2004 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 2500 Complaints

MY TRUCK WAS AT A COMPLETE STOP WHILE IN DRIVE; AT IDLE; WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL TO PREVENT THE VEHICLE FROM MOVING FORWARD. WITHOUT WARNING, THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT COMPLETELY TO THE FLOOR AND THE TRUCK BEGAN MOVING FORWARD. REPEATED ATTEMPTS TO PUSH THE BRAKE PEDAL DID NOT HAVE ANY EFFECT ON STOPPING THE TRUCK. AS THE TRUCK CONTINUED TO MOVE FORWARD, I PUSHED DOWN ON THE EMERGENCY BRAKE PEDAL WHICH DID BRING THE VEHICLE TO A STOP. UPON EXITING THE VEHICLE, I OBSERVED WHAT APPEARED TO BE BRAKE FLUID DRIPPING FROM UNDERNEATH THE DRIVER SIDE WHERE 2 BRAKE LINES ARE LOCATED ALONG THE TRUCK'S FRAME. THE LEAK OF BRAKE FLUID IS COMING FROM THE BRAKE LINES WHICH ARE SEVERELY RUSTED. DOING A SIMPLE GOOGLE SEARCH REVEALS THIS IS AN EXTREMELY COMMON, PERVASIVE AND PERSISTENT ISSUE WITH GM PICKUP TRUCKS SINCE 1999, WITH SOME REPORTS INDICATING IT HAS CONTINUED TO AFFECT MODEL YEARS ANNUALLY THROUGH THE 2009 MODEL. THE REPAIR COST APPEARS TO BE RUNNING CLOSE TO $2000 TO REPLACE THE OEM LINES WITH STAINLESS STEEL. WHY GM AND NHTSA HAVE ALLOWED SUCH A DANGEROUS SITUATION TO CONTINUE FOR SO LONG, WITH SO MANY COMPLAINTS, IS SIMPLY REMARKABLE. *TR

MY WIFE HAD JUST LEFT OUR HOUSE AND AS SHE WENT TO STOP AT A STOP SIGN THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR AND SHE HAD TO USE THE EMERGENCY BRAKE TO STOP. THE BRAKE LINES HAD RUSTED AND BLEW A HOLE IN THE LINES. *TR

I GOT IN THE TRUCK TO LEAVE MY HOUSE. AFTER STARTING THE TRUCK AND PUTTING MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL I SHIFTED INTO REVERSE TO LEAVE MY DRIVEWAY. AT THAT TIME THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR. I WAS ABLE TO SHIFT BACK TO PARK AS I HAD NOT RELEASE THE PARKING BRAKE YET. I OPENED THE HOOD AND THE MASTER CYLINDER WAS EMPTY. AFTER LOOKING UNDER THE TRUCK, DRIVERS SIDE INSIDE FRAME RAIL, I DISCOVERED A BURST BRAKE LINE WHERE IT LEADS INTO THE ABS MODULE. ALL OF THE BRAKE LINES WERE EXTREMELY CORRODED AND HAD TO BE REPLACED WITH STAINLESS STEEL AT A CHEVY DEALER. I HAD THE DEALER PERFORM OTHER ROUTINE MAINTENANCE ITEMS AT THAT TIME AS WELL. THEY DISCOVERED THAT I NEEDED TO REPLACE A CHAIN GUIDE IN MY TRANSFER CASE, AND REPAIR A HOLE THAT THE LOOSE CHAIN HAD CAUSED. I FIND IT HARD TO BELIEVE THAT CHEVY USED STAINLESS STEEL FOR THE EXHAUST SYSTEM, WHICH LOOKS GREAT AFTER ALMOST 10 YEARS, YET THEY USED PLAIN STEEL FOR THE BRAKE LINES. I WAS LUCKY THIS OCCURRED IN MY DRIVEWAY, AND NOT WHILE I WAS TOWING MY BOAT ON THE HIGHWAY. THE TRANSFER CASE PROBLEM ALSO SEEMS LIKE AN ENGINEERING FAILURE. *TR

WHILE DRIVING I SAW A DEER, IT STARTED TOWARD THE ROAD I WAS TRAVELING AT 50MPH THE DEER STARTED TO RUN TO CROSS MY PATH. I APPLIED MY BRAKES (I SHOULD HAVE STOPPED IN PLENTY OF TIME BUT....) THE PEDAL WENT DOWN APPROXIMATELY HALFWAY AS NORMAL AND HELD FIRM, THEN THE PEDAL CONTINUED TO THE FLOOR, THE BRAKES NO LONGER SLOWED MY TRUCK IMPACTING THE DEER. A SIMILAR INCIDENT HAPPENED TWO WEEKS PRIOR. THE FIRST TIME THE LEFT REAR BRAKE LINE FAILED OVER THE FUEL TANK. THE INSTANT INCIDENT THE LEFT FRONT BRAKE LINE FAILED TWO INCHES FROM THE WHEEL FLEXIBLE BRAKE LINE JOINT. AN AUTOMOBILE THAT IS 9 YEARS OLD SHOULD NOT HAVE BRAKE LINES FAILING, THIS VEHICLE HAS JUST RECENTLY ROLLED OVER 100,000 MILES MARK AND IS USED TO PULL THE FAMILY RVS IT IS NOT A DAILY DRIVER. WHY IS STEEL USED FOR BRAKE LINES? IT RUSTS! WHY IS IT NOT COATED? WHY NOT STAINLESS STEEL? WHY PUT PEOPLE'S LIVES AT RISK USING CHEAP MATERIALS THAT RUST IN A VITAL SAFETY COMPONENT SUCH AS BRAKES. *TR

THE SPEEDOMETER REGISTERS 120MPH ALL THE TIME WHEN MOVING. WAS FIXED ONCE UNDER WARRANT. THE DEALER WHO FIXED IT IS NO LONGER IN BUSINESS. I PURCHASED A EXTENDED WARRANTY, NEVER USED IT. THE TRUCK HAS 55,000 MILES RIGHT NOW. DIESEL. $43,000 NEW. CHEVY CHANGED OUR ONSTAR TO DIGITAL. NO ONSTAR NOW. *TR

OIL PRESSURE GAUGE QUIT WORKING IN ABOUT 2009. TOOK INTO DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD WE WERE 4,000 MILES PAST THE RECALL OF THE CLUSTER. VERY EXPENSIVE REPLACEMENT!! SINCE THAT TIME THE SPEEDOMETER QUIT WORKING, THE TACHOMETER QUIT WORKING. VERY SCARY TO BE HAVING TO RELY ON TEMPERATURE GAUGES THAT I HOPE ARE WORKING CORRECTLY STILL, AND A GAS GAUGE THAT HOPEFULLY IS ALSO WORKING CORRECTLY. I CANNOT BELIEVE THEY DID NOT SUBMIT A FULL RECALL AND REPLACEMENT OF THIS INSTRUMENT CLUSTER WITHOUT AN EXPIRATION ON IT. SEEMS LIKE THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE TO ME TO HAVE NON WORKING GAUGES DUE TO A FACTORY DEFECT!! *TR

BRAKE LINES ALL RUSTED OUT AND FUEL LINES 21,300 MILES ON IT ARE THERE ANY RECALLS OUT YET OR COMING OUT VERY SOON. *TR

DRIVING TO WORK PUSHED ON THE BRAKES AND THE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR. INSPECTED TO FIND A RUSTED BRAKE LINE BROKEN JUST UNDER THE DRIVERS SIDE FRONT DOOR. ALSO THE BRAKE LINES HAVE MAJOR RUST AT REAR WHEEL. ALL OF THE LINES ARE RUSTING AND NEED REPLACED. *TR

EXHAUST MANIFOLD BOLTS BROKE OFF FOR NO REASON, LETTING EXHAUST FUMES ESCAPE UNDER THE HOOD AND IN THE CAB OF THE TRUCK. THIS SEEMS TO BE A VERY COMMON PROBLEM ON SEVERAL GM TRUCKS. *JS

A BRAKE LINE RUPTURED AS I ATTEMPTED TO STOP AT THE END OF MY DRIVEWAY (I WAS TRAVELING DOWNHILL) ON 1/3/2013. I EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF BRAKES WITHOUT WARNING (NO DASHBOARD WARNING LIGHT). I WAS ABLE TO STOP BY USING THE EMERGENCY BRAKE. I HAD THE LINE REPLACED AT THIS TIME. ON 8/15/2013 I AGAIN EXPERIENCED A COMPLETE LOSS OF BRAKES WHEN A BRAKE LINE RUPTURED. AGAIN, I WAS TRAVELING DOWNHILL ON A DRIVEWAY/FARM LANE AND WAS ABLE TO USE THE EMERGENCY BRAKE TO STOP. AGAIN, THERE WAS NO WARNING FROM DASHBOARD LIGHTS. I HAVE HAD THAT LINE REPLACED ALSO. I AM NOW PLANNING TO REPLACE ALL OF THE ORIGINAL BRAKE LINES. I HAVE NOT HAD TO DO THIS ON ANY OTHER VEHICLE I HAVE EVER OWNED. *JB