Brake pedal gets hard at red lights stopping power is reduced lack of power assistance

- Lyndhurst, OH, USA

I seem to lose braking power at low speeds after pumping the brakes a couple of times. In order to stop I need to use much more force

- Snohomish, WA, USA

Brake pedal gets very stiff at low speed and low RPM. No collision has happened but close calls have happened.

- Killeen, TX, USA

When slowing down, the brake pedal on the vehicle would become hard to press. Once the break pedal became hard, it would take a longer distance to stop the vehicle completely. It happened at slower speeds, for example as I was pulling into a parking lot.

- Mt. Pleasant, TN, USA

Brake pedal became hard and was difficult to stop properly. I felt that I had no control over this vehicle..I brought the truck to vail GMC in mt kisco, NY on Sept 22, 2017 they said it was the vacuum pump and had to be replaced at the cost of $353.16. The vehicle only had 40256 miles on it just out of warranty. It was brought to my attention that this a real problem with this issue nationally. This is a potentially a dangerous condition and is unsafe.this braking problem was on the the city street and parking lot.

- Ossining, NY, USA

"takata recall" driving truck down interstate and it just cutoff no steering no breaks all power shuts off. I wait till truck is stooped and try wigging key and make sure gearshift is in right position. After a few min lights come on the dash and the truck will start back up. It says in the notification area in dash let driver side window down and up again. This has happen twice and both times I was on a interstate almost hit by cars behind me. I was driving about 65 mph going straight most time it would do this if I change lanes.

- Rougemont, NC, USA

Drove my vehicle about 15 miles and parked it in a parking lot for about 10 minutes. When I returned and backed out of the parking space the brake pedal would not compress much at all unless I pushed on it with some body weight for leverage and only then the vehicle barely stopped - was travelling at a very low speed but still very hard to stop the vehicle. I tried to pump the brake pedal, then carefully moved the vehicle a couple of times to test the brakes and the condition repeated. I then parked the vehicle and shut off the engine momentarily. The condition persisted when I restarted the vehicle. I started to drive the vehicle slowly and carefully in a loop around the parking lot pumping the brakes a couple times and the pedal finally returned to normal. Had I been on the highway when this condition occurred or had I been towing our 5K-lb trailer the consequences could have been catastrophic. Reading online the issue appears common in GM trucks from 2014 up and the cause was often a failing vacuum pump. I located a copy of a service bulletin published internally by GM discussing the issue and prescribing a repair procedure. The bulletin noted that if engine oil escaped past the seal(s) of the failing vacuum pump replacement of the brake booster, master cylinder, and vacuum line may be required in addition to the pump. Given the appearance of this as a common issue, fear of losing brakes again, and fearing that waiting may necessitate other braking components under the hood needing replacement if the oil seeped through the pump, I promptly replaced the vacuum pump. Following the repair procedure prescribed in the GM bulletin there was no engine oil noted in the vacuum line so no further parts were replaced other than the pump and gasket. Condition has not repeated after replacing pump 1K miles ago. Vehicle had approx. 65K miles when this condition occurred.

- Franklin, OH, USA

While slowing down at traffic truck felt like it was super heavy and kept going, brake pedal got hard and could not press down. Ac went out on me twice do to bad compressor and had to repair at dealer. Transmission knocks when slowing down and hard shifts like its going to break. Also visibility is poor on vehicle when driving at night as the light are very dim. Had to buy alternate lights but still dim.

- Casa Grande, AZ, USA

While backing up into parking space, truck felt like it was pushing something. Brake peddle became hard and when not stop truck, causing vehicle to hit pole and damage both the truck and the pole.

- Simi Valley, CA, USA

Driving at low speed in traffic on a highway, brakes failed then locked-up causing truck to skid and hit the car in front.

- Yorba Linda, CA, USA

At slow speed backing into a parking spot the break pedal turned really hard to press to stop the truck, it took a lot of force to stop it; shifted the truck into neutral to prevent hitting a pole, shifted the truck back to drive the truck was still showing the same problem the vehicle brake system was useless (unsafe) shifted back into neutral as pedestrians were walking by and used the emergency brake to stop the truck! please investigate into this issue the truck has less than 50K miles and all service is done at the dealership - after talking to them today they said the truck is out of warranty the potential cost to repair will be $2000

- Ocala, FL, USA

No warning of brake failure especially when backing down a hill at low R.P.M with a boat trailer. This is a very dangerous problem that needs to be addressed a.S.a.P. no warning lights were displayed and no issues before this happened. I'm just glad it was me and not someone else ( wife ) backing us in the water. Please address this as a very serious issue. Someone could have lost their life

- Lexington, KY, USA

I was driving on the highway and noticed my brake peddle became hard. I was in mild traffic so I was only traveling around 40 miles mph on I 287 I was not able to stop quickly. I did not get into an accident. I was able to get it to my dealer for repair. I was told that the vacuum pump needed to be replaced and parts of the pump were also sucked into the engine. I was also told that I would need to have the oil pan removed to remove any debris which would cost around $1100. At this time I still do not have the truck back or repair invoice. I have been researching and did see that there have been issues with the vacuum pumps on other GMC pickups. Fortunately I was not driving at a high speed at the time of the issue.

- Gilbertsville, PA, USA

We had the vehicle recall notice about the stability and power assist repaired at our preferred GM dealership, james wood, before the problem occurred because of a recall notice we received last year. Sunday, January 30, 2018 the dash displayed power assist limited and also displayed ABS light. Service engine soon, so we brought it to the dealership again. This time the vehicle was revving high but no display. The dealership observed the vehicle doing this but we were told the recall had already been performed. There is a revised product safety recall reference number N172085440. I'm alerting the NHTSA of this.

- Denton, TX, USA

Lost normal braking going down a steep hill at 25 mph, had to use both feet on the brake pedal just to stop.

- Ringwood, NJ, USA

While in motion, applied brakes and the pedal went to the floor without stopping. Checked brake fluid and it was near empty. Only 50,000miles.

- Des Allemands, LA, USA

At slow speeds the brake pedal becomes " flat" that is to say there is no travel or give in it and you must apply 110% force to get the vehicle to stop. I almost drove thru the garage door at the local jiffy lube dealer. Had the local GMC dealer look at it & he could not find a solution to the problem.

- Tower, MN, USA

My brake pedal gets hard with no brakes if I happen to be in a situation where I apply the brakes several times quickly, such as at the carwash or in a parking lot. The ABS was not firing at the time. I was not turning. This has happened a number of times in the past 2 years.

- Rochester, MI, USA

Loss of braking at low speed while in reverse. Occurred on at least two occasions just past expiration of bumper to bumper portion of vehicle warranty (see attached complaint letter to GM for details). Dealer stated vacuum booster was defective and repair costs exceeded $400. GM home office was notified viz fedex letter. Other than contacting me for basic information, no further contact was initiated by GM or delivering dealer. Alleged defective part is in owner possession which GM was notified of as well.

- Bryan, TX, USA

Major safety concern!: hard brakes at low speeds, intermittent stiff brakes in forward and reverse. 2014 GMC Sierra slt crew cab 4WD, 40K miles. This is a very serious issue that could result in a collision, damage and/or injury. I have experienced this multiple times since purchasing this truck from the original owner in 2017. It has happened when parking, moving trailers, an maneuvering at low vehicle speeds. The brake pedal suddenly becomes stiff when depressing and has limited or no braking action unless applying extreme amounts of pressure on the brake pedal. I have driven vehicles without power brakes and this is not the same. It is as if the braking system is working against the input of the pedal in addition to the loss of power brake action. The most concerning event was experienced while backing a boat trailer into the water with two children in the back seat, buckled in child restraining car seats and pushing with both feet using all my strength to barely stop the truck and trailer from rolling all the way into the water. This was a true nightmare, and is the reason I am submitting this safety complaint. Had my wife been operating the truck or a person with weaker legs in the same situation, the issue could have been severely tragic. I cannot safely operate the vehicle until this is resolved. I am truly disappointed that this hasn't been turned into a recall based on the multitude of complaints on this very same issue. How many close-calls or near-misses does it take before NHTSA and a world-class vehicle manufacturer contain a major safety issue? I hope this issue gets the proper attention and a recall is mandated swiftly, before more people get hurt or worse.

- Harrison Twp., MI, USA