66 problems related to brake hoses, lines/piping, and fittings have been reported for the 2003 Chevrolet Suburban. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
I purchased this vehicle used in October 2019. It has 180,000 miles but is in good overall condition. The problem is not exclusive to this vehicle or even this type of vehicle. The issue is rusty hydraulic brake lines. This problem has plagued older vehicle owners, especially in the rust belt midwest, since hydraulic brakes were invented. Some conscientious manufacturers such as Volvo, have switched to a brake line material called cunifer or nicopp, a copper nickel alloy c70600. This material performs like conventional steel lines but without the corrosion problem. I am a ase certified technician,and have been repairing vehicles as well as restoring cars as a hobby for well over 50 years. Over this time period I have blown many brake lines. I have been lucky in that it never happened to me in an emergency stop where damage and or serious injury could have occurred. This latest incident occurred early in the morning at a stop sign in my residential area. There were no other cars or people around. I applied the brakes the vehicle continued moving as the brake pedal went to the floor. Luckily I was able to slow down turn around and slowly move back into my driveway. Since modern vehicles are lasting longer and do to new vehicle costs motorists are keeping their cars longer. The basic american vehicles brake lines have not changed much in the last 50 years,other than some cheap attempts at external coatings. Why not mandate all manufacturers use the vastly better copper nickel lines. It would definitely save lives and injuries not to mention costly vehicle damage.
"g. M. Resists recalling trucks over brake lines", NY times, July 7, 2014 in spite of my 2003 chevy Suburban passing new hampshire's mandatory safety inspection in may of 2018, in August of 2018 a brake line burst, resulting in loss of brake function. The line burst at a point below the driver's door and just forward of the abs modulator, where the lines cross over the top of the frame and are exposed to wheel spray. At the point of failure, the lines are overlaid and obscured by a large bundle of electric wires. The attached photo shows the failure point, with the sheathed wire bundle moved up out of the way. The mileage at the time was approximately 167500. With regard to the NHTSA determination not to recall "almost 1. 8 million full-size pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles from the 1999 to 2003 model years for corrosion-related brake failures", as summarized in the 7/7/14 NY times article, does NHTSA's decision to absolve gm of responsibility on this issue also absolve NHTSA and/or gm of responsibility to notify owners that they are in grave danger if they are still operating their vehicles with the original brake lines? NHTSA should know from their own records that a large number of these vehicles are still on the road. I know because I see them every day. As for gm's excuses: �"g. M. Has resisted recalling the pickups and sport utility vehicles, telling regulators that rusted brake lines are a routine maintenance issue. " obrake lines are not a moving part. How are they "maintained"? I have more to say, but you are limiting me.
Brakes failed while driving vehicle shortly after leaving my house while driving down my driveway. The brakes were working fine when I started the truck and completed a 3 point turn to turn the vehicle around in my driveway. As I started going down my driveway and went to apply my brakes to slow the vehicle down that's when the problem occurred. Luckily I was driving slow, under 15 mph, when I experienced the issue: the brake pedal went all the way to the floor and the vehicle barely slowed down. I started to pump the brakes which did slow the vehicle some and I also employed the emergency brake which enabled me to bring the vehicle to a stop. Had I been in traffic, and not just in my driveway, I most likely would have collided with another vehicle as I had very little control over stopping the vehicle when the issue happened. The issue was due to a rusted rear brake line under the vehicle. The single brake line feeding both of the rear brakes had burst in the vicinity under the drivers seat. The brake line burst while I was going down my driveway as evidenced by the amount of brake fluid spayed onto my driveway when I first attempted to apply my brakes while driving down the driveway and at each point where I pumped the brakes. I was shocked that a single brake line bursting would leave my entire vehicle without brakes. Why is there a front and rear reservoir if they don't matter? there should have been at least a safety alert about this potential danger so I would have known to watch for this obvious safety flaw on my Chevrolet Suburban. After inspecting the rest of my brake lines I have found that 100% of all my brake lines are severely rusted and will need to be replaced. The Chevrolet dealership near my house has already quoted me a repair estimate of $2,100 over the phone, but will need to see the vehicle first to be more precise in their estimate.
Brake line failed while driving, turns out all lines are rusted, need all brake lines replaced.
My complaint is that gm used substandard materials in of all things the brake lines! I lost all braking ability when one of my brake lines blew due to rust. How does this happen? I should have had at least partial braking ability due to the front and rear lines being separate. Luckily for me this happened right before my families thanksgiving trip, or else we would have been doing 70 on the interstate when this happened! please don't let gm get away with this!.
A complete loss of braking ability, ruptured brake lines. Lines between proportioning valve and abs pump ruptured and failed completely. Lines rusted and failed. No accident and no injuries. My wife was driving, vehicle was operated in reverse {backing up}, she then shifted to forward, brakes failed, pedal went to floor, and rolled from a parking lot into a highway, fortunately no other traffic was present.
Brake line rusted through causing dangerous situation where vehicle is slow to stop and does not stay stopped when needed such as traffic lights, hills, stop signs, etc.
While driving with my two daughters and husband, we attempted to come to a stop and brake pedal went all the way to the floor, truck would not stop. Luckily we were not going that fast just 20 mph. Husband diagnosed the problem, no brake fluid. Drove very slowly to local auto store, filled up brake fluid. No change in brakes. Was able to drive slowly home with hazards on. Took to local mechanic, upon inspection, brakes lines completely rusted out! entire brake line to be replaced, over 2000. 00 job!.
Brake line failure.
While attempting to stop the brake pedal went to the floor I had drive to the shoulder of the road to keep from hitting the car ahead of me. The right front steel hydraulic brake line failed due to rust.
The rear drivers side brake line broke. While at the repair shop, they informed me the other side brake line was bad and needed replaced. Two months later two more lines broke. The main rear line and front supply line from the master.
The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban. While driving 40 mph, the brakes were engaged and the brake pedal traveled to the floorboard. The contact was barely able to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The technician diagnosed that there was a brake line failure due to corrosion. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 159,000.
My brakes failed on an interstate highway in sw ohio in traffic. I avoided an accident by changing lanes abruptly and coasting to a stop on the side of the road. The repair facility indicated that it was the result of a rusted brake line that failed. The repairs cost me $1300 plus the cost of a rental car while the car was repaired. I understood from the feedback of the repair facility that gm is aware or this defect but has not elevated it to a "recall". It is considered to be a "campaign". I was not informed by anyone, including a dealership/ the car is low mileage, but I do live in the ne where the car has been exposed to chemicals on the road. I had the car at a dealership not more than 2 weeks ago for an air conditioning repair. This issue was not reported to me at that time.
The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban 1500. While driving approximately 35 mph, the vehicle failed to stop when the brake pedal was depressed. As a result, the vehicle crashed into a curb. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The contact was advised that the brake line needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. A police report was not filed and there were no injuries. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
Was traveling in city down a slight hill when the brake pedal went all the way to the floor and the service brake system warnings went on and sounded. Immediately shifted vehicle into a low gear and pumped brakes. Was able to bring vehicle to a stop off the road. Upon examination it was obvious there had been a catastrophic brake line failure as brake fluid was all on the ground and covering the spare tire. Repair shop confirmed this was due to rusting of the brake lines.
Catastrophic brake failure; brake pedal went to the floor with very little stopping power left to the vehicle. Mechanic has advised that all of the brake lines require replacement.
Went to stop when traffic stop and felt the brake pedal go to the floor with very little braking power to stop. Had to swerve to miss the car in front. I limped home with very little braking power and when I got home I check the oil resevole, it had almost no oil. Looked under the truck and found a leaking brake line. The line was rusted out.
Tl-the contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that while having routine maintenance performed, the contact was informed by an independent mechanic that the brake lines were corroded. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for a second opinion. The technician stated that the brake lines were working up to standards. The vehicle had not been repaired. The vehicle failure mileage was 142,000. Pam.
Driving in my subdivision I applied the brake with very limited/slow stopping power stopping. With great luck it wasn't an emergency, it could have been so terrible if a kid came in front last minute because I would not have been able to stop and there would have been a very serious incident. Driving very slowly home and in the driveway I had another person apply the brakes and when they did brake fluid came dumping out of the brake lines under the drivers seat. Closer inspection revealed terribly rusted out brake lines. One of the lines had split, all the others could go any day now. Reading online this is not a new issue. This should be a recall, one day these lines are going to break at the wrong time and someone or some people may lose their life. Do the right thing gm.
While pulling away from the driveway, coming to a stop the brake pedal went to the floor. After getting the vehicle back in the driveway, a large amount of brake fluid was running out from a location under the drivers door area. After inspection, the brake line to the left rear wheel was rusted through and ruptured. All brake lines look totally rusted. Limited or no brakes is a big problem on a 3/4 ton vehicle. This vehicle's under carriage is washed on a very regular basis.
I was slowly backing up at a flat launch ramp to put our boat into the water. As the trailer reached the water, I pressed harder on the brake pedal. When I did that, the brake pedal went to the floor and the vehicle continued to roll backwards until the boat reached the water. Fortunately that stopped the vehicle from moving and allowed me to apply the parking brake. One of my brake lines had burst. The repair shop said the brake lines were all rusted and not in very good shape. Contrary to what gm is claiming, my vehicle could not stop in a safe distance and that was without the boat/trailer attached. If we had been exiting the highway when this happened (which we did shortly before the failure), the results could have been catastrophic.
Brake lines rusted thru going to anti lock block. These lines run along the outside of the frame.
I was stopped at an intersection at a stop sign. There was a car approaching on my left that had the right of way and did not have a stop sign. They were travelling at approximately 30 mph. My foot was on the brake pedal, and it suddenly dropped to the floor. My vehicle went into the path of the oncoming car and I could not stop. I cut my wheel to the right and accelerated quickly to get out of the way. After I was clear of them, I pulled over to the side of the road. My vehicle was towed to a local shop and the rear metal brake line had failed and had to be replaced.
Brake lines rusted and failed especially where they attach to the abs mechanism under the driver's side door.
While towing a bass boat and slowing to turn into a driveway, the brake pedal suddenly went to the floor causing me to drive into an open field while attempting to pump brakes to stop. Once stopped I checked to find a large leak in a brake line running along drivers side rear frame. Fortunately I had just driven down a steep curved hill. Additionally, a second failure occurred on 8/3/2015 when driving toward an intersection stop sign. Again the pedal went to the floor. Causing a near miss as the stop sign was driven through when I couldn't stop. This time the drivers front line ruptured. On exam half the lines are clear of rust and half are all rusted obviously from different suppliers. This time all will be replaced.
On approximately April 7, 2014, while engaging vehicle in parking lot, I depressed the brake pedal, and the pedal went all way to floor. Had vehicle subsequently towed to Chevrolet of gadsden, al for examination. Was informed that the brake line on drivers side had developed a leak, and the brake line was so corroded that they would not be comfortable with a standard repair. I. E. , they refused to work on vehicle. The vehicle is at the dealership, and I have been advised that I can come and pick it up.
As I was backing out of a parking space, I experienced a total brake failure. Fortunately, I was going slow enough to stop and avoid injuring myself or another person. Thank god I wasn't going 50 mph with my wife and 4 children in the car or I might not be writing this today (or someone else could have been injured by me due to this brake failure). I discovered the reason for this failure was because my brake line prematurely corroded and this problem is well known to NHTSA and you have done absolutely nothing. How dare you and gm put my family and other innocent bystanders at risk because of your incompetence!!! why hasn't there been a recall??? a simple google search shows this problem has been experienced by thousands of chevy owners as well as premature rusting of the body and undercarriage which I am also experiencing. This car only has 60k miles and has been well cared for, but I am experiencing problems that cars with 3 times as many miles shouldn't experience. Perhaps congress would be interested in this dereliction of duty by NHTSA. How many americans have to die or get injured in accidents before you take action??? if total failure of a vehicle's breaking system doesn't spur a call to action by NHTSA then what will? what could be more vital to safety than brakes on a 1/2 ton truck? repairs for the brake line will cost me over $1,200 and that just adds insult to this whole disgraceful situation. I demand to be reimbursed for this well known safety issue that I have to correct. Nhtsa has failed and it's costing way more than $1,200; it's costing americans their lives.
The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban 1500. The contact stated that while exiting a parking space the brakes failed. The brake pedal was applied and pressed to the floorboard but to no avail. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer, who diagnosed that the brake line on the drivers side needed to be replaced due to extensive rust. The undercarriage was extremely rusted for an extended period of time and the local dealer had not provided a remedy. The VIN was not available. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 200,000.
I had just come off the highway and was on the exit ramp. Went to press my brakes at the stop light and my foot went to the floor. Thankfully the off ramp was an slight uphill so that helped me slow and there was no traffic coming across. I went through the stop light and was able to stop after the turn by pressing the brake all the way to the floor. I had the car towed to our mechanic who determined that 2 of the brake lines had rusted through. The other lines were showing signs of rust so they were all replaced. I was thankful that my 4 kids and husband were not in the car and that there was no cross traffic or this could have had a much worse ending. After seeing how many complaints there are about the brake lines on the 2003 Suburban, I would hope that a recall would be issued for safety sake!.
My husband was backing out of the driveway, heard a pop and brake pedal went to floor. Luckily no one was hurt. Dealer said front to back brake line corrosion. Cost will be $2000 to fix. We see there is a pending investigation on this and want to know status because it seems likely from researching this that a recall is possible. Can you provide a status on brake line corrosion investigation among 1999-2003 gm vehicles. Not fair that we have to pay $2000 for brake corrosion that should not have happened. Please advise if possible.
The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that while decelerating and approaching a traffic stop, the brake pedal traveled to the floorboard when depressed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the technician diagnosed that the brake lines were corroded and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileage was 67,000.
Rear brake line corrosion and low brake fluid. Chevrolet dealer replaced rear brake lines. Lost brake pressure on December 23, 2003 and towed vehicle to Chevrolet dealership. Dealership diagnosed problem as front brake line corrosion and recommended replacing brake lines.
I was driving on the road coming up to a stop sign getting ready to enter on to the freeway. My brake pedal went completely to the floor and I could not stop. I had to use the parking brake to avoid hitting the cars in front of me. No easy task at 45mph. I veered around the cars and went off of the road. After looking, my Suburban I found that 2 brake lines had blown out and were severely rusted. The area that they rusted was directly below the drivers area. I looked at the rest of the brake system and all of the lines are severely rusted. In 28 years of driving I have never had a brake line go out on me. I've owned some cars with upwards of 250,000 miles too. My 03 Suburban has 75,000 miles on it. This is ridiculous. I could have been killed or seriously injured or killed someone. I have been researching this online and see that there is complaint after complaint of this problem. When is the NHTSA going to act on this? gm should be recalling these vehicles and fixing them. These are family vehicles that can carry as many as 8 or 9 people. This is a tragedy waiting to happen.
All brake lines and fuel line rusted ,was not driving fast ,dealer told me it would cost 3500. Have to take trans out ,I think gm should help pay for this they have 3 other tahoes and Suburbans there with the same problem ,too bad they got bailed out.
Brakes failed on highway. Had to have front and rear brake lines replaced due to severe corrosion.