Anti-lock brakes activate for no reason at slow speeds

- Brillion, WI, USA

My 2006 GMC has only 29,000 miles on it. I bought the truck in October 2009 with 16,000 miles. I keep the truck clean inside and out, top to bottom including under the vehicle. People comment to me all the time on how nice the truck looks. Brake line let go in yard. Pedal went to the floor, no brakes had to hit reverse then neutral and the emergency brake. I had just returned home from going up town. Thank god it happened where it did. I have been driving 40 years and only replaced one brake line in a 11 year old Ford truck and that was just a section near a bend. This truck needs to have all the lines replaced. I just replaced all the transmission lines 4 months ago for $800. Same thing, all rusted. I lived in Massachusetts my whole life and I do my best to keep the salt off the truck. Last time I ever seen rust issues this bad was in the 1970S when cars would start rusting out after 3 years because of the reused steel that came from overseas.

- Franklin, MA, USA

Since roughly June of 2014 complete vehicle shakes violently when brakes are applied. I have had it looked at and have been told that it is the brake lines ABS and needs replacement. I am a single father of two boys struggling financially and cannot afford new brake lines. I also have a current situation where the rear bumper is completely rotted through and as a result cannot pass state vehicle inspection I have searched for 2 months and cannot find a used rear bumper and manufacturer cost is $450-$500 which I cannot afford at the moment. I have always had a GMC pickup and am very dissatisfied with my present situation as I have only put 25,000 miles on the vehicle since purchased.

- South Thomaston, ME, USA

Hydraulic brake line rust out results in loss of stopping ability. The "blow out" occurred while the vehicle was stopped (I was very lucky!). upon inspection, several of the hydraulic lines were rusted badly. I felt that I had to replace them all (with stainless steel lines) to prevent another failure which could have dire consequences. The cost of the replacement stainless steel hydraulic lines was over $300. I performed the replacement of these lines myself. It cost me an additional $180 to get the complete ABS braking system bled out.

- Haymarket, VA, USA

I wake up early on Sunday, on 11/16/15 and took a company truck a 2006 GMC Sierra 1500, to bring some cargo. On my way back home on 836 West expressway, I took my exit and when press the brake pedal to reduce speed, the pedal went to the floor of the car and the brake action was minimum to nothing. Another vehicle was stop at the traffic light, and to avoid the obvious impact to the stopped car, I pumped the brakes several times and applied the parking brakes at approx. 30 mph. Seeing no way to avoid the collision, I pull the car to the side of the road and hit a concrete water drain, resulting in abruptly sopping of my car and my knee hit the lower dashboard. The guy of the other car went out and ask me, are you "drunk" "are you ok" I called a flatbed and bring my truck to my work place and then notice that a brake line was broke and most of the brake fluid spilled all over the front of the chassis, under the radiator. The brake line was incredible rusted, reason for the brake down, I had cars with a lot more years with no problem with brake lines. When I inspect the other brake lines deeply, noticed that an excessive corrosion was in all of them. GMC should do something about this, safety issue, is no reason for a 2006, only 8 years vehicle, present that level of corrosion on brake lines. "coke can thickness apparently". somebody will die or seriously injure, or will kill somebody, pedestrian or driver because the sudden brake failure in a case like this. I will bring the vehicle to a garage to replace the broken line and probably all of them.. its ridiculous, and very dangerous that this things happens in a vehicle that age. I really appreciate to bring this case to the proper attention of the manufacturer in order to avoid more incidents like mine.I consider myself very lucky, .could not be writing this if this happens to me at a high speed. Thanks.

- Miami, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2006 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that there was an unknown substance leaking from the vehicle. In addition, the brake lines were rusted and had holes causing it to potentially fracture. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, who diagnosed that the brake lines needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. Additionally, the contact stated that there was a loud noise coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000. Updated 12/10/14 updated 9/29/2015

- Pilot Mountain, NC, USA

Truck started to have brake pedal pulsing as you come to a stop. Problem lead to increased stopping distance at slow speed. Dealer knows of problem, but said my truck was not covered under recall.

- Beavercreek, OH, USA

Just did a 4 wheelbrakejob;pads and rotors for thefront, shoes for the rear! had to replace one rear wheel brake cylinder. Started to bleed system, rear brakeline burst, was rusted real bad, replaced the affected line then front line burst and that was rusted real bad also. In checking things over discovered they are all very rusty, afraid if I don't replace them all will have to shortly because they are all in same condition. Note;had to replace transmission lines last year due to corrosion and rust!!!!

- Northfield, NH, USA

I had towed my boat on the interstate for 2 hours to a lake. Upon reaching the destination I was attempting to launch the boat at the boat ramp. While I was backing my boat trailer into the water I was using the brakes to ease down the ramp. Two family members were in the boat to back it off the trailer once in the water. The pedal suddenly went completely to the floor, I stepped on the emergency brake to stop the truck from rolling into the water. I got out and saw a large puddle of brake fluid under the truck on the drivers side just behind the front wheel area. I got in the truck to see if the brakes could be applied again but went completely to the floor. In order to get the truck, trailer and boat off the ramp I had to put the truck in drive, quickly release the emergency brake and apply the gas to prevent truck from rolling backwards. Upon looking under the hood I found the brake line was rusted in a clip and had ruptured where the left front wheel brake line was retained in a clip on the drivers side frame just next to the steering column. Since it was early enough I was able to get the truck towed to a local mechanic to get the ruptured line replaced. On 5/29/2014 while moving the truck in the driveway the brake line for the right front wheel has now ruptured, upon inspection the rupture is in the exact same location where the brake line is retained in the clip attached to the frame on the front drivers side next to the steering column. At this point I can only assume I will need to replace all the brake lines on the vehicle. If this had happened on the interstate or had to make an emergency stop during the initial incident I would have likely hit someone, lost my boat and injured or killed myself or family members. Brake lines should not rust like this in fl and the loss of one brake line should not eliminate your entire braking system to all four wheels.

- Jupiter, FL, USA

Brake line ruptured due to corrosion. I was leaving a hess station in Massachusetts after filling up and when I stepped on the brake before pulling out into traffic the pedal depressed all the way to the floor. I immediately engaged the emergency brake and put the truck into reverse to park the vehicle and investigate the problem. I found a large brake fluid leak under the hood near the base of the steering column where the hard brake line clips to the truck frame. There was a significant amount of corrosion on the brake line. All four (4) brake lines are currently being replaced at the dealership where I bought the vehicle for a cost of ~$2400.

- Warwick, RI, USA

Brake line rust thru rear drivers side and all are in poor shape.

- Hamilton, OH, USA

The contact owns a 2006 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while driving 40 mph, he attempted to engage the brakes but the pedal sunk to the floorboard and the brake warning lamp illuminated. The contact mentioned that after inspecting the vehicle he noticed that the brake lines were corroded and leaking brake fluid. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 61,000.

- Monroeville, PA, USA

TL - the contact owns a 2006 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 10 mph, the brakes were engaged and failed to respond. The contact mentioned that the service brake system warning light illuminated and that the emergency brakes were engaged for the vehicle to come to a stop. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the brake line was corroded and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 35,000.

- Manheim, PA, USA

When braking at slow speeds the anti lock brakes appear to engage causing the pulsating brake in the pedal. The truck stopping distance is increased and the brakes do not fully engage causing the truck to bump the curb. The problem also may happen at higher speeds such as 25 mph and corrects when the pedal is depressed fully to the floor causing the brakes to fully engage (lock up). The problem is intermittent and does not happen every time.

- Frankfort, KY, USA

I was driving down a hill and applied the brakes and the brake pedal went all the way to the floor. There was no resistance to the brake pedal at all. The brakes functioned properly when I stopped at a stop sign, then when I was going down the hill the brake line broke.

- Painesville, OH, USA

The contact owns a 2006 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that while driving approximately 10 mph, the brakes began to pulsate upon engagement with a sudden activation of the anti-lock braking system (ABS). As a result, there was a delayed response in braking to a stop. The failure recurred four times as the contact was driving at low speeds of 10 mph or less. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who stated that both front ABS speed sensors would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the malfunction. The approximate failure mileage was 29,000.

- Miller Place, NY, USA

Driving in residential neighborhood at approx. 25 mph. Upon engaging brakes to stop at stop sign, pedal suddenly became extremely soft and traveled nearly to floor. It took me a moment to figure out what was going on and I had to press with full force to stop. Drove slowly to nearest GMC dealer, not far away. Almost all of the brake pedal travel provided no response; the remainder of travel was soft and provided minimal braking performance. Diagnosis by the dealer was excessive corrosion on all solid brake lines and fittings. Burst/leakage on a line near the driver's side rear wheel was causing the soft, nearly unresponsive brake pedal. Recommendation by dealer was to replace all solid brake lines and fittings, from master cylinder to ABS unit to each wheel end. I was told that only fixing the area that had burst would be too "risky" due to condition of the rest of the solid brake lines and that failure in another part of the lines was "probably going to happen." The flexible/rubber brake lines and fittings at calipers/drums were "ok" and not replaced. Total charge: $1380.46. This is a 7-year old vehicle with about 40K mileage that has been well-maintained in personal use/commuting. I have never experienced this failure before, on any vehicle at any age, including numerous vehicles 10+ years old all driven in ne Ohio. I am grateful the brakes gave up when/where they did: At low speed and without any other vehicle (or pedestrian) around. I contacted GM and registered my complaint; they offered no relief or explanation (beyond "environmental" cause), though they expressed serious interest in my experience. I think this failure is unacceptable at this stage of a vehicle service life, regardless of whether it is used in the "salt belt." Please consider expansion of EA11-001 to later model years of gmt800-series vehicles.

- Hudson, OH, USA

I purchased my pickup new in Jan. 2007 and use it to tow an 8X16 trailer w/electric brakes for a part time business throughout the summer. The trailer weighs approx. 6000 lbs. Loaded and the truck is rated for 8,000 lbs. Approximate towing mileage is 3 to 4,000 miles per year. After towing the trailer 200 miles on Sept. 14, 2012 my wife noticed several oil leaks on the asphalt nearby. I suspected something in the differential area and drove to the nearest GMC dealership several miles away. They diagnosed it as a rear brake line and ended up replacing 6' of it along with both rotors and calipers and a brake system flush for a total of $958.76. I'm 66 yrs. Old and have never had a brake line go in any vehicle I've ever owned and I've lived in Massachusetts all my life. My local mechanic just told me this week that the rest of the brake lines are badly corroded and should be replaced asap. This will add another $900 to the entire cost. There is no question in my mind that GM has allowed quality in workmanship on its brake lines to fall through the cracks...and at the public's expense.

- Westport, MA, USA

The contact owns a 2006 GMC Sierra 1500. The contact stated that the ABS engaged while braking at low speeds. As a result, the vehicle experienced an increased stopping distance. The vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 120,000.

- New Hope, MN, USA