63 problems related to brake hoses, lines/piping, and fittings have been reported for the 2003 Chevrolet Avalanche. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
2003 Chevrolet Avalanche 1500. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle complete brake failure. The consumer stated while driving 70 mph, the brake light failure light illuminated. When the consumer applied the brake, there was no response. The consumer was able to pull over safely. The vehicle was towed to a certified Chevrolet dealer, where an inspection revealed, the brake failure was due to a break in one of the brake lines, and all of the brake lines were so deteriorated and rust encrusted, that all of the lines had to be replaced.
I was about to slow down to make a turn on to a side street and my brakes went to the floor. I had to take back roads and plan my stops while driving in low gear to safely make it to the shop. A brake line burst. I was told that the lines are rusted and rotted. All the lines had to be replaced. It cost me about $1800. 00.
I was applying brakes and a front brake line blew out. The truck had a tough time stopping almost hitting another vehicle, I had it towed to a repair facility and they replaced the line $300. The repair facility stated to me that it was very common for chevy vehicle to have bad brake lines. To replace the rest of the lines it would cost me $ 900 to $1200. Chevy should of recalled these vehicles for bad brake lines.
Brake lines are leaking so I took truck to the dealer and they advised me the lines were corroded and it would cost me $1200. To $1500. To fix and it was not safe to drive. Lucky I noticed the leaking before my brakes failed me. I don't know why this was not recalled and fixed at no cost by gm dealer. Please let me know gm's responsibility here.
Replaced rear brake line two weeks prior. Went to leave for work and front brake lines blew out.
A very good friend notified me yesterday that his same year Avalanche experienced a burst brake line and caused him to have to crash his vehicle to stop it. He told me where the line had burst and stated that Chevrolet uses steel brake line instead of stainless steel. I inspected my 2003 Avalanche and noticed that my brake lines are showing severe signs of corrosion. Lmc truck parts sells a replacement brake line kit for this vehicle for a reasonable price of 379. 00. It is that hard to force vehicle manufactures to use stainless steel instead of regular steel in their braking systems. You forced seat belts, anti-lock brakes, traction control, stability control, daytime driving lights, etc. . . Why not this!.
I was in ansonia CT on 6th October 2012 at approximately 09:47. Had pulled off the highway to refuel. No issues as I traveled in the morning. After leaving the service station to head back to the highway I went to place on the brakes while going downhill approaching an intersection at approximately 35mph. Brake pedal went straight to the floor. Within 2 seconds dash warning of " check brake system " flashed on information display. Had no brakes, non at all. Pulled into lowest gear and ran thru the red light at the intersection. I proceeded to pull a sharp right turn into a commuter lot using the curb to stop the vehicle. Emergency brake ineffective at reducing speed. Called aaa and discovered ruptured brake lines along the frame rail below drivers side footwell area.
I had just left a store and stopped at a signal light with no problems but when I processed to the next light I put my foot onto the brake pedal and my truck started to slow down and then all the sudden the brake piddle went to the floor and I went through a red light, luckily the other driver on the opposite side of the signal light did not leave to go through the light right away and that gave me time to go through without incident but nevertheless it was very scary and could of been real bad, and now it is costing me $1400. 00 to replace all of my brake lines due to this incident and cause gm does not make the pre-bent brake lines for my truck anymore (which is stupid). As much as these vehicles cost I would of thought that these brake lines would be made of stainless steel and not (probably) china metal.
While driving the vehicle there was complete loss of the braking system. There was no warning of this happening. When it happened the pedal went to the floor and there was no slowing of the vehicle. When it was towed to a repair shop I was told that a brake line rusted through and 8ft of brake line had to be replaced. Fortunately the car was going slow due to traffic. Had I been moving faster or on a highway this could have been very dangerous. Consider the number of complaints about this issue on gm trucks I firmly believe that the manufacturer is responsible for replacing all the brake lines before people start dieing. I am aware of the NHTSA investigating this problem with number ea11001. This is why I made it a point to write. I am hoping that this problem gets resolved quickly.
I was taking my 3 boys to school when the vehicle lost all pressure in the brakes. Once again one of the brake lines on the truck has rusted through and is now leaking. This is the second time I have had an issue with a rusty brake line in the past two years. There is no reason that these lines should be rusting out so prematurely. I have lived in the same area my entire life and have never had this problem with any of my other vehicles. I owned a 1988 Chevrolet s-10 blazer for nearly 20 years and happily put over 228,000 miles on it and never once had a brake line rust through. I am replacing the defective part with an improved teflon coated brake line. I do not want the same inferior original equipment put back in place of the current rusted line. The lines have rusted out because they were not manufactured to proper standards. The worst part is now wondering which brake line will be next. All gm vehicles affected by this issue should have been recalled. You can find thousands of stories just like mine all over the internet. Yesterday I spoke to a gm employee where I bought my truck and he had the same problem with his 2002 tahoe. Gm agreed to replace every brake line on his truck for a flat fee of $250 because they know that the brake lines are defective. This issue needs to be addressed now because four lives were at stake on 8/29/2012 when I lost all the brakes on my truck. I was lucky to be able to handle the situation but no one should die over an issue such as this which has been documented many times already.
Brake line blew when brake pedal was pushed do to rust.
Tl- the contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Avalanche 1500. The contact stated while driving 65 mph he applied the brakes and they failed. He maneuvered the vehicle onto the side of the highway. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic for diagnosis and the contact was informed that due to corrosion the brake line had failed. The vehicle was repaired. As precautionary measure the vehicle was then taken to a dealer and all the brake lines were replaced including the one that had just been replaced. The manufacturer was notified but they offered no assistance. The failure and current mileage was 62,392. Dt.
Rear passenger-side brake line failed, above the rear axle on exit ramp of major highway. Completely corroded line requiring replacement. Electronic rust prevention system (sacrificial zinc at all 4 corners) installed by dealership when truck was purchased, yet all brake lines need replacement. Dealership (heinrich Chevrolet of lockport, NY) quoted approximately $1000 just in labor to replace the brake lines. Needless to say, I'll replace them myself.
The brake lines on my 2003 chevy Avalanche have completely rusted out leading to a complete brake failure incident while on the road. Although it's a 2003 year model, I have less than 20,000 yes, less than 20,000 total miles on the vehicle. I will never ever by a chevy again. I also have a 1998 Acura which I have driven for the past 11 years and it has no such problems. Nope. I will never ever by a chevy again.
This is the second complaint that I will be giving in regards to the brake line on my chevy Avalanche as per complaint number: 10430307. I took my truck to a GMC/chevy dealership to have the brake line replace which costed 600. 00. Not even a week after bringing the truck home, I start up the truck, put it into reverse and as I start moving backwards and apply the brakes, the brake pedal goes to the floor and a loud pop is hurd. Upon inspection, brake fluid was pooring out from under the driver side again and now I will have to return in the truck to the dearership. GMC did not offer any help to repair/replace the brake lines the last time and it is unknown as of now if they will this time. It was not even one week and the brake lines gave out yet again even after just being fixed. Someone must hold gm accountable for this before more people get hurt or worse due to faulty materials used on these vehicles.
October 14, 2011: my family and I were backing out from our home when we lost pressure in the brake pedal. Upon visual inspection under the driverside door, brake fluid was flowing freely onto the road. A closer look revieled that the brake lines were severly corroded and that they had ruptured when pressure was appied to the brakes. As I pulled my truck back into the driveway, it took 10-15 ft just to bring the truck to a complete stop using the emergency brake and I did not even get up to 3 mph. I am very concerned as to what could of happened to my family and I were traveling down the road at 45 mph or faster and went to brake and the line ruptured not to mention anyone else I would of crashed into. I did some research online and have discovered that there is a current investigation (NHTSA action number :ea11001) that is pending final results. Please add my own experience to your growing list of issues with gm's manufacturing/instalation of brake line. It is apparent that this issue is not one that has affected a small percentage of buyers. I stongly ask that someone please figure out the corrective action for gm to take that does not negatively affect the customers both ethically and financially.
08/31/2011 brake line failure. Second brake lie failure occured 04/15/2012. Third brake line failure occured 7/28/2012. Fourth brake line failure occured 1/27/2013. At that time it was highly recommended to replace all remaning brake line segments wich were showing signs of corrosion. The total for the incidences mentioned was $1586. 15.
The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Avalanche. The contact stated that while performing routine maintenance on the brakes, he noticed that the brake lines were rusted and corroded. An authorized dealer was made aware of the failure and stated that there were no recalls addressing the failure. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 61,000.
The metal brake lines on my 03 chevy Avalanche 1500 z1 truck are catastrophically failing. There is no warning prior as there would be with other brake related problems. This failure leads to an inability to stop the vehicle, the result of which could be deadly. The degridation of the steel lines is so bad that replacement of all line are required.
I changed the front brakes and was adjusting them when the rear brake line started gushing out brake fluid. Ihad it towed to a mechanic and explained what had happened and before I finished he said let me guess "you bled the front brakes and blew out the back line next to the gas tank be hind the rear driver side wheel. " this exactly what happened he said alot of chevy trucks have the same problem. He is going tto change the rear line. He said where the line is mounted allows grit salt and things build up in this spotcausing the brake line to rust into. This could have gotten us killed had I needed to hit my brakes hard.
I have a 2003 chevy Avalanche that I bought new. In October 2007 my mechanic replaced all 4 rotors and pads on the brakes. He said the brakes had rusted out from the backside. At that time I paid $390, and the rest was covered by warranty. On October 16, 2010, I was driving from the philadelphia airport to my home in west chester, PA. Shortly after leaving the airport, I suddenly lost all braking power. The brakes were completely gone. When I pressed the brake pedal, nothing happened. I drove for more than 20 miles this way, to my mechanic in west chester, on several roads with heavy traffic and many stop lights. I did this by shifting gears and by turning the engine off and on. My mechanic had to fabricate some parts to replace the brake lines, since these parts are no longer made by gm. He completely replaced both brakes. I paid $394. I have learned online that some 110 owners of certain gm trucks and suvs, including the model I own, have reported their vehicles to the NHTSA for brake defects, and that there is an ongoing investigation that began in spring 2010. I want to add my complaint to those others. I think gm did a shoddy job manufacturing the brakes for my 2003 Avalanche. If there is any way to get compensation for this, I am interested. But at the very least, I want the NHTSA to know that my brakes completely failed on a major urban highway, and that I believe poor manufacturing materials were the cause. Hopefully the repairs done by my mechanic will prevent a recurrence. But for what I paid for my Avalanche (about $35k), I didn't expect rotten brakes.
Rusted brake line to rear brakes failed. Reduced braking ability prevented vehicle from stopping allowing vehicle to pass into an intersection. All rusted brake lines rear and front had to be replaced. Old parts may still be available.
Rusted out 2003 chevy Avalanche brake line leading to brake failure.
2003 chevy Avalanche had catastrophic brake failure while being driven. Upon inspection found severely corroded brake lines driver side above chassis rail.
The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Avalanche. The contact stated that while driving approximately 15 mph and attempting to /make a right turn, the brakes would not engage. The brake service light then illuminated. The vehicle was towed //where an independent mechanic replaced both brake lines. The failure and current mileages were approximately 32,000. Updated the consumer stated both brake lines were replaced. However, he has since traded the vehicle for another Avalanche. Updated 10/26/jb.
Complete loss of brakes due to corrosion and rupture of brake lines.
Driving went to stop didnt have any brakes I replace all the brake lines and replace bumper lightscost about 4, 000. 00 the ab went out which is not fix.
Severe brake line rust that started when vehicle was less than 3 years old. 2 separate dealers saw the rust but said they could not act on the problem unless there was a failure or they were leaking. I brought this to the service departments attention while the vehicle was under warranty. ( original & oem extended).