Brakes went to floor before holding - no hydraulics. Brake line failure/rupture with heavy leak of brake fluid under driver seat area. Suspected corrosion.
2001 Chevrolet Tahoe brakes complaints
Page 3 of 10: complaints 41 to 70 of 272, newest first, as owners wrote them.
My brake lines keep bursting. I wasn't even driving, I was in park, applied the brakes to put it gear and the pedal went right to the floor. This is the second time, I just spent $400 to have the rears replaced while on the road. I was stuck out of state. Now it happened again. Please help, I can't afford a repair right now.
My daughter was driving along the freeway when suddenly she had to brake and the pedal went down to the floor, the truck not stopping. She got in the slow lane and had to go very slow to her destination. Thank god she's a good driver or she could've killed herself or someone else. I met her at her destination to check out my truck and found that when you stepped on the brake pedal, brake fluid poured out from under the chassis of the truck in the area of the rear driver side door.so I looked at the rest of my brake lines and they are full of rust.
2001 tahoe brakes failed...line rupture, causing my wife to plow through a red light at an intersection and narrowly avoid a crash. This is my third gm brakeline failure. The other two occurred on a 1999 pontiac bonneville, again with instant, no warning, loss of brake power. Fortunately, those events were in parking lots at very low speed. Yes, there is some, maybe 30% of brake power left on the tahoe, but the stopping distance is magnified greatly once speed is above 15 MPH. I can cite at least six other acquaintances with simialr brake line failures on gm vehicles from the y2000 era design. Something is grossly wrong with gm, and perhaps others, brake line components. Just visually examine the brakelines and they appear ready to crumble at many places due to substantial exterior corrosion. Never had this problem on the many vehicles owned over the years. Make them fix it at their cost, please. I can't think of a single more critical system for driver safety on a vehicle than the brake system. It has to be physically reliable for the life of the car.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet tahoe. The contact stated that he attempted to decelerate but the brake pedal failed to respond. Upon inspection, it was found that the brake lines had failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 105,000. Updated 08/27/13
Operating on the rear access road to a mall and noticed brake pedal almost went to the floor and it took a strong effort to stop the vehicle. Tried pumping brakes to see if pedal would rise, it did not. Checked brake fluid reservoir and it was slightly down. Looked under truck and no leak at all four wheels or on inside master cylinder cowl. Drove slowly to nearby mechanic and this time noticed dripping under driver side floor. Mechanic said I needed brake line replacement and am awaiting repair. Vehicle is well maintained, always parked on paved driveway, and waxed along with undercarraige car washes during the winter months. Purchased used from chevy dealer and found left rear backing plate had almost rotted off exposing rear axle seals which dealer replaced within week of my purchase.
My son was driving on I-95 into baltimore when he had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting another vehicle and the 2001 tahoe immediately lost braking power. He was able to maneuver onto the shoulder to avoid hitting the vehicle in front of him but the brakes were no longer operating properly. There was no longer any resistance in the brake pedal and minimal stopping power. `he was able to bring the vehicle into a parking garage by driving slowly and in low gear. I had the vehicle towed home and examined it and determined that the brake fluid reservoir was empty and that it had leaked out of a corroded and broken brake line at the midpoint of the chassis. All of the metal brake lines are corroded and will need to be replaced. There was no advance warning of any impending brake line failure. The vehicle has been registered in maryland since purchased new and there is relatively little snow that falls in the winter and as a result there is almost no other corrosion on this vehicle so seeing the brake lines corroded leads me to believe that an inferior grade of steel was used on this critically important component. To make matters worse the brake line in the area of the failure is located above the frame and is not visible from below and therefore cannot be inspected for corrosion. When the oil is changed and when the brakes are replaced the brake lines are checked but in the area of the failure as stated they cannot be inspected. I believe gm should be required to recall all vehicles with this type of metal brake line and be required to replace them with a better grade of stainless steel as it is reasonably foreseeable that fatalities will be the logical consequence of this type of failure in a significant percentage of these incidents.
I was driving my 2001 chevy tahoe at moderate speed when the ABS and parking indicator light come on. In addition there was pulsing which I believe is from the ABS system when I tried slowing down from 25 MPH. I did research on tsb and did find there was an issue with this kind of problem affecting gm SUV from 2000-2006 regarding speed sensor and corrosion of brake lines . I informed the chevy dealer of this tsb and they refused to acknowledge this issue and wanted me to pay in excess of $1200 to fix this problem. I feel the dealer representing gm is not acting in good faith. As I told them this is a safety issue and not asking for anything unreasonable considering the assistance from tax payer. I appreciate your assistance. Regards.
I was driving down the road doing only 25 miles a hour and had my kids in the car I went to stop at a stop sign and brake pedal went right to the floor. When had it looked at they said all brake lines rotted. With a truck that only has 50,000 on it this should not happen. My husband keeps my truck mint if had to rate it on a scale of 1 to 10 I would say it is a 9.5 looks bran new.
I was driving north on rt 67 in southbury ct. When a deer crossed the street in front of me. I applied the brakes firmly and at first they felt fine, then they just went to the floor. Fortunately the car slowed from the first application of the brakes since I no brakes after that point. Using the e-brake I inched my way to a safe spot on the side of the road and called a tow truck. The car is currently at a repair shop and I am waiting for an estimate. This incident appears to match many others related to ea11001. As you know, this might have turned out differently under other circumstances. Fortunately in my case, the deer jumped out at the right place at the right time. If the deer did not jump out and the brakes failed later in my trip I might have been on a hill or at a busy intersection where injury and property damage would have been a certainty. I find it remarkable that ea11001 is taking so long to resolve given the seriousness of this issue. Please provide me with any updated information. Thank you.
Was coming to a stop at intersection. And could not stop, brakes failed.. Mechanic says all lines are completely corroded.. Extremely dissatisfied, seems many other gm owners have same issues, should be recalled huge safety issue with these vehicles.
Truck brakes lines just rotted out completely had to replace entire lines.
I was driving on the pa turnpike. Lightly applied my brakes and the pedal went all the way to the floor. The brake lines are corroded and blew.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet tahoe. The contact was driving 65 and applied the brakes to to avoid crashing into a deer. The brakes seized and the vehicle failed to respond. The contact lost control of the vehicle and rolled over multiple times. Also, the front and side air bags on the passenger and driver's side failed to deploy. A police report was filed. The contact sustained a concussion and several lacerations. Prior to the crash the vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the ABS system failed. The vehicle was taken to another dealer for a second opinion who was unable to find any failure codes. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The VIN was not available. The current and failure mileage was 160,000.
We were driving the vehicle and the brakes stopped working. We discovered that all the brake lines were corroded . Research on the internet showed that numerous people have had the same issue with chevrolet vehicles built at this time. There has not been a recall by chevrolet at this time.
The rear steel hydraulic brake line rusted through and rendered the brakes inoperable. The brake warning light did not come on immediately after the failure. All hydraulic fluid was lost to the rear brakes.
Low speed ABS failure (brakes pulsate) when stopping or turning between 3-10 MPH. Issue appears to be cooroded front wheel sensors.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet tahoe. The contact stated the brakes seemed to fail whenever they tried to stop the vehicle on a bumpy surface. The contact stated the anti-lock braking system failed when the road was not even. Recall campaign id number: 05v379000 (services brakes: hydraulic anti-lock) repair was performed in 2005, but the failure recurred. The contact did not have the vehicle inspected, but stated the stopping distance and lack of brake response was the same as it was when the original recall was performed. The failure mileage was 156,000 and the current mileage was 157,000. Updated 05/31/12
Was driving a rural two lane road when the car in front of me slowed to turn left. I tried to brake and the brake pedal wet to the floor, no brakes at all. I veered of f to the shoulder and was able to avoid collision and slow the car using the parking brake. I called my husband and he had me check my brake fluid which was almost empty. He brought some,we refilled and saw a large puddle start to form under car near the driver side door. Upon getting the vehicle home ,we found a two foot section of hard line so corroded it was leaking in three places . To find the leak it was necessary to remove the gasoline tank to see it . And replace that section of line . We are in the process of replacing all the lines a there are many sections that are corroded (rusted ) very badly . I see no other way to feed secure in this vehicle and dealer cost are said to be $1200 to $1500 . The area around the brake line was clean and we saw no cause for this corrosion.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet tahoe. The contact stated that all the brake lines were rusted and the fuel lines were corroded. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were notified. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 144,000 and the current mileage was 154,000.
Our 2001 tahoe had brake failure due to a corroded brake line. We were told all five were corroded and needed to be replaced. We have lived in both ny and nj and are the only owners of the truck. We found out that gmc 1999-2003 trucks are in your engineering investigation for brake line failure due to corroded brake lines in the salt belt states which we live in. I wanted to add this complaint with the hopes that others will as well and if a recall is issued we can get compensated for the very hefty repair bill.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet tahoe. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH, she applied the brakes and the pedal depressed to the floor. As a result, the contact crashed into another vehicle. The contact noticed that the brake lines were fractured and leaking brake fluid upon exiting the vehicle. The vehicle was safely driven home and parked. The vehicle was then taken to an independent repair shop, but repairs were not performed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 126,000.
I experienced brake line failure on my 2001 tahoe due to rust. I was hauling a trailer last week in southern utah and traveled over some high passes. In escalente, I put my foot on the brake and it went all the way to the floor. Scary to think what might have happened an hour earlier when I was driving in the mountains. The brake line running over the gas tank had completely rusted through. All the brake and fuel lines were severely rusted. Fortunately, the only shop in town was able to make up a replacement line and that got me home. I'm in the process now of replacing all the brake and fuel lines. This is not due to neglect. I wash and clean the undercarriage often during the winter to remove salt and sand. I first noticed rust within a year of purchasing the car in december 2000. About 5 years ago, I had my mechanic install a "counteract gsl-2-lc corrosion control system". The rust continued to worsen this failure could have been catastrophic! I'm getting my lines replaced but what about all the other tahoes experiencing the same problem?
Brake line ruptured and the fluid leaked out resulting in damage to vehicle.
Brakes failed to function properly. Brake pedal suddenly retracted to the floor and braking power was nearly lost. The brake fluid reservoir was almost empty. Upon investigation it was clear that fluid was leaking through a rusted steel line on the left rear of the vehicle. The line showed significant rust particularly within several inches where it connects above the rear differential. The right rear line was also very rusted in the same location but not yet leaking --- both lines where replace at owners expense. The steel line that leads up to the master cylinder is also very rusty.
Gas gauge had been broken for several years took to the dealership and was told that there have been reported problems with this happening but no recall had been issued after several years my brother bought a new fuel pump and filter and fixed the problem or at least I hope it is fixed. Abs/ brake light has also been coming on and off I have also taken it to dealership for this problem about a year ago and was told that it is just the sensor not to worry about it brakes will be fine or I could always take out the fuse so light will stay off which I have not done, so far lucky and no failure with brakes working.
On approx. September 8th, 2011. My anti lock brake system on my tahoe started to engage at low speeds, even though it was dry pavement. When you pull up to a stop light or into a parking space, at low speed, the ABS system kicks in and does not allow you to stop properly. Almost causing an accident. I took the vehicle to my regular mechanic and he informed me that there was a safety recall on this vehicle for this problem. I called chevrolet in il and spoke to service advisor. He asked me the VIN number of the vehicle and then looked it up and told me that this was done in 2005, but there is a lifetime warranty due to the safety recall and it being the same problem. I set up an appointment for september 15th, 2011 at 10:00am. I took my vehicle in to them and again was told that it was covered under the safety recall and has a lifetime warranty. After a few hours, they called me back and now told me it was not covered and that I now owed them an inspection fee on my vehicle. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet tahoe. The contact stated when the brakes were applied the antilock system activated and the vehicle would not come to a complete stop. Previously the vehicle was taken to the dealer and repaired under the federal safety agency recall campaign id number: 05v379000, service brakes, hydraulic: antilock; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 100,126.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet tahoe. The contact was driving approximately 10 MPH and approaching a traffic stop signal when the brake pedal was depressed with a delayed response in the activation of the anti-lock brake system. In addition, the parking brake and ABS warning indicators illuminated whenever the engine was in operation and remained illuminated until the engine was turned off. There was a recall associated with the federal safety agency campaign id number 05v379000 (service brakes, hydraulic: antilock). The recall was offered in the salt belt states which excluded the vehicle from being eligible for the recall repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000. Updated 09/28/2011 *ln
The emergency brake on my 2001 chevy tahoe was diagnosed as having bad parking brake / e brake. I was unaware of this situation since I rarely need to use the parking brake. I will have to replace this item at a cost of approx. $575. Many other 2001 tahoes have experienced the same problem.. I have replaced the parking e brakes twice since I purchased the tahoe and now they have failed a third time. I never use the parking brake!! Virginia safety inspection has failed and I have already been pulled over for not having a safety sticker for the parking e brake. There is also a strong burning smell from the rear tire / brake area, I am sure the vehicle will catch fire from the friction the bad design has caused. Parking brake pedal goes to the floor and will not hold the vehicle in drive, neutral, or reverse. Also discovered that the passenger side parking e brake actuator lever is missing and the parking e brake cable is not connected to the passenger side, this same lever is reported online as mysteriously missing from other chevy trucks as well, it is bad when the same part on various vehicles is missing on the same side, coincidence or bad assembly line process, maybe defective part that breaks. Repair is over 1000 dollars. Parking e brake fails to hold the vehicle safely and is endangering lives. Virginia law and safety inspections are not being met due to a serious design flaw of missing parts and a safety device not working properly on a vehicle. Missing safety parts from the assembly is hazardous, if parts were not missing, then they fell off and is still dangerous.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history