I was driving my suburban in town at low speed when the brake pedal went to the floor as I tried to stop the truck. Fortunately it was not a complete brake failure and I was able to stop it after a much longer than usual stopping distance. The truck was brought to a local chevrolet dealer and the advisor noted that the brake lines were very rusted and leaking fluid. All the break lines had to be replaced at a significant cost to me. I have taken good care of this truck and the brake lines should not have failed due to excessive rust as they did. Chevrolet should have treated the steel brake lines or used a different metal to make them when the vehicle was manufactured to avoid this problem and possible serious and fatal accidents due to it.
2001 Chevrolet Suburban brakes complaints
Page 3 of 7: complaints 41 to 70 of 178, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Brake line to left front wheel ruptured and brake pedal went to floor. After inspecting brake lines it is obvious that every metal brake line is rusted from end to end and it appears that other metal brake lines are seeping fluid as well.
After towing our travel trailer 60 miles, my wife was backing suburban into the driveway and pulled forward to adjust the trailer angle and lost all steering. When I went to see what it was doing, noticed that the brakes were also very difficult to operate. Was able to back the trailer into the driveway with much effort to adjust the steering. Hate to think what would have happened if it went while towing a trailer on the highway with the rush hour traffic. Verified fluid was full and belt and pulley were spinning normally. Mechanic suggested to check pulley, was able to move it forward from the power steering unit easily with a screw driver.
Failed brakes due to brake fluid lead in corroded brake lines.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet suburban. The contact stated that when applying the brakes, the brake pedal was depressed into the floorboard. The vehicle did not respond and the contact drove into the curb to prevent a crash. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic who performed a diagnostic and located the failure as a ruptured brake line, caused by corrosion. The mechanic replaced the brake line and the master cylinder. The failure and current mileage was 113,854. Updated 9/16/11 *cn updated 2/23/12
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet suburban. The contact stated that after receiving a recall notice in reference to the federal safety agency campaign id number 05v379000 (service brakes, hydraulic:antilock) and for 05v155000(fuel system, gasoline:delivery:fuel pump). The first recall repaired the failure that occurred seven months later when the ABS lights illuminated on the instrumental panel. The vehicle was inspected by the dealer who stated that he needed to replace the braking module and the ebcm. The vehicle was repaired. The second recall notice was issued the failure occurred later in 2010 when the vehicle stalled while driving at various speeds. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer who advised him that the fuel pump and the fuel filter needed to be replaced. The fuel pump and filter were repaired. The failure mileages was approximately 120,600. Updated 03/24/11*lj updated 04/28/11
Anti-lock brakes engage at low speeds over 50% of the time. Started in early december. We had early season snows last year. Passed inspection later that month. Had it in for service at local auto service business & no obvious issues. Talked to chevy dealer and they said they'd have to investigate. Recently found gm recall no. 05068, but chevy says I don't have it. I've run over curbs and been close to hitting parked cars & walls.
If I am applying the brakes and I go over a rough spot in the road like a bridge seam or speed bump, the antilock brake kicks in and takes away my ability to control the braking system on the car. I have almost rear ended cars in the past because I can not stop once the antilock kicks in. My mechanic cannot find an explanation for this but says he has heard this several times.
Main brake line leak in 2001 chevrolet suburban. The line rotted out and leaked so bad that it could not be driven. Had to replace entire line.
While slowing to a stop, the ABS brakes on my 2001 chevrolet suburban kick in, rendering the brakes ineffective. It started in the spring (wi) so I was unsure as to whether or not it was road conditions, however after the 2nd occurrence on what was a dry road, I took the car in. Brakes were recently redone, but the shop cannot find anything wrong. Still occurring, and yesterday I almost rear-ended someone due to the gap in brake effectiveness. Seems that if I pump them, I can get it to release and brakes then allow me to complete stopping sequence. Have another appt. Tomorrow, but am concerned about safety in our family's vehicle. It doesn't happen at every stop, but randomly, so at this point I am giving the cars ahead of me a good bit of distance to compensate for extra time to stop.
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet suburban. While driving 10 MPH, the vehicle took a long time to stop when the brakes were applied. The federal safety agency campaign id number 05379000 (service brakes, hydraulic:antilock) was referenced. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and they called a regional gmc representative. Gmc would not allow the dealer to repair the vehicle according to the recall because corrosion was not an issue in the contact's home state. No other dealer has inspected the vehicle and no repairs were made. The failure mileage was 65,000 and current mileage was 77,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet suburban. While driving 70 MPH, the vehicle would randomly shut off and completely stop. The other components, such as the radio, were still operable. The power steering and brakes were always affected and would become inoperable. Occasionally, the vehicle immediately restarts and other times, the contact must wait a couple of minutes. The manufacturer stated that the VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign id number 07v521000 (engine and engine cooling). The dealer was not notified. The failure mileage was 59,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet suburban. While driving 35 MPH in the rain, the ABS light illuminated. When the contact turned off the engine, it made a humming sound. He disconnected the module and the humming stopped. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer the following day and they replaced the module under warranty. Three years later, the failure recurred. He purchased the third module and had it replaced by a local mechanic. Three weeks ago, the contact noticed that the turn signals on his vehicle were intermittently illuminating. As of june 12, 2008, the vehicle has not been repaired. The failure mileage was 60,000 and current mileage was 80,000. Updated 07/08/08. *bf the consumer also stated there was a delayed engagement from reverse to drive. Updated
I have a 2001 chevy suburban that is also having the dreaded ABS issue, ABS engages at low speeds and while cornering while braking at low speeds. I notice there is a recall for this problem, but because I live in the northwest, not the midwest or northeast, it does not pertain to me. This is absolute horse caca. I live in a coastal town (salt air= corrosion) also a military area(people move here from the afore mentioned trouble areas). In today's day and age of auto auctions, interstate travel, etc... Autos are transferred everywhere. How can gm issue a regional recall? My first occurrence of this issue was last weekend on a road trip with the family. I entered a turning lane to make a left turn into the hotel parking lot, while slowing and then braking for the turn the ABS engaged and kept me from stopping for approx 3-4 seconds( a suburban can travel quite a distance away in 3 seconds even going under 10 MPH. The poor girl that was in the turning lane ahead of me must of thought her honda was about to become recyclable(crunched). Only by the seat of my pants did I avoid a collision. On coming traffic eased and I was able to take evasive actions. (hit the gas and fish tail into the hotel parking lot, stopping only by hitting a snow bank! I have a appointment with the shop friday to have it fixed. Even better, I'm only 800 miles out of the extended warranty we purchased. From the looks of it, $1000 to fix ABS, $2,400 worthless extended warranty=$3,400. This chevy was my first and last american car purchase. Have 2 imports with 250k and never more than routine service. Argh! Just because there was not a injury, death, fire, etc.. Doesn't excuse gm from national responsibility.
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet suburban. When the contact started the vehicle, the light that indicates the parking brake is activated was not illuminated. The gear was shifted into drive and the vehicle began to drift while the emergency brake was still applied. The contact turned off the engine. Prior to the failure, the contact heard the sound of metal coming from the rear of the vehicle whenever the brakes were applied. The parking brake was replaced by a repair shop; however, the failure continued. The failure mileage was 30,000 and current mileage was 90,000.
The ABS on my 2001 chevy suburban activates at slow speeds extending my stopping distance. I was subject to a recall in october, 2005 when I had no symptoms but took my vehicle to the dealer who says they completed the recall requirements. Now, I am having the symptoms and gm refuses to take care of the problem. I spent $80 at a dealer for diagnosis and they say it is a faulty wheel sensor(low voltage) and want another $330 to repair. The recall letter I was sent specifically states that "in some cases, the front wheel speed sensor may require replacement." gm offered me a 10% discount on the repair after I called them. I feel they should repair it. The federal safety agency recall # 05v379000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet suburban. While driving 5 MPH, the ABS activated without warning and the stopping distance increased. As of september 24, 2007, the dealer had not inspected the vehicle. The contact believed that the ABS wheel sensor caused the failure. The manufacturer stated that his VIN was excluded from the federal safety agency campaign id number 05v379000 (service brakes, hydraulic: antilock). The current and failure mileages were 219,000.
Our 4 year old child was able to put our 2001 chevy suburban in gear without starting the car or pressing his foot on the brake. The car starting rolling down the hill. Fortunately my wife was able to jump in the window and press the brake to stop the car. We were very lucky that none of the children in the area were hurt and that no property was damaged other than a small piece of fence. Apparently with the key in the ignition and in the first "accessory" position you are able to take the car out of park without depressing the brake pedal. I tried this on several other chevy models that have the gear shift on the column and you are able to do the same thing. I called chevy and the dealer and they both said that this should not happen and to bring it in for repair. The dealer even went to the lot and did what I described on a 2006 suburban and agreed that it did happen when he did it. If this in fact the way the car is manufactured it would be nice if they acknowledged that fact and put it in the owners manual. *tr updated 12/12/2007 *bf the consumer stated the manufacturer is being phased out, however would like to be notified if the older owners would be notified. Updated 12/12/07
Tl* - the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet suburban. The contact purchased this vehicle on january 26, 2007. On 2/10/07 the contact noticed that it was taking longer than expected to brake and he was too close to other vehicles at low speeds. The contact said that the brake pedal push upward and then it went down. It became difficult to avoid other vehicles when coming to a complete stop. The contact took the vehicle to auto sale in pasadena md. The contact then called chevrolet, and was told that this vehicle did not fall under a current recall that described the same symptoms as in the vehicle. The federal safety agency recallrecall 05v379000/gm recall 05068 wa sissued. The failure mileage was 76999, and the current mileage was 77213.
Took 2001 suburban in november 2005 to wilton chevrolet, wilton, ct, for gm ABS brake recall, fixing brake terminals for possible corrosion in northeastern states. Dec. 05 - october 2006 ABS dashboard light would come on sporadically for short time and then go off with no reasoning. From august - october 2006 ABS light would come on more frequently. After taking the vehicle to local repair shop they hooked up to computer and found vault code with ABS module, ($99.00 charge), but said that I would have to take to gm dealer to replace ABS module because they could not reset the computer code when the module is replaced. Took vehicle to arroway chevrolet in katonah, ny and they replaced the ABS module after also finding the same computer code vault. $1,300.00 repair cost. I have suspicion that when the ABS brake recall repair was done that a short happened to the ABS module causing it to eventually fail.
Parking brake did not disengage on drivers side, removal of wheel and disc showed actuating mechanism not fully retracted, fixed by pushing actuating lever towards wheel to "rest lever". Extremely poor design.
My parking brake has been defective since I purchased it. I did not know this until the first inspection. It did not pass and I had to pay $150.00 to "fix" it. Every year after that is has failed. I have called my dealer with the problem but have not had any luck. I sure hope someone does not die because of this problem.
Abs module failed @ 37,000 mi and again @ 67,000 mi. Dealer charged approx. 1200.00 each time.
Dt*: the contact stated the vehicle's parking brake was not working. The contact never used the parking brake. The vehicle was inspected by the dealership, who informed the contact that the parking brake would go bad if it was never used. Updated 9/13/2006 -the vehicle failed state inspection because the parking brake did not work.
Anti-lock braking system failure. Pump on anti-lock braking system continues to run causing pump failure unless disconnecting fuse at panel. Upon disconnecting fuse the anti-lock braking system is useless as is the traction control feature. All lights, ABS, traction assist, brake become illuminated on dash board. I feel this is a hazardous condition due to the driver not having the anti-lock brakes or traction assist. I've talked with numerous owners of the same type vehicle and they all have the same complaints. The only repair is to replace the electronic brake control module (ebcm) that is mounted to the top of the ABS pump. Gm is charging in the ballpark of $700-$900 for this part and they are aware of the problem. 8jb
Abs and brake lights continue to come on.
Multiple locations will not inspect vehicle due to faulty emergency brake design. Dealership will not cover and manufacturer will not warranty. $600 dealership repair or $400 at local repair facility.
Parking brake failure. Appears parking brake system defective which has caused brake to be inoperable and triggered a failed state inspection on 4/7/06. This will have to be fixed in the next 15 days in order to obtain inspection. Have been told the defect in the parking brake system will necessitate another repair at the 15k mark from the date of original repair, as the system eats the brake shoes due to the defect. This problem is in no way related to use of the parking brake.
We have a 2001 chevy suburban with 26281 miles on it. On march 18 2006 we went on a 200 mile , round trip ride. Brakes were fine then. No indication of anything wrong. Stopping distance was the same no brake light illuminated on vehicle no noises coming from brakes at all. Everything seemed fine. March 19,2006 : backing out of our driveway to go to church. Stepped on brakes heard awful grinding noise. At this point the stopping distance did increase substantially and every time the brakes were depressed they would grind. Took to garage on monday to have looked at. Needed to rotors and brake shoes installed on the rear of vehicle. At twenty six thousand miles this shouldn't have happened. Chevrolet said it is due to road salt but have lived in maine my whole life and have only had a rotor job done once before on a car with 1100000 miles on it. The dealer shere we bought the vehicle is 75 miles away, so I didn't feel safe driving the 75 miles to have the vehicle repaired there. They say talk to chevrolet to reimbursement and chevrolet says since warranty expired may 30 2005 and that I didn't take it to the dealer they will not cover any of the repair cost. Rotors should not be wearing out at 26000 miles. This is a safety issue that chevrolet should be looking into.
2001 chevy suburban was involved in a collision due to a defect in the ABS system as stated in recall. *ts ***no answer required***
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