Brake Fluid Leak Problems of Chevrolet Volt

On Wednesday, December 13, 2017, I was backing up from a starbucks parking lot when I hit my brakes hard to avoid another car (also backing up). The car was in reverse gear at the time I applied the brakes full force. Fortunately, we did not hit each other and I drove on and exited the parking lot. At the first intersection I noticed my brake and stabilitrack warning-indicator lights came on. I was on a surface street with light traffic and when I attempted to brake, as I did, the car swerved and would not brake properly nor come to a full stop even when the brake pedal was fully depressed. Pumping the break I was able to manage with intermittent braking ability and drive the car to my home (which is only a short distance from the starbucks). I opened the hood to check the brake fluid reservoir and saw that it was almost completely empty. I could see fluid dripping and pooling under the engine of the car. I contacted the Chevrolet dealership and towed the car to them for servicing the next morning. At the dealership, I explained what happened to the service manager and filed a report on gm's online reporting system. The manager came back after inspecting the car and told me that there was extensive damage to the braking system but could not give me a complete assessment other than the master cylinder and brake line would need to be replaced. The car was repaired according to the work order but after testing they found that the problem persisted. I was told that the brake pressure moderator value needed to be replaced. 14-days from the time I towed the car in the final repairs were completed.

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Warning lights for brakes, abs, and stability control system illuminated on start up and backing out of the vehicle from a parking space. The brakes were mushy but would still stop the car but with much greater effort. The Volt apparently has a mechanical fail safe braking mechanism (other than the parking brake) in the braking system even if the hydraulic pressure fails. Contact with on star indicated a dtc of c1121 - left front hydraulic system leaking. There was no external evidence of brake fluid leaking on the vehicle and the master cylinder reservoir was at the maximum level. The vehicle was repaired by replacing the master cylinder since the brake pressure could not be maintained over 159 psig. While recognizing that any vehicle part can fail at anytime, failure of a brake master cylinder at such low mileage should be rare. This submission was only to help identify if the master cylinder in the 2014 Volt is failing at more than normal rates.