Abs Brake Fail problems of the 2002 GMC Sonoma

While braking for a yield intersection on 3/30/2012, approx. 10am, in dry and clear conditions, brakes on 2002 GMC Sonoma failed. Vehicle would not stop despite hard pressure on the brake pedal and ran through intersection almost colliding with another vehicle. When managed to get vehicle stopped and pulled to side of road, both the abs and brake failure warning lights were illuminated on the dash. Upon turning the ignition off and restarting, both the abs and brake failure warning lights cleared and were no longer illuminated. Check engine light never illuminated. Took vehicle to both independent mechanic and gm dealership mechanic and both confirmed an odb ii trouble code of c0265 had been generated. This code, I was told, indicates failure of the ebcm (electronic brake control module) of the abs system. Apparently, this problem is well-known to gm and it has issued several technical service bulletins on the problem, but no recalls. Independent mechanic could not replace the ebcm as lacked the proprietary gm software needed to program it. Gm dealership mechanic--while confirming generation of the c0265 trouble code--refused to replace the ebcm instead saying I should "just drive it around and see if the problem happens again. " this seemed a very dismissive approach by gm to a known problem on certain of their abs vehicles as the first brake failure on 3/20/2012 almost caused a wreck. Not anxious to find out what the second failure the gm dealer wants me to "wait for" would result in.

On my 2002 GMC Sonoma truck the front driver side brake pad was worn off and the rotor severely scored and ruined by 14,000 miles, to the extent that the GMC dealer declared it unsafe to drive. Mean while the passenger side front brake pad was largely intact and the rotor perfect. Also the abs system failed to stop truck promptly or smoothly on several occasions.

2002 GMC Sonoma. Consumer complained about abs brake problem. While driving 30 mph on silver spring drive in milwaukee, wisconsin consumer applied brakes and the vehicle slid due to the wheels locking up. The road was dry and it was day time. This happened on July 12, 2005. Consumer did not believe that speed of the vehicle had to be slow or fast for this to happen. He had no idea what caused abs failure.

Contact owns a 2002 GMC Sonoma. Last week the abs light came on. At the first stop sign the car veered to the right as he was pressing on the brakes. He went to a service station that was about a half mile down the road. They indicated it was a sensor for the abs brakes. He went to his dealership and told them his story and they said that vehicle was not under warranty and there was no recall. The dealership indicated it was normal for the vehicle to pull to the right. The owner's manual stated that if the abs failed there would be normal braking capabilities, but consumer's vehicle did not have it. Updated 01/10/06.