general problems of the 2007 GMC Sierra 3500

Vehicle is equipped with factory integrated trailer brake control (itbc). Back in Jan. , 2011 I got a message in the driver information center (dic): it said "service trailer brake system". Message intermittent at first, and then more frequently , and then message appeared at start-up every time. Dealer fixed problem. In April of 2013 the same problem has returned in exactly the same pattern as the previous fault. This a faulty system at best, and has serious design flaws. The serious safety issue here when the "service trailer brake system" message appears on the dic; all trailer braking is lost. There is no default or back-up system in which to apply trailer brakes. Even the manual trailer brake control built into the itbc is also rendered inoperable. This itbc failure could happen at any time, and at any speed. This vehicle is rated to tow a trailer of 10,000lbs. Plus. Many peoples lives could be put in jeopardy if suddenly all trailer braking were lost on a steep downgrade. This itbc system needs to be re-designed so that a vehicle operator can operate the trailer brakes manually if automatic trailer brake control is lost when the operator gets a "service trailer brake system" on the dic.

Tl * the contact owns 2007 GMC Sierra 3500. While driving at speeds of 45 mph the contact depressed the brakes and the brake pedal fell further onto the floor board than usual before the vehicle would stop. The failure increased the brake stopping distance. The contact stated that the failure would occur whenever the vehicle was driven. The dealer was unable to duplicate or diagnose the failure eight times. The dealer advised the contact that the vehicle was safe to drive and there were no failures. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate current mileage was 49,000 and the failure mileage was 2,000.