Brake Light On problems of the 1999 Chevrolet Suburban

Moved vehicle from one parking space to another at home. While stopping brake pedal became soft so I pushed on it harder to stop and the brake pedal went completely to the floor. There was no brake warning light prior to this. Even afterwards there was still no brake warning light. I crawled under the vehicle and found wet brake fluid on the engine crossover frame and on one of the outside rear wheels. I went back in the vehicle and still no brake warning light. Several days later I started the vehicle again and pumped the brakes a few times and the pedal continued going to the floor and the brake light finally came on. I opened the brake fluid reservoir and it was empty. I later began probing around the brake lines and they were very corroded and when I pulled on one, it split in half. The brake lines had corroded to nothing.

The first issue I had was while on vacation in 2012 - I was driving approx. 25 mph and stepped on the brake to stop at a traffic signal. The pedal went to the floor and the brake light came on, and the vehicle lost what I estimate to be 80% of stopping power. This issue occurred intermittently for the next few months, always at low speeds, with a repair shop being unable to locate the problem. After several close calls, it was eventually traced to a corroded brake line in the front driver area of the vehicle only after the line ruptured completely and I missed going through the fence separating my yard from the neighbors by just inches. That line was replaced, but with a used part because the local dealer refused to sell an exact fit brake line and the mechanic was unable to duplicate the original part by hand. The brake fluid was always within the acceptable range, and the brake warning light came on only while the brakes were actively failing. It would turn off as soon as I took my foot off of the brake. Fast forward to August 2015 - I'm coming to a stop in a driveway, and the pedal suddenly sinks completely to the floor, the brake light comes on, and the vehicle does not stop. The vehicle stopped after stepping on the emergency brake, and I checked the brake fluid. It was full. The problem this time was traced to a metal brake line in the drivers side rear section of the vehicle. This line is also heavily corroded and will need to be replaced. It was noted that the frame of the vehicle has very little to no rust and there is no rust to be found on the body or the rest of the vehicle. However, there are multiple places where all of the metal brake lines running through certain areas are heavily corroded. It has been determined that all of the brake lines in this vehicle will have to be replaced in the future to make it safe to drive again.

I was driving my Suburban and the pedal went to the floor. The brake warning light came on. I took it into an independent mechanic and he said all of the brake lines were corroded and that one of them had burst.