37 problems related to brake hoses, lines/piping, and fittings have been reported for the 2003 GMC Sierra. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
I was approaching a stop light driving on a 4 lane 55 mph speed zone. As I was approaching the stop light I starting pressing on the brake pedal. The pedal had no resistance it kept going to the floor. I started pumping the pedal trying to slow my truck down, no use. I pushed pedal all the way to the floor. This slowed a little. But not enough. I down shifted the automatic lever and starting guiding the truck off the road to avoid the stopped vehicles. I missed the vehicles. Luckily I was only 3 miles from home. I managed to limp home by driving very, very slow and using the gear shifter to slow me down. When investigating the cause at home I found the brake line on the right front had rusted through and there was a leak. All the brake lines on this truck are rusted and in bad shape. I called the dealer glenn Buick GMC where I purchased the truck new in 2003. I spoke to the service personal "corey" about repairing the rusted lines. He said GMC was not standing behind this "failure" ! I was on my own ! seems GMC knows of these failures and so do you and you have agreed not to make them stand behind it and you have chosen to allow more accidents to happen ! you = national highway safety what a shame ! shame on you and GMC ! had I not been "lucky" this could have been a terrible accident! any help in resolving this issue would be appreciated! this issue will only get worse ! as I am sure there are other trucks with this potential problem waiting to happen!.
Tl-the contact owns a 2003 GMC Sierra. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 mph, the brakes were depressed and traveled abruptly to the floor. The vehicle failed to come to a stop until the emergency brake was engaged as the brake pedal was applied. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The contact discovered that the entire brake lines fractured due to corrosion. The vehicle not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 73,000. Js.
I was traveling in rule area of mich. After dark,a deer jump out in front of me! I hit the brakes,a brief brake surge, then the pedal went to the floor! no brakes! the brake lines under the drivers seat area were rusted through! I stop at a gas station. I found brake fluid all over and a man asked me what had happened,I told him what I found , he and I couldn't believe they were so rusted out ! my truck is in very good shape! except for the brake lines! it's got a stainless steel exhaust system but they scrimp on one of the most critical systems for safety ! unbelievable! by the grace of god I didn't hit the deer! but what if it had happened in town or if the deer was a child! thank god it happend the way it did and no one got hurt!.
Tl- the contact owns a 2003 Sierra GMC. The contact stated that while driving the vehicle at approximately 25 mph the contact pressed on the brakes and the brake line broke. The contact used the parking brake to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. Rwk.
The contact owns a 2003 GMC Sierra. While driving at 60 mph, the brake pedal was depressed but took a longer distance to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic multiple times who diagnosed that the brake lines needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 46,000. The VIN was unavailable.
The contact owns a 2003 GMC Sierra. While driving approximately 30 mph, the brake pedal sank to the floorboard when it was depressed. The contact had to shift to a lower gear to slow down the vehicle and the brake service warning indicator illuminated. The contact discovered that the brake fluid lines were ruptured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000.
Pulling out of driveway, no brakes. Broken corroded brake line, appears that all lines look in the same shape . Luckily there was no oncoming traffic. The hole in the line is directly under the driver seat.
As a minivan in front of me put their left turn signal on late, I had to hit my brakes quickly and when I did my brake pedal went to the floor and I was pumping air and had no brakes at all. I swirved around the van and luckily I was on an inclined road as I was able to slow the vehicle down into a lot and then pulled the emergency brake to get the truck stopped. My front and back brake line blew out and my mechanic said I was lucky that I wasn't killed. Now the truck is not usable and the after 52,000 miles I feel this is a situation of defective brake lines.
While parking the brake pedal went completely to the floor and sprayed break line fluid all on the manifold. There were zero brakes and discovered the brake lines were corroded. The vehicle had to be towed to a shop for repair to the leak. This did not fix the problem because all of the lines are corroded. I would not consider our state a "salt state" being that we live in the south. Due to these cheap break lines we will have to have them all replaced. We are very, very dissatisfied and will probably never buy a GMC product if this problem is not resolved by gm.
2003 GMC Sierra 1500, brake line failure. Purchased truck new in 2003 while stationed in the south, transferred to new england in 2008. 50/50 north-south truck, can't blame it all on road salt. Event: while in parking lot the brake pedal went right to the floor while shifting into reverse. Brake lines completely rotted out, fluid on the ground left front side and under drivers seat area. Drums and rotors were replaced two years prior. Truck was towed to the shop and I'm still awaiting the estimate. After quickly reading the amount of issues in the past 24 hours gm needs to recall and fix these issue before loss of life numbers increase.
The contact owns a 2003 GMC Sierra. The contact stated while driving approximately 10 mph, the brake pedal traveled to the floorboard when depressed. The vehicle eventually came to a stop and was taken to an independent mechanic. The technician diagnosed that both rear brake lines were corroded and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000. The VIN was unavailable. Updated 08/12/2014.
Tl- the contact owns a 2003 GMC Sierra. The contact attempted to backed out of his driveway, the brake lines depressed to the floor and the brakes failed to engage. The brake system malfunction indicator light illuminated on the contact's instrumental panel. The contact stopped his vehicle and noticed the trail of brake fluid to coming from underneath his vehicle. The contact was able to diagnose the rear brake lines had excessively corroded and would needed to be replaced. The contact repaired the vehicle himself. The dealer and manufacturer were not made aware of failure. A rear brake failure did not reoccur. The contact stated while driving 25 mph when suddenly failure reoccurred. The brake system malfunction indicator light illuminated on the contact's instrumental panel. The contact diagnosed the cause of the failure was the front brake lines. They would need to be replace due to corrosion. The dealer and manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired however, as soon as the repair was made the other front brake lines failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 160,000. Az.
State of new york based 2003 GMC Sierra 1500, 4x4, driving on smooth road dry road, 30 mph, towing light utility trailer with ladder and smaller items, applied the brakes, pedal went to floor and rear ended automobile and parked car as well. Ticketed by new york state police for inadequate brakes. 2003 GMC Sierra had corroded brake lines and has spent entire 10 years in new york and less than 70,000 miles. Second incident of corroded brake lines.
Car pulled out in front on me slammed on brakes, pedal went to floor, avoided car could not stop and ran into a field with my granddaughter in vehicle. Somebody is gonna die as a result of these rusted brake lines. These are brakes we're talking about here. Recall needs to happen now!!!! shame on you gm, we know your aware of this deadly problem.
On September 16, 2013 at approximately 6:00 am, I was approaching an inner-neighborhood intersection at low speed (approximately 5 mph) and began to apply my brakes to bring my vehicle to a required stop. Upon applying my brakes, the brake system failed completely whereby the brake pedal lost all pressure and depressed completely to the floor. Due to the fact that I was traveling up an incline at that point and was approaching a (four-way) stop sign, my truck came to an eventual stop a foot or two into the intersection. No accident occurred and no injuries were sustained by anyone as there were no other vehicles or pedestrians present. Inspection of the vehicle post-incident confirmed that the rear brake line had burst leading to complete loss of hydraulic brake fluid and immediate loss of brake function. Brake fluid was spilled on various rear suspension components including the axel and on the pavement. An subsequent inspection of the perforated rear drivers side brake line showed the brake line to be severely corroded with evidence of extreme clumped and loose, flaking rust layers. The perforation was evident just above the left rear axel. An inspection of the other brake lines on the vehicle showed various degrees of similar corrosion. After a full inspection of the brake system, a conclusion was made that all of the 1/4" brake lines on the vehicle would have to be replaced due to the extensive and severe rot present. It was concluded that to not do so would subject the vehicle operator as well as other drivers and/or pedestrians to potentially fatal consequences should another rot induced brake line perforation occur.
In a parking lot and without warning or indicator light, the brake pedal pushed to the floor with no resistance or braking activity. Fortunately, I rolled to a stop prior to entering the highway. After towing my GMC truck to a local dealership, I was informed the metal brake lines had failed (corroded. ) dealer is now replacing all brake lines (metal tubes and rubber hoses. ) internet research results show NHTSA opened an investigation for this in 2010. I called gm, who stated they were not aware of any recall. If this had happened the last time I drove the truck, 3 days earlier, I would have been towing a boat through the mountains with 3 passengers and gear. It probably would not have ended well. No warning indicator, no recall for inspection, no bulletin for dealership to inspect during my last maintenance. I am disappointed that I had to learn about this problem in this manner.
Approximately July 12,2013, I was traveling down the road doing about 50, when a car cut me off,I had to apply the brakes quickly,as I did, I lost my brakes. As I examined why, I found out that my drivers side rear brake line was rusted threw. Now in 2014, may 13 , I was traveling down the road coming to a traffic light when it changed to yellow, I applied my brakes and found out once again I have no brakes! this time the brake line for the front drivers side has rusted away causing brake fluid loss.
Beak line is rusted thru and leaking. I have lived in the rust belt of michigan all of my life (49yrs) and have owned many old / high mileage vehicles. In the past I was a licensed automotive mechanic. In all of my experience I have never seen brake lines rusted out this bad on a 10yr old vehicle with 130,000 miles. I have in the past owned a 20yr old truck with near 200,000 miles and the lines on that truck looked nearly new when I sold it. In this case, I do not know if the premature rusting is due to poor materials or the location of the lines. The leak is located where the lines are mounted to the top of the frame, in the proximity of the front edge of the driver¿s door. In this location they appear to be more exposed to salt spray coming off of the front wheel then they would be if they were mounted to the inside wall of the frame. Several online forums have revealed that this is a common place that the brake lines rust thru on this model truck. In my humble opinion this is a premature condition for a vehicle of this age and mileage. Especially considering the rest of the truck is in excellent condition for its years.
Pulled up to stop sign (pulling 3,800# boat) went to apply brake pedal and brake line burst. Brake pedal went to floor board, quickly applied emergency brake, vehicle came to stop in the middle of the road. Luckly this was a dead end road, with no traffic. (rusted brake line).
When exiting an interstate highway on a high speed ramp, I had to depress the brake pedal with extra pressure to slow down quickly due to a merging car. The brake pedal provided less than normal resistance and then proceeded to go all the way to the floor. The truck did slow down such that I was able to avoid a collision but it was scarily close (didn't stop any where near the distance that it has taken over the last 10 years). As I was continuing to roll/glide down the highway I decided to test the brakes to be sure I had braking capability. The brake pedal went completely to the floor and no braking capability. I had to use the emergency brake in order to stop and move into a safe place on the highway. There was no warning sign of a brake problem and there were no warning lights before nor after the loss of braking capability. The metal brake lines had corroded through and required replacing in order to get the braking capability restored. The repair total was $1,307 plus taxes. This catastrophic loss of braking capability with no warning or even performance indication is a total failure for the standards for which a motor vehicle should be allowed on american roads. The good news is that an accident was avoided and it was fortunate that I knew to use the emergency brake as a backup; my 24 year old daughter that was a passenger in the vehicle at the time of the failure had no idea that this would be an option. This truck is 10 years old with the first ~1 year in michigan before I acquired it and used it in a so-called salt belt state (delaware). It is 10 years old and only has 76,000 miles on it.
Tl- the contact owns a 2003 GMC Sierra. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 mph and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact applied the emergency brake and came to a stop. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic for diagnostic testing. The mechanic stated that the brake lines were corroded and would have to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000. Kmj.
First time: I had just picked up one of my daughters and was headed home, when we started going down hill I applied brakes to stay within speed limit. At first there was a moment of the brakes working and then nothing but a sloppy break pedal. At the bottom of the hill is a sharp curve and a traffic light. Even though the truck is an automatic, I applied the emergency brake and down shifted when rpm's were low enough to go to lower gear. I was going into 1st gear when we entered the sharp curve, there were 3 vehicles at a red light, so I started to head for the gaurd rails to side swipe and cut the wheel into the rails when the light turned green and back on to the road I went. Limped all the way home in the break down lane in first gear. Called a tow truck ($$$) that brought it to the shop. The shop replaced ($$$) a section of rotted break line that failed. 2nd time: today with both of my daughters in the truck, same circumstances as above only with a stop sign and I was going faster than I wanted to be when we approached the stop sign (traffic on the main road didn't have to stop) so between down shifting, up shifting and emergency brake, I was able to time it to go into traffic and once again limp all the way home, parked the truck and go through more crap, aggrivation and $$$. I've lived in connecticut all my (driving) life, owned different makes of trucks and cars (some from the late 60's all the way the present) and never, ever had a brake line bust or rot through on any of the vehicles in the 34 years I've driven. It's no suprise that gm doesn't have replacements, they got rid of them so tests couldn't be run on them. I paid enough for the truck to expect it to be safe for my family. I mean, really, brake lines. Most important system on the vehicle, the brake system. They make the exhaust system out of stainless. Here's a thought, stainless brake lines.
Brake line rusted through, 1 month later a second brake line rusted through. Massive rust on frame and bumpers as well.
Pumping up brakes in driveway when brake line burst ended up with no brakes at all front or back could only use emergency brakes to position truck to be towed.
Noticed a large puddle under my truck in the driveway. Discovered it was brake fluid that was leaking from rusted brake lines. I was two weeks from driving from florida to mid-michigan. . Through the mountains. . Pulling a trailer. Cost $340 to get it repaired not replaced.
2003 GMC Sierra pick-up 4wd extended cab. Brake line failure due to corrosion. Date of failure 2/27/12 mileage 23068 cost of repair $1283. 82. My neighbor has a 2004 GMC and also need to replace his brake lines.
My 16 y. O. Son was driving home from work, when he lost his brakes. Fortunately he is a cautious driver and was able to avoid striking the vehicles in front of him in traffic. All of the brake lines are rusted.
Tl-the contact owns a 2003 GMC Sierra. The contact stated while driving 5 mph from the driveway he depress the brake and heard a pop noise. After reversing back in the driveway he looked under the vehicle he saw a puddle of fuel on the ground. Upon further inspection he noticed the four brake line running alongside the frame was rusted causing the breakage. The vehicle was towed to a mechanic shop who inspected the failure and stated the parts will take a week before he can repair the failure. The dealer was not notified. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 37,597. Mw.
Metal brake lines ruptured due to corrosion. It is evident when other metal under body components are compared to the brake lines that the corrosion is exessive. It is readily apparent that inferior alloys were used on this vehicles brake components. The brakes failed while the vehicle was being brougth to a stop. These substandard components clearly represent a saftey hazard. I am thed vehicles original owner and it has been operated in the new engand area and maintained extremley well.
Total brake failure while driving vehicle. Had to use emergency parking brake to stop. All brake lines are heavily corroded and covered in rust. Brake line that failed went to right front brake. Pin hole in brake line could be seen when pumping brakes. Fortunately brakes failed at slow speed and was able to stop. I have never seen such a build up of rust on brake lines.
The brake line ruptured causing complete brake system failure. Luckily I was in my driveway and only travelling very slow. I can see brake fluid puddling under the driver side door area.
Truck was entering major highway,traffic begins too slow due to rush hour ,seeing this occur I stepped on brakes expecting to slow down ,until I realized pedal had gone all the way to floor,then I let up an pushed to floor again-no brakes no room to go left or right impact was unavoidable,impacted car twice which pushed that car into another this truck was serviced by gm dealer for transmission cooling line and engine cooling lines Monday Tuesday and Wednesday, no mention of brake lines issue, accident occurred on Friday. Also had contacted gm about original work possible warranty. Updated 07/25/12 the consumer has since traded the vehicle. Updated 07/31/12.
The contact owns a 2003 GMC Sierra. While applying the brakes, the brake pedal was depressed straight into the floorboard. The contact stated that the defect was a result of rusted brake lines. The dealer and manufacturer denied any assistance with repairs to the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 76,667.
The contact owns a 2003 GMC Sierra. The contact was driving 10 mph when the brakes were applied but did not respond. The contact continued to repetitiously pump the brakes until the vehicle coasted to a stop. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where corrosion was discovered on the brake lines. The dealer made repairs to the brake line and advised that the contact could have been involved in a severe crash if he were to have been driving at highway speeds. The failure mileage was 57,000. The VIN was not available.
First incident was a brake line bursting in my driveway. I had it repaired at my local garage. At that time he told me that all of the brake lines were in bad shape. Second incident, while I was driving up the road at approx 55 mph with my 19' boat in tow I realized I had no steering or brakes. I was able to coast to a stop and pull the vehicle off the road to a safe location. The failure was attributed to a rotted line to the power steering cooler. Lastly, I am not able to get a safety inspection sticker because my brake lines in such bad condition. Estimated cost to repair $800-$1500 dollars. I will add that the truck looks like new, spends most of it's time in the garage and is used primarily to go to the local dump, plow my driveway only and occasionally tow my boat to the lake! mileage reflects this. Dates may not be totally accurate but the best of my recollection.