2016 Chevrolet Tahoe: soft or spongy brake pedal

Filed Aug 4, 2023 · Brakes · AZ

Purchased the car new for a local dealer in Surprise, Arizona. Over time the brake pedal has become spongy, soft and pulsating. This happens mostly at slow speeds like backing out of the driveway or garage. Did a search of the federal safety agency web site and see that there was a recall on my model year vehicle to replace or reprogram the vacuum pump. However I never received a recall notice. I am now afraid to drive the car because I am concerned over a complete brake failure. I do know that during one of my normal service maintenance appointments I was approached by the service advisor about his concern over a suspected brake issue. He wanted to replace my entire brake system, master cylinder, vacuum pump, etc for a cost of about $1,500 as I recall. I declined the repair as I was not aware of that the problem I was experiencing was including in the recall. Again I never received any notice of a recall of the vacuum pump for the brakes but clearly I am experiencing the symptoms as was described in the recall notice on your website.

Filed Nov 20, 2022 · Brakes · NC

Brakes failed to work at low speed. Traveling in stop and go traffic on I-40 and the brake pedal became hard as a rock and was pulsing. Had to pull over and coast to a stop. Performed a test on the median of the highway and again the brakes failed to work. We were towed to the repair shop. Awaiting the repair diagnosis and cost.

Filed Nov 21, 2019 · Brakes · 49,050 miles · MD

I am a police fleet manager that has an all chevy tahoe fleet. In october 2019, I received notification for chevy recall n192268490 and every vehicle in the fleet was taken in for the recall. The recall was to reprogram the brakes, so braking would still be possible even if the brake booster failed. However, the recall did not address the root of the problem, which is a faulty secondary hydraulic brake assist vacuum pump. I was aware of this problem because I had two tahoes already have a vacuum booster failure, which resulted in an extremely hard brake pedal which would not stop the vehicle. The problem arises during slow speed braking, such as parking lots or slow speed patrol. Less than a week after taking the vehicles to chevy for the recall, an officer was maneuvering slowly in a parking lot. The vehicle experienced an extremely hard brake pedal and the vehicle failed to stop. The officer was able to turn the vehicle, barely avoiding a collision. Obviously, gm's band-aid recall does not fix or even override the problem. The vehicle was taken back to the dealership, where the service providers agreed the recall was a placebo and there is an issue with the vacuum booster. As per a recent letter from gm, they have given an extended warranty on the vacuum pump, for free replacement. So, obviously they know there is a problem. The liability placed on municipalities, who have no other choice but to use their fleet vehicles with known braking issues, is an unfair burden and risk. Gm needs to recall and replace the vacuum boosters!

Filed Jun 22, 2019 · Brakes · 92,000 miles · TX

Brakes felt like they were slipping and the vehicle would continue to roll for a minimum of 5 feet. "service brake assist" message was shown and the brake module was replaced. Vehicle was in motion 24 hours after replacing module on a major highway and "service brake assist" appeared on the dash. Brake pedal was hard and braking system was completely inoperable.

Filed Mar 29, 2019 · Brakes · 38,500 miles · MI

Experienced spongy/soft pedal and increased stopping distance. Took vehicle to dealer thinking it needed new brakes and was told it needed a new vacuum pump, booster and master cylinder at a cost of $1,400. I was told that this was a known issue with several gm models but the vehicle was 2,500 miles/10 days out of warranty at the time.

Filed Jun 14, 2018 · Brakes · 47,000 miles · IL · crash · 2 injuries

Was involved in a auto accident in sept 2017 in which I rear ended another vehicle.I was traveling southbound on greenmount road in shiloh il. Coming to a stop at a stoplight at about 30 MPH, I was trying to kill a spider so my eyes were off the road but when the collision alert alarm sounded I immedietly hit the brakes which were hard making braking difficult there is no way an impact should have happended. When the collision alert alarm sounds the brake pedals became hard making the stopping of the chevy tahoe impossible so I could not avoid rear ending of the vehicle in front of me. Now while driving the tahoe without the collision alert activated the SUV stops like normal, only when the collision alert is activated does the hard brake pedals occur which to me is the opposite effect.