Brake failure upon slowing down at off ramp. Avoided accident but had total brake failure. Pulled into parking lot, checked fluid levels, were ok, tried brakes again and they were working. Have not had a problem since.have heard reports of similar nature. Some think it is a problem in the valving.hope you can find a cure.
2003 GMC Sierra 2500: brake failure
26 of the 160 complaints about the 2003 GMC Sierra 2500 describe brake failure.
- owner complaints
- 26
- of this car's complaints
- 16%
- typical mileage
- 78,000
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? 9 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below
Brake failure by model year
What owners say
I was driving on I 75 doing 70 MPH I had to come to a sudden stop I applied brakes and there was no brakes., I ended up putting truck in the ditch to avoid serious accident. It ended both brake lines from master cylinder both blew up from corrosion these lines went to the ABS module. I was some what injured.
Brake line failed, no brakes while heading for a red light. Drive off road till vehicle stopped. Brake line from master cylinder to ABS control , rotted out. Upon further inspection, all brake lines are rotted out. My mechanic states they all need to be replaced, it will happen again.
Severely rusted brake lines that split. Main line from master cylinder to ABS module and rear line just inboard of lh rear tire. Pedal went to the floor on city street when driving.
I was moving the vehicle in the driveway when the break pedal went to the floor. The truck stopped so I got out and looked under it and saw break fluid pouring out of a break line that had completely rusted through. The former owner had already had another break line replaced because his breaks had ruptured due to the lines rusting through while driving at highway speeds and towing a fifth wheel camper. He was able to avoid wrecking and came to a stop. This truck has low miles and about 90% of its use has been during the summer so it has had limited contact with salted roads yet the entire undercarriage of the vehicle is rusting at an incredible rate. I am fortunate that I was simply moving the truck rather than hauling my camper on the highway which is it's typical use; I and/or others could have been severely injured or killed. The rusting through of the break lines is a safety issue!
Brake line leaks, brake stopped working because of rusted brake lines. Also fuel and transmission lines are rusted badly.
Complete brake failure while pulling a 10000 pound trailer in camp ground. The brake lines under the drivers side broke appeared to be corrosion. Truck was towed to repair location. All brake lines were replaced, cost $ 950 dollars.
Driving to work one day, a car in front of me suddenly stopped to turn left. I hit my brakes and felt a "pop" and the brake peddle went straight to the floor, no brakes. I was traveling about 55 MPH so at that point, I am a 55 MPH spear on wheels. I swerved to the right and drove across someone's driveway and through their yard. This weekend was the city wide garage sales, and thankfully, these folks were not having a sale in their driveway or yard, or else this could have been a terrible accident. The only rust issue with this truck is the brake lines and fuel lines. If your lines rust before your body rust, then I feel there is a serious design flaw. If it was something else rusting then it wouldn't be as big of a deal. But when you are talking brake lines, it is just a matter of time before this flaw causes another catastrophic brake failure, leading to an accident involving serious injury or death. A 10 year old truck should not have this problem. I have owned vehicles that were 15, 20 years old and have never had to replace brake lines. Someone's life is worth so much more than a cheaply made brake line.
I was driving down the road when my brake peddle went to the floor, I had to use my emergency brake to stop my vehicle. Luckily I swerved to avoid traffic in front of me and was able to stop safely. Upon having my truck towed, my mechanic showed me that my brake line from my master cylinder had rusted out causing brake failure.
While driving up to an intersection I applied the brakes and the pedal dropped to the floor, no brakes. The cross traffic was approaching at 50 MPH, and my road stopped so I had to make a left or right. Luckily, by some miracle the oncoming traffic just missed slamming into me. I have never received anything from gm asking for me to have the brake lines checked, even though I see online that I am far from alone with this problem. I see you started investigating this issue in 2010 - why haven't you done anything about this? I was almost killed and no one is warning owners of gm trucks I guess when the government owns part of gm they don"t have to worry about recalls....... The consumer stated the reason the brakes failed, were due to rusted out brake lines.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 gmc sierra 2500 hd. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, he attempted to decelerate and the brake pedal went all the way to the floor. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic who inspected the brakes and noticed there was a hole in the brake line that caused a leak. The mechanic stated that he needed to replace the entire brake line. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 99,075. The VIN was not available.
Trip from long island new york to freeport maine. Traveling 65-70 MPH during trip on highway 95. Arrived in freeport. Checked into hotel. Went out to truck 2 hours later with the intention of attending an event. Stepped on brake, started truck, brake pedal went to the floor. Pumped the brake pedal but it would not recover from the floor. Checked under truck for leaks and found badly rusted brake lines had burst releasing copious amounts of brake fluid. The truck was towed to sears auto department who had to rebuild the entire brake system from the master cylinder to each wheel. Sears had to replace brake lines and calipers since the calipers were also so rusted that they could not be bled. If these lines had burst on the highway; my wife, my son and me would have possibly been killed or severely injured and others on the road may have suffered the same fate. I have never seen this type of rust on any auto I have ever owned. This truck has never been exposed to salt water. Roads are salted in winter on long island. (as an aside, I had to replace the front bumper prior to starting the trip because it had rusted through from behind. It seems that inferior materials were purchased by gm).
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2003 GMC Sierra 2500 brake failure
Is brake failure a common problem on the 2003 GMC Sierra 2500?
26 of 160 owner complaints about the 2003 GMC Sierra 2500 (16%) mention brake failure. The model year with the most reports is 2003.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2003 GMC Sierra 2500?
There are 0 recalls and 9 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2003 GMC Sierra 2500
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