2000 Chevrolet Suburban 1500

DRIVING VEHICLE BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO FLOORBOARD. COASTING TO STOP AND PARKED. SAW COPIOUS AMOUNT OF BRAKE FLUID UNDER VEHICLE. WALKED TO NEARBY PLACE OF BUSINESS WHO HAD CONTAINER OF BRAKE FLUID. I EMPTIED CONTAINER IN RESERVOIR AND DROVE TO GARAGE WHERE BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO FLOOR AGAIN. DIAGNOSIS WAS BRAKE LINE RUSTED THROUGH. VEHICLE WAS IN SE PA FOR MOST OF ITS LIFE AND IN ABOVE AVERAGE CONDITION. COST TO REPLACE LINES WAS $350. *TR

ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON OCTOBER 17, 2014, I WAS DRIVING MY SUBURBAN TO GET NEW TIRES INSTALLED AT MY LOCAL BIG O TIRES STORE. WHILE I DRIVING THERE THE BRAKES WERE FINE. ONCE I PULLED IN TO THE BAY OF THE STORE, UPON THE 2ND OR 3RD TIME I PRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL, THE PEDAL WENT STRAIGHT TO THE FLOOR, NO BRAKES! LUCKILY THERE WAS LITTLE MOTION ON THE SUBURBAN, MOVING IT TO PARK STOPPED THE MOTION. NOT AT ANY TIME DID ANY ABS OR BRAKE LIGHTS COME ON THE DASH TO ALERT ME OF ANY POTENTIAL PROBLEMS, NOR ANY INDICATIONS OF SPONGY BRAKES. JUST SUDDEN AND COMPLETE BRAKE FAILURE. THE MECHANICS AT BIG O TIRES ALERTED ME OF A LEAK COMING FROM UNDERNEATH THE MIDDLE AREA OF THE DRIVER'S SIDE OF THE SUBURBAN FROM THE FRAME. THEY LIFTED UP THE SUBURBAN AND PROCEEDED TO INSPECT. THEY INFORMED ME THAT ALL THE BRAKE LINES WHERE RUSTED AND ROTTED OUT AND THAT ONE OR MORE OF THE BRAKE LINES HAD BURST OR BROKEN, CAUSING THE BRAKE FAILURE. I STARTED TO RESEARCH THIS PROBLEM ON THE INTERNET AND WAS SURPRISED TO FIND THAT BOTH GMC & NHTSA ARE AWARE OF THIS ISSUE AND NO RECALLS HAVE BEEN ISSUED TO DATE. IN FACT FROM THE INFORMATION THAT I CAN GATHER ONLINE IS THAT THE NHTSA HAS BEEN INUNDATED WITH COMPLAINTS IN REGARDS TO THIS PROBLEM AND GMC REFUSES TO ISSUE A RECALL, CLAIMING THAT THIS IS NOT A SAFETY ISSUE. I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH FOR THIS TO HAPPEN TO ME AT VERY LOW SPEED IN A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT. WHAT IF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT ANY WARNING WHILE DRIVING AND APPROACHING AN INTERSECTION? I CAN THINK OF A MANY DIFFERENT SCENARIOS WHERE THIS COULD HAVE PLAYED OUT TO MUCH WORSE CIRCUMSTANCES. BRAKES ARE PROBABLY THE MOST SIGNIFICANT SAFETY MECHANISM ON ANY VEHICLE. HOW DARE GMC MAKE THE CLAIM THAT IS IT NOT A SAFETY ISSUE! *TR

I WAS BACKING UP MY SUBURBAN TO ATTACH AND MOVE MY CAMPER. I HAD JUST RETURNED FROM A SHORT TRIP TO THE GROCERY STORE, BRAKES WERE FINE AT THAT TIME. UPON THE 3RD OR 4TH TIME I PRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL WHILE BACKING UP, THE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR. NO BRAKES. I WAS ON FAIRLY LEVEL GROUND, SO MOVING IT TO PARK STOPPED WHAT LITTLE MOTION I HAD. THERE WAS NEVER AN INDICATION OF SPONGY BRAKES. NEVER AN INDICATOR ON MY DASH OF A BRAKE ISSUE, I JUST IMMEDIATELY LOST ALL BRAKING FUNCTION. AT THIS TIME IT'S SUNDAY AND I'M WAITING ON MONDAY TO CONTACT A MECHANIC. I HAVE FLUID LEAKING FROM ABOVE THE SIDE FRAME MEMBER ON THE DRIVERS SIDE, UNDER THE REAR DOOR ON THE PASSENGER SIDE. I STILL DON'T HAVE AN INDICATION OF FAILURE ON MY DASH. I REALIZE CARS RUST, I LIVE IN MICHIGAN. BUT THE FAILURE IS WHAT DISTURBS ME. SUPPOSEDLY GM HAS A DUAL LINE SYSTEM, BUT I HAD NO OR VERY LITTLE STOPPING POWER ON A 6000LB VEHICLE. HAD I BEEN IN MOTION OR EVEN TOWING MY CAMPER, THE RESULTS COULD HAVE BEEN CATASTROPHIC. I UNDERSTAND THERE IS AN INVESTIGATION STILL OPEN ON THESE VEHICLES. IT IS NOT TERRIBLY TIME SENSITIVE THAT THIS VEHICLE GET FIXED, SO IF YOU'D LIKE TO INSPECT I'LL NEED CONTACT IMMEDIATELY. OTHERWISE I WILL GET IT TO A MECHANIC FOR REPAIR. *TR

WHEN APPROACHING AN INTERSECTION THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME STOPPED QUICKLY. I APPLIED MY BRAKES QUICKLY TO STOP AND THE BRAKE PEDAL ALMOST REACHED THE FLOOR BOARD. I COULD FEEL MY FOOT JUMPING ON THE PEDAL AS MY TRUCK WAS ATTEMPTING TO STOP. A WEEK AFTER THE INCIDENT MY ABS LIGHT CAME ON AND HAS REMAINED ON AND THE DEALERSHIP STATES THIS IS AN ONGOING ISSUE. I UNDERSTAND GM HAS MUCH GOING ON RIGHT NOW BUT THEY NEED TO ADDRESS AND RESOLVE ALL THESE ISSUES BEFORE FAMILY'S LOOSE LOVED ONES. DO THE RIGHT THING GM ACKNOWLEDGE THESE NUMEROUS FAULTY BRAKE ISSUES AND GIVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO FIX OUR VEHICLE INVESTMENTS. *TR

THE ABS/BRAKE WARNING LAMPS LIGHT AT RANDOM TIMES. THE FIRST REPAIR CENTER/DEALER TOLD ME THEY WERE VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE PROBLEM AND IT IS THE EBCM MODULES. THEY WERE PROBLEMS ON 1999-2001 MODELS OF PICK UP AND SUBURBANS. HE INSTRUCTED ME TO IGNORE THE LAMPS AS IT WOULD BE A HIGH COST OF REPLACEMENT BUT THE ABS SYSTEM WILL NOT OPERATE. HE ALSO INSTRUCTED THAT GM KNOWS VERY WELL THE PROBLEM THEY HAD AND CORRECTED IT ON THE 2002 MODELS. THIS WAS TOLD TO ME BY 2 ADDITIONAL DEALER SERVICE CENTERS. ALSO BY A TOP AUTO REPAIR SHOW ON THE RADIO. IF YOU DO A SEARCH ON THE WEB YOU CAN SEE THIS HAS BEEN A KNOWN FAILURE SINCE 2005.I ASKED EACH OF THE SERVICE MANAGERS WHY GM HASN'T RECALLED THEM AND THEIR ANSWER IS I DON'T KNOW OR THERE HAS TO BE A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE BEFORE THEY WILL. ANOTHER WAS THE NHTSA HASN'T GOTTEN INVOLVED. A FAILURE OF THIS NATURE MEANS WHEN THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED THEY WILL LOCK UP AND SKIDS/LOSS OF CONTROL CAN OCCUR. *TR

DRIVING ON PAVED ROAD AND SLOWED DOWN TO MAKE TURN. BRAKE PEDAL WENT ALL THE WAY TO FLOOR AND COULD NOT STOP NORMALLY. BRAKING WAS VERY POOR. THERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHT AND THIS WAS A SUDDEN FAILURE IN BRAKING PERFORMANCE. CAUSE WAS DUE TO SEVERELY CORRODED BRAKE LINE. I HAD 7 PEOPLE IN THE CAR AND I AM GRATEFUL WE WERE NOT ON THE HIGHWAY AT THE TIME BECAUSE THIS COULD HAVE BEEN DEADLY. *TR