NHTSA complaint: 2006 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 2500 — SERVICE BRAKES
I WAS PREPARING TO SLOW DOWN AS I APPROACHED MY DRIVEWAY. WHEN I APPLIED MY VEHICLE'S BRAKES, THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT COMPLETELY TO THE FLOOR. MY VEHICLE DID NOT SLOW DOWN AND I HAD TO UTILIZE ME EMERGENCY BRAKE AND ALSO SHIFT INTO A LOWER GEAR IN ORDER TO SLOW DOWN. I WAS UNABLE TO SLOW DOWN ENOUGH TO SAFELY MAKE A TURN AND SUBSEQUENTLY MY VEHICLE TRAVELLED THRU A DITCH AREA AND CAME TO A STOP IN MY FRONT YARD. COMPLETING A CHECK OF MY VEHICLE'S BRAKE SYSTEM, I LEARNED THAT MY MASTER CYLINDER WAS COMPLETELY EMPTY. I HAD MY VEHICLE TOWED TO A LOCAL GARAGE WHERE I WAS TOLD THE VEHICLE'S COMPLETE BRAKING SYSTEM LINES HAD RUSTED AWAY CAUSING ALL BRAKE FLUID LOSS AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. ALL BRAKES LINES WERE REPLACED FROM THE MASTER CYLINDER TO THE ABS MODULE AND THEN TO EACH BRAKE SYSTEM AT THE WHEEL. THE COST OF THE WORK WAS $598.00. MY VEHICLE IS A 2006 MODEL YEAR AND IS IN EXCELLENT SHAPE, HOWEVER I'M VERY UNHAPPY WITH THE BRAKING FLUID LINES FAILING WITH ONLY 52,500 MILES ON MY VEHICLE. I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THERE HAS BEEN NO SAFETY RECALL NOTICE ON THE PART OF GENERAL MOTORS. THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP REFUSED TO ASSIST ME WITH THE MATTER AND AT THIS TIME I'M COMPLETING THIS COMPLAINT. THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRANSPORTATION SAFETY ADMINISTRATION NEEDS TO TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION UPON GENERAL MOTORS TO ENSURE HIGHER QUALITY OF BRAKE LINES ARE INSTALLED INSTEAD OF SUBSTANDARD BRAKE LINES. I WAS LUCKY THAT I WAS NOT INVOLVED IN A MORE SERIOUS ACCIDENT/INCIDENT WITH THE BRAKES FAILING. I
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — Office of Defects Investigation