Brake Fluid Leak Problems of Chevrolet 1500 - part 1

"takata recall" as I was leaving a local store in my neigbor-hood,I pushed the brake pedal and it went almost to the floor. I then tried to pump it up but that did work. So I drove it slowly home,down shifting while coming to stops. I have a 5 speed manual transmission. When I got home I noticed my brake fluid was low so I added fluid. Got into my truck and pumped the brake pedal a few times,nothing happened. Got out and seen brake fluid dripping on my driveway. I noticed it was coming from my rusty brake lines but couldn't pinpoint it. Two years ago I was working in w. Virginia and through the winter months and yes the salt did a number all under my truck,everywhere. I have an old flip phone therefor no fancy data from this phone.

See all problems of the 2000 Chevrolet 1500 🔎.

Slowing down for a yellow light turning red soon, my brake pedal went to the floor and I had no braking at all. I pulled back the e-brake lever and pushed the e brake. Able to pull into an empty parking lot of a bank (8:15am) and get it stopped. Fluid leaking fr l/rr pipe at l/rr tire area and from l/f tire area. Half hour later I could of hurt a lot of people. Feathered it home and fluid leaking from hole in l/rr pipe and l/f from somewhere I can't tell yet. Never heard of this brake problem happening before then had 3 people tell me at work that it happened to them in chevy trucks. C'mon man, is there a recall? someone gonna get into something real serious here.

See all problems of the 2003 Chevrolet 1500 🔎.

Driving aprox. 45 mph ,came to a red light and brake pedal went to floor. Did have enough brakes to drive to a safe spot ,on a side road. Looked under truck and brake fluid was dripping on the ground . Crawled under the truck to find brake line had rusted thru. Took vehicle to my mechanic for repairs. This is a very dangerous situation .

I was driving on highway and was getting off at a exit ramp and I pressed on the brake pad the pedal went to the floor and I did not have brakes at that point and almost hit the vehicle in front of me I finaly came to a stop and checked to see what the problem was and seen brake fluid everywhere under the wheel well I carefully drove it home taking back roads and going very slow got home after a long scary drive and jacked the truck up replaced the wheel cylinder and was going to bleed the brakes but there was no fluid coming from the brake line noticed the brake fluid dripping off of the frame I looked at the brake line and it was rusted and pitted and seen the brake fluid coming from little holes in the rusted brake line. Looked on the internet for ways to replace the brake line and there were so many people with the same problem so I called gm and they told me they could not help me so I went to the auto parts store and I got some steel tubing and started to repair the brake line my self so far I have bent and cut and double flared the new brake line but it started to rain and I have to work so I will finish it this coming weekend hopefully this will work. Could not afford the dealership charges it would cost to tow it to dealership they would charge me to tell me what is the problem witch is very plain to see then add a percentage to parts and then the labor and who knows how long it would take and they charge by the hour so they would not be in any hurry to fix it. I bought this truck brand new and take very good care of it washing and waxing and maintenance there is no rust on the body of the truck and the exhaust is not rusted but the brake line is.

See all problems of the 1996 Chevrolet 1500 🔎.

Complete loss of braking ability without warning and fluid leakage due to corroded brake lines. Fortunately the incident occurred while parked at home, but necessitated towing the vehicle to the dealership and a costly repair.

See all problems of the 2004 Chevrolet 1500 🔎.

Brakes became very spongy while driving. When I stopped in my driveway I noticed brake fluid leaking under the truck. When I checked where the leak was I discovered my brake lines are completely rusted from front to back! they have leaked through under the cab. This looks like an expensive repair and is completely unnecessary had the company not used such cheap material to save themselves some money. The brake lines should not be in the rusty condition that exist on this truck.

As luck would have it, I had just left a very busy highway and pulled into a parking lot when my brakes failed completely. The brake petal went down to the floor and rather than risking a collision with any cars or people, I drove into a snow bank. When I got out of the truck to look for the problem, the metal brake line had split and was leaking fluid. When the brakes fail on your car, it always happens when you need them leaving you to make split second decisions, and in my case that consisted entirely of navigation as there was no time to think about using the emergency brake. I can only imagine the possible outcomes if this had happened an hour before or after while driving on the highway or freeway. My truck is well maintained, and is frequently serviced by a Chevrolet dealer where I always have anything repaired that they suggest fixing. As this truck carries both family and employees, safety is of the utmost importance and this is a frightening problem that should result in a recall. I am having all of the brake lines replaced today. . . It is going to cost me almost $2000 and that is because my Chevrolet dealer is not charging me for the tow, or labor.

As I was leaving a supermarket parking lot with my family in vehicle, I applied brakes and without warning brake pedal went to floor and I had a difficult time stopping vehicle. Once I was able to stop vehicle using emergency brake, got out of vehicle to try to determine why brakes failed and saw brake fluid leaking from underneath truck just under the cab. After further inspection, I found that all the brake lines (as well as the transmission fluid lines) were rusted very badly and one of them had ruptured. I purchased this vehicle new and it has been maintained very well and has only been driven an average of 4000 miles yearly with very limited exposure to the elements. It is my opinion that these brake lines should not have had this failure. It is also my opinion that the type of materials used for these brake lines are not adequate for this application and are a safety concern. I have owned other vehicles which were much older and have never had this problem before now. After further research, I have found that this is a common problem with other gm trucks of this year and feel general motors should be required to replace these brake lines at no cost to the consumer. Thank you for investigating this matter.

Catastrophic brake loss. While driving down the road, tried to put on brakes and the pedal went completely to the floor. Luckily managed to avoid collision. Limp truck off to the side of the road and called tow truck. While waiting for tow truck notice brake fluid dripping under the truck in the area of the firewall. Looks as if break line rusted causing loss of break fluid. Very lucky no to have caused a major accident. Truck is 10 years old and has excellent condition.

I was driving my 2003 silverado 1500 down a 3 lane wide road in congested traffic up to a stoplight at speeds ranging from 15-45 mph. I noticed that my breaks felt different than they normally did, requiring me to depress the brake pedal all the way to the floor to get "modest" breaking, not nearly the normal emergency/quick breaking action I'm used to. After slowly coming to a stop, I noticed that if I held the brake pedal at the same place/same pressure, the truck started rolling again! I eventually had to put the truck in neutral to avoid a collision with the vehicle in front of me. After 2 stoplights with these similar slow braking conditions, the red "brake" light on the dash light lit up and a message of "service brake system" popped up on the dash panel. With several close calls of nearing running into the vehicle in front of me, I pulled off the main highway to a local midas location, and their technicians examined the truck in the parking lot. The hood started smoking from underneath and my front drivers side wheel. My frame near the front drivers side was completely soaked in break fluid, and when we pressed down on the breaks, we could visually see the leak coming from the rusted through break lines. The smoke was from the leaking brake fluid, and could have started a fire. I have never seen rust do so much damage and create such a safety habit in my 13 years of driving and maintaining my vehicles. The steel brake lines were completely caked in rust, and had clearly burst while driving the vehicle. The manager told he would not recommend me to continue to drive the vehicle, with fear to my safety. If I was traveling at a higher speed, towing a greater weight, or had to make a quicker stop. . . I have no doubt in my mind I would have caused an accident, injury or death due to this serious safety defect. I have never felt this afraid to drive a motor vehicle.

While driving through subdivision approx. 20 mph I applied brakes. Pedal dropped to floor, sudden loss of brakes with no warning. Brake fluid is leaking from driver side lines rear of module. This is a known problem due to galvanic corrosion. Why has there not been a recall ??.

Approaching a traffic light when it turned yellow, pressed on the brakes and the pedal went to the floor. Truck slowed a little, and I ended up coasting through the red light. Luckily the cross traffic had not moved yet when I went through. Got the truck stopped on the side of the road and walked around to inspect, found brake fluid on left rear tire and inside wheel well. Fluid was dripping from frame and I could feel the hole in brake line. Made it home by using the emergency brake to slow and stop.

While driving into work this morning the vehicle in front of me hit there brakes suddenly and I hit my brakes and the truck brakes acted like there was an abs event and then the brake pedal went to the floor. Luckily I had enough space between us and swerved to the right to avoid hitting the vehicle in front of me and barely got stopped. Tried the brakes again and pedal went to the floor and brake warning light came on then a pop-up in the instrument cluster read "service brake system". Completely pulled off the road and began looking under the truck and you can see brake fluid is dripping under the drivers floor panel.

Travelling north on hwy 41 approaching construction zone north of new high school, semi truck decided to change lanes to avoid congestion ahead and did not check for traffic in the lane he moved to. I was approximately 4 car lengths behind him and required to jam on brakes. Pedal went nearly to the floor and virtually no braking power was felt. I pumped breaks but the pedal consistently pushed to about 1/2" from the floor. Fortunately I was able to avert collision by switching lanes (shoulder) and turned on flashers. I slowed to about 25 mph on the highway and pulled over to the nearest safe spot. First I checked the brake fluid - which was down from the weekend significantly. Then I looked at the wheels and they looked ok. Crawling under the vehicle, there was fluid dripping from the gas tank area, from the cables for the emergency break, spray over the spare tire and spray on the inside of the passenger rear tire. All liquid (which appeared to be brake fluid) was on the left hand side of the vehicle. When I arrived home, I crawled under the truck & inspected more closely. There were apparently 2 spots where the brake lines had corroded (one was not visible - above the gas tank - but obviously the major leak was there). The second leak was from the steel line that joined near the rubber brake line on the left rear wheel. Truck is not drivable at 41000 miles.

On 09/21/2014 at approximately 1100 hours I had just come off interstate 66 west. I was entering a gated community in gainesville, va. I stopped at the guard booth to show I. D. I noticed some smoke at the guard booth and thought it was the car behind me. I slowly accelerated to the next cross street. I attempted to brake to make a left turn and the brake pedal went to the floor. I attempted to pump the brakes and I still had no braking. I had to utilize my emergency brake to stop. The smoke was from my vehicle. It was from the brake fluid pouring out the rusted brake lines onto the exhaust. The reason I had complete brake failure was due to both lines from the master cylinder failing at the same time. The location of the line failure was on the frame rail closer to the master cylinder (not further down by the driver's door). I am thankful that the brake failure did not occur at high speed and or in heavy traffic. I am thankful that there were no pedestrians present that I had to brake for and no property damage. I personally inspected the brake lines after the incident and have found the corrosion excessive. I have ordered a kit to replace all the brake lines because this is a serious safety issue. This is the first time I have ever reported any defect on any vehicle. I am reporting this because I believe it is that serious of a safety concern. This is not normal wear and the brake line material and design are at fault.

On 09/18/2014 while driving in my driveway I applied the brakes and the peddle went nearly to the floor. I was only going 5-10 mph and was able to stop without hitting anything. I looked under the vehicle and observed a trail of fluid and a puddle of fluid under the vehicle at the leading edge of the drives door. Inspection revealed the brake lines were rusted through.

The abs breaks on my 4wd 1500 failed, without any warning, the break pedal went to the floor. Fortunately, I was on a 4 lane undivided road with light traffic and was able to get to the shoulder, play contortionist and apply the emergency break to stop. Upon inspection I found brake fluid leaking below the driver door. The recovery vehicle operator told me I was his 3rd truck towed this year for the same problem. I wonder how many brakes lines have failed and have not been reported. With all the news about gm recalls this year, I wounder if this an item I I should bring to media attention? having no brakes is definitely not safe.

Brake pedal went to floor in parking lot and "check brake system " warning light came on. Was able to stop using parking brake. Found all brake lines severely rusted and brake fluid leak under drivers side door.

I was traveling east on a roadway in the township where I live, at approximately 45 mph. When I went to apply my brakes on my 2003 Chevrolet silverado 1500 pick-up truck and the brake pedal went all the way to the floor and " I had no brakes!" I nearly crashed into another vehicle that was traveling thru the intersection. I was near my home and was able to travel slowly home and discovered that the driver's side brake line, near the rear (bed area) of the truck had exploded due to a high volume of rust in which I discovered that entire brake line was completely rusted. Brake fluid had spewed everywhere. I feel that this definitely is a major safety issue and that people could be injured or killed due to the issue. I have been doing some research and have learned that this is becoming a huge issue with gm trucks and light duty trucks. This should not be a "normal wear issue" for a 2003 model.

While driving home from local grocery store, I noticed my brakes getting spongey. I made it trough 5 green lights and 4 miles to my driveway when all of a sudden the bells and whistles sounded. I parked my truck , crawed underneath and discovered the rear brake line rusted and leaking fluid. Now it sits waiting until I can get it towed, further inspected, and repaired.

Traveling at about 20 mph into a congested intersection applied the brakes and the pedal gave normal resistance, the about a second later went right to the floor. I was able to use the emergency brake to stop the vehicle. Thinking my brake fluid was low, I added 12 oz of dot 3 fluid, pumped the brakes several times and discovered that all the fluid was pouring out of the rear brake lines. Had to have the vehicle towed to get it home. Upon daylight inspection found that all of the rear lines on the truck were in a rusted condition.

I was taking off from a red light and another car crossed in front of me causing me to apply my brakes upon realizing that the pedal had went to the floor I pumped the brakes and the truck came to a slow stop and I missed the other vehicle by mere inches I limped the vehicle to work avoiding getting too close to other vehicles and downshifting to help slow down when I got back to work I pressed the pedal and heard a hissing sound I looked under my truck and found a puddle of brake fluid by the rear axle upon closer inspection I had a friend slowly depress the pedal and found that the main line running to the rear had a hole and noticed the entire line had rusted so I started looking at the rest of the lines a noticed all the brake lines and fuel lines are completely rusted and are ready to burst just like my brake line did I'm just glad I wasnt going faster or had my family in the truck when this happened.

Another vehicle traveling in the opposite direction came completely into my lane. To avoid a head-on collision, I slammed on my brakes, laid on the horn and moved as far to the right as I possibly could. Fortunately, the car coming toward me swerved back into the proper lane at the very last instance. Crisis averted? no . . . As I approached the next turn in the road (a sharp 20 mph turn) on a 45 mph road, I applied the brakes and the brake pedal went to the floor. The truck barely slowed enough to make it though the turn. I then limped the next quarter mile using the parking (emergency) brake to slow the vehicle until I got to a safe place to get off the road. At that point, I realized that brake fluid was leaking from at least one of the steel hydraulic lines inside the wheel well above the driver's side front wheel. Some of the fluid was hitting the catalytic converter and creating smoke. I am now having all the rusted steel brake lines and fuel line replaced with stainless steel.

I own a 2002 Chevrolet silverado 1500. The brakes failed while attempting to stop the vehicle in a 35mph zone. The brakes initially worked and then the pedal went to the floor. I could feel the abs engage but not stop hitting a vehicle in front of me. When I exited the vehicle I could smell the brake fluid and oberserved fluid leaking from multiple locations. The air bags did not deploy. The driver of the vehicle sustained injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle is currently being repaired by the manufactors dealer.

See all problems of the 2002 Chevrolet 1500 🔎.

While pulling boat out of water at marina,pulled truck up ramp to parking lot and when my buddy hit the brakes,the brake pedal went to the floorboard. When we looked under drivers side door, we could see break fluid leaking out of break line. Took to mechanic ,lines all rusted out. Checked my lines on my 2001 chevy silverado when I got home,same problem, all rusted. Truck is parked until recall.

See all problems of the 2001 Chevrolet 1500 🔎.

Traveling north on 95 just outside of wilmington delaware in middle travel lanes when stopping for traffic and brake pedal went completely to floor. Had to veer to the left and travel onto medium to avoid accident. I checked under truck and observed brake line leaking fluid under drivers side.

I experienced loss of braking and parked vehicle and noticed fluid under left rear axle area. Brake line was leaking. I do not think a ten year old truck should have this problem.

I started my truck and the pedal went to the floor. The breaklines were rusted and all the fluid leaked out. I paid $200. 00 to get the line repaired and the mechanic said it,s a matter of time before I would have to have the other line replaced. He also stated that the fuel lines would need to be replaced before long.

See all problems of the 1998 Chevrolet 1500 🔎.

Went to back up and brake pedal went to the floor. Brake was corroded through and all the fluid leaked out.

I was driving and when I went to stop the brake pedal went to the floor and the truck took a long time to stop. The brake failure was caused by rusted brake lines which allowed the brake fluid to leak out. One line was rusted all the way through and several other were badly rusted.

Was sitting at red light and brake pedal starting going to floor and started rolling, so I pushed harder and stopped pulled over in aparking lot . I got under truck and brake fluid was leaking under driver door, brake line was leaking , the lines were rusty. ,am going to replace all brake lines with stainless steel lines so they will not rust again. I checked internet and seen this was a common problem on chevy trucks.

See all problems of the 1999 Chevrolet 1500 🔎.

While parked, I put the vehicle into gear and pressed the brake. There was very little brake pressure and my service brake system message activated as well as the brake light. Brake fluid is squirting out of a metal brake line in the rear of the truck, just above the driver rear tire.

Brake fluid leak, loss of brakes / failure due to brake line corrosion.

The vehicle brake pedal went to the floor and it was discovered that the brake line from the master cylinder to the anti-lock brake module rusted through leaking all the fluid. One month later after replacement of the two master cylinder brake lines the rear brake lines blew causing loss of all brakes while trying to stop from an interstate speed of 70 mph. Examination of all the brake line system shows severe excessive rusting throughout the entire brake line system which will require a total brake line system replacement. I have never seen a vehicle with brake lines rusted like this for a vehicle with this mileage and age. There is an obvious manufacturers problem with this vehicles brake line components. Its a miracle someone wasn't killed due to the lack of component quality.

In August 2013 rear brake lines under rear differential leaking. Had repaired was informed they were rusted and corroded, 2 brake lines replaced by independent mechanic. I also noted the other brake lines throughout vehicle were also were rusted and corroded - suggested that all brake lines be replaced. Mechanic advised not necessary at that time. The brake pedal had gone to floor when driven, no brake fluid in reservoir, noted puddle of brake fluid under rear differential at that time. January 12, 2014 - brake light went on in vehicle, brake fluid reservoir half empty. I walked around and looked under vehicle - leaking from rear brake lines noted, also noted again the corrosion and rust of front brake lines. Brought to my independent mechanic again - stated it was different brake line then one repaired during August 2013. Stated after examining condition of all brake lines - rust/corrosion - he was going to now replace all brake lines from the master cylinder back. There was a recall many years ago for brake line defect - but did not address the entire system. Fortunately this repair was needed before I went on long trip to pennsylvania, with hilly terrain and slick roads - early detection may have avoided a severe accident.