BRAKE PARTS Complaints

AT APPROXIMATELY 34000 MILES LEFT FRONT BRAKE CYLINDER LEAKED, AND CAUSED SEVER DAMAGE TO THE BRAKING SYSTEM IN MY CAR. THIS WAS COVERED BY THE DEALER, AND THEY REPLACED ALL OF THE BRAKE SHOES, REPLACED THE HYDRAULICSTO THE FRONT BRAKES, TURNED THE ROTORS ETC. NOW, 20000 MILES LATER, THE SAME TYPE OF LEAK IS OCCURING AGAIN. WHY THE SAME TYPE OF FAILURE? I CAN UNDERSTAND THAT THE BRAKE SHOES NEED REPLACEMENT PERIODICALLY, AND THAT THE SYSTEM NEEDS TO BE SERVICED, BUT TO HAVE THE COMPLETE HYDRAULIC SYSTEM FAIL (AGAIN) SEVEN MONTHS AFTER A FULL REPLACEMENT?*AK

ON JAN. 8,2003 I HAD A COMPLETE BRAKE INSPECTIO AND REPAIR DONE BY TUFFY'S AUTO SERVIVE AT 4164 N. MILWAUKEE IN CHICAGO. I NOTICES S SCRAPING SOUND COMING FROM MY LEFT FRONT WHEEL. I RETURNED TO TUFFY'S FIVE (5) TIMES, THE LAST BEING ON OR ABOUT JANUARY 20, 2003. AT THIS TIME, MR JIM JANICEK, THE DISTRICT MANAGER FOR TUFFY'S WAS PRESENT. AGAIN THEY INSPECTED MY BRAKES AND I WAS ASSURED BY MR. JANICEK THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH MY BRAKES. AT THIS TIME, MR. JANICEK, THE DISTRICT MANAGER FOR TUFFY'S STRONGLY SUGGESTED THAT I WAS WASTING HIS TIME AND NOT TO RETURN. ON MAY 29, 2003, ON MY WAY HOME FROM WORK I DEVELOPED A LOUD GRINDING NOISE COMING FROM MY LEFT FRONT WHEEL WITH GREATLY REDUCED BRAKING POWER. ON MAY 30, 2003 I AGAIN WAS CHARGED , THIS TIME FOR TWO (2) CALIPERS TO REPAIR BRAKES. I BELIEVE THE CALIPER FAILURE WAS DUE TO THE THE WORK DONE BY TUFFY'S TO BEGIN WITH.ON JULY 8, ON MY WAY TO THE HOSPITAL, AS MY WIFE MUST GO WEEKLY; TRAVELING AT A RATE OF 30 MPH IN MEDIUM TRAFFIC I HAD COMPLETE BRAKE FAILURE. I PUMPED THE BRAKES AND WAS BARELY ABLE TO AVOID A MAJOR ACCIDENT. DRIVING AT A RATE OF 10 -15 MPH I WAS ABLE TO TAKE MY CAR TO LYNCH BUICK AT 5330 W. IRVING PARK RD. IN CHICAGO. THEY INSPECTED MY BRAKES AND FOUND THERE TO BE A SUBSTANCE THAT WAS NOT BRAKE FLUID IN THE SYSTEM. THE TOTAL COST OF REPAIR WILL BE OVER $1,000.00. TUFFY'S WAS NOTIFIED AND THEY TOOK A SAMPLE OF THE FLUID FROM THE BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER. TUFFY'S STATED THE THE BRAKE SYSTEM HAD ANTI-FREEZE IN IT. TUFFY'S AUTO SERVICE ON NORTH MILWAUKEE IN CHICAGO WAS THE ONLY ONE TO WORK ON MY BRAKES AND THE ONLY ONE UNDER THE HOOD FOR ANY REASON SINCE JANUARY 8, 2003., H DUE TO THE GREAT TRAUMA CAUSED BY TUFFY'SLYNCH BUICK WILL REPAIR MY CAR. WHEN TUFFY' BOTCHED THE FIRST JOB, I GAVE THEM ANOTHER CHANCE, THAT CHANCE ALMOST COST ME AND MY WIFE OUR LIVES. I FEEL THEY SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO DO ANY MORE BRAKE REPAIRS ON ANY VEHICLES. *AK

MY REAR HATCH DOOR OF MY 2000 ASTRO VAN WILL NOT OPEN. ALL OF THE LOCKS ON MY VAN ARE NOT WORKING AS THEY SHOULD BUT AT LEAST I CAN USE THE INSIDE DOOR HANDLES TO GET IN AND OUT. THE HATCH HAS NO INSIDE DOOR RELEASE SO IN CASE OF AN ACCIDENT I WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO GET MYSELF OUT OF THE BACK IF THAT WERE THE ONLY WAY OUT. ALSO, IF YOU ARE BRAKING AND HIT A BUMP THE BRAKES WILL NOT WORK. I HAVE HAD SEVERAL CLOSE CALLS BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP THE VAN BECAUSE OF A BUMPY INTERSECTION AND THE BRAKES NOT HOLDING.*AK

THE ROTORS ON MY 1999 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE LAREDO ARE GOING BAD AFTER HAVING THEM DONE LAST YEAR. THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH JEEPS. I FEEL THIS SHOULD BE LOOKED INTO BECAUSE THIS IS NOT A NORM. *NLM

BRAKE ROTORS HAVE BEEN REPLACED 3 TIMES FOR WARPING. DEFECTIVE HUBS AND BALL JOINTS AT 42,000 MILES. DEALER CLAIMS FROM TOWING. THIS IS A TOW VEHICLE AND NOTHING OVERSIZED HAS BEEN ATTACKED TO THE VEHICLE. DEALER HAS HONORED THE REPLACEMENT OF THE ROTORS, BUT NOT THE HUBS AND BALL JOINTS WHICH SHOULD NOT HAVE FAILED AT THIS POINT. ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED. *JB

BRAKE PADS NEED TO BE REPLACED EVERY 3 TO 6 MONTHS. ROTORS WERE CUT AND THEN NEW ROTORS REPLACED. I LIVE IN A RURAL AREA NOT BUMPER-TO-BUMPER, CITY TRAFFIC. I ALSO DO NOT RIDE MY BRAKES. THERE SEEMS TO BE A MAJOR DEFECT IN THE MONTE CARLO BRAKE SYSTEM. I JUST HAD TO HAVE A NEW ALTERNATOR REPLACED ON MY 1999 MONTE CARLO. I AM VERY UNSATISFIED AND WILL DEFINITELY NOT BUY ANOTHER GM PRODUCT. *JB

HAVE HAD REPEATED FRONT BRAKE WEAR OUT AND NOISE (SQUAEK/GROAN) ON MY 2000 MERCURY VILLAGER SINCE NEW. HAVE HAD 4 SETS OF FRONT BRAKE PADS AND A SET OF ROTORS REPLACED IN ONLY 28,000 MILES. DEALER SAYS THERE IS NOTHING WRONG. THE OTHER TWO MERCURY VILLAGERS THAT I'VE OWNED (1996 AND 1998 MODELS) DID NOT HAVE THIS PROBLEM.*AK

I HAVE NOTICED SEVERAL PEOPLE WITH THE SAME PROBLEMS I HAVE WITH MY CAR, BRAKES AND ROTORS. IS THIS CAR A JOKE. THE DEALERS WANT TO RUN WHEN I COME IN, IVE BEEN THERE SO MUCH. NOTHING IS EVER FIXED. MY BRAKES ARE GRINDING NOW. PITIFUL. NICE LOOKING CAR BUTTTTTTT. I HAVE HAD HELL WITH THIS CAR FROM DAY ONE. I REALLY WOULD LIKE THIS PROBLEM SOLVED. 23.000. DOLLAR CAR YOU THINK THE PARTS ON IT WERE WORTH SOMETHING. PLEASE FIX!!!!! DOES THERE HAVE TO BE AN ACCIDENT BEFORE THIS IS TAKEN CARE OF? *AK

I PURCHASED A NEW 2000 CHEVROLET MALIBU. SIX MONTHS AFTER OWNING THE CAR I BEGAN HAVING BRAKE PROBLEMS. UPON APPLYING THE BRAKES, THE ENTIRE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE TO VIBRATE AND THE STEERING WHEEL SHOOK VIOLENTLY TO THE LEFT AND RIGHT. I TOOK MY 6 MONTH OLD VEHICLE TO A DEALERSHIP AND THEY ADVISED THE FRONT ROTORS WERE WARPED. THEY REPLACED THE ROTORS. LATER, THIS SAME DEFECT OCCURRED THREE MORE TIMES. CHEVROLET ONLY MADE TWO MORE REPAIRS. EACH TIME THEY SIMPLY REPLACED THE ROTORS AND PLACED A SHIM BETWEEN THE AXLES AND THE ROTOR. THIS SAME MANUFACTURERS DESIGN FLAW OCCURRED ON THE FLOWING YEAR AND MAKE VEHICLES: 1997-2000 CHEVROLET MALIBU 1997-1999 OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS 1999-2000 OLDSMOBILE ALERO 1999-2000 PONTIAC GRAND AM I COMPLAINED TO CHEVROLET ABOUT THE PROBLEM, BUT NOTHING WAS DONE. THE DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE IN SAN ANTONIO SIMPLY TRIED TO AVOID ME. CHEVROLETS ON LINE COMPLAINT SYSTEM ALSO DID NOTHING. AGAIN, THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A RECALL FOR THIS BRAKE PROBLEM. THE MAIN CAUSE OF THIS PROBLEM IS DUE TO THE SMALL (THIN) SIZE OF THE BRAKE ROTORS, WHICH CAUSED A FAILURE TO DISPERSE HEAT ADEQUATELY. IF A DRIVER DRIVES INTO A RAIN STORM OR TO A CAR WASH AND THE HOT ROTORS COOL TOO RAPIDLY THEY WILL WARP. PLEASE SEE GM SERVICE BULLETIN # 00-05-23-002, DATED FEBRUARY 2000 FOR MORE INFORMATION. THE MADDENING THING ABOUT THIS SITUATION IS THAT CHEVROLET KNEW ABOUT THIS PROBLEM WHEN I PURCHASED MY CAR. CHEVROLET/GM FAILED TO RECALL ALL THESE VEHICLES, AND EVEN THOUGH THEY KNEW IT WAS A FLAW IN THEIR ENGINEERING AND DESIGN, THEY LEFT THE PROBLEM IN THE HANDS AND POCKET BOOKS OF THEIR CUSTOMERS. HOW MANY ACCIDENTS HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY THIS TYPE OF CORPORATE IRRESPONSIBILITY. THIS IS A DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICE. *NLM

MY 2001 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE HAS TO THE SHOP TWICE FOR THE SAME COMPLAINT. THE CAR SHIMMIES VERY BAD ABOVE 40 MPH WHEN THE BRAKE IS APPLIED. I ONLY HAVE 18,700 TOTAL MILES ON THE CAR. THE FIRST INCIDENT OCCURRED AT APPROXIMATELY 8500 MILES AND THE DEALER REPLACED THE REQUIRED PARTS ACCORDING TO THE TECHNICAL BULLETIN ISSUED BY DAIMLER CHRYSLER. THE SECOND TIME (SAME EXACT SHIMMY INDICATION), I WAS TOLD THAT THE ROTORS HAD TO BE TURNED AND THAT IT WAS A HEAT PROBLEM AND NOT COVERED UNDER ANY WARRANTY. FURTHERMORE, THE PROBLEM WAS PERHAPS A DRIVER HABIT AND NOT ANY FAULT OF THE MANUFACTURE. I PAID THE BILL AND INFORMED THE SERVICE MANAGER THAT I WAS NOT HAPPY WITH THIS SITUATION AND WANTED HIM TO VERIFY THROUGH HIS DISTRICT MANAGER THAT THIS WAS APPROPRIATE ACTION AND NOT A WARRANTY ITEM. HE SAID THAT HE WOULD AND GET BACK WITH ME. *NLM