Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES | |||
| 11/07/2012 | 126000 | 1 | |
| Complete brake failure, when brake line blew out while trying to stop. prior to hitting car in front, swerved into left turn lane and applied emergency brake. *tr | |||
| 11/07/2012 | 126000 | ||
| Complete brake failure, when brake line blew out while trying to stop. prior to hitting car in front, swerved into left turn lane and applied emergency brake. | |||
| 08/09/2012 | 140894 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2004 gmc sierra 2500 hd. the contact stated that while driving 40 mph the vehicle began to shake violently. the contact mentioned that the vehicle was merged to the side of the road and after a few minute restarted the vehicle but the front wheel was locked and smoke was emitting from the hubcaps. after a considerable amount of time the wheels unlocked and the vehicle was driven to a dealer for diagnosis. he was informed that the seal in the boost had leaked and contaminated brake fluid and locked up the system. the vehicle was repaired. the failure and current mileage was 140,894. | |||
| 08/09/2012 | 140894 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2004 gmc sierra 2500 hd. the contact stated that while driving 40 mph the vehicle began to shake violently. the contact mentioned that the vehicle was merged to the side of the road and after a few minute restarted the vehicle but the front wheel was locked and smoke was emitting from the hubcaps. after a considerable amount of time the wheels unlocked and the vehicle was driven to a dealer for diagnosis. he was informed that the seal in the boost had leaked and contaminated brake fluid and locked up the system. the vehicle was repaired. the failure and current mileage was 140,894. pmb | |||
| 08/09/2012 | 140894 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2004 gmc sierra 2500 hd. the contact stated while driving 40 mph the vehicle began to jerk. he pulled over and after a few minute restarted the vehicle but the front wheel were locked and smoke was emitting from the hubcaps. after a considerable amount of time the wheels unlocked and the vehicle was driven to a dealer for diagnosis. he was informed that the seal in the boost had leaked and contaminated brake fluid and locked up the system. the vehicle was repaired. the failure and current mileage was 140,894. dt | |||
| 09/17/2012 | 87000 | 1 | |
| Leaving work i pulled out from the parking lot and drove about 500 yards. went to apply brakes and pedal went to the floor. i was able to make it back to my work parking lot and stopped the truck. noticed that brake fluid was pouring from under the truck in two places. one leak was under the drivers area and the other was in front of the left rear wheel. the place i work has a car lift. put the truck on the lift and the brake lines were rusted through. the truck has enormous amounts of rust on the frame, suspension, and axles. this truck is not my daily driver. i do not live near the ocean nor do i push snow with it. i have never seen brake lines rust out like this. gm stated that i had to take it to a dealer for inspection. after reading up on the topic i know gm won't do anything about the lines. i already ordered stainless steel brake lines for the truck and will install them. hopefully gm will reimburse owner for this expense. *tr | |||
| 09/17/2012 | 87000 | ||
| Leaving work i pulled out from the parking lot and drove about 500 yards. went to apply brakes and pedal went to the floor. i was able to make it back to my work parking lot and stopped the truck. noticed that brake fluid was pouring from under the truck in two places. one leak was under the drivers area and the other was in front of the left rear wheel. the place i work has a car lift. put the truck on the lift and the brake lines were rusted through. the truck has enourmous amounts of rust on the frame, suspension, and axles. this truck is not my daily driver. i do not live near the ocean nor do i push snow with it. i have never seen brake lines rust out like this. gm stated that i had to take it to a dealer for inspection. after reading up on the topic i know gm won't do anything about the lines. i already ordered stainless steel brake lines for the truck and will install them. hopefully gm will reimburse owner for this expense. | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | |||
| 03/01/2011 | 70000 | ||
| My truck is a work truck diven by an employee, i have just recently become aware of a condition regarding the instrument cluster, wherein the whole panel does not work, i was advised by the employee that this happened quite some time ago, but was never made aware. i contacted gmc but apparently, because this is considered a special policy recall (only if someone complains - and within a specified time period 7 yrs or 80,000 miles) they will not repair this defect. i never received a notice, nor was i aware of the problem within that time period. i was further informed by my worker that at the time the panel went out, the fan for the heater/air condition unit appeared to smoke and now it does not work. here again, i have not received any recall notices for this defect either. finally, in my attempts to get the cluster repaired, i have been informed that there is a recall on the hydro boost accumulator... i have not once received a recall notice on this vehicle and i purchased this vehicle new. my vehicle has 101,000 miles on it. you would think that a vehicle of this nature would last longer than 100,000. but apparently not... also, when these is such a major recall out on a vehicle you would think that gmc would contact you and advise you of this problem.. | |||
| 11/16/2011 | 38400 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2004 gmc sierra 2500 hd. the contact stated that while driving approximately 50 mph and attempting to decelerate, the brake pedal went straight to the floorboard abnormally. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where they advised him that the driver side rear steel brake line had failed. they advised him that all brake lines needed to be replaced due to the severity of the corrosion. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. the failure and the current mileages were approximately 38,400. | |||
| 11/16/2011 | 38400 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 gmc sierra 2500hd. the contact stated that while driving approximately 50 mph and trying to decelerate the brake pedal went straight to the floor board. the vehicle was taken to a dealer and they advised him that the drivers side rear steel brake line had blew out. they advised him that all brake lines needed to be replaced due to the severity of the corrosion. the vehicle has not been repaired. the manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. the failure and current mileages were approxmately 38,400. tb | |||
| 10/16/2011 | |||
| Brake lines are rotted out. i pushed on my brake pedal while comming to a red light and it went to the floor, the rusted lines had broken and my brakes did not work. luckely i was not going to fast or to close to the car in front of me so i was able to slow enough to turn off the road by pushing in my parking brake. | |||
| 07/22/2011 | 58213 | ||
| While towing 4000# boat, approached traffic signal and applied brakes while moving at approx 10 mph, the brakes applied and the pedal then bottomed out on the floor. the vehicle veered left and came to a stop after much continued braking effort. the vehicle was driven off the highway at the first safe intersection and examined. inspection under the drivers side of the frame revealed rusted through steel brake line from master cylinder and leaking brake fluid onto the street. vehicle and boat were towed, later inspection revealed four of five steel brake lines at the proportioning valve were rusted to point that replacement was necessary. | |||
| 08/22/2011 | 40750 | ||
| This complaint covers my 2004 gmc sierra 2500hd crew cab 4wd. almost one year ago i had a main brake line blow underneath the drivers side of the truck. the line was so corroded it was no wonder. this incident happened on 9-7-10. i was hooked to my fifth wheel camper and was preparing to pull out of driveway and when i placed foot on brake to shift into drive it blew. thankfully i was just beginning to move. i had the truck towed to my local mechanic and he replaced the line and flushed system. now again on 8-22-11 same situation occured. the line blew in exactly the same position as first time only a different line this time. not to mention the other corrosion on the brake calipers and hardware that rendered my rear brakes useless. had to replace rotors and pads due to sticking brake pad wearing to point of metal to metal contact. did i mention i purchased this truck new and it now has only 38,500 miles. rarely does it get driven in snow and salt. i have all receipts for parts that this problem has caused me. im just thankful that i wasnt towing as i usually do when im driving this truck. ive talked to my local dealership don hall in ashland, ky and they cite hundreds of trucks having this same problem. when are they going to do something about this. i am a loyal gm fan but i worked at a toyota dealership for two years selling used vehicles. i made it a habit of checking all of our gm truck trade-ins for this rust problem and they too had this. i saw even two to three year old vehicles rusted to the point of collapse. one of these being a $65000 cadillac escalade. appalling. | |||
| 08/20/2011 | 42000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 gmc sierra 2500 hd. the contact was driving 25 mph and applied the brakes for a traffic stop when there was a pulsation coming from the brakes. this caused the brakes to be depressed abnormally into the floorboard. the contact could not stop the vehicle until he engaged the emergency brakes. the vehicle was driven to the dealer and after inspection, the dealer informed him that the brake line was rusted and had ruptured. in addition, the dealer advised that there were no recalls for the failure. the manufacturer was contacted who advised that a representative would later return his call. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 42,000. kmj | |||
| 08/22/2011 | 40750 | ||
| This complaint covers my 2004 gmc sierra 2500hd crew cab 4wd. almost one year ago i had a main brake line blow underneath the drivers side of the truck. the line was so corroded it was no wonder. this incident happened on 9-7-10. i was hooked to my fifth wheel camper and was preparing to pull out of driveway and when i placed foot on brake to shift into drive it blew. thankfully i was just beginning to move. i had the truck towed to my local mechanic and he replaced the line and flushed system. now again on 8-22-11 same situation occured. the line blew in exactly the same position as first time only a different line this time. not to mention the other corrosion on the brake calipers and hardware that rendered my rear brakes useless. had to replace rotors and pads due to sticking brake pad wearing to point of metal to metal contact. did i mention i purchased this truck new and it now has only 38,500 miles. rarely does it get driven in snow and salt. i have all receipts for parts that this problem has caused me. im just thankful that i wasnt towing as i usually do when im driving this truck. ive talked to my local dealership don hall in ashland, ky and they cite hundreds of trucks having this same problem. when are they going to do something about this. i am a loyal gm fan but i worked at a toyota dealership for two years selling used vehicles. i made it a habit of checking all of our gm truck trade-ins for this rust problem and they too had this. i saw even two to three year old vehicles rusted to the point of collapse. one of these being a $65000 cadillac escalade. appalling. | |||
| 08/20/2011 | 42000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 gmc sierra 2500 hd. the contact was driving 25 mph and applied the brakes for a traffic stop when there was a pulsation coming from the brakes. this caused the brakes to be depressed abnormally into the floorboard. the contact could not stop the vehicle until he engaged the emergency brakes. the vehicle was driven to the dealer and after inspection, the dealer informed him that the brake line was rusted and had ruptured. in addition, the dealer advised that there were no recalls for the failure. the manufacturer was contacted who advised that a representative would later return his call. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 42,000. kmj | |||
| 08/22/2011 | 40750 | ||
| This complaint covers my 2004 gmc sierra 2500hd crew cab 4wd. almost one year ago i had a main brake line blow underneath the drivers side of the truck. the line was so corroded it was no wonder. this incident happened on 9-7-10. i was hooked to my fifth wheel camper and was preparing to pull out of driveway and when i placed foot on brake to shift into drive it blew. thankfully i was just beginning to move. i had the truck towed to my local mechanic and he replaced the line and flushed system. now again on 8-22-11 same situation occured. the line blew in exactly the same position as first time only a different line this time. not to mention the other corrosion on the brake calipers and hardware that rendered my rear brakes useless. had to replace rotors and pads due to sticking brake pad wearing to point of metal to metal contact. did i mention i purchased this truck new and it now has only 38,500 miles. rarely does it get driven in snow and salt. i have all receipts for parts that this problem has caused me. im just thankful that i wasnt towing as i usually do when im driving this truck. ive talked to my local dealership don hall in ashland, ky and they cite hundreds of trucks having this same problem. when are they going to do something about this. i am a loyal gm fan but i worked at a toyota dealership for two years selling used vehicles. i made it a habit of checking all of our gm truck trade-ins for this rust problem and they too had this. i saw even two to three year old vehicles rusted to the point of collapse. one of these being a $65000 cadillac escalade. appalling. | |||
| 08/20/2011 | 42000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 gmc sierra 2500 hd. the contact was driving 25 mph and applied the brakes for a traffic stop when there was a pulsation coming from the brakes. this caused the brakes to be depressed abnormally into the floorboard. the contact could not stop the vehicle until he engaged the emergency brakes. the vehicle was driven to the dealer and after inspection, the dealer informed him that the brake line was rusted and had ruptured. in addition, the dealer advised that there were no recalls for the failure. the manufacturer was contacted who advised that a representative would later return his call. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 42,000. kmj | |||
| 08/22/2011 | 40750 | ||
| This complaint covers my 2004 gmc sierra 2500hd crew cab 4wd. almost one year ago i had a main brake line blow underneath the drivers side of the truck. the line was so corroded it was no wonder. this incident happened on 9-7-10. i was hooked to my fifth wheel camper and was preparing to pull out of driveway and when i placed foot on brake to shift into drive it blew. thankfully i was just beginning to move. i had the truck towed to my local mechanic and he replaced the line and flushed system. now again on 8-22-11 same situation occured. the line blew in exactly the same position as first time only a different line this time. not to mention the other corrosion on the brake calipers and hardware that rendered my rear brakes useless. had to replace rotors and pads due to sticking brake pad wearing to point of metal to metal contact. did i mention i purchased this truck new and it now has only 38,500 miles. rarely does it get driven in snow and salt. i have all receipts for parts that this problem has caused me. im just thankful that i wasnt towing as i usually do when im driving this truck. ive talked to my local dealership don hall in ashland, ky and they cite hundreds of trucks having this same problem. when are they going to do something about this. i am a loyal gm fan but i worked at a toyota dealership for two years selling used vehicles. i made it a habit of checking all of our gm truck trade-ins for this rust problem and they too had this. i saw even two to three year old vehicles rusted to the point of collapse. one of these being a $65000 cadillac escalade. appalling. | |||
| 08/20/2011 | 42000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 gmc sierra 2500 hd. the contact was driving 25 mph and applied the brakes for a traffic stop when there was a pulsation coming from the brakes. this caused the brakes to be depressed abnormally into the floorboard. the contact could not stop the vehicle until he engaged the emergency brakes. the vehicle was driven to the dealer and after inspection, the dealer informed him that the brake line was rusted and had ruptured. in addition, the dealer advised that there were no recalls for the failure. the manufacturer was contacted who advised that a representative would later return his call. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 42,000. kmj | |||
| 08/10/2011 | 90500 | ||
| I own a 2004 gmc sierra 2500hd 4wd truck. it has 90,500 miles on it. multiple brake lines under the driver side door have rusted and are leaking brake fluid. the vehicle is unsafe to drive at this point unless repairs are made costing me over $1000. i cannot drive the truck until repairs are made. it appears after doing some online reseach that there is already a nhtsa investigation concerning premature brake line rusting/failure on gm trucks. i have driven cars that are over 30 years old and they do not have the kind of rust i have on my gmc sierra that is only 7 years old!!! please make gm do a recall on this design failure. they are endangering the lives of their customers! | |||
| 06/18/2011 | 189000 | ||
| Wife and child driving truck, brake pedal wnt to the floor and service brake indicator came on while on interstate. stopped at a gas station and filled master cylinder reservoir with fluid. drove vehicle 8 more miles and traded with me, when i got to the vehicle, i found brake fluid leaking onto ground, found lines corroded beyond belief on driver side frame around wheel well. drove truck home using emergency brake, low speed, and down shifting. no repairs have been performed due to strong belief this is a manufacturer defect. | |||
| 03/29/2011 | 94878 | ||
| Lost brakes while driving 35 mph was able to stop and noticed brake fluid dripping from above gas tank just forward of rear axle on drivers side. new brake line was installed at gmc dealer in july 2010 after it burst going 45 mph same problem as in july 2010 that caused an accident with property damage to my vehicle and others property after sudden complete brake failure. new line is severely corroded at each green plastic clip after only 7 months. | |||
| 03/01/2008 | 24000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2004 gmc sierra k2500 hd. the contact stated that the anti lock brake system failed similar to nhtsa campaign id number: 05v379000 (service brakes, hydraulic:antilock). the dealer replaced the brakes in 2008; however, the failure continues to occur. the manufacturer advised the contact that his vehicle was not included in the previous recall and offered no additional assistance. the current mileages were 29, 000 and the failure mileages were 24,000. bw | |||
| 08/30/2010 | 54000 | ||
| I was approaching an intersection in my 2004 gmc sierra 4x4 2500hd pickup truck with a 2800 pound trailer when i pressed the brakes to stop. the brake pedal went to the floor and i was unable to stop. the trailer brakes were not enough to stop the vehicle and i continued into the intersection and was almost struck by two other vehicles. they just missed hitting my vehicle and causing serious injuries to myself and my passenger, as well as themselves. when i opened the hood there was brake fluid all over the drivers side of the engine compartment. i had the vehicle towed to the nearest gmc dealer. the dealer told me that a brake line had burst and needed to be replaced. he also stated that all the brake lines were corroded and needed to be replaced at $750.00 per side. he told me that this was a common problem for these vehicles and that these lines only last 4-7 years on average. there is also significant corrosion on the frame. my vehicle is always garaged and regular maintenence is done. the dealer then told me that since we live in a snow belt state that i should expect this and that gmc will not help with the repair. i told him that i am very upset and that i have been a firefighter/paramedic for over 25 years, and if what he just said was true, then i would have had to rescue an awful lot of people from their crashed vehicles if on average brake lines only lasted 4-7 years. i feel that this needs to be reported and investigated because it is a very serious safety issue and people are going to get hurt if what the dealer told me is true. i would appreciate it if you would look into this matter. at this point my vehicle is sitting at the dealership in an unrepaired condition until further action by either gmc or nhtsa happens. | |||
| 06/18/2010 | 60000 | ||
| 1. applied brakes when leaving driveway. 2. brakes failed completely. 3. brake lines completely rusted out. right front failed allowing brake fluid and requisite pressure to escape. i replaced the failed section. | |||
| 03/14/2009 | 49000 | 1 | |
| At slow speed as i'm coming to a stop i'll feel the abs brakes kick in and the pedal will go down some more and steering wheel kick to the left and the truck will move a little farther instead of stopping. *tr | |||
| 10/03/2008 | 36000 | 1 | 04/01/2004 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2004 gmc sierra 2500 hd. the contact stated that both rear brake pads and rotors were worn, in addition to the front passenger side brake pad and rotor. the contact feels that the brake pads and rotors should not have failed at 36,000 miles. the manufacturer took a report and stated that the failure was not a defect, but rather a part of normal maintenance. they refused to assist with the repair. the vehicle has not been repaired. the current and failure mileages were 36,000. updated 11/14/08 *cn the consumer stated the brake pads would not move on slides. updated 11/19/08. *jb | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - ANTILOCK | |||
| 03/01/2008 | 24000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2004 gmc sierra k2500 hd. the contact stated that the anti lock brake system failure was similar to nhtsa campaign id number: 05v379000 (service brakes, hydraulic:antilock). the dealer replaced the brakes in 2008; however, the failure continued to occur. the manufacturer advised the contact that his vehicle was not included in the previous recall and offered no additional assistance. the current mileage was 29,000 and the failure mileage was 24,000. | |||
| 09/01/2006 | 40000 | 100 | 11/01/2004 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2004 gmc sierra 2500 hd. while driving 30 mph, the brake pedal extended to the floorboard when depressed. the dealer stated that there was rust on the bolt that attached the wheel sensor. as of september 12, 2007, the dealer had not repaired the vehicle. the failure mileage was 40,000 and current mileage was 58,800. | |||
| 07/27/2006 | 50000 | 1 | 02/24/2004 |
| Dt*: the contact stated that the vehicle experienced excessive stopping distance while depressing the brake pedal. the dealer could not duplicate the problem. | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - ANTILOCK - WHEEL SPEED SENSOR | |||
| 02/01/2007 | 20000 | 500 | 10/28/2003 |
| When slowing using the brake system, the vehicle actually loses braking effectiveness for a short time (less than 1 second) just before the vehicle actually stops- at about 3 to 5 mph. the is then a pulsing feel in the brake pedal and the vehicle then stops. the point is that there is actually a momentary loss of braking effectiveness in the last few moments of a normal stop. fortunately, them, only low speeds are involved; unfortunately, this is very unsettling when stopping at a busy intersection or in congested traffic. it leaves one wondering if/when the brake function will actually fail altogether. i had the problem investigated by my dealer and was told that it involved the anti lock sensors which may be fixed by cleaning. if that wouldn't fix the problem, the sensors would have to be replaced. costs: cleaning $160; replacement: $1250. cleaning did not correct the problem. *tr | |||