I almost ran into another car because the other driver stopped suddenly and I had to pump the brakes over and over to stop when the rusted line broke. I was on a city street driving speed limit and was lucky to be able to stop. I was towing my trailer last week and almost lost the trailer because the entire underbody is rusted. I have had several trucks and never have seen this happen. It was a scary situation in both cases.
2001 GMC Sierra 3500 brakes problems
16 complaints (44% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 61,580. 2 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 16
- of this car's complaints
- 44%
- typical mileage
- 61,580
- crashes
- 2
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip6
- Antilock: wheel speed sensor1
- Antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip: wheel speed sensor/tone ring1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+
GMC Sierra 3500 brakes problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2001 GMC Sierra 3500 brakes
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Hydraulic pump shaft failures
The preliminary evaulation is being upgraded.during the ea odi will limitits investigation to only those vehicles equipped with a hydro-boost system, which provides power assist to the braking and steering sytems.vaccuum brake booster vehicles are excluded.odi hasexpanded the scope of the ea to include model years2003 and 2004, asduring the pe, odi learned that the hydroboast pumps were modified in febraury 2004.therefore,odi has expanded the scope to include the additional model years.odi's is concerned because thisisa sudden failure that affects two critical systems of the vehicle, brakes and steering, at the same time.the ability of the operator to handle the dual failures is a concern. Further, these vehicles tend to be work vehicles, with some over 10,000 pounds gvwr and many equipped to pull large trailers.dual failures of heavily loaded vehicles and vehicles pulling trailers further increases the safety risk.odi plans to conduct testing to quantify the braking and steering performance degradation and the impact on safe vehicle control, when a hydroboast pump fails.
PE04004
What 2001 GMC Sierra 3500 owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Brake line ruptured leading to complete loss of braking. Hit car in front of me as it came to a stop. This is the second time that the brakes have failed due to brake line rupture due to excessive corrosion of the brake line metal. Please force gm to issue a recall.
Three weeks ago noticed low brake fluid. Filled reservoir and didn't see and leaks. Yesterday I was in town shopping and when I came out of store and leaving brake peddle went to floor when I tried to stop had enough brake to stop before hitting car in front of me. Bought a quart of fluid and refilled tank and cautiously made it the 25 miles home after refilling twice. Looked under truck and saw leak above the fuel filter. The whole line under truck is terribly corroded and will need replacing. I live in hawaii and have had the truck for 5 years so no salt damage here.
Brakes failed due to rupture of rusted brake line, no warning light while driving on the interstate. Was barely able to stop by pressing brake pedal to the floor. Abs did not activate. Took vehicle to mechanic. Multiple brake lines rusted out.
While driving I had my brakes fail, the pedal went to the floor. It was a result of a broken steel brake line under the drivers seat. What I found when I looked under the truck was all the lines that went to the ABS unit were badly rusted. One of my coworkers had the same problem on his 2001 gmc suburban but he chucked it up to all the camping trips he went on where he left his truck parked off road. My truck however only has 30,000 miles and it has never been taken off road. I also flush the brake fluid once a year as preventative maintenance, so they can't claim they rusted from the inside out. I drive my truck every day to work about one mile away. My driveway is paved and the parking lot at my place of work is also paved. I don't pull any heavy trailers or do anything else that would contribute to the line failure. I am not putting down gm products because all my vehicles are gm vehicles including two antiques. One a 1955 chevy which had original brake lines until I did a disc brake conversion several years back. The other a 1970 chevelle which is currently a restoration project but the line are still original. There is obvious a problem with the material used to make these lines. I was researching the problem online and it appears that there are to many other people with the same problem. Also gm no longer sells the lines which makes it a much more troublesome repair. I also don't own a boat, jet ski or anything else that would require me to put my vehicle in salt water.
After experiencing ABS braking problems on my 2001 gmc truck model nk3, I became aware of gm recall no. 05068, 05v379000, which the local dealer says this issue does not involve my vehicle. For safety reasons, I did repair the problem.
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 gmc sierra 3500 diesel. The contact stated that the antilock braking system would activate while stopping from 50 MPH. The VIN was excluded from the federal safety agency campaign id number 05v379000 (service brakes, hydraulic:antilock). The mechanic stated that the repairs could cost slightly less than $1,000. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure and current mileages were less than 175,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 gmc sierra c3. When the vehicle approaches a stop, the ABS grab and make it harder to stop the vehicle. The contact stated that this failure occurred one year earlier while driving at any speed. The emergency brake also failed, which caused the vehicle to fail inspection. A local mechanic informed him that the wheel sensors possibly needed to be cleaned or replaced. The manufacturer stated that the VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign id number 05v379000 (service brakes, hydraulic:antilock). The repairs would cost approximately $1,500. The failure mileage was 35,000 and current mileage was 47,000. Updated 06/25/08. *lj updated 06/25/08
Gmc 2001 sierra c3 parking brake no longer functions as it should. This is a severe safety issue as the pedal goes to the floor and there is no way to adjust it (from what I can tell). A previous campaign 05v161000 alluded to this issue but only for manual transmission trucks. This is not logical as the mechanism is the same.
Front right ABS wheel sensor failed 2001 sierra truck causing sudden and unexpected pulling to the right as the ABS system engaged at low speed. Truck is subject to a gmc regional recall (recall id# 58438 ) but gmc has refused to fix problem stating the truck was not in the recall database. Truck was shipped by dealer to mass in 2002 where it was registered until september 2005.
Questions about the 2001 GMC Sierra 3500 brakes
Does the 2001 GMC Sierra 3500 have brakes problems?
Owners have filed 16 complaints about the brakes of the 2001 GMC Sierra 3500, 44% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.
At what mileage do 2001 GMC Sierra 3500 brakes problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 61,580 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2001 GMC Sierra 3500 brakes?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the GMC Sierra 3500 have bad brakes?
The GMC Sierra 3500 model years with the most brakes complaints are 2001 (16 complaints), 2004 (14 complaints) and 2000 (12 complaints).
Other 2001 GMC Sierra 3500 problems
Engine 9Fuel system 8Body 2Tires 2Airbags 1Electrical 1Locks 1Steering 1Wheels 1
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