Brake Line Corrosion: NHTSA Investigates

[gdib]

My 2003 Silverado has a a great deal of rust on the under carriage of the truck. Most would consider it surface rust, but the brake lines disturbed me. I was worried about them rusting through. Sure enough, while towing my trailer I had to stop for a quick changing traffic light, and my foot went to the floor. Pumping did NOT help much since BOTH main lines going to ABS unit (located under the truck) blew out. I used my trailer brakes to help stop the truck. I had my truck towed to my mechanic and we felt is was unsafe to drive the truck with the other brake lines in the same condition. We replaced all the lines with stainless steel ($350). But since the rust effected all of the calipers, they had to be replaced as well as the rotors. Total costs: about $3500. From what I've been reading, this was a good price. The following appeared in the papers yesterday:


According to the Detroit News, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation on possible faulty brake lines that fail due to corrosion in 6.2 million General Motors trucks and SUVs. So far there have been 110 complaints on vehicles made between 1999 and 2003.

The complaints filed with the NHTSA include the Chevy Tahoe, Suburban, Avalance and Silverado. GMC has a few in the mix, including the Yukon and Sierra.

The causes of the recall are the brake lines that can corrode over time and result in loss in pressure. This loss can result in reduced stopping power, ultimately resulting in a longer stopping distance.

According to the Detroit News, the NHTSA also received a petition on March 2, 2010, seeking an investigation on the 2003 Silverado 2500 Heavy Duty for the same problem.

“The complaints allege the loss of braking effectiveness due to brake line rupture because of corrosion,” said safety official Chris Lash in a NHTSA filing. “In 37 of these complaints, the brake line failure was confirmed by a dealer inspection.”

Alan Adler, a GM spokesperson, said that GM is aware of the problem and is working with the NHTSA to find a resolution.Line


My mistake was excepting surface rust as the diagnosis. I hope this is of some help!

[More Power]

Thanks for the info.

I remember talking to a small number of 6.5 owners who, a few years ago, reported brake line failure due to rust. It appears those owners who live in the "rust belt" and drive on winter roads that were treated with salt or other corrosive de-icers see the most chassis/brake rust damage.

Perhaps those who live in such areas would do well to check their brake lines and other braking system components. ;)

Jim

[DADGLW]

had the same thing happen on my 06 3500. dealer fixed the rotted line. a little while later another one blew right by the engine and caught on fire. i then replaced them all. only had 30k on it.

[npauli]

Good grief! Thanks for the heads up. I'll be checking mine ASAP. Until we get a minivan, mine frequently has my wife and 2 little girls in it. Safety issues just won't do.

[trbankii]

I've got new lines to put into my '93 when I have a spare moment. I'm amazed at how bad the original lines look! The lines on my '85 Toyota truck look better than those on the '93.

[Quack_Addict]

Unfortunately, the way things seem to work in the auto industry anymore, anything that squeaks through accelerated durability testing gets the nod even though correlation between some accelerated tests and real-world exposure is sketchy at best.

Then the OEM's lean on the suppliers to cut costs through annual give-backs and inadvertent or not, corners get cut somewhere somehow. The statistics end of quality & reliability comes in and someone will eventually get the 1 in 10,000 part that passed inspection but shouldn't have. Or someone decides to milk the cow and implement a cost reduction and not thoroughly test the cheapened part.

Corrosion protection on vehicles has been under a lot of scrutiny in the last decade or so since the Erin Brocovich thing with the OEM's making hex-chrome in coatings totally taboo.

You'd think something like brake lines would get extra special attention but after GM declared that my trans cooler line leak wasn't a powertrain leak, making it ineligible for warranty coverage even though I was way under mileage and the leak thing is a known issue to them, nothing surprises me anymore.