10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
5 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
77,573 miles

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« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #48

Oct 282011

Silverado 3500 4WD 8-cyl

  • 98,000 miles
Brake lines on this 1999 Chevy Silverado lt 1500 4WD Z71 have failed 2 times. First in October 2006 with approximately 98,200 miles. All brake lines were replaced at a cost of $1,400, plus the cost of the tow. Then again in October 2011 at approximately 173,600 miles. The first occurrence happened in my driveway while pulling out onto the street. Fortunately, I was not moving too fast and was able to pull over without incident. The second occurrence happened at speed, approximately 35 mph, as the light turned red and the car in front of me applied his brakes. I applied mine only to have them go straight to the floor. I was able to make an erratic loop around the other vehicle, going through the red light and the intersection. Had it not been the middle of the day, with light traffic, I, and any number of other drivers, could have been severely injured or killed as a result of this failure. This vehicle was towed, at my expense, and is presently in the shop being evaluated for needed repairs. Two complete brake failures in 12 years or a failure once every 6 years is totally unacceptable. I have been a Chevy driver for more than 36 years, however, I no longer trust my vehicle, or any Chevy.

- Pasadena, MD, USA

problem #47

Oct 162011

Silverado 3500 6-cyl

  • 79,000 miles
Went to back up out of driveway and peddle went to floor. No breaks hit parking break nothing there either. Two lines rusted threw and two mor of 5 were bad. Back calipers frozen and damaged. Thought breaks would never fail totally but this is not true. No warning lights either just roll and stop when you hit something. Not fun. Good thing I was not on the freeway or in traffic could have killed one.... not happy......... just nice fat bill to pay...

- East Peoria, IL, USA

problem #46

Aug 112011

Silverado 3500 6-cyl

  • 101,100 miles
Brakes failed when leaving a residential driveway. Two lines split near the balancer valve located below the driver seat underneath the vehicle resulting in catastrophic brake failure. Noticed extreme corrosion around all five of the brake lines around the balancer valve upon inspection.

- Glen Carbon, IL, USA

problem #45

Oct 142011

Silverado 3500

  • 151,000 miles
Was driving my truck to the carryout when I went to stop and all of sudden there were no brakes and the pedal went right to the floor. Never had a warning it was going to happen. I was lucky that the person that didn't have to stop didn't hit me, as they had to slam on their brakes and swerve to avoid me. I am lucky this happened at 2 am in the morning when there wasn't much traffic. I was only able to stop because I ended up hitting the curb and jumping in someone's yard scared me into thing I was going to smash into the house. Well the truck came to rest about 10 foot from the porch. I looked under the truck and can see that the lines are rusted really bad under the driver side cab and it looks to be all need replaced. I have never had brake lines rust like this ever and I own several older trucks and they aren't this bad being twice the age of this truck. GM should own up to this problem and do a recall before somebody gets killed if that hasn't happened already. Like I can just let my truck sit while this investigation is slowly looked at by officials that don't care if people die by not issuing a recall now.

- Fostoria, OH, USA

problem #44

Mar 212011

Silverado 3500

  • 140,000 miles
The contact owns a 1999 Chevrolet Silverado. While driving approximately 10 mph and coming to a stop the ABS activated inadvertently. The failure occurred intermittently. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing nor was it repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.

- Yorkville, IL, USA

problem #43

Sep 242011

Silverado 3500

  • 194,000 miles
After stopping hard due to traffic, the brakes lost almost all pressure. Stopping distance increased greatly while pedal went to the floor without much resistance. Upon returning home, albeit slowly, it was discovered that there was a small leak just after the master cylinder in the steel brake lines where they enter a plastic retaining clip. All of the surrounding steel lines have corrosion on them as well.

- Deerfield Beach, FL, USA

problem #42

Sep 052011

Silverado 3500 8-cyl

  • 130,000 miles
When I apply my brakes the truck does not want to stop, and I see an accident coming.

- Fredericktown, OH, USA

problem #41

Sep 192011

Silverado 3500 8-cyl

  • 124,000 miles
Fuel line failed while sitting in driveway due to extensive corrosion after repairing the fuel line and running the truck to check for leak I applied the brakes and the forward brake line failed. The entire under carriage is rusty and all fuel lines and brake lines are completely rusty and will need to be replaced.

- Franklin, IN, USA

problem #40

Aug 282011

Silverado 3500

  • 87,262 miles
The contact owns a 1999 Chevrolet Silverado. The contact stated that at low speeds, the ABS would activate without warning. The vehicle was repaired under NHTSA campaign id number: 05V379000 (service brakes, hydraulic:antilock) but the failure recurred. The dealer and manufacturer denied any assistance with further repairs to the vehicle. The failure and current mileage was 87,262. Kmj

- Decaur, IL, USA

problem #39

Nov 302007

Silverado 3500

  • 85,000 miles
After exiting the main road, I started a curve and downhill exit which had a traffic light at the end of the exit, which dead ended on to another main road. Seeing that the light was turning from yellow to red I started to brake. Fortunately for me no traffic was approaching the green light as when I began to brake the pedal went to the floor. As I was attempting to stop, I continued through the red light and onto the opposite shoulder of the road and used my emergency brake and downshifted the trans. Once I stopped I checked under my truck and found a ruptured brake line. I managed to get my truck to a service store and had the line replaced. At that time the service provider told me all Chevy trucks have bad lines and mine was no different as they were common steel line and he priced replacement of the lines at about $1300 give or take.

- Hagerstown , MD, USA

problem #38

Aug 092011

Silverado 3500

  • 150,000 miles
The contact owns a 1999 Chevrolet Silverado. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced a complete loss of brakes while driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who stated that the brake lines were completely rusted through. The contact also stated that the frame was rusted through and there was hole the size of a half dollar on the passenger side of the vehicle. The failure and current mileages were 150,000.

- Saint Charles , MO, USA

problem #37

Jul 022011

Silverado 3500

  • 73,000 miles
The contact owns a 1999 Chevrolet Silverado. The contact stated they were driving the vehicle and when they engaged the brake pedal, they failed to respond. The contact stated the ABS light did not come on, but the emergency brake did not work as well. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was told the entire brake line had corroded. The vehicle was at the dealership waiting to be repaired. The failure and current mileages were 73,000.

- Killingworth , CT, USA

problem #36

Jun 132010

Silverado 3500 8-cyl

  • 27,990 miles
Chassis engine failed on single lane highway hill climb. Seemed like engine cut off allowing driver to quickly turn into" hole in the wall "quick stop store parking area. Engine turned over but would not run. The consumer stated he experienced two parking brake failures within 3,000 miles of travel. Each repair, consisted of replacing switches and adjustments. The last repair consisted of the replacement of the drum associated with the brake pads, switches and wheel brake disc. It was also discovered that the park assembly had burned up, when the brake assembly failed to release. In addition, a 10 amp fuse had blown when a short was discovered in a pressure switch. The park brake assembly and both pressure switches were replaced. Updated IVOQ 12/19/12 the consumer stated while filling re-fueling the motor home, a passerby informed him gasoline was draining from the motor home. He quickly removed the hose and saw a large puddle of fuel under the gas tank. The consumer was not sure, where it was coming from, but it did appear to flow from a connecting pipe at the very rear of the motor home filling section and about 4 inches at the tank interface. The consumer stated the motor home is currently in storage. Updated 04/30/13

- Morganton, NC, USA

problem #35

Jul 202007

Silverado 3500 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 85,000 miles
The contact owns a 1999 Chevrolet Silverado. When the brakes were applied at 5 mph, the vehicle failed to stop. The contact applied the emergency brake. He noticed an oil spill on the ground. The vehicle was towed to the repair shop and they stated that the metal brake lines were rusted and needed to be replaced. The VIN was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 85,000.

- Evansville , IN, USA

problem #34

Jun 092006

Silverado 3500 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 101,355 miles
First incident occurred on June 9, 2006 where the rear brake line failed while pulling boat from remote fishing lake at approximately 10:30 pm, leaving a large amount of brake fluid on the ground and on the right rear tire. No dealers are open at this hour, therefore I had to drive truck with only emergency brake. Delivered truck to the dealer during business hours where the rear brake line was replaced due to failure from being corroded through. Asked for inspection of all remaining brake lines and have them replaced if required as I did not want the incident to happen again - none were replaced and was informed everything was now fine. 2nd incident occurred December 6, 2006. Another brake line along the left side of the frame near the transfer case failed due to severe corrosion. This happened as my wife was returning home and drove to the end of our driveway and when the brakes were applied the pedal went all the way to the floor. Our house is located on a hill and the truck went off the drive and headed through the yard down the hill - luckily she placed the transmission in park without an accident or injury. I inspected all of the brakes lines and found that all are severely corroded. If they are touched in any way, large flakes of corrosion come off in you hand. I will not return this vehicle to a GM dealer for repair as I would rather complete the job myself rather than have someone lie to me and jeopardize my families or my life any further!

- Aurora, IN, USA

problem #33

Jan 232006

Silverado 3500 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 78,950 miles
My problem is similar to the problems that I have read about related to NHTSA recall campaigns 05V379000. At slow speed ABS will activated, but the truck with not stop. This truck was not included in the recall which seemed weird since it had the same problems as described in the recall, and I live in a state which has salt on the roads almost half of the year. When I brought truck in to the Chevrolet dealer, who stated that they needed to replace the entire hub assembly for both the right and left. To fully fix the problem they could not simply apply a rust inhibitor as the recall above suggested. I did some internet research and found that other consumers experienced the same problem. Many who brought their trucks in under the recall also had to have the hub assembly replaced. The two crashes this problem caused included the vehicle running in to a tree in a parking lot and a tool chest in garage. I have been fortunate enough not to have run anyone over because of this problem.

- New London, WI, USA

problem #32

Jan 112006

Silverado 3500 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 85,000 miles
: the contact stated the rear brake backing plate deteriorated and will not work properly due to corrosion. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for general inspection of the corrosion. The service department determined the rear brake backing plate was corroded due to the corrosive road salts used on the highway in that area.

- Hull, MA, USA

problem #31

Oct 202005

Silverado 3500 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
I bought my 1999 checy Silverado new. The brakes were never as good as the vehicle I had traded in or in fact drove at work for my employer. I took my vehicle back to the dealer, mckee auto several times. The service advisors would not log my complaint or attempt to repair the vehicle. I have run several stoplights because of the lousy brakes, luckily there haven't been any accidents. Last October the rear brakes went out on this vehicle. I replaced the rear pads and rotors while the front brakes look the same as new. This leads me to believe maybe they aren't hardly being used. I thought there was supposed to have been a recall for early models of this vehicle, but was never notified.

- Perry, IA, USA

problem #30

Aug 012005

Silverado 3500 4WD 8-cyl

  • 34,847 miles
1999 Silverado ext cab ABS pump motor had to be replaced due to a short caused by corrosion. The consumer believes this part failed too soon. This is not the first time the consumer has experienced problems with the brakes or ABS system.

- Sussex, WI, USA

problem #29

Mar 092004

Silverado 3500 4WD 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 68,000 miles
When going at low speeds (between 5 and 15 mph) the truck does not want to stop and I have had a couple of close calls of hitting a car in front of me or a car park in a parking lot. I was in a parking garage and the exit for it is like a spiral staircase I had to tried going down it three times before I could make it down to the exit.

- Cleveland, OH, USA

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