Live in minneapolis, and just lost the brakes on my 2001 chev tahoe lt this week. Had been going down I-494 at 65 MPH minutes before this. Four blocks from my house driving on a main road, snowy and icy, made a left hand turn to my side street, and the car kept going straight. Hit the brakes, the ABS activated, and the brake pedal went all the way to the floor. Virtually no brakes, but I managed to complete the turn without hitting anything, and limp it home. In the garage now getting fixed, estimated $500 - $1,000. With some googling and talking to 4 garages, it seems to be a pretty common problem. Amazing to me that gm has not been forced into a recall over this. This could be fatal, if it hasn't been already.
2001 Chevrolet Tahoe brakes complaints
Page 2 of 10: complaints 11 to 40 of 272, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Corroded/rusty brake line ruptured causing sudden brake loss in heavy stop and go traffic in a work zone. Used the parking brake to avoid collision.
My daughter was running less than 35 MPH through town went to stop at a red light, brake pedal went to the floor and both front and rear brake lines failed leading to me rear ending the car in front of me. Upon inspection both front and rear brakes were leaking fluid due to rust and corrosion. I had to have my car towed home and have been un able to drive it since.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet tahoe. While driving approximately 10 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed, but failed to respond. The contact was able to slow the vehicle down by pumping the brake pedal. The ABS warning and brake warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure could not be duplicated. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was unknown. The approximate failure mileage was 100.
At low speeds coming to a stop, my ABS has been engaging and not allowing me to stop when appropriate. I have avoided several rear ending incidents, 3 today. I have seen that ther has been a recall on this issue but my VIN hasnt been included. I really need this issue taken care of. I have four children that are with me on normal occasions. This happens at nearly every stop, stop sign, light, parking ect.
While driving my chevy tahoe I experienced complete brake failure luckily I was able to stop the vehicle with the use of the emergency break and I did not have an accident. I had no indication that the breaks were going bad until I lost them completely. I had the vehicle towed to a shop the mechanic told me that two break lines were busted and that the rest were corroded. He told me that he has done 5 chevy break line systems in the last 3 months an apparently this is a know issue with chevy trucks. It seems like the break lines only last a few years before they are corroded and rusted and eventually the break without warning or notice this is unsafe and I think chevy needs to do a recall on this issue. I have never had any break line issues with any other make of vehicle.
While driving on interstate 676 approaching a traffic stop I pushed on the breaks and the pedal went to the floor forcing me to try to avoid a collision in front as I tried to turn into the middle lane veering right I hit the drivers side door of another car. I immediately took the tahoe to a repair shop who said my break lines were corroded ant the break fluid came out of them ilve in northeast pa where salt on the roads if used a lot in the winter.
Started car and brake felt squishy and unresponsive. No braking power and foot completely depressed to floor in order to eventually stop when traveling just with foot off accelerator or less than 10mph. Was rear brakes. Same thing happened to front brakes in april 2015. Vehicle driving fine. Stopped to get gas and when started car up brakes were squishy and foot had to be depressed all the way to the floor in order to stop and that was traveling without using accelerator or going less than 10mph. Both times complete replacement of all hoses and brake fluid. Didn't seem like normal wear and tear at all. If I had been driving at speed it would most likely have resulted in an accident both times.
I started to have the brake light and one other light come on while driving. I discovered that there was a recall for this but it was for vehicles in 'snow-belt states'. I bought this car from carmax in charlotte nc which was not on the list for 'snow-belt states'. I have since lost my ABS system. I don't know if it is now part of the recall and is my vehicle still eligble?
A brake line burst from ABS module to rr brake and pedal went all the way to the floor. Lost half the fluid and fluid continued to drain when brake was applied to park the vehicle. Gm claim that the vehicle has a dual brake system apparently does not prevent complete brake failure. Wife was very upset as the pedal was completely at the floor. Luckily vehicle was not on thruway at 65 MPH when failure occurred. The vehicle is in mint condition inside and out and washed frequently. Repair shop indicated that the brake lines were badly rusted. Gm should be obligated to notify owners of similar vehicles and truck of the danger of complete brake failure. Brake lines should not be made of mild steel that is subject to rusting through as this is life and death safety issue.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet tahoe. After removing the key from the ignition switch, the engine remained on. The vehicle would shut off several minutes after removing the key. The contact also stated that the ABS warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the failure was unable to be determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 180,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet tahoe. The contact stated that the brake pedal felt like a sponge when it was depressed. The contact discovered that the brake lines were rusted and corroded and the brake fluid reservoir was empty due to brake fluid leaking from the vehicle. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 81,845.
On may 20, 2015 our 2001 chevrolet tahoe experienced a hydraulic brake line explosion due to excessive corrosion almost causing an accident. There was no warning light indication. The warning light came on long after the fact when testing the brakes while the vehicle was stationary.the steel hydraulic brake line to the left rear wheel ruptured totally unexspectedly. This is a serious safety related problem. General motors is aware and only a technical service bulletin has been issued, no recall. The federal safety agency must demand that gm recall these vehicles for replacement of all these inferior hydraulic brake lines before deaths and serious injuries occur. I am submitting this form to make it public knowledge that this is a serious problem that could cause death and serious property damage if not addressed on all the affected vehicles. I am truly grateful that my wife was not injured or killed.
My daughter was driving our 2001 chevy tahoe, that we have owned since new, in columbus ohio. She was doing 35 MPH down a city street, when she went to stop, the brakes went to the floor. After running a few red lights and almost getting into 2 accidents, she slowed the vehicle down and into a parking space. I had it towed to jack maxton chevy and they said the brake lines were completely rusted away and gave me a quote of $5000.00 to replace everything. I did not do the repair and am currently weighing my options.
Steel brake lines are rusted. All of the under body lines show a lot of rust. Rear feed line from ABS block ruptured at rear axle. I repaired that line, when I attempted to bleed the system the rear feed line and the in flow line popped leaks. Luckily I had enough braking to stop.
My wife was executing a turn, headed downhill, and stepped on the brake pedal, only to have it travel to the floor, and not stop the truck. I had been towing a trailer with surge brakes the day before, which would not have activated without being able to slow the vehicle. The problem was a failed front brake line from the master cylinder to the antilock actuator, resulting in a complete loss of front brake hydraulic pressure. I had also had it inspected recently and it passed safety. In locating the burst brake line, it was above the frame rail, in a spot I would not expect to be visually inspectable. I am replacing all the lines in the truck with the same material used by bmw and volvo now, and consulting with my service tech about relocating the antilock actuator to an accessible area under the hood, for less line exposure to elements. This truck has been garaged most of it's life, and undercarriage washed after exposure to road salt. This is clearly a manufacturer defect. I have a 2006 tahoe at work, garaged all it's life and rarely driven in wet weather, 60,000 miles, that had a rear brake line fail in 2011 or 2012. I'll file a separate complaint for that, but as a fleet vehicle, it's maintained meticulously. It's also essentially the same vehicle as my 2001, which had it's lines last longer, but still fail without warning. I want gm to recall these vehicles and fix the problem. Mine will be fixed with better materials, so I don't want a recall on mine, to have cheap cost-cutter parts installed. I want them recalled before someone like my daughter, an inexperienced new driver, has to deal with a loss of brakes during a normal life and maintenance routine of her vehicle.
When coming to a stop antilock fires noisily then the brake pedal goes to the floor and vehicle keeps rolling forward (in traffic- into buildings- into fences- onto curbs) antilock brakes are failing and making the system not work properly.
Brakes failed due to brake lines rusted through.
Our son and a friend were traveling on major street approaching a stop light controlled intersection, applied the service brake to have it push to the floorboard. He narrowly avoided rear ending stopped traffic and swerved across the yellow line onto a side-street in attempt to stop vehicle without a crash, next to the police station. All the brake lines required replacing due to the hidden rust on the lines as they are mounted on top of the frame. Our son had just returned from college with the vehicle, had this happened on the highway at 75 MPH this could have had tragic results. The repair shops were familiar with this issue as a number of customers with similar gm models have recently experienced the same issue. This was a very time consuming and expensive repair, and we consider ourselves lucky to not have a different conclusion.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet tahoe. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH and attempting to stop, the brakes malfunctioned and caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle. The contact crashed into an embankment and several trees. The contact suffered from a left leg injury, multiple hip abrasions and contusions. A police report was filed at the scene. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the failure was caused by a ruptured brake line and the fact that there was no brake fluid in the vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 141,597.
When attempting to stop my vehicle going about 5 MPH, there was a vibration in my brake pedal and the vehicle continued to role in the path way of a tractor trailer. I thought my life was about to end so I hit the gas and ended driving up on the curb to get out of ongoing traffic. My boss told me that there was a recall on our department vehicles that were tahoes because of an antilocking brake issue. I looked up the recall on motortrend and the recall explains exactly what happened to me when I almost died. I took my vehicle to the chevy dealer and the guy ran man VIN number and stated there are no active recalls on my vehicle. I called the chevy dealer and the female on the phone stated that recalls are done by VIN numbers and maybe my number was accidentally skipped. This is off motortrend. Recall date: aug 29, 2005 model affected: 2001 chevrolet tahoe summary: certain pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles may experience unwanted antilock brake system (ABS) activation. This condition is more likely to occur in environmentally corrosive areas. This recall will be launched in the "salt belt" states of connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, maryland, massachusetts, maine, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin and the district of columbia only. Consequences: this can cause increased stopping distances during low-speed brake applications, which could result in a crash. Potential units affected: 1353718 notes: general motors corp. Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/cars/2001/chevrolet/tahoe/recalls/#ixzz38lpommdc.
Brakes failed do to rusted brake lines. Driving on 55 MPH road stoplight turned just as I approached it stepped on the brake peddle and it slowly went to the floorboard. I could not stop in time and went through a red light, I was lucky, this could have been a disaster with loss of life. I was told all my brake lines were rusted and needed to be replaced at a cost of $1500.00.
The parking brakes do not work have owned the tahoe for 2 years and never used the parking brakes now all the sudden the parking brakes makes a loud squealing noise and I think there is enough complaints about the brakes to warrant a recall before some one does get killed or injured .also they had a recall on the brakes and ABS but only in the so called salt belt and the owners that don't live there shouldn't have to pay to get the same thing fixed that the recall should cover in the first place no matter where you live.
Abs brake light would come on when trying to stop then it would not stop correctly and almost ran over curb onto sidewalk. Replaced sensor twice before the light and brakes worked correctly.
Driving home and pressed on brakes at a stop light and petal went to the floor. Pumped brakes and just barely stopped before hitting another car. Tahoe brake lines were completely rusted to nothing. This is a big problem!! Many people don't look at their brake lines until they crash. Please get gm to fix this problem before more customers are hurt.
I had just come off the highway and fortunately was completing a parallel park when the brake pedal could be pressed to the floor. The car did not stop. I essentially rolled into the car in front of me to stop. A large amount of brake fluid was on the ground near the rear drivers side wheel. When the car was stopped I opened the door and looked back as I pushed the brake pedal to the floor. I saw colored fluid spraying out sideways from the rear. Subsequently had brake line repaired.
I had to replace 2 brake lines that failed on separate occasions .the brake lines are covered in rust, the ABS system does not work and is now disconnected.the dealer stated ABS problem was front wheel sensors, after they replaced both sensors they than determined it was my ABS computer.I told them to learn how to troubleshoot on someones else's vehicle and removed it. The under carriage of this vehicle had been coated with a lite undercoating from the factory, as the coating falls you can see extensive rust on the exposed metal surfaces. In my opinion the metal was not prepared correctly before it was coated, for this to happen.the service manager from the dealer stated, the rust condition should be a class action law suit.I have purchase no corrosive brake line and will change lines as needed.
Abs brake light on dash stays on. I had all the sensors tested and they are ok. I had the computer tested and it shows a fault. But the ABS seems to be working fine. It appears that in order to get this error light to go off I have to spend a $1000 for a computer, even thought he system appears to be working properly. I have had numerous electrical issues with this vehicle since purchase.
Brake line failure, resulting in loss of brake control. Brake line corroded.
In pressing the brake pedal it went all the way to the floor because, as I found out later, all of the brake fluid had leaked out due to brake line rust and corrosion. No warning at all (e.g. Soft pedal) and this vehicle doesn't have a speck of rust on it. I replaced all of the brake lines at a cost of nearly $1400.00.
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