Brake Hoses, Lines/piping, And Fittings problems of the 2003 Chevrolet Astro

I was driving pulling a trailer on the freeway when suddenly the traffic stop. I applied the brakes at a safe distance when suddenly my brakes when all the way to the floor I applied the emergency brakes and stop. I had to go thru the emergency lane. I told my son to push the brake pedal while I was underneath and the brake lines broke. They where all rusted out. I had to get a wrecker to take it home. If you need to see my van call me so you can see the brake lines.

Vehicle: 2003 chevy Astro van defect summary: factory design directs leaked battery acid to drip down on a steel brake line. Details: the (+) battery terminal spontaneously broke off this vehicles oem delco battery. The breakage was due to either: 1) cable connector being over-torqued at the gm factory, or 2) an integral fault within the battery. The design of this year-model of Astro is such that the natural path for acid drip-page is on to a steel brake line located below, and in front, of the battery. I am going to have the brake line replaced by a local certified mechanic because the line is severely corroded due to the acid exposure. Because of the inaccessibility of the brake line and its connections, the repair cost will not be cheap. Please note that the battery and cable have not been exposed to any post-manufacture misuse or disturbance. The problem is solely due to poor placement of the hydraulic line, coupled with the factory induced battery breakage. I have digital photographs for your inspection of the broken battery terminal, the geometry of the battery compartment, the (brake) hydraulic line, and the resulting corrosion.

The brake line rubbed up against the power steering pump, eventually rubbing through. I lost braking power and nearly caused an accident. Within minutes, I went from having brakes to having to push the brake peddle to the floor to stop. I had a local mechanic fix the problem at a substantial cost.