While driving home, on a highway, I approached a traffic light that changed and I had to hit the brakes to stop. The brake pedal went to the floor. After getting it home I checked the brakes and they looked as thought they should work (note it was inspected in dec 2015 and passed). After more checking I found that the brake lines on the drivers side frame rail were rusted and had failed as that area was covered in brake fluid. I purchased my 2002 z71 suburban new that year and it has less than 66,000 miles on it now.
2002 Chevrolet Suburban 1500: brake failure
20 of the 120 complaints about the 2002 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 describe brake failure.
- owner complaints
- 20
- of this car's complaints
- 17%
- typical mileage
- 122,000
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? 1 service bulletin covers this area of the car. See below
Brake failure by model year
What owners say
Wife was driving the truck with her mother, went to stop and the brake pedal went to the floor - limped the truck home - checked master cylinder, added fluid and when we pushed the pedal, fluid came pouring out the corroded rear brake line - while no one was hurt this time, it is easy to imagine how it could otherwise been a disaster.
Driving in close traffic (bumper to bumper) uphill on two lane bridge, brake pedal just went to the floor, and no brakes! Frantically, I worked the emergency brake to the top of the bridge. Going down the bridge I coasted (no area to pull off), once off the bridge and safe to pull over I did so. Nothing appeared wrong, so I tried the brakes a number of times, and decided I could make the .5 mile rest of way home. Once there, I found fluid level down over half way. After searching found hard bake line had holds in it. After searching my brake lines, they appear to all be rusted badly. In all the vehicles I've owned, I've never had brake lines fail like this. In searching the web sites I find that chevy may have used inferior metals for their brake lines during this time frame. If this is true, why have they not taken care of correcting this issue? Thanks, concerned.
Driving down l street in omaha, nebraska approaching 96th street. Brake pedal goes all the way to the floor and vehicle would not stop. I was able to pull to the side of the road just before light at 96th st on a slight hill which assisted vehicle stopping. The brake master cylinder was low. The car was towed to yeck's auto in bellevue, ne. Had I been following other vehicles closely or approached a quick changing yellow light the vehicle would not have stopped. Yeck's auto has since determined the brake lines failed. After internet investigation yields that gm has known about this defect. No warning lights, no indication of a problem. This vehicle needs to be recalled. The vehicle has been serviced at beardmore chevrolet in bellevue, ne at prescribed intervals since day 1. Gm saying this is normal is frankly unacceptable. How many people have not been as lucky as I was on this day.
The brakes went out due to a corroded fitting, while backing a boat trailer/boat into the water. So no brakes, used emergency brake to stop. Vehicle was towed to a garage and the brake line fitting was repaired. On november 10, 2014 the brakes went out again while driving it. Again a corroded fitting. No accidents but resulted in vehicle being towed and now an expensive fix to replace all brake lines.
The vehicle was being driven on a public road and when approaching a stop sign there were no brakes or pressure on the pedal. Vehicle was put in neutral and coasted to a stop after some evasive driving to avoid other vehicles. The brakes failed again due to corrosion of the fittings. This is the second time with this vehicle. Now replacing all break lines to avoid taking any chances.
With out warning, upon approaching a stop sign my brake pedal went all the way to the floor.thank the lord I was able to stop by using my e brake. Other wise I was looking at a big tree. This was a horrifying experience.I then had to be towed to a shop where I was told my brake lines where completely rusted and needed to be replaced.mind you this 2002 suburban had at the time 42,000 miles. The total cost was just shy of $2,000.00. I also had this truck under coated when it was purchased new. To date 7-11-2014 I have had 3 brake jobs 3rd being today. I was also told by the mechanic I should get rid of the truck because the entire underneath is completely rusted out.
Pedal went to the floor without vehicle stopping. Had to use emergency brake.
Driving at 40 MPH, went to stop and the pedal went to the floor. Brake line under the truck blew out. All brake lines were very rusty.
I was towing my boat and had to stop for a yellow, then red light. Pedal went to the floor and I could not stop, ran through the light. I made it through before traffic entered the intersection, so no accident. I drove slowly to a repair facility with safety flashers on. Mechanic says all the brake lines need to be replaced as they are badly rusted! Repair cost is expected to be 800 dollars! We could have been seriously injured, had just come off the interstate at 70mph!
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 chevrolet suburban 1500. The contact stated that while reversing, the brakes failed to respond to deceleration attempts and the brake pedal was able to be fully depressed. Upon inspection, it was found there was a brake fluid leak. The vehicle was towed to a private mechanic where it was confirmed that the master cylinder brake lines had corroded, which caused the leak. The mechanic repaired the vehicle by replacing the master cylinder brake lines. The manufacturer was not contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 31,000 and the current mileage was 32,000. Updated 02/26/13*lj the consumer stated the dealer tech advised that the failure was prevalent in that area. Updated 03/1/2013
Complete brake failure. Brake lines rusted out. Please add my name to the federal safety agency # ea11001 investigation.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2002 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 brake failure
Is brake failure a common problem on the 2002 Chevrolet Suburban 1500?
20 of 120 owner complaints about the 2002 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 (17%) mention brake failure. The model year with the most reports is 2003.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2002 Chevrolet Suburban 1500?
There are 0 recalls and 1 service bulletin for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2002 Chevrolet Suburban 1500
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