2004 Chevrolet Silverado 2500

I WAS DRIVING AND WENT TO STOP THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR. I PUT THE SHIFTER INTO LOW 1 AND HIT THE EMERGENCY BRAKE TO COME TO A STOP JUST SHORT OF HITTING THE HONDA CIVIC IN FRONT OF ME WITH THE BABY IN THE BACK SEAT. I PUT MY HAZARDS LIGHTS ON AND CHECKED THE TRUCK. UNDER THE BED WAS WET WITH BRAKE FLUID. THE BRAKE LINE WAS RUSTED THROUGH AND IS SNAPPED LETTING ALL OF THE FLUID OUT. SO, NO BRAKES! *TR

I WAS PLANNING ON HEADING UP TO THE MOUNTAINS TO MY CABIN TODAY (8/10/2014). I STOPPED FOR DIESEL AT KING'S QUICK STOP, ABOUT 3 BLOCKS FROM MY HOUSE. AFTER I FILLED UP, I PUT IT IN DRIVE AND THE BRAKES FAILED COMPLETELY. BY THE GRACE OF GOD I WAS ONLY GOING 5 MPH IN THE GAS STATION PARKING LOT OR I COULD HAVE EASILY HIT CARS OR PEDESTRIANS CAUSING INJURY OR LOSS OF LIFE. I DROVE HOME USING THE EMERGENCY BRAKE WHICH IS NOT IN A GREAT PLACE FOR EMERGENCY STOPPING. AFTER ARRIVING HOME I TOOK A LOOK AND DISCOVERED THAT THE BRAKE LINES IN ONE PARTICULAR SECTION WERE COMPLETELY CORRODED AND ONE OF THEM HAD BURST. THIS IS A VEHICLE THAT I FREQUENTLY DRIVE TO THE MOUNTAINS AND I CANNOT FATHOM HOW THIS COULD HAPPEN ON ANY TRUCK, LET ALONE A HEAVY DUTY TRUCK. NO WARNING LIGHT CAME OUT TO INFORM ME THAT MY BRAKE PRESSURE WAS LOW ALTHOUGH I FIGURED THAT OUT QUICKLY WHEN MY FOOT WENT ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR. AFTER DIAGNOSING THE PROBLEM, I DID SOME SEARCHING ON THE WEB AND DISCOVERED THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM IN THE SALT BELT STATES. BUT I LIVE IN NORTH CAROLINA SO THIS IS QUITE A SURPRISE. I WILL BE SCHEDULING REPAIRS TOMORROW BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT GM IS NOT ASSISTING IN ANY WAY AND THAT THE REPAIRS CAN RUN UP TO $2000. I'VE OWNED 20 CARS IN MY LIFETIME, MANY WITH EXCESSIVE MILEAGE AND HAVE NEVER HAD BRAKES FAIL BEFORE. SO THIS IS QUITE UNSETTLING AND CLEARLY GM HAS A FAULTY AND DANGEROUS DESIGN HERE. *TR

PULLING BOAT TRAILER UP OUT OF THE BOAT RAMP AND BRAKE PEDDLE WENT TO THE FLOOR AND LEAKED OUT ALL THE FLUID HAD IT TOWED TO GARAGE AND FOUND BRAKE LINE HAD RUSTED THROUGH ON ONE OF THE 4 OTHERS WERE IN BAD SHAPE LUCKY I WASN'T TOWING THE BOAT DOWN THE HIGHWAY AND HAD TO STOP I COULD HAVE KILLED SOMEONE OR MYSELF GM NEEDS TO ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM NOW I HEAR THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF COMPLAINTS. *TR

WHILE DRIVING UNDER GOOD CONDITIONS, SUNNY, DRY ROAD SURFACE, APPROXIMATELY 65 DEGREES, ASPHALT CONDITIONS EXCELLENT, NOT IN TRAFFIC, NO CARS IN FRONT OF ME, NO CARS BEHIND, THE TRUCK WAS EMPTY AND HAD ONLY ONE PERSON, THE DRIVER. I STARTED TO SLOW FOR AN INTERSECTION AND THE BRAKES DID NOT RESPOND. THE PEDAL WENT ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR. I WAS AT LEAST 400 FT FROM A TRAFFIC LIGHT EQUIPPED INTERSECTION AT THE TIME. I WAS ABLE TO DOWN SHIFT. THE TRUCK IS EQUIPPED WITH SOME VERY LOW GEARING FOR TOWING AND BY SHIFTING DOWN THROUGH THE GEARS I WAS ABLE TO STOP BEFORE THE INTERSECTION. THE BRAKES HAD VERY LITTLE STOPPING POWER LEFT. THERE WAS NO INDICATOR THAT I WAS LOSING BRAKE FLUID PRESSURE. HOWEVER HAD I BEEN ON A HIGHWAY, THE TRUCK FULLY LOADED, IN HEAVY TRAFFIC OR ON A BIG HILL THIS COULD HAVE TURNED OUT MUCH WORSE. REVIEWING THE BRAKE LINES YOU COULD SEE THAT THEY WERE UNIFORMLY CORRODED ON ALL EXPOSED LINES.THE CORROSION IS HEAVY AND IT MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE THE SURFACE CONDITION OF THE BRAKE LINE. A LEAK HAD DEVELOPED AT A BEND, IN THE LINE, JUST UNDER THE MASTER BRAKE CYLINDER. YOU REALLY CANNOT SEE THE LEAK DUE TO THE SURFACE CONDITION. YOU KNOW IT IS THERE DUE TO THE VISUALLY SEEING THE BRAKE FLUID SPURTING OUT. ALL OF THE BRAKE LINES ON THE FRONT END OF THE TRUCK MUST BE REPLACED AND DUE TO WHAT I WOULD CONSIDER DEFECTIVE BRAKE LINE MATERIAL I WILL HAVE ALL OF THE LINES REPLACED. I STATE THAT I FEEL THEY ARE DEFECTIVE OR OF EXTREMELY INFERIOR QUALITY DO THE FACT THAT OTHER LINES IN THE TRUCK SHOW NO CORROSION AT ALL, SUCH AS THE AC LINES, THE LOWER TRANSMISSION LINES, LOWER GAS LINE, THESE WHILE TARNISHED ARE NOT CORRODING. THIS IS THE FIRST FAILURE OF THIS TYPE ON THE TRUCK. PREVIOUSLY I HAD AN EXHAUST GASKET BREAK AND THE ALTERNATOR FAIL ALL OTHER WORK HAS BEEN MAINTENANCE TYPE WORK SUCH AS OIL CHANGES. I PURCHASED THE TRUCK NEW. *TR

A BADLY RUSTED BRAKE LINE BURST WHILE I WAS STOPPING FOR A STOP SIGN. I MANAGED TO STOP THE VEHICLE WITHOUT INCIDENT AND GET IT HOME, BUT UPON INSPECTION, I FOUND THAT ALL OF THE METALLIC BRAKE LINES WHICH RUN TO THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE ARE RUSTED TO SOME DEGREE. THE LINE WHICH BURST RUNS ALONG THE FRAME IN THE VICINITY OF THE GAS TANK. I OWN A 1971 JEEP COMMANDO WHICH STILL HAS ITS ORIGINAL METALLIC BRAKE LINES, AND THEY ARE NOT THE LEAST BIT RUSTY. IT IS DISTURBING TO ME THAT A MODERN VEHICLE WOULD BE CONSTRUCTED WITH MATERIALS INFERIOR TO THOSE USED MORE THAN 40 YEARS AGO. *TR

BRAKE LINES RUSTED THROUGH LEAKING ALL BRAKE FLUID WHILE TRAVELING 65+ ON THE NEW JERSEY TURNPIKE. I AM MAKING THIS REPORT TO CONFIRM BRAKE PROBLEMS ON 2004 SUBURBANS AS WAS RECENTLY REPORTED IN THE NEW YORK TIMES. COST TO REPAIR WAS IN EXCESS OF $1000. GENERAL MOTORS SHOULD SERIOUSLY CONSIDER A RECALL AND POSSIBLY CONSIDER USUALLY STAINLESS STEEL TUBING FOR THE BRAKE LINES! *TR

I WAS LEAVING MY HOME TO DO AN ERRAND, WHILE NEARING AN INTERSECTION I APPLIED PRESSURE TO THE BRAKE PEDAL WHEN IT DROPPED TO THE FLOOR . I HAD TO APPLY SERIOUS PRESSURE TO GET IT SLOWED ENOUGH TO TURN AROUND TO HEAD UPHILL TOWARDS HOME. NOTICE I SAID SLOW DOWN, NOT STOP. HAD I GONE SECONDS FURTHER I WOULD HAVE BEEN IN FAR WORSE SHAPE AS THERE IS A STEEP DECLINE FOR ABOUT 3/4S OF A MILE JUST PAST THE INTERSECTION WHERE THE LINE GAVE OUT. I HAVE HAD BRAKE LINES GO BAD BEFORE IN OTHER VEHICLES BUT WAS ALWAYS ABLE TO STOP THE VEHICLE WITHIN A REASONABLE DISTANCE. I THINK IF I HAD BEEN ON A MAIN ROAD WITH TRAFFIC AND A GENERALLY FASTER SPEED ALLOWANCE THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN AN ACCIDENT. SOMETHING SHOULD BE DONE TO BETTER SUPPLY THE USE OF FRONT BRAKES WHEN THE REAR BRAKES FAIL AND VICE VERSA. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 2500 HD. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS BEING SERVICED FOR ROUTINE MAINTENANCE, THE MECHANIC NOTICED THAT THE ENTIRE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE WAS DEFECTIVE. THE MECHANIC REPLACED THE STEERING BOX, PITMAN ARM, OUTER TIE ROD ON BOTH ENDS AND THE UPPER BALL JOINT. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE BRAKES WERE LEAKING. THE BRAKE LEAK FAILURE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 200,000.

WHILE IN TRAFFIC I PUSHED MY BRAKE PEDAL DOWN HARD TO STOP AND IT WENT TO THE FLOOR. SOME BRAKING RESISTANCE WAS FELT BY THE VEHICLE BUT I STILL HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME. THERE WAS ONLY A MINOR SCRATCH ON THE CAR I HIT BECAUSE I ALSO HIT THE PARKING BRAKE ONE THE BRAKE PEDAL DIDN'T DO ANYTHING. THERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHT TO INDICATE A PROBLEM BUT WHEN I PULLED OFF THE ROAD THE BRAKE LINE GOING TO THE REAR BRAKES WAS SQUIRTING FLUID. ALL OF THE BRAKE LINES ON THE CAR SHOWED HEAVY SIGNS OF RUST. *TR

WHILE APPLYING MODERATE BRAKE PRESSURE IN HEAVY MORNING TRAFFIC ON CLEAN DRY PAVEMENT, THE BRAKE PEDAL COLLAPSED TO THE FLOOR, FOLLOWED BY REAR BRAKE LOCK-UP. I SWERVED TO AVOID A COLLISION. I WAS FORCED TO USE THE PARKING BRAKE TO MOVE TO SAFETY. INSPECTION REVEALED A METAL BRAKE LINE FAILURE. IN FACT, ALL BRAKE LINES WERE SEVERELY RUSTED. I THOUGHT THIS WAS HIGHLY UNUSUAL. HOWEVER ONE WORK COLLEAGUE AND ONE NEIGHBOR IMMEDIATELY REVEALED THAT THEY HAD SUFFERED THE SAME FAILURE ON OTHER GM TRUCKS OF THAT AGE. MY MECHANIC REPORTED DOING SEVERAL DOZEN BRAKE LINE REPLACEMENTS ON GM TRUCKS IN THE 2000 TO 2006 ERA. SURELY THIS IS A MAJOR CLASS SAFETY PROBLEM. *TR