Complaint 988989

Complaint Summary

SERVICE BRAKES

Owner Narrative

FIRST TIME: I HAD JUST PICKED UP ONE OF MY DAUGHTERS AND WAS HEADED HOME, WHEN WE STARTED GOING DOWN HILL I APPLIED BRAKES TO STAY WITHIN SPEED LIMIT. AT FIRST THERE WAS A MOMENT OF THE BRAKES WORKING AND THEN NOTHING BUT A SLOPPY BREAK PEDAL. AT THE BOTTOM OF THE HILL IS A SHARP CURVE AND A TRAFFIC LIGHT. EVEN THOUGH THE TRUCK IS AN AUTOMATIC, I APPLIED THE EMERGENCY BRAKE AND DOWN SHIFTED WHEN RPM'S WERE LOW ENOUGH TO GO TO LOWER GEAR. I WAS GOING INTO 1ST GEAR WHEN WE ENTERED THE SHARP CURVE, THERE WERE 3 VEHICLES AT A RED LIGHT, SO I STARTED TO HEAD FOR THE GUARD RAILS TO SIDE SWIPE AND CUT THE WHEEL INTO THE RAILS WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN AND BACK ON TO THE ROAD I WENT. LIMPED ALL THE WAY HOME IN THE BREAK DOWN LANE IN FIRST GEAR. CALLED A TOW TRUCK ($$$) THAT BROUGHT IT TO THE SHOP. THE SHOP REPLACED ($$$) A SECTION OF ROTTED BREAK LINE THAT FAILED. 2ND TIME: TODAY WITH BOTH OF MY DAUGHTERS IN THE TRUCK, SAME CIRCUMSTANCES AS ABOVE ONLY WITH A STOP SIGN AND I WAS GOING FASTER THAN I WANTED TO BE WHEN WE APPROACHED THE STOP SIGN (TRAFFIC ON THE MAIN ROAD DIDN'T HAVE TO STOP) SO BETWEEN DOWN SHIFTING, UP SHIFTING AND EMERGENCY BRAKE, I WAS ABLE TO TIME IT TO GO INTO TRAFFIC AND ONCE AGAIN LIMP ALL THE WAY HOME, PARKED THE TRUCK AND GO THROUGH MORE CRAP, AGGRAVATION AND $$$. I'VE LIVED IN CONNECTICUT ALL MY (DRIVING) LIFE, OWNED DIFFERENT MAKES OF TRUCKS AND CARS (SOME FROM THE LATE 60'S ALL THE WAY THE PRESENT) AND NEVER, EVER HAD A BRAKE LINE BUST OR ROT THROUGH ON ANY OF THE VEHICLES IN THE 34 YEARS I'VE DRIVEN. IT'S NO SURPRISE THAT GM DOESN'T HAVE REPLACEMENTS, THEY GOT RID OF THEM SO TESTS COULDN'T BE RUN ON THEM. I PAID ENOUGH FOR THE TRUCK TO EXPECT IT TO BE SAFE FOR MY FAMILY. I MEAN, REALLY, BRAKE LINES. MOST IMPORTANT SYSTEM ON THE VEHICLE, THE BRAKE SYSTEM. THEY MAKE THE EXHAUST SYSTEM OUT OF STAINLESS. HERE'S A THOUGHT, STAINLESS BRAKE LINES. *TR

Owner-submitted narrative on file with NHTSA. Complaint narratives are self-reported and have not been verified.