2001 GMC Sierra: brake failure

Filed Dec 2, 2014 · Brakes · 154,976 miles · VA

I was traveling on I-95 south in virginia on the hov lanes at about 1:30 pm approaching the route 1 exit. Traffic was dead stopped in front of a moderate flow of traffic and everyone quickly slammed the brakes (including me) to slow and stop to prevent rear ending the stopped cars. Traffic was flowing at approximately 75 MPH when I slammed my brakes. The brakes grabbed momentarily and then I heard a loud pop and the brake pedal went to the floor; the vehicle brakes were gone. No pressure was at the pedal even as I pumped it. The only way out was to hit the should and berm and take the route 1 exit to coast to a stop; which I did. No fluid loss was evident at the master cylinder reservoir and I couldn't see evidence of a blown line or brake caliper until I got the vehicle home and noticed the metal (steel) brake line between the master cylinder and the anti-lock brake control valve/module was leaking at a pit in the line caused by rust. The point was under the driver side floor pan on the outside of the frame and parallel with the frame. It blew a rusted pitted spot on the line under pressure..

Filed Aug 27, 2014 · Brakes · 170,000 miles · OH

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 gmc sierra. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed and the brakes failed to respond. The contact had to use the emergency brake to stop the vehicle. The independent mechanic diagnosed that the brake lines had rust build up. The independent mechanic repaired one brake line. The manufacturer had not been notified. The approximate failure mileage was 170,000.

Filed Aug 6, 2014 · Brakes · 120,000 miles · IN

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 gmc sierra. The contact was driving approximately 2 MPH when the brakes failed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.

Filed Jul 12, 2014 · Brakes · 72,495 miles · DE

Experienced complete failure of the braking system. Fortunately the vehicle was only traveling 15mph and in an area that wasn't congested with traffic. I was able to stop by using the roadside berm banking and avoided any further damage. Vehicle was towed to a nearby gm dealership where it was determined that both brake lines had corroded so badly it caused the lines to rupture resulting in an immediate loss of pressure and complete brake failure. Just days earlier I had the brakes serviced at a different gm dealership near my home and there was no mention of this condition nor the previous reports of this problem from other owners as noted on this web site. Even if gm or the federal safety agency does not deem this issue frequent enough to issue a tsb, at minimum a service warning/recommendation should be issued to gm dealerships and other registered service providers alerting them to inspect for this condition while servicing the braking systems for these model years. Death or serious injury can and most likely will occur as there are many vehicles from these model years still on the road.

Filed Jun 8, 2013 · Brakes · 86,740 miles · IN

The first day I noticed that the brake pedal went closer to the floor before the brakes activated. The second day the pedal nearly touched the floor and then the brake warning light came on. I took the vehicle to my neighborhood indy tire center where they quickly determined brake line failure near the left rear wheel. The brake line had rusted completely causing a hole and rapid loss of brake fluid. A new teflon coated main brake line and fittings was installed along with new brake fluid. Other brake lines were examine and found to be rusted but not compromised. The total cost of repair was $461.38.

Filed Feb 15, 2013 · Brakes · 141,000 miles · MI

While driving to work in the morning, applied brakes and the pedal seemed to go down further than normal. Was exiting freeway and applied the brakes, the pedal went down to the floor but the vehicle stopped. I then pumped the brake pedal and it went to the floor and the vehicle started to roll. I was able to pull off to the side of the exit ramp and get vehicle to stop by putting it into reverse then park. It now had complete brake failure. After inspecting under the vehicle noticed that a brake line had rusted through and failed. This one line failure caused both the front and rear brakes not to apply at all. After inspecting further noticed that all the brake lines have severe corrosion and look like they could fail at anytime.

Filed Nov 13, 2012 · Brakes · 207,000 miles · VT

I lost my brakes while pulling out onto the road. Pedal went to the floor before truck began to slow down, ABS kicked on and grinding rotors before a full stop. Brake line failed leaking fluid under driver's side door - most likely due to rust.

Filed Sep 18, 2012 · Brakes, Fuel system · TN

Backed out of driveway and brake pedal felt soft. Got to end of street and suspecting a problem began slowing early. Brake pedal went to the floor with very little pressure and very little stopping power. Went back to house and found a large puddle of brake fluid where the truck had been sitting. Opened the hood to look at brake reservoir and found it empty but also realized all hard brake lines in view were heavily corroded and crusted. Leak was from burst hard line below driver. All hard lines are heavily crusted and corroded near the point of failure if not already failed. Some fuel lines also corroded.

Filed Aug 17, 2012 · Brakes · 88,000 miles · PA

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 gmc sierra. The contact stated that while reversing from a residential driveway, she the brakes failed and brake fluid leaked from the vehicle abnormally. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that they needed to replace the brake lines. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated there were no recalls for the vehicle. The failure mileage was 88,000 and the current mileage was 100,005. The VIN was not available.

Filed Feb 13, 2012 · Brakes · 130,000 miles · NJ

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 gmc sierra. The contact stated that while driving 20 MPH, the brake pedal depressed to the floor. The vehicle was coasted to the side of the road and the contact noticed that there was a brake fluid leak. The vehicle was then towed to an automotive shop, where they cut off the rotten portion of the brake line and repaired it. The brake failure occurred a total of three times. The dealer did not diagnose the failure, but a private mechanic repaired the brake lines. The failure mileage was 130,000 and the current mileage was 145,000.

Filed Apr 11, 2006 · Brakes · 36,601 miles · NY

Intermittent brake failure with ABS & red brake warning light coming on at the time of failure resulting in intermittently no brakes. Dealer diagnosed part bpmv (hydraulic main brake control valve gm part#88964302 valve) failure caused by corroded wires. They were unable to repair wires only able to replace entire valve. Old part is available for your inspection.

Filed Feb 4, 2006 · Brakes · 43,895 miles · CA · crash

My 2001 gmc sierra pick up truck 43k miles , brakes failed while attempting to come to a stop in the parking lot of the long beach 24hr family fitness center resulting in the vehicle hitting a wall on jan 11 2006. I pushed the brake pedal to the floor and no brakes available. While foot on the brake trying to stop the vehicle, there came an indeterminate pulsing sound and vibration on the pedal. The vehicle hit the parking structure wall at a very slow speed (about 3-5 miles per hour). The truck is under an extended warrenty and the dealer found the front left wheel bearing and hub to have excessive play and was replaced with my $100.00 deductable. The damage to the truck was totaled at $2828.20. This is still an issue and gm has told me that their is nothing wrong with the brake system, however there are recalls in the north east states for the same problem, and over 250+ cases reported in crashes. Living by the ocean and where there is salt air present and with the 850k truckes recalled makes sense. Gm can recall all of the trucks for tailgate support cables nation wide that are caused by corrosion but not a brake problem that effects trucks nation wide?