Conventional Parking Brake Problems of Chevrolet Suburban

Parking brake, failure to disengage or indicate that the brake was engaged, leading to wear of the rear rotor/drum, and requiring replacement. Replaced once, only to have it happen again. Parking brake was a safety feature that should be subject to recall.

See all problems of the 2001 Chevrolet Suburban 🔎.

Vehicle with 25,300 miles failed the annual virginia state inspection due to failure of the parking brake to hold. The dealer stated rust had formed on the rotors and they had to be replaced even though they and the brake linings were not worn out. The dealer service advisor stated the design had been changed on later models, but there was no recall for this defect and I would have to pay $980. 00 to replace rotors, pads and park brake linings. I called gm's Chevrolet division customer service and the customer service rep said she would investigate and call me back in a few days. I picked up the truck and paid $775. 71 the dealer having "given me a break on the labor" nine days later, the gm rep called to tell me there was nothing they could do as the "dealer diagnosed the problem as being due to the age and mileage of the vehicle" (4 years and 25,300 miles) and she was closing the file indicating I was dissatisfied with the results. I pointed out to her the fact that the NHTSA web page has numerous complaints about parking brakes on chevy Suburbans. She was not moved and restated her intent to close the file. I immediately called the dealer service advisor who stated that vehicle age and mileage was not the cause but. The problem was a durability issue with the parking brake system on chevy trucks. He refused to contact the gm service rep on my behalf so, I left a message on her voice mail for her to contact him to discuss the issue. I then filed this complaint.

Consumer stated had problems with the emergency brake. Also stated that vehicle would not pass the inspection on his state. Dealer and manufacture was contacted and also said that since their was no recall consumer will have to pay for it. Ts dealer found park brake shoes worn to metal. Dealer replaced park brake shoes and left rear rotor.

Vehicle delivered with 305 miles. Noticed parking brake would intermittently not hold vehicle when parked on slight incline after about 1000 miles. Initially, parking brake pedal had a different feel to the last 2 to 3 inches of pedal travel, as if it were 'giving way' due to excessive pressure on pedal. However, whether the pedal was pushed all the way to floor or stopped before it had that strange 'give way' feel did not seem to affect the failure of the parking brake to hold vehicle when applied. Eventually, after about 10000 miles, the strange 'give way' feeling ceased. Also noticed that over time the parking brake would fail to hold the vehicle more often than not, and around 14000 miles, quit altogether. I took the vehicle to dealer and was adviced this problem was common with the new Suburban body style (2000). Service advisor said would have to disassemble parking brake unit to see if pads needed adjustment or replacement and more than likely would be needing replacement and thus not covered by warranty. I told him this was happening from the beginning and he said the pads for the parking brake on the new body styles were very small and wore out very quickly especially if used on an incline or driven with parking brakes applied. This being the case, it did not seem cost effective to bother replacing the pads as he was going to charge me about $150. Is this a design defect or an intentional scheme to rip customers off with frequent brake pad changes?.

Parking brake does not work at all. When truck was new, it was weak at best, now it will not function at all. Taken to dealer who agreed it did not work at all. Vehicle out of warranty and insists I must pay $180+ for repair/adjustment. . . Even though it is a "known problem" (in their words). They stated even under warranty it would have only been covered for 12,000 miles since it is an "adjustment" even though they told me there was no adjustment for it and the entire rear brake assembly has to be removed to repair problem. Vehicle is a 4x4 with neutral transfer case capability and I feel the parking brake is essential for safe operation of this feature. It is obvious this is a known defect yet I am required to pay for the problem.

See all problems of the 2000 Chevrolet Suburban 🔎.

Parking brake will not hold the car on steep surfaces. Came this way new. Many like vehicles have the same problem. Gm denies that there is a problem. The shop manual describes an adjustment procedure. The dealers can't find an adjustment in there computerized manual. The impass has lasted several monthhs.