2001 Chevrolet Suburban: rotors or pads wearing out early

Filed Jul 17, 2005 · Brakes · 10,006 miles · NJ

Rotors rusted, pitted, corroded at only 10,000 miles; 15 months old. All turned, but were under specifications, so dealer had to replace (under warranty)

Filed Nov 21, 2004 · Brakes · NJ

2001 chevrolet suburban w/40,000k vehicle has excessive rear brake pad wear out ( 3 set rear brake pads). (0 front wear out) no assistance or remidy supplied by general motors. Currenty unable to get several other suburbans to pass inspection in n.j. Due to excessive rear brake pressure. I have also found this problem with k1500 series chevy trucks also w/ high amount of rear brake pad wear out.

Filed Jan 5, 2004 · Brakes · 29,700 miles · TX

I asked huffines chevrolet [plano, tx] to check my 2001 chevrolet suburban as the parking brake was not holding. The pedal would depress all the way to the floor and the vehicle would roll. Their service department found that the emergency parking brake had caused premature wear on the brake pads and rotors. The dealer indicated that this was the result of the body style change in 2000. The new design of the emergency brake placed it in contact with the rotors which causes premature wear. This is not a repair that is covered under the 36 month/36,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty. Despite that, the dealer replaced the pads and rotors at no charge. I am still not clear as to why, but the dealer told me that I would have incurred the expense of the repair if the vehicle has over 30,000 miles. I'm LED to believe that this is an item, that due to the number of reported occurrences, that gm is repairing under warranty up to 30,000 miles. I consider myself fortunate in that I brought my vehicle to them at 29,700 miles. As a side note, I will point out that when this vehicle was purchased new from huffines chevrolet, the parking pedal would depress all the way to the floor. My wife and I both found that to be odd. We always use the parking brake and we never had one operate in that fashion. But the dealer said that was normal and that brake was holding the vehicle. The existence of a potential emergency brake mechanism defect is a very serious and dangerous case for all owners of the 2000-2004 chevrolet suburban. Many households own and operate these vehicles and such a defect puts our wives and children at risk. I recommend, with extreme prejudice, that the federal safety agency conduct an investigation into this issue.

Filed Mar 28, 2003 · Transmission · 16,000 miles · TX · crash

My 2001 chevrolet suburban got in an accident due to parking pawl failure while parked on a sloped surface. Parking pawl is a transmission gear safety locking mechanism that will prevent a vehicle from moving while in park position. I contacted general motors product allegation department to inform about this serious defect. General motors assigned an investigator to gather details and information the investigator submitted all the information and details of the accident to a general motors engineers who will review the cause of the failure of the parking pawl. Initial finding by gm authorized service repair shop, the cause of the failure was the premature wearing of the parking pawl mechanism. From a design standpoint this parking pawl mechanism by no means should not be subjected to any premature wearing. Otherwise, this is a serious and dangerous design error. After several months of review and investigations, gm said they found that it was material defect. The big question now is how many 2001 chevy suburban was affected by this material defect. Also, gm representative was reluctant to provide me a copy of the investigation results conducted by their design engineers. The parking pawl mechanism failure cannot be detected easily by an average person, unless a thorough investigation will be conducted or an accident will occurred. Also, my 2001 chevrolet suburban was discovered by gm authorized service shop that the emergency parking brake was having a premature wearing on the brake pads. This really a very serious and dangerous case for all 2001 chevrolet suburban for having a potential emergency brake pad and parking pawl mechanism defect. I am highly suggesting this office to conduct an investigation to avoid a similar fate with firestone case. Because I suspect gm is covering up this defect to avoid massive recalls on all 2001 chevrolet suburban.

Filed Mar 20, 2003 · Brakes · TX

The emergency parking brake experienced premature wear.

Filed Mar 14, 2003 · Brakes · TX

The vehicle failed state inspection due to the emergency brake being inoperative. Took vehicle to dealer who diagnosed a manufacturer's design flaw with the emergency brake. The design of the emergency brake placed it in contact with the rotors which caused premature wear.

Filed Feb 20, 2003 · Brakes · 31,000 miles · TX

The rear brake pads experienced premature wear.

Filed Oct 10, 2001 · Brakes, Engine · GA

Vehicle has shut off several times while traveling at highway speed. After coasting to the shoulder and several attempts, the truck restarts. The truck also sputters during acceleration. The dealer has replaced the crankshaft sensor several times and has replaced four warped rotors that caused the brakes to be spongy. Two of the power window motors have been replaced due to inoperative windows. The oil level in the truck drops between (frequent) visits to the dealership. The low oil indicator light first illuminated when the truck had only been driven 3900 miles. The dealership can't find a leak.