2003 GMC Yukon Xl 2500

IN DECEMBER 2013 MY WIFE AND I WERE DRIVING OUR 2003 GMC YUKON XL 2500 4X4 OUTSIDE OF COOPERSTOWN, NEW YORK. THE BRAKES FAILED ON ROUTE 26 COMING DOWN THE HILL TOWARDS ROUTE 28. IT WAS SNOWING AND ABOUT 11:30 AT NIGHT. WE SLID SIDEWAYS DOWN THE HILL AND ACROSS ROUTE 28. THE ONLY THING THAT STOPPED US FROM ROLLING OVER AN EMBANKMENT WAS THE NEW METAL GUARDRAIL THAT WAS RECENTLY INSTALLED ALONG ROUTE 28. FORTUNATELY, WE WERE NOT INJURED, AND THERE WAS NO ONE ELSE ON THE ROAD. I EXPERIENCED IMMEDIATE AND COMPLETE BRAKE FAILURE. MY BRAKE PEDAL WENT COMPLETELY TO THE FLOOR. IT WAS NOT A SLOW PROCESS. OUR YUKON IS WELL MAINTAINED AND HAS ONLY 89,000 MILES ON IT. 1 - MY LOCAL DEALER, WHERE I BOUGHT THE VEHICLE BRAND NEW, AND WHO INSPECTED MY VEHICLE BRAKE LINE FAILURE AND QUOTED THE REPAIRS, DENIED A BACKUP SYSTEM IN THE EVENT OF A BRAKE LINE FAILURE. 2 - A DIFFERENT REPAIR SHOP SAID THAT ALL FIVE OF MY BRAKE LINES HAD FAILED AND WERE LEAKING FLUID DURING A TEST TO LOCATE THE PROBLEM. 3 - I HAVE HAD THE VEHICLE INSPECTED BY FOUR DIFFERENT REPAIR SHOPS, WITHIN ONE WEEKS TIME, AND THEY ALL CONFIRM FAILURE OF THE BRAKE FLUID LINES DUE TO RUST. I DID NOT YET HAVE THE BRAKES REPAIRED YET BECAUSE THE QUOTES WERE SO HIGH. MANY NEW YORKERS MAY HAVE ALREADY EXPERIENCED THIS BRAKE LINE FAILURE , OR ARE STILL AT RISK OF A SERIOUS, OR FATAL ACCIDENT. MY CONCERN IS THAT THERE MAY HAVE ALREADY BEEN SERIOUS INJURIES AND POSSIBLY DEATHS AROUND THE COUNTRY AND THIS BRAKE LINE FAILURE MAY HAVE BEEN THE CAUSE. I STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT ACCIDENT FILES BE REVIEWED BY VEHICLE YEAR AND MODEL, AS LISTED IN THE NHTSA INVESTIGATION REPORT, TO SEE IF THERE IS A CORRELATION. WE OFTEN SEE FATALITIES LISTED AS SPEED TO FAST FOR ROAD CONDITIONS WHEN IN FACT THERE MAY HAVE BEEN BRAKE LINE FAILURE.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 GMC YUKON XL 2500. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH, THE BRAKES FAILED. WHEN THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO APPLY THE EMERGENCY BRAKE TO SLOW DOWN THE VEHICLE, IT ALSO FAILED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO DOWNSHIFT ENOUGH TO STOP THE VEHICLE. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC STATED THAT THE BRAKE LINES WERE CORRODED AND ONE OF THE LINES WAS SEVERED. IN ADDITION, BRAKE FLUID WAS LEAKING FROM THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED AND THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 166,000.

2003 GMC YUKON XL 2500 SUDDEN BRAKE FAILURE. WHILE DECELERATING TO ENTER A RESIDENTIAL DRIVEWAY, BRAKE FAILURE OCCURRED. DUE TO LOW SPEED (<20 MPH) AT THE TIME, I WAS ABLE TO STOP THE VEHICLE USING THE PARKING BRAKE. HAD THIS OCCURRED MOMENTS EARLIER WHILE DECELERATING FROM THE FREEWAY INTO A BUSY INTERSECTION, THERE COULD HAVE BEEN FATALITIES. WHILE STOPPING, SMOKE WAS SEEN COMING FROM THE FRONT AND LEFT WHEEL WELL OF THE VEHICLE. AFTER STOPPING, I EXAMINED THE VEHICLE AND FOUND THE METAL BRAKE LINE HAD RUPTURED WHERE IT CROSSES OVER THE FRAME RAIL LEADING TO THE FRONT LEFT BRAKE. THERE WAS BRAKE FLUID SPRAYED AROUND THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ENGINE BAY, AND THE EXHAUST HEADER WAS STILL SMOKING. LUCKILY THE EXHAUST HEADER TEMPERATURE WAS LOW ENOUGH TO AVOID IGNITION OF THE BRAKE FLUID AND INITIATION OF FIRE. A LARGE PORTION OF BRAKE FLUID IN THE MASTER BRAKE RESERVOIR HAD LEAKED OUT LEAVING A TRAIL OF FLUID BEHIND THE VEHICLE ALONG THE LEFT SIDE. AN EXTREME LEVEL OF CORROSION AND FLAKING METAL WAS EVIDENT ALONG ALL THE METAL BRAKES LINES FROM FRONT TO REAR. INCIDENTALLY, THE POWER STEERING LINES WERE IN SIMILAR CONDITION. THE BRAKE LINE WALL THICKNESS IN THE RUPTURE AREA WAS SO THIN THAT IT COULD BE BENT AND CRUSHED WITH PRESSURE APPLIED BY THUMBNAIL. THE VEHICLE IS NOW AT THE LOCAL GMC DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIRS. BASED ON THE CONSISTENT AND EXCESSIVE CORROSION THROUGHOUT, I OPTED TO HAVE ALL THE BRAKE LINES AND POWER STEERING LINES REPLACED AT ONCE. BRAKES ARE THE MOST SAFETY CRITICAL DEVICE ON A MOVING VEHICLE AND MUST BE HELD TO HIGHER STANDARDS THAN ALMOST ANY OTHER COMPONENT. THE CONDITION OF THE BRAKE LINES AND RUPTURE OF A BRAKE LINE IS UNACCEPTABLE FOR A VEHICLE OF THIS YEAR AND MILEAGE. I RECENTLY SOLD A 1994 SUBURBAN THAT HAD BRAKE LINES IN MUCH BETTER CONDITION THAN THIS 2003 YUKON. CLEARLY THERE IS A MANUFACTURING OR QUALITY DEFECT IN THE LINES INSTALLED ON THIS 2003 YUKON. I RESPECTFULLY REQUEST NHTSA TO REVIEW BRAKE LINE DEFECTS ON BEHALF OF ALL OWNERS. *KB