Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PARKING BRAKE | |||||
| 020526001B | 01/01/2005 | 020526001C | 10006115 | Rear parking brake shoe retaining spring clip service kit for drum-in-hat (dih) equipped vehicles. *tt update. *tt | 04/16/2004 |
| 020526002 | 10/01/2002 | 10000172 | Scraping noise from rear of vehicle. *tt | 02/14/2003 | |
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PARKING BRAKE | ||||||
| DP05009 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | 12/20/2005 | 05/31/2006 | PARKING BRAKE FAILURE | ||
| Odi's review of complaint data received since the close of ea04-011 revealed no indication that the investigation should be re-opened.more details can be found in the federal register notice enclosed in the dp05-009 public file.odi reserves the right to reopen the investigation in the future should conditions warrant. | ||||||
| PARKING BRAKE - CONVENTIONAL | ||||||
| DP05009 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | 12/20/2005 | 05/31/2006 | PARKING BRAKE FAILURE | ||
| Odi's review of complaint data received since the close of ea04-011 revealed no indication that the investigation should be re-opened.more details can be found in the federal register notice enclosed in the dp05-009 public file.odi reserves the right to reopen the investigation in the future should conditions warrant. | ||||||
| PARKING BRAKE - CONVENTIONAL - MECHANICAL | ||||||
| DP05009 | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | 12/20/2005 | 05/31/2006 | PARKING BRAKE FAILURE | ||
| Odi's review of complaint data received since the close of ea04-011 revealed no indication that the investigation should be re-opened.more details can be found in the federal register notice enclosed in the dp05-009 public file.odi reserves the right to reopen the investigation in the future should conditions warrant. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| PARKING BRAKE | |||
| 10/01/2007 | 75000 | 1 | 08/01/2002 |
| At the first of october i received a letter from onstar stating that my service would no longer be available for my 2002 chevorlet avalanche beginning jan 2008. onstar is a safety device on my truck...and was the deciding factor in choosing a gm vehicle. some other family members have 2003 gmcs and they are repairable but mine is not. i find this hard to believe..they just do not want to pay for it. i have had some trouble with my truck, eg- hardbody fading, would not pass inspection 3 years back b/c emergency brake was wore...no recall but the part was redesigned..hmmm, tailgate leaking water, a loud popping noise that took 4 long times at the dealer for them to find, but i can live with all this...but my onstar was a great piece of mind, esp with an illness and now a new baby. i will never purchase a gm again, b/c they have dumped all of us with analog service like a disease...i was told i could trade my truck and onstar would give me an additional year free! big wow...that is an insult. my truck was just paid for in august and in october i find out the big safety device of onstar is over. *tr | |||
| 01/01/1901 | 1 | ||
| 2002 chevy avalanche with a non functioning parking brake. customer states that if any of the defective vehicles were to get into an accident it could seriously injure or maybe even result in death for someone. *kb | |||
| 08/10/2007 | 92000 | 2 | 02/15/2007 |
| 2002 avalanche emergency brake isn't working and the rear end went out in it yesterday 8/10/07 at 92,000 miles. *jb | |||
| 08/07/2006 | 13000 | 1 | 12/22/2002 |
| Parking brake failure. 2002 z71 chevrolet avalanche brake did not last a year. general brake failure. brakes were never enough to stop car safely. note they really fail when going over bumps. replaced rotors twice and pads 3 times and i'm at 60k! *nm | |||
| 06/20/2006 | 63000 | 1 | 04/10/2002 |
| I own 2002 chevrolet avalanche 1500 that will not pass inspection in texas due to the failure of my parking brake to keep the vehicle from moving after the parking brake has been applied, and the vehicle put into drive. i understand that a recall has been issued for vehicles with manual transmissions that are equipped with the same type of parking brake that my vehicle has. i read federal notice dp05-009 outlining a response from a complaint regarding the parking brake failure that was due to a faulty retaining pin that gm has now corrected. the response stated that since automatic transmissions had parking pawls, a recall was not warranted. if the state of texas considers the failure of the parking brake to be a safety hazard in automatic transmissions, why does the nhtsa deem that it is not a defect. *jb | |||
| 01/15/2006 | 1 | 02/15/2003 | |
| Emergency brake failure without ever using it, makes a roaring sound when you are diving down the road. dealer said this a problem with all the 2002 chevy avalanches and trucks,design flaw, but they would be glad to fix it for a price. said couldn't believe i haven't had a problem before now, guess its because i never use it and it just finally failed on its on. if the dealer knows this is a common failure shouldn't gm be responsible fir this? *nm | |||
| 11/01/2001 | 15000 | 50 | 08/30/2001 |
| There are two separate brake problems... parking brake does not work proper now or when the vehicle was new. gm has continuously denied that this was a design problem. in addition, the anti lock brakes take a long distance to stop. (since rear brake pads wear out much quicker than front pads, it appears anti lock brakes are not applying much pressure to front pads). *jb | |||
| 02/18/2003 | 10000 | 1 | 08/15/2002 |
| You already have two investigations concerning the situation (as follows) and gm has a service bulletin out concerning the same situation but including a wider range of vehicles then just the trucks with clutches. i can forward the bulletin file if you would like to see it? gm is telling me you would have to add the other vehicles to the investigation before they would talk to me or any of the other people concerned. thanks nhtsa action number : pe03057 nhtsa recall campaign number : n/a make : chevrolet model: silverado manufacturer : general motors corp. year : 2002 component : parking brake date investigation opened : december 8, 2003 date investigation closed : april 9, 2004 check to request research. submit below. get summary nhtsa action number : ea04011 nhtsa recall campaign number : 05v161000. make : chevrolet model: silverado manufacturer : general motors corp. year : 2002 component : parking brake date investigation opened : april 9, 2004 date investigation closed : may 10, 2005. *jb | |||
| 10/17/2004 | 37000 | 3 | 09/09/2001 |
| Dt: the contact owns a 2002 avalanche special edition. at 37,000 miles he heard the brakes rubbing. he noticed the inside of the rear brakes wore out, not on the outside. the contact stated about one year ago he had the rear brakes pads replaced. in addition, the contact stated the emergency brake wore a groove inside the rear rotors. he called a dealer, and the dealer told him to bring the car in so they could look at it. the contact did not want to take the car to dealer. he took the rotors and the brake shoes off the car and took them to the dealer. the dealer told him he should have brought the car in and let them check the car out. the contact stated he has never used the emergency brake. he did want to pay for the new rotors because of the damage done to the rotors by the emergency brake. *ak | |||
| 08/31/2005 | 40000 | 1 | 10/29/2001 |
| Dt: the contact stated the parking brake on 2002 chevrolet avalanche was bad. the pads were completely worn out .the brake was nonfunctional. this happened because of a defect in the design, not because of the brake. the pads needed to be changed, and the rotors needed to be sanded. the mechanic said the design was such that the parking brake will wear out even if it was not used. the contact has not been using the parking brake. he was told that the pads needed to be changed when he took the vehicle to dealer for inspection on september 1, 2005. *ak | |||
| 04/01/2005 | 32087 | 1 | 10/31/2004 |
| Dt: the contact owns a 2002 chevrolet avlanche and emergency brake will not hold the vehicle. dealer did work on this problem, and stated that it was operating the way gm designed it to work.*ak found emergency brake control assembly defective. replaced pedal assembly. replaced emergency brake shoes and springs. *tt *nm | |||
| 01/01/2005 | 15896 | 6 | |
| Mexican assembly factory failure. there was a major failure of the rear axles and parking brake system. *bf the rear axles had grooves worn in them and the rear bearing failed. the consumer requested reimbursement. the parking brake remained inoperative. when the parking brake was released, the acceleration would hang up and a pop would be heard in the rear, there was a rattle behind the steering wheel, and the axle seals leaked. *sc *jb | |||
| 01/15/2005 | 20000 | 4 | 12/01/2001 |
| Repeated failure of parking brake. have had it repaired at dealer 3 times under warranty and repair only lasts about 6 months. i use the brake everytime i park and over time it slowly gets looser to the point that it will not hold the vehicle at all. vehicle now has 41,000 miles and has fourth failure.*ujb | |||
| 12/09/2004 | 41000 | 1 | 07/28/2002 |
| Complete brake failure and complete emergency brake failure. had to downshift into d1 to slow down. *nm | |||
| 12/31/2004 | 44356 | 1 | 09/20/2003 |
| I own a 2002 chevrolet avalanche, that did not pass inspection due to the parking brake no holding. this occurred with out warning since my last inspection. i visted the dealer and they asked for mileage and stated it was not under warranty. the mechanic stated that there is no warrning system for this problem. and that this is a design flow found on this vehicle. this will cost me close to $800 for brake shoes drum / rotor assembly and brake pads i believe that a recall should be issued . *ak | |||
| 12/03/2004 | 71000 | 1 | 01/25/2002 |
| I own a 2002 chevrolet avalanche, that i could not get inspected due to the parking brake not holding. upon having the vehicle serviced found that a retaining clip assembly failed, causing the parking brake shoes to engage at some point in the last year and wear the shoes down, damage the drum / rotor assembly, and cause chipping / cracking with the rear brake pads due to the heat generated by the retaining clip assembly failure. i contacted gm and was told that this was not covered under warranty, and my dealer also said the same thing, that these are 'wear and tear' items that i was fully responsible for. they said that there is no way to tell if the clip had failed or if i had driven with the parking brake engaged, which never happened. i found a previous tsb was referenced to this issue (020526002a) and nhtsa# 10000172, which were similar. the tsb indicated replacing the retaining clip with a newly designed one. which tells me this was a design flaw with the retaining clip on my 2002 vehicle, which has now resulted in a costly repair (brake shoes x2, retaining clip x2, drum / rotor assembly x2, brake pads x2 (primaries) that is over $800. i've found many other avalanche and silverado owners also having this same problem, some are being covered by warranty, some are not. i feel that this should be addressed by gm and a recall issued before this $8 retaining clip part winds up costing other customers over $800.*ak | |||
| 11/30/2004 | 1 | ||
| 2002 chevrolet avalanche z66 has failed parking brake. i do not tow or even use the brake. however in attempting to pass texas state inspection, my parking brake fails. when brake is set in all the way, truck put in drive, truck will move forward as if brake is not set. chevytalk.org has over 5000 post of users on this same item. chevy ase mechanic said it's a known design flaw in the clips that causes e-brake to wear even if never used. my concern is that if i need it, due to a hydrolic failure, it doesn't work. contacted dealer and they claim it is not part of warranty. this is clearly a dangerous design problem that gm is not owning up to. *ak | |||
| 07/10/2004 | 12000 | 1 | 01/01/2002 |
| 2002 chevrolet avalanche z66 has failed parking brake. i do not tow or even use the brake. however in attempting to pass texas state inspection, my parking brake fails. when brake is set in all the way, truck put in drive, truck will move forward as if brake is not set. chevytalk.org has over 5000 post of users on this same item. chevy ase mechanic said it's a known design flaw in the clips that causes e-brake to wear even if never used. my concern is that if i need it, due to a hydrolic failure, it doesn't work. contacted dealer and they claim it is not part of warranty. y understanding is that this defect existis to provide gm with a cost savings in manufacturing, but it is at the cost of thousands of drivers and thier families. is that worth it?*ak | |||
| 09/22/2004 | 2 | ||
| While applying the parking brake vehicle failed. there was no braking power. consumer was able to maintain control of the vehicle, and drove it to the dealer for inspection. mechanic determined that parking brake needed to be replaced. also, recall issued did not include this vehicle. *ak | |||
| 09/22/2004 | 1 | 08/04/2002 | |
| My emergency brake does not work on my 2002 chevrolet avalanche 1500 series. i went to get it inspected today and it failed inspection b/c of this problem....which i had no idea of! i am glad i found out this way. i was told that it was a common problem on chevrolets and it is quite an expensive problem to fix. i called parks chevrolet in charlotte and they want me to come by next tuesday to get it looked at and fixed. but if this a common problem shouldn't it be recalled or shouldn't the vehicle tell me that the emergency brake is not working?? i think this is a huge problem.*ak | |||
| 09/05/2004 | 75000 | 1 | 08/30/2001 |
| Parking brake does not hold vehicle. the brake does not lock the back wheels. *ak | |||
| 09/06/2003 | 10000 | 9999 | 08/16/2002 |
| Parking does not work and cable is to long for any adjustments. *ak | |||
| 12/29/2003 | 4000 | 2 | 08/15/2002 |
| Parking brake when applied went to floor and did not hold upon having vehical check by dealer found adjustment to be fully adjusted and brake shoes to be worn since the brakes were never adjusted by anyone this had to come from the factory. i had to have new brake shoes installed and every thing adjusted properly for which i had to pay for i feel this was a manufacture error i think they should of had to pay for this. *ak | |||
| 11/19/2003 | 8831 | 2 | 04/08/2002 |
| At 8000 miles, we brought our truck in for squeaking and grinding brakes. the right rear brake was metal to metal, the caliper boots were cracked and torn, the left side was almost metal to metal and the right rotor was worn down. we went to the dealership and complained. stewart dealership in colma, ca inspected it, agreed that it was under our extended warranty. less than 8000 miles later we brought in our avalanche & the rear brakes & emergency brake was metal to metal and the front brakes are 50%. we took the truck back to stewart who did a 28 point inspection. when we got the inspection paperwork back, it said the rear brakes were metal to metal, the front brakes were 4/32 and the emergency brake was inspected and ok.. the emergency brake is gone and they said it didn't require attention!! they said its from regular wear and tear and not covered under warranty. we decided to take the truck to ellis brooks chevrolet in sf. they said that the rear brakes & emergency brake was metal to metal. they said this was normal wear and tear and not covered under warranty. *jb | |||
| 10/06/2003 | 1 | 1 | |
| My 2002 avalanche failed the state inspection because the emergency brake would not hold. i never use the emergency brake and the inspector said the majority of the avalalache's that he checked have the same problem. *la | |||
| 07/01/2002 | 6500 | 3 | 05/02/2002 |
| Parking/emergency brake has failed 3 times (pedal is soft, goes to floor, will not hold vehicle). has been repaired by dealership twice, the second time with supposedly upgraded parts. complaint pending with a.g.'s office. 8nlm | |||
| 02/01/2002 | 1 | 09/12/2001 | |
| The emergency brake release handle is too low to the point where consumer cannot reach brake release handle, consumer has to release brake before getting into vehicle, contacted dealer, and dealer was not willing to do anything. *ak *yh | |||
| PARKING BRAKE - CONVENTIONAL | |||
| 12/20/2007 | 80363 | 1 | 03/14/2003 |
| Brakes were pulsating and took to local brake shop for check. rear brake job completed. left rear rotor needed replacing due to damage from parking brake. parking brake also replaced. service technician indicated damaged rotor from parking brake was a design flaw by gm and although chevy avalance hasn't had a recall on this flaw, the tahoe has.*cn | |||
| 02/11/2005 | 55000 | 2 | 02/04/2003 |
| 1) anti-lock brake unit failed; ) park brake needs adjusting every 4 mos eventhough used daily; 2) both found in driveway; no accident 3) replace abs unit at $950 , and readjust parking brake at $80 each time. *ak | |||
| 11/12/2004 | 2 | ||
| Parking brake failure involving 2002 chevrolet avalanche. there was no damage or injury. however, when brought in for repair, i was given a report that states, according to chevrolet technical assistance parking brake is not designed to hold on a down slope and only designed to hold at 8% grade on up slope. this runs counter to the 2002 chevrolet avalanche owners manual, section 7-20, entitled parking brake and automatic transmission park mechanism check which instructs as follows: park on a fairly steep hill, with the vehicle facing downhill and proceeds to give steps for checking the parking brake function that create a clear expectation that the parking brake should function on a fairly steep hill. since bringing my vehicle for requested adjustment/repair, i continue to find that the parking brake will not hold with the vehicle facing downhill on even a modest slope.*ak knowing that i cannot rely on the parking brake, for now i will take other steps to assure safety. i am very concerned for other owners of this vehicle ... for their safety and the safety of their families. if an owner, unaware of this defect, having a driveway of any modest slope, relies on this vehicle's parking brake ... they clearly face the risk of unexpected movement of the vehicle ... risking damage to property or to human life. | |||
| PARKING BRAKE - CONVENTIONAL - MECHANICAL | |||
| 01/20/2005 | 16000 | 4 | 09/05/2001 |
| On 9/5/01, i purchased a 2002 chevrolet avalanche. the parking brake has failed 3 times since purchase. i have had the dealer repair it on 7/12/02, 8/14/02, and again on 12/20/04. the latest failure is today, 1/20/05. the brake either will not hold the parked vehicle or it will stick and not release, causing the vehicle to be immovable. the last repair also included replacing both rear axles and rear axle bearings. this has been a recurring problem and i have heard other avalanche owners with the same complaint. *jb | |||
| 07/30/2003 | 58000 | 1 | 08/01/2001 |
| The parking brake shoes wore through both rear top hat drum rotors of my 2002 chevy avalanche. i first noticed this problem when the parking brake did not function for the vehicles annual inspection. i do not use the parking brake, so i know that wear was not the cause of the failure. i then found this problem in tsb # 02-05-26-002 and a correction which changes the design of the clip retaining the parking brake shoe so it will not scrape without the brake being applied. the people at the inspection place as well as where i had it repaired said this was a common problem with the newer chevy trucks, suburbans, tahoes, etc. my vehicle was in the chevy shop for unrelated repairs and they did not mention or perform this tsb, nor did they notify me to have it repaired. the parking/emergency brake failed to function without warning and chevy knew about it yet chose not to inform me.*ak | |||
| PARKING BRAKE - CONVENTIONAL - MECHANICAL - LINKAGE AND CABLE | |||
| 01/01/2003 | 15000 | 9999 | 01/01/2003 |
| Parking brake fails to hold the vehicle. pedal goes to the floor but parking brake does not engage. | |||
| 03/10/2005 | 85000 | 1 | |
| Consumer states the emergency brake cable is wearing. out. as a result, a squeaking noise is produced.*ak | |||
| 06/30/2003 | 27800 | 1 | 01/13/2002 |
| The braking system on my 2002 chevrolet avalanche seemed inadequate. i have now found that only the rear brakes on the vehicle were working. in addition, the emergency brake has apparently never worked correctly. the vehicle is fairly new and only has about 28k miles on it.*ak | |||
| PARKING BRAKE - DRIVELINE | |||
| 11/01/2004 | 36500 | 1 | 09/01/2001 |
| Parking brake worn out and rotor rusted at 36ooo miles. i don't use the parking brake at all. why was it worn out? rear brake pads also wore out before front pads. design of parking brake makes adjustment almost impossible at the wheel. the cable cannot be adjusted enough to activate the parking brake. the parts man at the dealershipjust shrugged his shoulders and informed me that the only possible remedy is to replace both rotors, pads and parking brake shoes. this seems like a design flaw.*ak | |||