Service Brakes Problems of Chevrolet Suburban - part 1

I was driving to work last Wednesday, and I live on a hill. As I was driving, a "brake failure" alert came over my dash and I lost all control of my brakes!!! I live right off of main street, and my options were only to go straight and into a house, or to turn onto main street and hope no one hits me or that I don't hit another vehicle. I turned and thankfully no one was coming. At the end of that street I was able to coast into an closed down gas station and park the vehicle. I called the dealership I had purchased this vehicle from 10 months prior, and they told me I had to use onstar to have it towed to them. I did that, and they towed it to the dealership. The next day the dealership told me the cause of losing my brakes was due to a software update that was needed!!!!! they charged me $800 for the update & a battery that they said was not holding the charge, which I've never had an issue with. I had purchased an extended warranty with this vehicle and I was told it would be a bumper to bumper warranty as if I had purchased it new (it was 2 years old). The dealership said this was not a critical software update and was not covered under any warranty. I could have been killed or seriously injured or killed or hurt someone else due to my brakes going out due to a software update that was needed!! this is insane!.

See all problems of the 2023 Chevrolet Suburban 🔎.

Car shows esc error message not detecting brake pads, and locking the wheel.

The vehicle caught on fire in our garage the vehicle had been parked outside than moved into the garage nothing smelled like smoke after it was parked other than the exhaust after I got out of my Suburban I have a good idea what caused this but until its done being ispected I happened to look back and saw a flame in the Suburban coming from the center area of the dash on the right hand side of the divers seat I thought for sure it was gonna blow up the dogs were in the back of the garage behind the vehicle off to the side I started screaming and calling for help and had to go around the house to the front door to get my husband and him and one of my sons went out there why I called 911 and was with my other son whom has a disability and they told us to get out of the house and I could not get back to the garage we were on the other side of the house going to go out on the patio my other son and husband were in the garage trying to put it out and getting to the two dogs my son went through the smoke to reach the dogs were one ran out on her own and the young german shorthair was in shock and he had to carry the 2 year old out and put them in a safe place but my husband was still trying to put out the fire he hooked his pick up to the Suburban to try to pull it out of the garage and it moved maybe a few inches he was stuffing wet towels on it also to try to stop it nothing worked the fire dept showed up and police after having to tear the inside of the front of the dash out our home owners insurance adjuster was out yesterday the Suburban has had multiple and thousands of dollars of mechanical issues even gm putting a new engine in it after only a year in a half of owning it fluid got pushed up into the wiring after a service last year there was splater inside the dash glass after a new steering wheel was istalled and I asked the dealer if they could fix that and they said that they didn't go inside there the amount of detail that has led up to this is huge.

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The braking system on my 2015 chevy Suburban ltz failed at slow speeds in a parking lot. I have replicated the issue in both forward and reverse. My family's safety was put at risk in that while backing up out of a parking spot the brakes failed completely and I had to push extremely hard on the brake to get the vehicle to stop. That same behavior occurred while pulling forward into a parking spot, almost hitting the car in front of me. I took the vehicle into a Chevrolet dealer today indicating the symptoms and they said there was no recall attached to my VIN. This exact same behavior in my vehicle is described in [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

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I went to get in my 2023 Suburban this morning to travel to the gym. It started but it would not shift out of park. I looked down and noticed the check engine light was on, the abs light was on, and the park brake light was on with a lock and wrench. I had no issues since I purchased it used in March 2025 and yesterday it was driving fine.

The contact owns a 2024 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal, there was a loud rattling sound coming from the engine. The contact stated that while depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle failed to respond as intended while driving with her grandchildren inside the vehicle. The brake failure warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle lost power and coasted and slowed down, and the contact shifted into park(p). The contact stated that the failure had occurred on two separate occasions. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed; however, the diagnostic result was unknown. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 16,600.

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I pulled on to the road and I heard a loud knocking and my vehicle started skipping and wouldn't go. The lights on the dash lit up and said, "brake failure" and "emergency brake failure" and I had no brakes. I managed to coast into a parking lot. The engine light was on. I turned the vehicle off and waited about 5 minutes and turned it back on, the engine light remained. The first time this happened I was going down the road and the vehicle started sputtering, the emergency brake light came on the dash and the car shut off. It has a rough idle when you start it. I am terrified of this car. I have grandbabies in the car with me, had I been on the highway either time I would have caused a terrible accident. The dealer says they can't get the car to do it so they can't fix anything. It has happened twice so you know it will again.

When driving at low speeds the brakes do not work. The vehicle will stop, but it is very hard to get it to stop. You must push the brake pedal all the way to the floor to get the brakes to work. This does not happen all time it will just happen out of no were, this can be scaring. I looked up to see if our vehicle has any current recalls, which it does not. But on 9/19/2019 we had our vehicle in the shop and they did do a recall at this time. It was increased brake pedal effort. Nhtsa campaign # 19v645000 and this sounds like exactly what was happening. This was done when our vehicle had 60,000 miles on it and at the time it was having no symptoms. We had never had any brake issues at this time. Now our vehicle is having these issues and I feel that this safety issue should be another recall on our vehicle and should be covered and fixed as it sounds like the same issue. Please let me know what can be done about this.

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If I pull up to a parking spot and I’m slowly creeping into the spot, say at a popular supermarket, and slowing down the brake pedal stiffens up and it’s almost impossible to press. I feel like my truck may not stop. If I’m on a slight incline and in a line behind another vehicle, I’ve noticed the brake pedal stiffens up then as well. Awhile ago I thought there was a recall for this for my truck and it was something about the vacuum in the brake pedal. This is a super problem. I have five kids and we are on the road a lot. This has been happening a lot but most recently would be today.

The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated while driving at approximately 70 mph, the vehicle brakes independently activated. The contact stated there were no warning lights illuminated. The contact pulled off the highway and stopped the vehicle. The vehicle was turned off and restarted and regained braking functionality. The failure was intermittent but occurred at various speeds. The failure occurred mostly while driving up an incline and depressing the accelerator pedal and the independent braking failure would occur. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that prior to the failures the vehicle had been taken to a dealer to be repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 19v645000 (service brakes, hydraulic). The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 175,000.

My wife was driving the vehicle and was pulling into a parking lot. The brakes failed and would not stop the vehicle. She pressed on the brakes very hard, multiple times, for several seconds, before the vehicle finally came to stop. She then proceeded into a parking spot where the brakes again failed to stop the vehicle promptly. Several lights illuminated and a “system brake failure 43 mph top speed” message appeared, alternating with several other messages appearing. The vehicle is in for service at classic Chevrolet in granbury, texas. They are telling me that they reset the codes and that the codes are not returning. I am extremely concerned that if I pick up the vehicle at this point, the brakes could fail again and cause an accident with serious injury.

No official incident has happened yet, but the brake assist kicks in, yet does not work until it's revving engine to over 4000rpm, which causes a sudden jerk and scary sounds from engine. I have had a few instances where the vehicle did not want to stop almost causing an accident, and these have happened without anything in the car other than my daughter who is 2 and myself. The most recent problem is a weird rattling sound while going uphill. Before this going uphill is extremely sluggish, where I have the gas peddle almost to the floor, but nothing happens other than decrease in speed until it finally, about 30 seconds-1 minute, where it kicks into overdrive. Even then, speed does not increase by more than 5-10 mph depending on the incline. I have not brought it to get looked at yet, as I've seen these issues have been reported by numerous consumers without any recalls being sent out other than the breaking system update.

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The brake system had a failure and the vehicle could not be slowed down. The brakes would come and go until I was able to stop. Gm dealership diagnosed it with a failed master cylinder and the part is on national back order.

I have had my cruise control set and my car will slam on the brakes with no vehicles in front of my car or on each side. This has happened multiple times, it doesn’t matter if I am going 40mph or 60+mph. I have taken it in and they say there is nothing they can do for the issue. I’m worried for the safety of myself, my family, and my unborn child. As well as any cars around (behind me potentially) when this happens. I do not want to unintentionally cause an accident.

Often the brake pedal becomes very hard to push and braking is extremely hindered. There is a recall for this issue that has been done but the vehicle is experiencing the exact same problem again. Dealership says that the vehicle time has expired for anything to be done again. Recall was performed only 5 years ago.

A. The emergency brake system, the anti-collision sensor, the vibrating driver's seat alert, the dashboard collision alert lightening. . . . . . All of these gave no alert prior to the collision. B. The failure of the safety devices prevented from me from avoiding a collision that was cause by the other driver (police report available for your peruse) c. They inspected and denied any liability for any failure of their safety devices (and my question to them is if any these are functioning properly as said, then there wouldn't be any collision ) d. Yes, inspected e. There were no waring lamps, no seat vibration, the emergency brake never ceased the car from colliding.

See all problems of the 2022 Chevrolet Suburban 🔎.

Various times while I was driving my 5 kids have I had an issue with the brakes and having to over compensate to pump brakes to get them to stop in time or at all. Very scary.

I was driving home at highway, I hear noise scrapping noise from uneven pavement and roll over speed bump and a piece of metal like u shape felt off. When I get home, inspected I saw my vehicle fuel tank hagging on one side. For safety to prevent tank to felt off I have to get a strap to secure it the tank to the franme .

1/10/25 complete braking system failure, could no brake, could not use emergency brake. Almost crashed into my garage -chevy service dept. Replaced electronic braking control module 1/24/25 complete braking system failure, could no brake, could not use emergency brake -chevy service dept. Replaced battery 2/1/25 car shaking terribly, my kids screaming we were going to “explode” , car smoking, white smoke coming from exhaust -chevy service dept. States there is an engine issue, they will need to break down and replace parts / repair.

Brake master cylinder failure, took car to chevy after brakes got super hard to push , luckily no accident , felt like no brakes, at the point of failure, brake light, abs light, check engine light all went on ,at some point abs and brake light went off but check engine light stayed on and screen on dash indicated max speed 62 then in a couple of minute screen showed max speed 42 mph , then lights go off except check engine and vehicle works as it should it randomly does this in one day so vehicle was taken in to dealership where they had a hard time figuring out if thats the problem and contacted gm tech support gm and they said with these codes it should be the brake master cylinder, and it would cost me 3000. 00 to fix. On an 80 000. 00 car that's a 2021 with 82,000 miles and they are pretty certain that will fix the problem, I'm pretty sure I don't want to get in an accident at 65 to 70 mph and die I feel this is a huge safety issue and thank god wife and kids weren't in the car considering this is my wife's car to drive the kids around in.

The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated while approaching a stop sign and driving at 5 mph, the brake pedal was depressed and failed to respond. The brake service warning light illuminated after the failure. The contact was able to pull to the side, turn off the vehicle, wait a moment, and restart. The failure persisted and progressively worsened. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000.

On October 23, 2024, my 2016 Chevrolet Suburban was stopped in a line of traffic on a downhill. As traffic began to move forward, the brakes failed to hold, despite pressure on the brake pedal. This resulted in a low-speed collision with the vehicle in front, which then impacted another vehicle. Component/system: the braking system failed to engage despite pressure on the brake pedal. The vehicle is a total loss; however, documentation of the damage is available through my insurance company, new jersey manufacturers, claim number 2024-884575, and the police report from the accident scene. Safety risk: this brake failure posed a significant safety risk to my family (who were occupants), and other drivers. The collision caused substantial vehicle damage. Confirmation: the vehicle has not been inspected by a dealer or independent service center due to it being a total loss. It has been inspected by my insurance company. Inspection: the vehicle has been inspected by police at the accident scene and by my insurance company. Warnings: there were no prior warning lamps, messages, or symptoms of brake problems. The vehicle has been consistently maintained by all american Chevrolet with all recommended services performed. This incident raises serious concerns about the vehicle's braking system integrity, especially given its consistent professional maintenance. I request an investigation into this matter.

While driving approximately 70 miles an hour and trying to switch lanes, we got a stabilitrack warning and the car shut off for a second and then came back on. The weather was nice and there was no snow or any other adverse conditions. This happened a couple more times on the ride and then when we tried to turn into a parking spot it shut off completely and we had to restart it. We turned stabilitrack off and the car was ok for a couple of short drives. Then driving late at late and we passed another car the same thing happened. Then when we tried to turn our brights on we got the same message. Then we got a brake assist message and then we got a collision alert. The headlights were flickering the rest of the drive and we couldnt use our brights. We had our 4 children in the car and it was shutting down at high speeds and very scary. I looked up our VIN and it said that the recalls had been worked on but I dont remember this being done. This has never happended before this. Our car would be available for inspection if needed.

Failed break fluid detection.

The check engine light came on at 14k miles indicating there was an emissions error. The brakes squeal and have had to be replaced 3 times since the original purchase in March of 2024. After the third replacement of brakes they still squeal. Even if the car is not braking it makes the noise. The radio shuts on and off constantly. Chevy reported they are aware of the issue but there is no fix at this time. The dealerships reset the radio but the issue persists. I’ve had to park the car because I’m afraid the brake issue is much more than they’re willing to admit.

The contact owns a 2015 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that upon coming to a complete stop, he observed that the brake pedal briefly depressed all the way to the floorboard. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The contact stated that the failure only occurred upon coming to a complete stop. The power assist brake warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 19v645000 (service brakes, hydraulic); but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 126,000.

When driving through city traffic basically stop and go the brake pedal gets very hard and the car does not stop as smooth or almost not at all. It gets very dangerous.

I see that some 2016 chevy Suburban's have recalls on this with brake issues. I checked to see if ours had a recall and it doesn't but I believe that it should as we have a serious safety issue with ours. We have had a couple of mechanics look over our brakes and lines and none can seem to find anything wrong, but it is very intermittent and we never know when the issue will start. Sometimes the service brake assist light will flash on, but other times it will not. Basically we will be driving and sometimes it is very hard to get it to stop, some times the brake won't push down at all and sometimes it will push all the way to the floor. It seems like it will happen after the car has been driven over an hour, but sometimes not. It has happened first thing in the morning, but not very often. When you drive it in traffic or go to park it, it has been vary scary as it sometimes is very hard to get stopped before hitting something in front of you. It will make a abs sound sometimes, but the only light that has ever come on is the service brake assist. . . . . I strongly believe this sounds similar to the recalls in this vehicles history and believe that ours should have this recall. An this happens pretty often, but not all the time. . . . . This had happened sometime in 2023, but it happens more often now. Thanks for any information, [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Continuous "trailer brake system" alarm makes the vehicle undrivable due to to distraction.

The breaks get hard and stop working.

At approximately 43,000 miles driving down the highway and lost power braking followed with a number of dash messages and lights. Took to dealer to discover the abs master cylinder is bad and needs replaced and parts are 2 weeks out to have repaired. It appears after reading online this looks to be a problem with numerous people leaving comments etc.

The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated while he was in reverse at approximately 2 mph, he was attempting to depress the brake pedal, and noted that it was hard to depress. The contact stated that he needed to use more than normal leg strength to depress the pedal before stopping. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that he placed the vehicle into park (p) and turned the vehicle off and on and normal brake functionality was restored. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed and was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The contact had researched online and related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 19v645000 (service brakes, hydraulic). The failure mileage was 109,260.

I purchased my vehicle after the recall 19v-645 regarding the brake pump was issued. My vehicle was a part of that safety recall, and the module was reprogrammed in September 2019 (n192268490-01). The pump has not been previously replaced according to service records. I purchased my vehicle from a dealership in April 2021. I recently (late 2023) started having issues with my brakes, having increased brake pedal effort, a hard brake pedal, and increased stopping distance. I have had the brake assist alert come on several times. The issue happens more frequently at lower speeds. My park assist alert also comes on regularly when applying the brakes. I have taken my vehicle to gm several times regarding the park assist issues, but they have only cleared the computer codes and cannot figure out why they keep coming back, as there is no detectable issues with the system. I have also brought my vehicle in due to the adaptive cruise control, as it has also caused issues while using it. It will often apply brakes if it detects a vehicle in another lane while driving, causing the vehicle to “slam” on the brakes going at high rates of speed (I. E. Driving on the interstate at 80 mph) and has nearly caused accidents, as the vehicle becomes hard to control, and the risk of following vehicles not having the reaction time to avoid a rear-end collision is increased. My particular vehicle does not have an option to switch between regular cruise control, and adaptive cruise control. After talking with gm, they informed me the only way to “fix” the issue is to completely replace the module with an updated module that allows the option to turn off the adaptive cruise control, which is quite costly to the consumer. My vehicle is currently at a gm service department, and has been diagnosed that the brake pump has failed, and needs replaced. They are claiming that it is not covered under the recall. It is not covered under gm’s extended warranty due to mileage restrictions.

The brakes fail on a regular basis!! if when backing out of a parking space you lightly press the brake, slightly release and try to depress the brakes again, power braking appears to be completely gone! the same applies moving forward. Especially in high traffic situations. Cars will move forward slowly. As you release the brakes and start to move but need to reapply as traffic starts to slow again the Suburban requires maximum effort to press the brake pedal and get the vehicle to stop. I’m 240lbs. I have to press hard! my wife has almost rear ended multiple cars due to this issue. It’s typically low speed so the damage would be minimal to another vehicle. However, my wife is a school teacher! kids cross the teacher parking lot all the time! if she lets off her brakes to go and a student walks in front of the Suburban, the results could be catastrophic! this is a major safety issue. I see there is already a recall for many vehicles just like mine!! please tell me why this is not being fixed on ours!! the problem can be reproduced on command. It almost sounds like it’s metal to metal contact when it happens. If you let your foot completely off the brake pedal and roll forward it will revert back to normal operation. It is only when there is a gradual release then reapplication of braking pressure applied to the brake pedal. It has not been taken to the dealership as we can’t afford it at the moment. There are no warning lights currently showing on the vehicle display. This has been happening for quite some time. Probably six months or so but the website does not allow for a range of date. I put today’s date as my wife said she almost rear ended someone again today!!.

See all problems of the 2017 Chevrolet Suburban 🔎.

The power steering on the vehicle had failed on December 10th, 2023. The sign was displayed on the dashboard for the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to sunrise chevy and stayed with them for a month for repair and they have been unable to repair the issue. They said the rack and pinion had gone bad on this brand new car. This is very dangerous as the safety of myself as well as others on the road are compromised due to faulty steering problems.