I had a near death accidents (twice) due to catastrophic brake line failure from severely rusted brake lines the front left and the intermediate line from front to rear section on top of frame rail. First incident was at speed of 45 MPH on highway with hard stop required to avoid stopped traffic ahead. Second failure was more insidious with progressive brake line rust through/ leak spot to rear brake lines with fin through and failure. This is not complicated ... Simply substandard materials for one of the most critical components in a vehicle. It should not matter what conditions are (ie salt, cold, etc; design and materials should be mandated for brake lines not to rust through. There are materials which could be used to accomplish this, particularly for northern regions with salt on roads. The entire brke line system is on this vehilcle (and others) is an unnecessary and avoidable public safety hazard. Surely there have been deaths resulting from failure, I was lucky and had to maneuver stright through between 2 stopped vehicles as I had no other option with no brakes. Also, all vehicles should be required to have handle operated parking/emergency brake levers , as the foot operated one in this vehicle was useless, but a pull type, hand operated brake handle would have been readily accessible and likely prevented near death incident.
2000 GMC Sonoma: brake failure
5 of the 136 complaints about the 2000 GMC Sonoma describe brake failure.
- owner complaints
- 5
- of this car's complaints
- 4%
- recalls
- 2
Brake failure by model year
What owners say
While driving and without warning the brakes failed and caused an accident.
Maumee ohio accident report #004028. Brake failure. Extremely cold weather, ten degrees fahrenheit. Bumper-to-bumper traffic rolling downhill to a light. Both clutch and brake pedals were depressed with strong, steady foot pressure at 15-20 MPH. Abs pulsing activated. Vehicle gradually slowed to 10-15 MPH. But, other vehicles came to a complete stop in the same distance. So, a rear-end collision occurred at 10-15 MPH. It is reasonable to speculate that the road surface was frozen. But, no ice was observed by either driver or by law enforcement. And all of the other (heavy) traffic stopped without incident. This vehicle also exhibits degradation of braking performance on rough pavement; the ABS kicks in with light brake pedal pressure at 15 MPH even on dry pavement, so long as it is somewhat bumpy.
While driving vehicle shutdown, there was no brakes or steering. Consumer was on the higway and could have caused an accident.
Abs brakes failed to operate properly.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
Service brakes, hydraulic: antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: light duty pickup trucks equipped with 4-wheel disc brakes. Some of these vehicles have an antilock brake system (ABS) motor containing an out-of-specification spring clip. This clip could allow the motor bearing to become misaligned. If misalignment occurs, eventually the ABS would be non-functional.
- Risk
- The base brakes would remain fully functional, but the dynamic rear proportioning (drp) system, which optimizes front to rear brake balance, would become inoperative.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the brake pressure module valve assembly.
Recall number 00V055000 · Recall details
Service brakes, hydraulic: antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: s -trucks equipped with 2 wheel drive. These vehicles may have had the right-hand antilock brake system (ABS) module feed pipe and/or brake crossover pipe tube nuts tightened without seating the pipe-flared-ends enough to withstand normal assembly and vehicle inputs without partially unseating. This does not comply with requirements of fmvss no. 105, "hydraulic service brake normal, emergency, and park braking performance."
- Risk
- If this occurred, the seating seal could be broken during vehicle assembly, or from early road inputs or brake fluid cycling, and a leak could occur increasing the brake stopping distance.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the brake pipe union for signs of brake fluid, and if necessary, install a new brake pipe union.
Recall number 99V220000 · Recall details
Questions about the 2000 GMC Sonoma brake failure
Is brake failure a common problem on the 2000 GMC Sonoma?
5 of 136 owner complaints about the 2000 GMC Sonoma (4%) mention brake failure. The model year with the most reports is 1994.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2000 GMC Sonoma?
There are 2 recalls and 4 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2000 GMC Sonoma
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