2003 Chevrolet Suburban 1500: brake failure

Filed Jul 17, 2018 · Brakes · 190,000 miles · MO

Brake lines rusting. Twice in a month the brakes failed after a hard stop at a traffic light. Lucky for me & others there were no cars in front of me or trying to cross the intersection. After applying the brake hard to stop, the brake pedal continued all the way to the floor and the car did not stop. The mechanic told me that the brake lines rusted and therefore the brake fluid leaked out of the system

Filed Jun 1, 2018 · Brakes · 242,000 miles · VA

Without warning brake line blew a hole and no brakes. No warning and total loss of brakes. Service brake system light came on. No help with that. Fortunately I was able to pass on right shoulder threw the grass. Almost a three vehicle accident. Need to have this problem addressed and taken care of. People could have easily been injured or killed.

Filed Jan 19, 2018 · Brakes · 168,651 miles · MD

Brakes failed while driving vehicle shortly after leaving my house while driving down my driveway. The brakes were working fine when I started the truck and completed a 3 point turn to turn the vehicle around in my driveway. As I started going down my driveway and went to apply my brakes to slow the vehicle down that's when the problem occurred. Luckily I was driving slow, under 15 MPH, when I experienced the issue: the brake pedal went all the way to the floor and the vehicle barely slowed down. I started to pump the brakes which did slow the vehicle some and I also employed the emergency brake which enabled me to bring the vehicle to a stop. Had I been in traffic, and not just in my driveway, I most likely would have collided with another vehicle as I had very little control over stopping the vehicle when the issue happened. The issue was due to a rusted rear brake line under the vehicle. The single brake line feeding both of the rear brakes had burst in the vicinity under the drivers seat. The brake line burst while I was going down my driveway as evidenced by the amount of brake fluid spayed onto my driveway when I first attempted to apply my brakes while driving down the driveway and at each point where I pumped the brakes. I was shocked that a single brake line bursting would leave my entire vehicle without brakes. Why is there a front and rear reservoir if they don't matter? There should have been at least a safety alert about this potential danger so I would have known to watch for this obvious safety flaw on my chevrolet suburban. After inspecting the rest of my brake lines I have found that 100% of all my brake lines are severely rusted and will need to be replaced. The chevrolet dealership near my house has already quoted me a repair estimate of $2,100 over the phone, but will need to see the vehicle first to be more precise in their estimate.

Filed Nov 8, 2016 · Brakes · 191,000 miles · KY

A complete loss of braking ability, ruptured brake lines. Lines between proportioning valve and ABS pump ruptured and failed completely. Lines rusted and failed. No accident and no injuries. My wife was driving, vehicle was operated in reverse {backing up}, she then shifted to forward, brakes failed, pedal went to floor, and rolled from a parking lot into a highway, fortunately no other traffic was present.

Filed Feb 16, 2015 · Brakes, Steering · 145,442 miles · IL

10/11/2 brakes failed plus parking brake failed and parking brake shoe assembly was not found upon dealer inspection. Replaced disc brakes and had parking brake shoe installed. 11/09/12 check engine light revealed ignition problem. New ignition wire set installed. 01/29/13 dash cluster failed, had no horn, no headlights, no interior lights, no speed control , no steering wheel lights for control buttons, no speedometer reading, no radio. Replaced dash cluster. 05/05/14 check engine light and stranded when vehicle would not start. Misfire messages on dealer equipment reading. 06/16/14 stranded again , vehicle would not start. Replaced ignition switch. 07/15/14 stranded again , vehicle would not start. Replaced starter relay. 02/16/15 driver heated seat coming on/off while driving on its own. 4 wd engaged on its own while driving and made driving uncontrolled. Awd engaged on its own while driving on dry smooth road. Stranded, would not start. Vehicle at dealer again today for this list of problems.

Filed Dec 16, 2014 · Brakes · 157,000 miles · VT

Was driving behind a school bus when it stopped to let kids off. I applied my brakes and the pedal went to the floor. I had no brakes, I am not really sure how I managed to stop without hitting the bus. I pulled over in a parking lot. Got out of my 2003 chevy suburban went into the bank to call my husband to come get me. By the time I got back out to my truck there was a puddle of brake fluid under the drivers side door. My brake lines where shoot.

Filed Dec 11, 2014 · Brakes · 192,600 miles · FL

Was traveling in city down a slight hill when the brake pedal went all the way to the floor and the service brake system warnings went on and sounded. Immediately shifted vehicle into a low gear and pumped brakes. Was able to bring vehicle to a stop off the road. Upon examination it was obvious there had been a catastrophic brake line failure as brake fluid was all on the ground and covering the spare tire. Repair shop confirmed this was due to rusting of the brake lines.

Filed Nov 17, 2014 · Brakes · 170,000 miles · MD

Re: loss of brakes. The hydraulic brake lines failed and leaked brake fluid. The brake system suffered a loss of loss hydraulic pressure. The brake lines showed heavy corrosion. Corrosion caused the hydraulic brake lines to fail.

Filed Jun 16, 2014 · Brakes · 95,000 miles · VA

Brake flex lines between ABS and master rusted and failed, twice, within 2 years, brake lines rusted out between 90-106 k miles, gm does not make the parts anymore, and aftermarket parts are sketchy quality from china! Poor design, cheap steel lines, too thin, and no support of their products! Clearly gm has a myriad of other recalls and failures, but these are brakes, a critical part and safety component in vehicles that are supposedly their bread and butter- if your going to design safety parts to comport with federal requirements, support the product for reasonable use which is 25 years, better designs. 3 brake failures in 3 years, over $1800 now and no peace of mind it will not fail again.

Filed Apr 21, 2014 · Brakes · 200,000 miles · OH

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet suburban 1500. The contact stated that while exiting a parking space the brakes failed. The brake pedal was applied and pressed to the floorboard but to no avail. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer, who diagnosed that the brake line on the drivers side needed to be replaced due to extensive rust. The undercarriage was extremely rusted for an extended period of time and the local dealer had not provided a remedy. The VIN was not available. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 200,000.

Filed Apr 16, 2014 · Brakes · 103,000 miles · NJ

Brakes completely failed without any warning or warning light. Brake pedal went to the floor with no brakes response. Rolled to a stop going up a hill. Car was towed to the local dealer, who told us the brake lines had corroded and failed. Second time the brake lines failed in two years.

Filed Jan 25, 2014 · Brakes · 194,836 miles · NJ

Was backing out of driveway and brake pedal went to the floor and would not stop. Threw shifter into park before it rolled out of driveway and down embankment and into woods. Inspection of vehicle found brake fluid leaking from corroded brake lines at rear of vehicle on driver's side. Further inspection showed that all brake lines are corroded and must be replaced.