this problem. I want to ensure the vehicle is safe to drive but I am unable to find exact replacement brake fluid lines. It appears that people are replacing them with straight stock brake lines and getting the correct shape and length is difficult. These things appear to be hard to replace. I want to replace these to ensure the truck is safe to drive but even gm does not appear to provide a direct replacement.
My truck has only been in pennsylvania for 4 years after being in virginia since new. I was driving down a hill and my pedal went to the floor with the brake action light going off. Inspection of brake system found that the rear brake line had rusted through. I replaced all the brake lines and found several sections of the brake line severely corroded almost to the point of failure.
I was approaching a red light when I tried to stop brake pedal went to the floor, no warning light or sound .after I pumped the brake the light came on I was driving slow at the time and managed to slow downshifting and stop with the emergency brake which also went to the floor.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet silverado. The contact stated that the brakes failed while entering a residential driveway. The contact was able to hear brake fluid spraying out of the vehicle and onto the driveway. The vehicle was towed to the dealer but was not repaired. The failure and the current mileages were 115,000.
Trying to stop. Brake pedal went to the floor. Vehicle did not slow down. Able to avoid accident because no vehicle was in front of me. Pulled to side of road and had vehicle towed. Terrible safety hazard and $1000 repair bill for new brake lines and master cylinder. All lines were brittle and corroded.
Due to a sudden bursting of the brake lines, 3 of the 5 lines in the cluster below the drivers door, the master cylinder emptied out causing the truck to have no brakes. This happened when my daughter and her three children were driving in a busy washington, dc suburb. Thank god no one was hurt! Very dangerous! After inspection, the brake lines were corroded in several locations inside the plastic retainer clips that hold them to the frame.
I entered my 2003 model year chevy silverado 2500 hd truck on april 19, 2013 at my residence. I started the vehicle and pressed on the brake pedal to put the automatic transmission into drive. Upon pressing the brake pedal, it immediately went completely to the floorboard and no brake stopping action was apparent. It is imperative to recognize that I routinely apply the manual parking brake when I park the truck, so in this instance when the brakes severely malfunctioned the truck was prevented from moving forward as the vehicle went into drive. I placed the truck back into park and pressed the brake pedal numerous times attempting to recover my vehicle brakes, to no avail. It should be noted that I was parked facing a downward angle when I experienced this terrible brake failure. And had I not employed the parking brake in advance there surely would have been a collision resulting in personal injury and property damage. After my attempts to recover my truck brakes proved futile, I discovered a large puddle of brake fluid on the ground directly under my driver's side compartment. It was determined all steel brake lines were severely rusted and the two (2) brake lines running from the truck's master cylinder to the ABS module had a number of rust deterioration holes in the steel lines rendering the truck unusable and unsafe. My truck has only 36,095 miles on it . I can not comprehend how this "latent defect" in the 2003 year chevy silverado trucks brake systems could go unrecognized by the manufacturer and a recall not initiated and corrective action not taken. An immediate recall is warranted and adequate repair compensation to me in particular is certainly justified, along with all others who have experienced this same "latent defect". The manufacturer must take immediate action to correct this dangerous situation and provide me compensation.
Stepped on brake pedal and it went down to the floor. Mechanic looked at vehicle and advised that all brake lines were rotted out and leaked brake fluid. All lines needed to be replaced.
Vehicle in driveway, brake pedal went to the floor. All brakelines were rusted and had holes in them. Mechanic replaced all brakelines, lines were all in very poor shape. (rusted)
Mid august 2012 approximately 5 pm average temperature was 76 degrees and roads were dry. While driving on interstate 83 southbound near harrisburg pa at approximately 55 MPH I attempted to brake while exiting the highway. When applying the brakes the (brake) pedal traveled all the way to the floor. I immediately lost safe braking distance. I attempted to pump the brakes to utilize what brake power I had left while down shifting to use the engine to assist is slowing the vehicle down. While using the shoulder of the road, I was able to come to a complete stop in approximately 2/10 of a mile. I then had the vehicle towed. Upon inspection, I found one of the brake lines had ruptured thus releasing brake fluid and causing brake loss. After further inspection I found all of the brake lines have significant corrosion. A temporary repair was made to the ruptured line however it has been recommended by a local chevy dealer that all the lines be replaced. I was told (by the service manager) the cause of the excessive corrosion is from the treatments used on highways for winter driving. He also told me he is replacing brake lines on at least 3 trucks a month. I spoke to other garages in the central pennsylvania area. Those garages confirmed they are seeing an increase in general motors vehicle brake line repairs.
Mid august 2012 approximately 5 pm average temperature was 76 degrees and roads were dry. While driving on interstate 83 southbound near harrisburg pa at approximately 5pm I attempted to brake while exiting the highway. When applying the brakes the (brake) pedal traveled all the way to the floor. I immediately lost safe braking distance. I attempted to pump the brakes to utilize what brake power I had left while down shifting to use the engine to assist is slowing the vehicle down. I was able to come to a complete stop in approximately 2/10 of a mile. I then had the vehicle towed. Upon inspection, I found one of the brake lines had ruptured thus releasing brake fluid and causing brake loss. After further inspection I found all of the brake lines have significant corrosion. A temporary repair was made to the ruptured line however it has been recommended by a local chevy dealer that all the lines be replaced. I was told (by the service manager) the cause of the excessive corrosion is from the treatments used on highways for winter driving. He also told me he is replacing brake lines on at least 3 trucks a month. I spoke to other garages in the central pennsylvania area. Those garages confirmed they are seeing an increase in general motors vehicle brake line repairs.
While inspecting fluid levels, I noticed the brake lines were severely rusted. I continued to inspect the lines to the rear of the truck, they too were severely rusted. While doing an online search I discovered many owners had the same issue. So now I had a decision to make, continue driving the truck until there was a failure or arrange for repairs, incurring an expense that could have been avoided if gm had installed better quality lines. Truck is now at a local gm dealer being repaired. Gm needs to step up and make things right !!!!
Hooked up a trailer and headed out the driveway. Went to brake at driveway/road intersection, pedal went almost to the floor. I pumped the brake furiously till pedal was all the way down. There was no braking. I switched to 4 wheel drive, steered to the curb and shut off the key. Had it towed to repair shop where it was discovered all brake lines were heavily rusted and one had rusted through and fluid had bled out. All lines had to be replaced. Cost was $985.80.
Applied brakes to slow down to make a turn onto another road, lost complete brake pressure to later find steel brake line along driver's side frame rail had burst and it was not that corroded. I would have hated to see what happens if this occurs at a higher speed or even worse while towing a trailer. Vehicle went from full brakes to an almost total loss. Even though brakes still function, it would be extremely dangerous to drive.
While slowing down just prior to coming to a complete stop, the brake pedal went to the floor and the warning light/signal came on. Upon inspection of the vehicle, brake fluid was seen below and to the front of the drivers side floorboard. When trying to move the vehicle at low speed (idle) to a safe location, I had absolutely no brakes. Chevy's claim that the "other half" of the brake system would function with increased stopping distances is not true in my case. The vehicle was not repairable on the side of the road and was towed to the local chevy dealership in corpus christi texas (allen samuels chevrolet, 361‑884‑5234). Upon diagnosis, victor landa (service advisor) informed me that the brake line failed due to rust/corrosion. Furthermore, he stated that this a pretty common problem due to the salty environment (gulf coast of texas) and that he has a mechanic that is getting really good at making replacement lines. Upon inspection, [xxx] indicated that all the brake lines on my vehicle showed excessive corrosion and suggested replacing them all for safety along with the "control valve". All the lines were constructed by the mechanic at a cost of repair exceeding $1800.00. The vehicle has only been on the beach less than 8 times total in its life and has been thoroughly washed after each visit. It appears, based on internet research and discussions with staff at allen samuels chevrolet, that this is a common problem. So common that the federal safety agency has opened an engineering analysis on the premature brake line failure. I hope that this issue is resolved by issuing a recall so that undue repair costs are not passed on to the consumer for "faulty" brake equipment. More importantly, I hope this is resolved prior to any consumers losing their life. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Brake line failure due to excessive corrosion. Was able to apply emergency brake and come to a safe stop.
While driving in the rain, the brake pedal went to the floor. No brakes. Upon inspection 4 of the 6 brake lines had corroded and failed. Failure was directly below master cylinder where minimal brake fluid left was bubbling out. Brake lines were oem and not protected. All brake lines were replaced by custom made lines at a cost of over $800 plus towing.
After noticing a gas leak, I asked my father to drive my truck to the dealership for repair. When he put the truck into reverse he had no brakes and had to use the emergency brake before rolling into my mother's car behind him. Upon inspection by the dealership, all of my brake lines and gas lines were badly rusted and had to be replaced. Upon research I found this problem quite widespread and expensive, not to mention the critical safety issues involved. I do want to know that chevrolet/gm is concerned about our safety and is addressing this problem.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet silverado 1500. The contact stated that the brake was depressed while driving 65 MPH and the brakes failed to engage. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic. The failure was contributed to the brake lines, which were found to be corroded, and caused brake fluid to leak. The brake lines were replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware for the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000 and the current mileage was 50,253. Updated 1/29/13 *cn updated 02/06/13
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