Brake Hoses, Lines/piping, And Fittings Problems of Chevrolet Suburban - part 1

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.

See all problems of the 2003 Chevrolet Suburban 🔎.

I started my Suburban like any other day, step on brakes to release the shifter, put into drive with no problem, I went onto the highway aka freeway with no problem, I needed to make a panic stop, and the brake pedal went straight to the floor, trying to use the emergency brake pedal, that also failed. . When did a american made product like the chevy Suburban gat such a cheap manufacturing of brake components. . . My previous car, 1987 Volkswagen vanagon camper never needed steel brake lines replaced. The rubber hoses I can understand. . . But steel brakes lines should last longer than 25 yrs.

See all problems of the 2000 Chevrolet Suburban 🔎.

Sudden and complete brake failure due to a broken rear brake line. Brakes worked normally and at the next stop they went completely to the floor with no braking action. I had to use down shifting to slow and then a snow bank to completely stop. There was no indicator warning lights until the brake pedal hit the floor and went out immediately after the pedal was released. This happened on a city street with no traffic at 3 am on my way to work. I was driving straight at about 25 to 30 mph. After looking at the brake lines they are dramatically rusted. The service shop has explained complete replacement of all lines needs to be done (appointment to do this is 3/20/2019).

See all problems of the 2006 Chevrolet Suburban 🔎.

Tl- the contact 2001 Chevrolet Suburban 1500. The contact stated that the vehicle was put on a lift and it was noticed that the brake line was corroded, causing the leak. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the brake lines needed to be replaced. The contact called the ed bozarth Chevrolet dealer (877-721-4901, located at 3731 sw topeka blvd, topeka, KS 66609) and was told that there was no recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 140,000. Fe.

See all problems of the 2001 Chevrolet Suburban 🔎.

"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.

I had a major brake failure the other day while driving. I had no brakes, but I was able to stop with the emergency brake. I had the truck towed to the mechanic and they reported that the brake failure was due to rusted brake lines.

Brake lines rusted and brakes failed twice while driving vehicle. There were no accidents. First incident was the rear brake line burst. I replaced the rusted brake line. Front brake line burst 6 months after rear brake line was replaced. All front brake lines were so rusted, I removed and replaced all of them as a precaution. The brake lines rusted in areas where they were clamped, so that salt and dirt could not be cleaned out. Brake lines were unpainted bare steel.

See all problems of the 2002 Chevrolet Suburban 🔎.

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 lines rusted thru. I have had several 80s 90s and 2000 2001. 2002 chevys with rusted brake lines which could have been a fatal accident.

The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Suburban. While driving approximately 45 mph, the brakes failed to stop the vehicle when the brake pedal was depressed. In addition, the traction control warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road and was driven to the contact's residence. The failure recurred several times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer (manassas Chevrolet, 8000 sudley rd, manssas, va) where it was diagnosed that the front and rear brake lines collapsed and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was called and a voice message was left, but the contact had not received a call back. The failure was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.

See all problems of the 2011 Chevrolet Suburban 🔎.

Brakes failed while driving 60mph on highway I-476 (philadelphia PA) with the family in the vehicle. Upon braking to stop for traffic, the brake pedal went directly to the floor and pumping the pedal several times did not result in any braking of the vehicle. After managing to get the vehicle to a stop on the side of the road, and then pumping the brake pedal several more times, brake fluid could be seen coming from underneath the vehicle at both the area around the rear axle and the area under the drivers side seat. Later, inspection of the brake lines found them all to be severely rusted. After reading that this is an existing problem with gm vehicles, it is greatly disappointing, to say the least, that no notification or recall was given. Such a severe and scary safety problem should require at least notification of customers and better quality design/control of braking components.

I had a rusted brake line (driver side front) fail June 25th, 2017. This truck is 12 years old and has less than 90,000 miles. Immediately all braking was lost and the pedal pushed to the floor. Repeated pressing the brake only pumped out all the brake fluid. This was a sudden and catastrophic loss of braking. The worst part is, braking is supposed to be split and independent between front and rear brakes, so if you lose the front, the rear brakes still work, and vice versa. Well I lost all braking, I had no front or rear braking! this should be a clear safety problem and a mandatory recall! I crashed into the car in front of me, because of course my emergency brake didn't work either. Despite gm's insistence that somehow this premature brake line failure is normal and the owner's maintenance problem, it should be a very simple issue for the NHTSA to simply open a single brake line and test to realize the affected vehicles do in fact lose all braking, not just front or rear. I've already completely lost faith in gm to do the right thing, but I'd like to believe the NHTSA will still do the right thing, and not let gm off with a clear safety problem with their brake design. This crash was pulling up to the stoplight in prescott, WI, heading into town across the prescott bridge. I was driving maybe 30 mph when I realized I had lost all brakes.

See all problems of the 2005 Chevrolet Suburban 🔎.

Brake line failed while driving, turns out all lines are rusted, need all brake lines replaced.

Corroded and leaking brake lines. Abs activating during low speed braking.

Brake lines rusted through front passenger side causing minor accident Dec 2015 separate incident:: high-pressure fuel line rusted through causing fuel to spray around the front of gas tank area unnoticed for 2 trips. Thankfully no fire resulted.

See all problems of the 1999 Chevrolet Suburban 🔎.

While towing the family boat on secondary roadways, I attempted to stop in heavy traffic, when I pressed on the brake pedal it went completely to the floor and both the truck and boat continued rolling towards stopped traffic. I was only able to stop the vehicle by manually operating the parking brake. Had I not had the presence of mind to utilize the parking brake I would have collided with the traffic stopped in front of me. Upon inspection I noticed a large mount of brake fluid under the driver's side front wheel. I transported the vehicle to my service station where they placed it on a lift and showed me the extensive corrosion on all of the brake lines and transmission cooling lines. The line which had failed resulted in no braking capabilities whatsoever. There is not one serviceable brake line left on the vehicle. The vehicle has 75k miles on it and is immaculate both inside and out and has been regularly serviced. The brake failure resulting in a total loss of brakes, came without any warning.

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.

Total brake failure (vehicle has 95,387) miles) at 40 mph in motion. Stabil-trac light indicated at the time of failure, service brake indicator on display information console. . Deployed 4wd low, dropped to lower gear and hit emergency brake to stop the vehicle on shoulder of road. Got out of vehicle saw brake fluid all over the skids and frame. Cause: towed to local shop indicated that brake lines on driver side and lines going to front wheel were completely rusty and "like paper". This was unsettling I don't live near saltwater but drive the vehicle a lot in winter. Had I been in a densely populated area, there certainly would have been loss of life. This vehicle weighs over 6000 lbs and no brakes is like to trying to stop a train. Please investigate similar failures as this failure in similar vehicles/any vehicle could cause loss of life.

See all problems of the 2004 Chevrolet Suburban 🔎.

Steel brake lines: directly under drivers feet beneath vehicle is cluster of four brake lines held in place by a plastic bracket. These brake lines are hidden by a large corrugated black wiring harness. All four lines are extremely corroded at bracket and at least one of them failed completely and instantaneously. Unlike gm reports that it's a dual brake system and vehicle will retain braking capabilities in our case this is false . Word needs to go out about these vehicles but preferably a recall. My 15 year old newly issued permit holder was at the wheel and we were one left turn from descending a 200 foot tall 6% grade hill with a busy intersection and stop light at the bottom. Also living in minnesota knowing classic car owners with original steel brake lines with no issues I'm led to believe design is a contributing factor in these brake failure issues. Thank you for your time.

Tl-the contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that while driving at 20 mph, the brake pedal was depressedwhich went to floor of the vehicle. The contact had to applied the emergency brake and veered to the should of the road whch allowed the vehicle come to a complete stop. The vehicle was towed by on-star to the dealer denooyer Chevrolet 127 wolf rd, albany, NY 12205 (518) 458-7700 were a diagnosed test was perrofmred and determined that the brake lines needed ot be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximate 111,795. Ck.

Was driving around 45mh and was coming to stop sign but when I went to use brake the pedal went to the floor. I kept pumping which seemed to help just enough to turn into the drive way of a mall that happened to be closed. I am so thankful that it was late at night or I would have smashed into someone. Shop said main brake line rusted through, a common problem that chevy could care less about. Very sad chevy. . . . . . . .

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.

2004 chevy Suburban - sudden & complete loss of brake pressure at highway speed. Vehicle brakes were inspected in July through the va state inspection program - no issues found - today on 8/30/16 while exiting a freeway ramp at 60mph traffic came to sudden stop. When the service brake was applied in what would be considered a stab/emergency braking maneuver there was a complete and sudden loss of brake pressure - pedal went to floor without warning, brake would not pump up adequate enough to slow vehicle. I had to use a combination of parking brake application and utilizing the soft shoulder and ditch to stop the vehicle. The brake warning indicator (red) and service indicator did not illuminate until after the third or fourth application of the brake pedal. Suburban was towed. Causative factors = ruptured brake line.

While thankfully driving at a low speed, my brakes completely failed with no warning. . Peddle went to the floor, I was able to stop by shifting the trans down to 2nd then 1st. Mechanic said knew exactly what the problem was when I explained what happened after I stopped, pumped the brakes and brake fluid flowed from under the truck generally under where the driver sits. Mechanic explained that the brake line broke and is very common, and that it just started showing up a few years ago when these "c" body trucks aged. I spoke to another mechanic at a chevy dealership near my home and he said the same thing that it's very common and that gm now sells a kit for a compete brake-line system replacement because it has become so common. A few days before I had been driving at high speeds through the mountains on I-81 with a carload full of people, had this happened at that time it could have been catastrophic. Reviewing consumer complaints on your site I see this is a reoccurring compliant and I can't believe there has not been a recall on this, as there is no more important safety system on a automobile than brakes. . . . Chevy had a recall on my 98' Buick for a valve cover gasket leaking that didn't come close to this potential danger.

I was slowing for a stop sign while leaving a parking lot when the steel rear brake line spontaneously split and dumped all line pressure. The brake pedal went straight to the floor, and I rolled right into traffic before I was able to pump the pedal enough times to stop the vehicle against a curb. Had I neared the stop sign 2 seconds earlier or later, I would have either been t-boned by a box truck, or t-boned a small sedan. I emphasize that the brake lines showed no warning signs beyond the typical surface rust that can be found on any vehicle that has been driven for more than a few winters in the "rust belt". However, those vehicles do not have brake lines spontaneously fail at the rate that these gm trucks do. This truck's primary purpose is towing a camping trailer for vacations with my young family, so this could have ended very differently. I urge you to take gm to task and force them to fix their mistake of cheaping out on brake line materials!.

I pulled into my driveway and the brakes didn`t work, pedal went to the floor. I opened the hood and saw brake fluid all over the left side of the engine. I then noticed several rusted brake lines one of which had a large hole in it. I had my wife step on the pedal and brake fluid came streaming out of the hole.

Brake lines between the area of the brake fluid reservoir and abs modulator heavily corroded. One or more lines failed on 7/10/2016 requiring vehicle tow. Vehicle was operational aside from the failure of braking system. When depressed, vehicle brake peddle had little resistance and traveled completely to floor panel under normal pressure from foot. The incident/failure occurred during normal travel and during an attempted stop at red light. Brake system failure prevented a safe stop and the vehicle continued through the intersection running a red light. Fortunately, the intersection was clear and no accident occurred. The vehicle was parked immediately afterwards and a tow vehicle called. The vehicle is currently parked until repairs can be applied. Towing expense- 125. 00 parts expense- 85. 00 (replacing all affected lines, front braking system. ) labor- 100. 00 approx.

While driving home, on a highway, I approached a traffic light that changed and I had to hit the brakes to stop. The brake pedal went to the floor. After getting it home I checked the brakes and they looked as thought they should work (note it was inspected in Dec 2015 and passed). After more checking I found that the brake lines on the drivers side frame rail were rusted and had failed as that area was covered in brake fluid. I purchased my 2002 z71 Suburban new that year and it has less than 66,000 miles on it now.

Passenger rear brake line ruptured with complete brake failure. Passenger front brake line ruptured while repairing the rear lines during the bleeding process. Gm's statement that their vehicles still have braking to 2 wheels during a line failure is incorrect. When the line ruptures there are no brakes at all. Thankfully the incident happened as I was leaving my driveway and not on highway the day before. I was able to downshift and use the emergency brake to stop the vehicle before any collisions . I've owned over a dozen cars in my life. I have never seen such extensive corrosion on brakes lines. It's unfathomable that gm would use inferior and non-corrosion resistant metal in one of the most important systems in any car. There will be multiple accidents due to this if there haven't been 100's already.

Rear brake line failed. My wife and kids were in the 2005 Suburban 1500, she managed to press the ebrake then turn the Suburban into someone's front yard where it eventually came to rest on a hill. She was headed downhill on a residential street at the time of failure. Took to hundru chev in manheim PA I was told the repair will be somewhere around $2300. 00.

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 failed after med to heavy braking, leaving little to no brake as pedal went to the floor.

See all problems of the 1998 Chevrolet Suburban 🔎.

Brake line failure.

Brake lines failed twice due to rust and corrosion because chevy used a inferior steel product on all trucks from 1998 to 2005. The dealer repaired my 2002 avalanche for $600. 00 to replace all the brake lines. However they will not repair my 2001 Suburban which has the same problems. Gm needs to re-call any vehicle or at least make a repair kit and installation at a reduced rate because this vehicle is unsafe to drive. This is not due to owner error of washing the frame during winter or winter maintenance. There is new lines that are coated to resist corosion and were used to repair my avalanche. My 2001 Suburban brake lines failed in motion while in traffic applying the brake petal to stop.