Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 237 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Service Brakes. Review the 162 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Structure. Review the 33 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

69 crash reports5 fire reports25 injury reports

Service Brakes complaints

162 reports

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104,000 miles · Jun 5, 2012

Service BrakesCrash

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MY WIFE WAS DRIVING TO WORK WHEN SHE WENT TO APPLY THE BRAKES ON OUR 2000 CHEVY PICKUP WHEN THE BRAKE LINE ON THE TRUCK RUPTURED AND SHE COULD NOT STOP THE VEHICLE. SHE THEN REARENDED THE JEEP IN FRONT OF HER CAUSING DAMAGE TO BOTH VEHICLES. WE THEN HAD THE TRUCK TOWED TO ARE RESIDENTS WERE I LOOKED UNDER THE TRUCK TO FIND THE LEAK AND HOW BADLY THE TRUCK HAD RUSTED LINES AND THE UNDER CARRIAGE OF THE TRUCK. I FEEL THIS A LIVE AND DEATH PROBLEM TO ANY 1 DRIVING THESE VEHICLES AND IF MY WIFE HAD NOT TAKEN EVASIVE ACTION THERE MAY HAVE BEEN A DEATH INVOLVED. CHEVY SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THIS PROBLEM SINCE I HAVE SEEN MANY PEOPLE ON LINE HAVE HAD THE SAME TROUBLES WITH THESE RUSTED LINES RUPTURING. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10460668

66,453 miles · Apr 30, 2012

Service Brakes

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I FILED A COMPLAINT WITH YOU IN APPROXIMATELY 2008/09. AT 20 MPH THERE ARE ALMOST NO BRAKES (NOT ABS BRAKES, NO BRAKES). I PULLED THE FUSE FOR THE ANTI-LOCK SYSTEM AND THE PROBLEM ENDED. I HEARD NOTHING BACK FROM YOU. FRIENDS WHO DROVE MY TRUCK COMPLAINED OF EXCESSIVELY SOFT BRAKES SINCE IT WAS NEW. I WAS CHECKING YOUR WEBSITE 3 DAYS AGO WHEN I CAME ACROSS RECALL #GM05068, NHTSA 05V379000. I CALLED MY LOCAL DEALER TO INQUIRE ABOUT RECALL REPAIRS. THEY INFORMED ME THAT THE RECALL HAD BEEN DONE ON MY VEHICLE ON 02-17-06. THEY SAID THEY ARE ONLY AUTHORIZED TO DO THE RECALL REPAIRS ONCE. I ASSUME THIS WAS DONE WHEN I HAD THE VEHICLE IN FOR OTHER ISSUES, AS I HAD NO BRAKE PROBLEMS AT THE TIME. SO APPROXIMATELY 2 YRS AFTER THE RECALL SERVICE WAS DONE THE PROBLEM PRESENTED ITSELF. I CALLED GM TODAY (REF # 71-106-286-2771) THEY SAID THEY CAN'T DO ANYTHING ON THE RECALL BUT IT IS "POSSIBLE" THEY MAY BE ABLE TO GIVE SOME ASSISTANCE UNDER ANOTHER PROGRAM IF I TAKE IT TO THE DEALER AND PAY FOR A DIAGNOSIS "OF A MANUFACTURER'S DEFECT". I WAS ALREADY TOLD BY THE DEALER THAT THE FIX WOULD COST BETWEEN $200-350.00, AND DIAGNOSIS IS LIKELY TO ADD ANOTHER 100.00, WITH NO ASSURANCE OF ANY REIMBURSEMENT. MY PROBLEM IS THREE FOLD: THE ORIGINAL FIX DID NOT ELIMINATE THE PROBLEM, THE PROBLEM IS A DESIGN WHICH DIRECTLY IMPACTS SAFETY AND APPEARS TO RE-OCCUR RANDOMLY EVERY COUPLE OF YEARS, A REAL FIX MUST HAVE BEEN ACHIEVED SINCE TRUCKS AFTER 2002 ARE NOT SIMILARLY AFFECTED. FOR MY WIFE'S SAFETY I HAVE CHOSEN TO PULL THE FUSE AND DISABLE THE ABS SYSTEM, RETURNING THE VEHICLE TO PRE-ABS STATUS, AND THE BRAKES WORK FINE. THE CALIPERS AND ROTORS HAVE BEEN REGULARLY MAINTAINED. SHOULDN'T AN ABS SYSTEM TO BE DESIGNED TO FAIL BACK TO REGULAR BRAKES RATHER THAN ALMOST NO BRAKES? QUESTIONS: SHOULD THE PROBLEM STILL BE COVERED BY THE RECALL? WHAT REDESIGN WAS MADE TO ELIMINATE THE PROBLEM? *JS

NHTSA ODI #10456943

Official recalls

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Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

EA04011 · Parking Brake Failure

Opened Apr 9, 2004 · Closed May 10, 2005

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Parking Brake; Parking Brake:conventional; Parking Brake:conventional:mechanical; Parking Brake:conventional:mechanical:linkage And Cable

IN A LETTER DATED APRIL 20, 2005, GM NOTIFIED NHTSA THAT IT HAD DECIDED THAT DEFECTS THAT RELATE TO MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY EXIST IN CERTAIN MODEL YEAR (MY) 1999-2002 C/K 1500 SERIES (PBR PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM) AND MY 2001-2005 C/K 2500 AND 3500 SERIES (TRW PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM) PICKUPS WITH MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS.ACCORDING TO GM, SOME OF THESE VEHICLES MAY HAVE CONDITIONS THAT CAUSE THE FRICTION LININGS TO WEAR TO AN EXTENT WHERE THE PARKING BRAKE CAN BECOME INEFFECTIVE IN IMMOBILIZING A PARKED VEHICLE.GM'S ACTION COVERS AN ESTIMATED TOTAL OF 142,585 VEHICLES.DEALERS WILL INSTALL A LOW-FORCE SPRING CLIP RETAINER FOR VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE PBR PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM AND INSTALL A REDESIGNED PARKING BRAKE CABLE ASSEMBLY ON VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE TRW PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM. A TOTAL OF 58 NON-DUPLICATIVE COMPLAINTS WERE RECEIVED BY ODI AND GM CONCERNING THE APPROXIMATELY 59,000 MY 1999-2002 C/K 1500 SERIES PICKUP TRUCKS WITH THE PBR PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM.THESE INCLUDED 22 ALLEGED ROLLAWAY INCIDENTS, RESULTING IN A RATE OF 38.5 ROLLAWAY INCIDENTS PER 100,000 VEHICLES.ODI IS AWARE OF 24 COMPLAINTS REGARDING THE MY 2001-2005 C/K 2500 AND 3500 SERIES MANUAL TRANSMISSION TRUCKS RECALLED BY GM, INCLUDING 5 ALLEGING ROLLAWAY INCIDENTS.THOUGH THE CONDITIONS DESCRIBED IN GM'S LETTER ARE ALSO PRESENT IN THE C/K TRUCKS WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS, THE ROLLAWAY RATE IN THOSE VEHICLES WAS SIMILAR TO THOSE OBSERVED IN PEER VEHICLES STUDIED BY ODI IN THIS INVESTIGATION.THIS ENGINEERING ANALYSIS IS CLOSED. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, SEE THE ATTACHED CLOSING REPORT.

Additional source detail variants (4)

Parking Brake:conventional

Parking Brake:conventional:mechanical

Parking Brake:conventional:mechanical:linkage And Cable

Parking Brake

PE03057 · Parking Brake Failure

Opened Dec 8, 2003 · Closed Apr 9, 2004

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Parking Brake

ODI OPENED PE03-057 TO ASSESS PARKING BRAKE INEFFECTIVENESS IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES.THESE VEHICLES ARE EQUIPPED WITH FOUR WHEEL DISC BRAKES THAT INCORPORATE A SINGLE-SHOE DRUM-IN-HAT PARKING BRAKE INDEPENDENT OF THE SERVICE BRAKES.COMPLAINT AND WARRANTY DATA INDICATE THAT THE PARKING BRAKE LININGS TEND TO WEAR OUT EARLY IN THE LIFE OF THE VEHICLE (AT AN AVERAGE OF 24 MONTHS IN SERVICE), REDUCING THE PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM'S TORQUE BELOW THAT NEEDED TO IMMOBILIZE THE VEHICLE.GM HAS ATTRIBUTED THIS ACCELERATED WEAR TO FOREIGN MATERIAL INTRUSION AND A FAILURE OF THE BRAKE SHOE TO PROPERLY SELF-CENTER WITHIN ITS BRAKE DRUM.EFFECTIVE WITH THE START OF MY 2003 PRODUCTION, A NEWER REDUCED FORCE HOLD-DOWN CLIP WAS INTRODUCED TO FACILITATE BRAKE SHOE DISENGAGEMENT FROM THE DRUM SURFACE.THIS PART IS ALSO AVAILABLE AT THE SERVICE LEVEL FOR THE MY 1999-2002 VEHICLES.GM HAS INDICATED THAT THE PAKING BRAKE IS INTENDED TO OPERATE IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE TRANSMISSION TO IMMOBILZE PARKED VEHICLES, AND THAT IN MANY CASES, ACCELERATED PARKING BRAKE LINING WEAR IS CAUSED BY ROUGH USE, VEHICLE MODIFICATIONS, AND DRIVING WITH THE PARKING ENGAGED. ODI HAS UPGRADED THE PRELIMINARY EVALUATION TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS TO GATHER FURTHER INFORMATION CONCERNING PARKING BRAKE USAGE FACTORS AND THE CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING THE SEVENTEEN REPORTED VEHICLE CRASHES.