I was on the highway when I had to slam on my brakes and the pedal just went to the floor I had no brakes at all. I was forced to steer into the ditch to avoid a collision. After having the truck towed home I discovered a brake line had popped due to rust. I understand this is an ongoing problem with these vehicles
2003 Chevrolet Tahoe brakes complaints
Page 2 of 5: complaints 11 to 40 of 113, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet tahoe. While driving 60 MPH in rainy weather, the brakes were abruptly applied to avoid a collision. The brakes did not respond and the contact swerved to avoid crashing into the rear of another vehicle. The contact crashed into a ditch. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was not filed. The contact was not injured. The vehicle was able to be driven to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 68,000.
Metal brake line under truck burst . Looks like it rusted through. All other lines rusted also. Vehicle was parked in driveway.
Driving on icy road anti lock brakes activated and brake line ruptured, adn was not able to stop.
Hard metal brake line failure during emergency, high pedal pressure, stop. No injuries. The vehicle was unable to avoid entering an intersection, as the lead car. Braking was firm, before pedal descended steadily toward the floor. Pumping provided some friction, but was unable to restore a minority of the system's capacity. The failure was a hole developed in the line, along its path to the passenger front brake caliper. The brake lines showed alarming corrosion levels, which while potentially understandable for a 13 year old northeast outdoor winter truck, was a symptom of catastrophic potential.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet tahoe. While towing a 6000 pound trailer and descending down a hill at approximately 20 MPH, the vehicle suddenly experienced catastrophic brake failure. The vehicle would not stop or slow down when the brakes were applied. The contact was able to drive into a field to eventually stop the vehicle. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 60,000.
My wife was driving our 2003 chevy tahoe to the doctor's office without any warning brakes totally went out, god must have been watch over her because this could have been deadly, thank god for emergency brakes. Gm state that the vehicle will stop when the brake line give away will that bull [xxx]! This is the second vehicle that we have had brakes line go out on first my 2002 chevy silverado with 41000 miles on it and now our 2003 chevy tahoe with approximately 90'000 both within a week of one other. Also my stepson has a 2006 chevy silverado that the brakes went out on two weeks ago is a hospital parking lot that was almost devastating. *tr information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
First incident occurred 9/05/2014. Second incident occurred 09/06/2015. First incident brake line was rusted and fluid pooled under truck. Brake line broke in driveway. Second incident the brake line was rusted and the truck was driving 20mph with children in the car on a busy street. There were no brakes to be used.
Rusted brake lines resulting in failure of braking system. Brake lines should last longer than the service life of the vehicle. Hence no brake lines should ever be made out of steel. Especially on on a system as critical as the braking system. This failure could have costed me my family. The the ethical thing for any company to do. Is rectify the problem. I really don't understand why this would be an issue. We are talking about the braking system on a vehicle that by itself weighs 5,000 pounds. Without a trailer or any payload attached to it.many of people have not been as fortunate as myself. The vehicle is. Otherwise in excellent condition. To this day.if faulty ignition switches get recalled it's common sense to recall a brake issue. Especially since the brakes totally fail without any warning. I have been building cars since I was a kid.and this is a first. To see a brake line burst. Because of the corrosion. If gm doesn't want to recall these vehicles. The at least let the owners buy the parts and gm install them. And for gm to state that this a normal wear and tear issue. When was the last time anybody thought to check for rusted out brake lines when. They were changing the oil or doing a tune up .or changing brake pads or tires. Those are normal wear and tear owner maintenance issues. My 2004 ford f350 has 220 thousand miles. Runs great to but the brake lines aren't rotting out of the vehicle. What gm is claiming is a extremely weak argument. Thanks for your time.
Brake failure caused by corroded brake lines. Incident occurred at boat ramp, could have easily lost truck in water. Master cylinder nearly empty and no indication of issue prior to failure. The truck gives warning with low washer fluid but not brake fluid? Mechanic repairing broken lines, but how soon until another has issue?
Brake lines rusted out and leaked fluid resulting in brake failure
Was backing up to park and brake line ruptured sending brake pedal completely to the floor. I was able to safely park the car. When I checked on it later there was a puddle of brake fluid by the back driver side tire. Upon examining the brake lines a visible rupture could be seen behind the back driver side tire. The brakes lines had completely rusted out. Thank goodness I was already going slow don't want to imagine if I was on the highway and needed to stop.
Stopped at mailbox to collect mail. Braked, put vehicle in park. Stepped on brake pedal to place vehicle in drive, felt 'pop' sensation in the pedal. Brake pedal went to floor. Upon visual inspection, at least one line has ruptured.
1) 12/23/2014 - sitting in pharmacy rx drive-thru with foot on brake. Without warning, brake pedal went to floor. Assessed problem and determined brake line feeding rear brakes burst from corrosion. Fixed brake line next day. 2) 1/27/2015 - ironically, sitting in fast-food drive-thru. Exact same as above occurred. Determined all 4 brake lines leading to the front of vehicle were split and corroded causing loss of fluid and full braking capability. I was fortunate (and lucky) that I was at a stand still each time this happened. Could have been catastrophic if I had been traveling at any speed. Especially with the size and weight of this vehicle.
This is the first of three (3) occasions that a metal brake line on this vehicle has ruptured. The results were an immediate and complete brake failure. I have to let the vehicle coast to a stop while using the emergency brake to assist. I live in a rural area so in all three times I was very lucky that were light or no traffic.
Driving down a residential road approaching an intersection attempting to slow down and brakes failed, I was able to slow down enough(downshifting the transmission) to make a turn but not able to stop and narrowly avoided another car.
Leaving my driveway brakes felt soft. Parked and pumped brakes twice and line that was rusted failed. Multiple lines that are rusted badly. No brake pedal what so ever.
My 2003 chevy tahoe, due to premature corrosion my brake lines failed suddenly causing complete break failure. Thankfully I wasn't traveling at high speed so I was able to stop the vehicle safely and luckily my child and fianc weren't in the vehicle. This could have been a very fatal accident if I was at high speeds. Let's get this taken care of and make sure people are safe.
I backed out of my driveway and I started down the street. I got to the first stop sign in my neighborhood hood and when I pressed the brake I lost all pressure and my foot went to the floor. Upon further investigation,rite behind the driver side rear tire where the brake line is attached to a clip is where the line has a hole in it. The clip had worn a hole in it. The clip that holds it, has 2 pieces that are bend down that hold it down,and that's where the hole was worn into my line.
Applied brakes to place vehicle in reverse to back out of parking spot. Brake failure message appeared on instrument panel message display. Brake pedal went to the floor and vehicle started rolling. No brake pressure was available to stop the vehicle. Had to utilize parking brake to stop vehicle motion.
Brakes failed at stop sign due to brake line failure corrosion. All brake lines and parts of fuel lines very rusty!! There should be a recall!!!!
Driving at 35mph went to apply brakes and lost all brakes,this incident also happened in june 2013. This is a known defect since the early 2000. Gm refuses to recall these vehicles in the northeast claiming its owner responsibility.since june 2013 I invested over $1000.00 in repairs. Had I been going a faster speed I could have caused a serious accident and seriously injured myself and others.
I was towing my rv (travel trailer) to a campground for labor day weekend festivities utilizing the heavy duty tow package that gm installed on these vehicles. I arrived at the campground and was driving to my campsite when the brake pedal went to the floor followed by a loud chiming and a warning light. I was going down a hill and the 2 ton travel trailer was pushing my tahoe as I tried to stop. I barely had any front brakes and no back brakes at all. I had to use the emergency brakes and use the gear selector on low to try to stop, which it finally did after much effort. It was labor day weekend so there were lots of people camping. There was a crowd of kids riding their bikes on the camp road in the drive path of my tahoe however the kids moved out of the way only when I screamed out of my window that I could not stop my truck. This incident could have caused death or major injury. Luckily it did not otherwise I would not be able to live with myself. I now have my tahoe at a local mechanic that I trust. He is stating that he has to replace all of the steel brake lines because they are all in bad shape and will eventually go. I am waiting to hear from him about how much this will cost me. I am a single father and do not have extra money to spend. My nerves are shot and that incident ruined our family camping weekend. I have nightmares that the kids on the bikes did not move and I ran them all over. I am definitely scarred for life.
I was letting my mother borrow my vehicle and thankfully she was on a side street on her way home from work. She went to apply the brakes and the pedal went to the floor and she lost all brake power. Had it towed to a mechanic and they said all my lines are rusted threw and would like $1400 to replace them all. Unfortunately this is the second time this has happened and I think should be closer looked at by gm as we were lucky both times that we were not at high speeds were an accident could have occurred.
Noticed fluid spot on concrete below drivers side front door. Investigated further and noticed frame was damp. Jacked up vehicle and had brakes applied. Fluid now spewed from brake line where it is supported to frame rail. Contrary to gm's response to the federal safety agency action ea 11001 the brake petal went all the way to the floor so my estimation is I had no brakes not impaired brakes as gm assessed would occur. Had vehicle towed to dealer for repair. Long time chevy owner, they have cheapened the parts to a point where they have jeopardized driver and passenger safety. My assessment is the rusting brake line problem on "all" gm vehicles 10 plus years old that have even got close to some form of salt in their lifetime are ticking time bombs. My vehicle resides in georgia. Salt maybe once every couple of years.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet tahoe. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH, the brakes failed. The brake pedal extended to the floor when it was applied. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing and confirmed that the brake lines were rotten. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure occurred twice. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 263,000.
As I was backing out of my driveway I hit the brakes and the truck didn't stop causing me to hit my neighbors tree. .. The brake system failed with no warning or signal light or a sound. As I looked under the truck there was brake fluid all over the street. I called a buddy mechanic of mine and stated my brake lines are rusted out.
I saw fluid on the driveway so I checked the truck and discovered the brake lines were rusted and leaking.
While backing out of the driveway on a sunny saturday afternoon (june 4, 2011), I applied the brakes when approaching sidewalk and street. My 2003 chevy tahoe brake pedal went all the way to the floor with minimum resistance. The tahoe rolled past the sidewalk, out into the street, and up the neighbors driveway before coming to rest. Fortunately the vehicle did not strike anything. I would estimate the braking capacity of the vehicle at 5%, as I drove it to the service station at 5mph in low gear about 1/2 mile away. Tim lally chevrolet in bedford, oh determined brake failure caused by corrosion of the brake lines. All brake and fuel lines were replaced in a frame off restoration costing about $4,000.00 usd.
While starting the vehicle, with my foot on the brake pedal, the brake pedal went to the floor. It was a short drive to the repair shop. The brakes worked poorly with a much longer stopping distance. I kept the vehicle in first gear and drove slowly. The repair shop said the brake line failed. I have owned several vehicles with many more miles and many years older and have never experienced brake lines rusting out like this.
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