NHTSA Safety Complaint: 2000 Chevrolet Tahoe

anonymous to NHTSA
September 3, 2013


All Products Associated with this Complaint: 2000 Chevrolet Tahoe
Date Complaint Filed: 09/03/2013
Date of Incident: 08/30/2013
Component(s): SERVICE BRAKES
NHTSA ID Number: 10538658
Crash: No
Fire: No
Number of Injuries: 0
Number of Deaths: 0
Manufacturer: General Motors LLC
Vehicle Identification No. (VIN): 1GNEK13TY47...

SUMMARY: I ON 8/30/2013 NOTICED A VERY SOFT BRAKE PEDAL AND DROVE HOME CAREFULLY. I DID NOT DRIVE THE CAR THE NEXT DAY OUT OF CONCERN FOR THE BRAKES. I TESTED THE BRAKES ON SUNDAY AND FOUND I HAD NO BRAKES. THE TRUCK WAS TOWED TO A REPAIR FACILITY ON 9/2/2013. INSPECTION OF THE SYSTEM SHOWS ALL BRAKE LINES NEED REPLACEMENT. THREE HAVE FAILED AND THE OTHERS WHEN MOVED TO ALLOW REPLACEMENT OF THE BAD LINES WILL FAIL. THE BLEEDER VALVE IS RUSTED AND NEW CALIPERS MAY BE NEEDED. ESTIMATED TOTAL COST APPROX. $2000.00 PLUS. I HAVE OWNED MANY CARS AND NEVER ENCOUNTERED THIS PROBLEM BEFORE. I SUSPECT INFERIOR MATERIALS ARE BEING USED FOR BRAKE LINES. I AM TOLD THIS IS A VERY COMMON OCCURRENCE. I AM LUCKY THAT THERE WAS NO ACCIDENT CAUSED BY MY BRAKE FAILURE. I AM SURE MANY OTHERS ARE NOT SO LUCKY. THE PROBLEM SEEMS VERY COMMON AMONG CARS BUILT BY THE BIG THREE AND LESS SO AMONG EUROPEAN AUTO MAKERS. I SUSPECT BEAN COUNTERS ARE SAVING A FEW DOLLARS PER CAR AND TO HELL WITH SAFETY!