66 problems related to brake hoses, lines/piping, and fittings have been reported for the 2003 Chevrolet 1500. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Brake lines rusted out. Had to drive 60 miles and chose early morning due to having almost braking power. We have a Ford truck of the same year and the brake lines are still very good. There is no excuse for this other than a good company going on the cheap. !!!!.
Was making a 3-point turn on a local residential street, and suddenly, my brake pedal went to the floor. Slowed the truck down enough to avoid hitting anything. Vehicle was towed to repair shop, and needed a rusted-out brake line replaced. I was also advised that all the brake lines were extremely rusty, and needed to be replaced ASAP.
This is the second brake line that has failed on my 2003 silverado 1500. This time my 8month pregnant wife was driving. She nearly drove right through a red light at a busy intersection. There is no warning when these lines blow brake pedal goes to floor and doesn't even slow you down! luckily she thought fast and kicked down the emergency brake. When is something going to get done about this problem. How many close calls and or deaths need to happen before something gets done ?.
Got in truck to return home, pressed brake pedal,pedal went to floor. Absolutely no brakes at all. Luckily wasn't going but 5 mph. Had truck towed to dealer next day. Was informed by dealer that brake lines were completely rusted out, cost of replacement to be 900. 00. Truck has only 53000 miles. Have had 15 to 20 cars in my life and never had this problem with brake lines on any other cars or trucks. Gm should be ashamed to put out this kind of product. Very, very disappointed.
On 09/10/13, 1:45 pm, I was driving east on s. R. 73 near I-75 intersection. As I approached the intersection traveling approximately 35 mph, the light changed to yellow. I braked somewhat hard and the brake pedal went to the floor board. There was no braking control at all and I proceeded through the red signal. Approximately 500 feet after going through the intersection I managed to stop in the median. Fortunately, although traffic was heavy, no contact occurred. Immediate inspection revealed a brake line rusted through. I trailered the truck to a Chevrolet dealer who found not only "all" the brake lines were dangerously rusted, but the gas lines also were dangerously rusted. The dealer stated this was a common occurrence with Chevrolet silverado. Replacement of these items required removing the truck bed which revealed the brake rotor backing plates rusted "away. " severe frame and component rust was also found. Only repaired brake and gas lines. Cost, $1,765. 11 OH, by the way, the "service brake system" warning light came on after brake failure.
When slowing down to make left turn, I had to stop to let traffic clear. Stepped on the brakes the peddle went to the floor. Drove in low gear with boat in tow to nearest parking lot. Checked tosee what was wrong. Found a hole brake line, line all rusted.
Backing out of my driveway, my brake pedal wheat to the floor and stopped slower than usual. I opened the hood and found the front left brake line had burst. All the other bake lines are in terrible rusty condition.
On August 7, 2013, I was heading into richmond, ky and was approaching a stop light. I began to lightly apply pressure on the brake and began to slow down. As I continued to apply more pressure, the brake pedal went to the floor and I had no brake pressure. I had no warning lights or messages on the dash board at this time. I continued to pump the brakes in an attempt to regain brake pressure but was not successful. While still pressing the brake pedal near the floor, I noticed the vehicle was beginning to slow down, but not enough to stop at the light. Fortunately no one was in front of me or at the intersection as I approached it. I used the upcoming hill to continue to slow down and eventually made it to a vacant parking lot. Once I came to a stop the vehicle dash board lights appeared about the brake system issues. After contacting the local gm service station, I was able to put the vehicle in 1st gear and slowly make my way to the service location on side access roads. The dealership determined that all the brake lines were rusted and several had failed. This caused the brake failure and they all needed replaced. The repair cost was over $2300. My truck had 185,591 miles at the time of the incident. I had recently moved to ky but was living in ohio for most of the ownership of the truck.
To prepare for a routine oil change, I was looking over engine compartment when I notice severely rusted brake lines. At the repair facility we put car on rack and saw significant (90%) rusted brake lines. I am having all brake lines replaced to know I am operating a vehicle that I will stop when I need it to. I see no viable alternative action. I've been driving 20 years with suburbans and never have seen such poor quality material for an important system.
I was in the right lane on the highway going approximately 50 mph several car lengths behind 2 cars in front of me. Cars in front of me stopped suddenly. I applied the brakes but they immediately failed. Swerved hard into the left lane to avoid collision. Checked the brake lines and they are corroded and burst at the point of corrosion.
I was driving along almost home and when applying my brake pedal it went to the floor. I still had a little stopping power so I slowly drove it on home. I found that the brake line on the left front had ruptured. I have since replaced it but all of the other brake lines look severely corroded and look like they could rupture at anytime. I haven't ever had a brake line rust and rupture before. I got online and found that there are many cases of this happening to this particular vehicle and it's not an isolated incident. This could cause a severe accident and if the timing is bad it could cause a death. I'm sure that the number of cases reported are only a fraction of the incidents. I looked at the brake lines on my 2004 freestar and they're in great condition.
Total brake failure all brake lines rusted 2,000. 00 repair.
Backed into my driveway and pressed brake to stop and pedal was suddenly extremely soft and went very far down. I had no brakes at all at this point. I had to use my emergency brake to stop while only going a few miles an hour. I was running errands earlier and had absolutely no warning brakes were about to completely fail, no audible or visual warning from instrumentation at all, and no prior soft pedal or poor stopping capability. I want gm to pay for all new brake lines for this truck now! upon inspection, all the brake lines are in an advanced state of corrosion.
I was attempting to stop at a traffic light and ruptured a brake line,when I inspected the brake lines they were completely rusted. I've owned several Chevrolets and have had brake line problems with the last three I've owned ,all rusted prematurely in my opinion. I think with a safety issue such as this gm should recall and replace with stainless brake lines all vehicles of less than ten years old.
My son was driving my truck to college and pulled into the parking garage and when looking for a space to park the brake pedal went all the way to the floor. He was able to keep going long enough for the vehicle to coast into a parking spot but the brakes were completely out. G. M. States that the salt that they treat the roads with along with the weather caused the lines to rust out. If that was the case that would be happening to alot more vehicles. I think there is definitely a problem with the brake lines that were installed on these vehicles.
I was pulling out of a convenience store parking lot when my brake pedal depressed straight to the floor. The truck immediately started showing brake failure warnings. I coasted to a local mechanics and my brake lines had rusted out. I had to have the entire brake line system rewired with non-corrosive material. He told me this is a very common issue on these vehicles.
I was slowing in traffic to stop at a red traffic light. The brake pedal went to the floor when applied. I passed the red light and my truck came to a stop in the intersection when I through it into park and applied emergency brake. I narrowly missed a motorcyclist that was legally passing through the intersection. The brake lines are corroded. This requires a recall. This is the second time this has happened.
The brakes failed because the brake lines to the front wheels rotted and burst. All the brake lines are rotted.
Going down driveway and brakes felt weak. Pushed harder on brake pedal and it went to the floor with little residual braking capability left. Stopped vehicle with parking brake. Upon inspection, noted that the brake line had ruptured along the drivers front wheel well from excessive corrosion. Further inspection of the brake lines elsewhere on the vehicle showed corrosion on all brake lines that will necessitate replacement of all the hard formed brake lines for safety reasons. Also noted that the brake fluid sprayed directly onto the left catalytic converter. If the vehicle had been fully warmed up, there would probably have been a fire. If this had occurred in traffic, the vehicle could not have been stopped quickly enough to prevent an accident.
We where driving along a state route with our 21 foot boat in tow heading to the lke. We went to slow down to enter a gas station. Pedal went to mush, and I knew I had lost the rear brake line on my truck. Got it stopped with out incident, and got it towed back home. The stream of brake fluid would tell me I could only stopped it one or two more times. The corrison is right where the bed and the cab meet onto of the frame rail. You can ad mine to the ever growing list of people having this issue. Thank you.
I was driving back home from charleston SC on hwy 526 going to issle of palms SC when I put on brakes to slow down for another car in front of me,and the brakes didn't feel right by the pedal went to floor. I stopped and saw the brake reservoir was out of fluid. I refilled the tank and continued on my way. The brakes were still spongie, and when I got home by driving a lot slower. I made it home and found out,the brake line going to the passenger wheel was coroded and ruptured,making it to leak and affect the stopping ability of the vechile. It was good that I didn't have to stop suddenly or I would have been in an accident.
While driving at approximately 15 mph I applied the brakes to stop and the brake pedal went to the floor. I immediately used the emergency brake to stop. I was right around the corner from my residence so I drove the truck back home using the emergency brake to stop. When I got home I checked the brake master cylinder and the fluid was low. I refilled the master cylinder and had my son pump the brakes as I was under the truck looking for any visible fluid leaks. All of the brake lines were severely corroded and the drivers side rear brake line had ruptured near the frame rail. After repairing the brake line at the point of rupture we re-filled the master cylinder and began to bleed the brakes and the brake line ruptured again at a point under the drivers front seat.
As I approached a dangerous intersection between two heavily traveled roads, I applied my foot to the brake as usual. Suddenly the brakes failed completely, the pedal went all the way to the floor with no braking action. Fortunately the other car approaching the intersection was able to slow down in time to avoid a collision as I applied my emergency brake. But it was a very close call. I had the vehicle towed to the nearest gm dealer where the service department determined the brake linings were corroded and rusted through. When I searched the internet to see if similar incidents had occurred, I found many dozens of examples. (see link below) the use of an inferior alloy instead of stainless steel for the brake lines has resulted in corrosion and total brake failure with no warning signs, especially in states like NJ subject to winter conditions. This brake failure problem has been the subject of an investigation by the NHTSA. , but no recalls were issued. Owners of millions of gm vehicles are at serious risk of injury and death from this potentially fatal design flaw. Recall notices should be sent to owners and gm should pay for repairs in the interest of the safety of its customers. . Read more...
Coming to a red light at a major intersection and applying the brakes the pedal suddenly went to the floor. The truck went thru a red light. I was able to stop it w/ the emergency brake. I can't believe I didn't hit another vehicle. Inspection reveled the brake lines were completely rusted out.
Brakes failed wile driving, had to use mechanical emergency brake to stop. Completed stop across two traffic lanes, on coming traffic stopped in time to avoid accident. Brake lines "rusted" through and blow out letting all brake fluid sprayed out onto street.
When I got home today I noticed a clear puddle under the drivers side rear axle. Upon investigating the underside of the truck I spotted a hole in the brake line. I followed the line toward the front of the truck and found several places where the line was severally corroded. This is plainly the result of inferior materials used by gm in their vehicles.
Rusted brake line ruptured while braking and caused immediate loss of braking control. The ruptured brake line is grouped tightly with two other lines, thus it is capturing salt & water causing corrosion. Luckily, I was able to actuate parking brake to avoid crash and injuries to others.
Slowing for a red light in 2003 chevy silverado 1500, applied brakes and foot went down to the floor. No brakes! at a repair shop, truck was put on a lift and the mechanic showed me how all the brake lines were corroded and leaking. Truck is well taken care of and not used off-road or in any way that would cause this condition. Apparently it is a defect and come to find out after researching the problem online, that there are many complaints concerning this brake corrosian on chevy trucks and drivers have had numerous accidents because of it. No recalls on it yet. How many people have to be killed before chevy fesses up and there is a recall on these trucks?.
Just taking the truck out of my garage and my front brake line broke. Checked to see what happened and saw that the lines were all rusted.
Applied the brakes to stop at signal light. Brake line to right front brake broke with partial loss of braking ability.
I have a 2003 chevy silverado 1500 pickup with 37,000 miles and I believe chevy is using inferior components in the braking system . I had to replace the rotors at 35,000 miles because they started to rust and crumble. Once the rotors started to rust large portions would "flake" off. Recently one of my brake lines failed and I rolled thru a stop sign, luckily no one was coming the other way and it was close to my house so I "limped" it home. Upon further inspection I discovered all of the brakes lines were rusted and ready to fail. The entire brake plumbing system on the truck had to be replaced. In addition while replacing the brake lines I also noticed the fuel lines appear to be in pretty bad shape and will probably need to be replaced in the near future. I have the rusted brake lines, I do not have the rotors.