2001 Chevrolet Tahoe: rotors or pads wearing out early

Filed Jan 15, 2008 · Brakes · 50,000 miles · CA

Parking brake friction pad premature wear and failure. It creates a dangerous situation when parking on a steep slope when towing a heavy load if the transmission lockup mechanism should fail. Operator manuals state to set the parking brake when parking a travel trailer. Repair includes replacing the brake shoes an drums if necessary.

Filed Nov 29, 2007 · Brakes · 99,456 miles · MI

Brake pads wear unevenly. Inner pad wears well before outer pad wears. No wear sensor on inner pad. Only indication is metal to metal grinding, by that time the rotors are destroyed. 11-22-2006 had front pads replaced, found rotors damaged. 11-28-2007, rear rotor grinding, inner pad gone, outer pad intact. Heard of similar troubles on full size SUV and pickups manufactured by gm 1994-2004.

Filed Jul 20, 2005 · Brakes · 22,500 miles · TX

2001 chevrolet tahoe parking brake defect: each year now for the last 3 years I have had to replace the parking brake shoes on my 2001 chevrolet tahoe due to the poor design of the parking brake system. The current design allows the brake shoe (1 piece) to shift position within the drum cylinder resulting in premature wear and eventually brake pad failure. I understand that gm is aware of this problem but refuses to take steps to correct the defect. I feel that this is a safety issue that needs to be addressed and corrected immediately. My vehicle will not pass the annual vehicle safecty inspection at this time due to the faulty parking brake system. It costs me about $350 annually to have the parking brake pads replaced. Please have this safety problem fixed before someone is seriouly injured or killed. I do have the previous worn pads if needed for review.

Filed Oct 31, 2004 · Brakes · 35,000 miles · CA

2001 chevy tahoe parking brake failed - worn completely through in 35,000 miles. Premature wear also damaged brake rotors. Parking brake was completely inoperable. Same issue occurred again october 29, 2004. Next set of completely new rear main and parking brakes wore completely through within 6,000 miles.

Filed Mar 31, 2004 · Brakes · 28,000 miles · WA

Emergency parking brakes failed to hold vehicle when it was engaged due to premature brake pad wear. Dealership indicated if vehicle was driven within 10 feet with the parking brake still engaged the pad would wear out. That was the way the pad was designed. *ak

Filed Mar 25, 2004 · Brakes · 56,000 miles · NC

Park brake failure, premature wear-out. Park brake shoes drop and rub on inside of drum. Looking at the shoes, clips and the wear on the shoe surface it is obvious that the design of the shoe retention system is not adequate for the duty these brakes see. Normal driving heats the rear brake disc repeatedly. After several hundred heat cycles the spring clips holding the park brake shoes relaxes, allowing the shoes to drop (by gravity) from their intended design position, and the lower brake shoe rests on the normally rotating brake drum. With a brake shoe resting on the rotating drum the result is lower shoe premature wear-out and leaves the upper shoe without wear. This will happen even if the park brake is never used. Having worked for gm myself, in cpc-advanced suspension design group, I understand the complexities of brake system design. During my employment with gm, I worked with delco brake engineers and I am sure this failure information has been reported back to them and the appropriate department. I will be requesting to see a 2004 tahoe system to see if the design has been improved. If it has changed it indicates that there was a problem and that gm addressed it by implementing a change. Since many gm customers are experiencing this problem at $200 per fix, at 200,000 vehicles thats $40,000,000.00  might be a class action.

Filed Dec 23, 2003 · Brakes · 19,900 miles · TX

The truck failed state inspection because the parking brake wouldn't hold. The dealership indicated that this failure is due to premature wear of the brake shoes. This is also a common problem with the model vehicle. There's a tsb for this issue 020526002. Please provide any additional information. .