I sent the follwing to gm>>>I own a 96' chevrolet tahoe. I love my truck but I have a major concern. My brakes are horrible, I thought it was the pads, so I had them replaced, then my rotors warped... So I had them replaced also, my brakes still felt soft so I kept driving it like that for about 5000 miles, next I'm driving on a flat road and come to a stop. I take off from this country road and see a deer, I hit my brakes and nothing!!!! The brake fade is so bad that I go back to the dealer again. He suggests a master cylinder (ouch) so I foolishly give him my money. Next day I'm going down a slight hill and again major brake fade. I am really upset and honestly frightened of your vehicle. In reading some of the news groups on the internet, I find that many folks have contacted gm and alerted you to this problem, please fix our brakes before one of us and/or an innocent bystander gets seriously injured or killed. Please help save lives, don't be like ford and deny an obvious problem with your 92-99 tahoe, suburban, and pickups.
1996 Chevrolet Tahoe brakes complaints
Page 2 of 4: complaints 11 to 40 of 78, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Abs system activates under normal braking causing extended braking distance. No indiactions of equipment problems ie. Abs dash light, brakes in good condition, vehicle just nys safety inspected.
The discs and the cylinder have been replaced twice and now need to be replaced for the third time. If we drive in the nearby smokey mountains the brakes begin to smoke soon after starting downhill where more braking than usual is required. We have been told by the gmc dealer where we purchased the tahoe that the brakes on the 1996 vehicle were too small and have since been upgraded on later vehicles. Yet they charge us to replace the brake discs or cylinder. We basically can not drive in any mountain areas with just passengers, much less pulling anything.
Accident ron a major highway. There was a sudden stop in traffic. We were a least at an eight second following distance. When we try to stop the rear passenger tire locked up. Our truck slammed into a full sized truck which then in turn crashed into a minivan. Damages totaled over $15,000 this is the second major accident with this vehicle.
Right front rotor broke, repairs were made. Dealer/manufacturer were not notified at this time. Feel free to provide further details.
While driving vehicle in front came to a sudden stop, and consumer rear ended other vehicle. Consumer has been having a problem braking since 1998. Took vehicle to dealer in august of19 99, and they were unable to find any problems. Consumer said that vehicle kind of sluggushly stopped. Consumer had to put foot to the floor to stop vehicle.
Defective actuators caused the four wheel drive system to engage itself at the wrong times causing major damage to the transfer case. Nlm
Both axles have failed in this vehicle. Brake failure on first occurance. Rear axles have been repaired 5 times! Chevy acknowledges engineering defect but states that warranty covers manufacturing or materials defects only. Unsuspecting owners could experience brake failure due to axle fluid contamination of brake pads.
When the brakes are applied pedal becomes firm, resulting in extended stopping. Distance. Dealer will be notified.
The ABS seems to lock and unlock erratically,making the vehicle very difficult to control and stop. Yh
Vehicle experiencing ongoing / intermittent problem with ABS / brake system; whenever brakes are applied it causes extended stopping distance. Sometimes pedal would have to be pressed down hard to get vehicle to stop. Vehicle was inspected by a independent shop, and informed consumer that the brake system malfunctioned.
The brakes are improperly designed and do not operate correctly. Brake pedal too high; pedal depresses too far before engaging; brakes lock up irratically. No manufacturer explanation.
Brakes continually fail since ownership. Mjs
When applying the brakes the pedal stifens, then releases to the floor. Also causing longer stopping distances. Dlr replaced brake boosters.
Front disk brake pads wear out in as little as 12,000 miles. My other vehicles have gotten 50-70,000 miles on a set of pads.
When driving at any speed and applying the brakes, they go straight to the floorboard, and there is a problem with the master cylinder and brake rotors.
When driving at any speed and applying the brakes, the anti-lock brake system kicks in, causing brakes to lock-up. The brakes work intermittently. Brakes have been spongy since purchase. *yc
Abs brakes failed, resulting in loss of control/crash. Upon impact,air bags didn't deploy. Consumer contacted dealer.
Master cylinder and power booster failed. Nlm
Calipers operate improperly, causing uneven pad wear/premature wearout. One pad (on the same caliper) would be completely gone (down to rivets)and the other having more than half its life left. This happened on both front calipers. This caused excessive wear to rear shoes because the front brakes were not fully opetational and the rear brakes were primarily stopping the vehicle. The dealer replaced pads first, later did a caliper rebuild kit, later after vehicle out of warranty, refused to replace calipers, or fix problem. I had calipers replaced at my expense (bendix calipers). I am currently waiting to see if this fixes the problem. Have contacted gm and they now refuse to fix the problem as vehicle is out of warranty(even though problem has occurred repeatedly since vehicle was new).
Brake pedal soft and spongy, master cylinder replaced (warranty repair). Same symptoms again with complete brake failure this time. Pedal goes right to the floor.
While making a sudden stop by depressing the brakes the vehicle continues to travel. Please provide further information.
When applying the brakes the pedal goes to the floor and the vehicle keeps going. Dealer has not seen vehicle as off yet.
Brake rotors and pads had to be replaced every 5000 miles of wear and the brakes would squeak all the time. Vehicle been in/out of dealer shop on numerous occasions. Dealer informed consumer that they could not find anything wrong or duplicate the problem.
Consumer was driving 55 MPH on dry road, began to press on brakes then brakes started to grab and lock up. Dealer and manufacturer have been notified.
The location of the brake line has caused a hole to rub in the gas tank. ) while driving at high speeds the headlights go off and eventually they come back on after the switch cools off. (3)while driving the tahoe a loud clunking comes from the middle or the rear of vehicle, which sounds as though the rear axle or driveshaft is loose and going to fall off. The dealer is aware of the problem. Dealer not able to correct the problems.
Brakes were mushy while traveling at 10 MPH and caused a collision.
When ABS brakes are applied the pedal travels to the floor, causing extended stopping distance. Cause unknown. Dealer cannot identify the problem. Please give any further details.
When pushing on the brake pedal to stop, the vehicle does not stop in time. The problem constantly occurs. The highway speed is 55mph. Weather conditions do not matter. Dealer has not been contacted.
Power vacuum assist brakes developed a leak, causing loss of brakes/air escaping,and brake pedal hardening.
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