2003 GMC YUKON XL Complaints

WHEN TRAVELING AT ANY RATE OF SPEED, THE REDUCE ENGINE POWER LIGHT COMES ON AT I LOSE ALL POWER. I MUST TRY AND PULL OVER AT A SAFE PLACE, STOP THE CAR, TURN OFF IGNITION AND WAIT 10-15 SECOND BEFORE STARTING AND JUST HOPE IT WILL RETURN TO NORMAL MODE. THIS CAN HAPPEN MANY TIMES IN ONE DAY AND THEN IT MAY NOT HAPPEN AT ALL FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME. VERY DANGEROUS! I HAVE BEEN DRIVING 70 MPH AND HAD TO IMMEDIATELY TRY AND PULL OVER OUT OF SPEEDING TRAFFIC, ONTO A SHOULDER AND STOP MY CAR WITH MY CHILDREN. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 GMC YUKON XL. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE EXITING A PARKING SPACE WITH THE BRAKES SLIGHTLY DEPRESSED, THE BRAKE PEDAL TRAVELED TO THE FLOORBOARD ABNORMALLY. THE BRAKE WARNING LIGHT WAS ALSO ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS THEN DRIVEN TO THE DEALER AND AS HE PARKED, ALL OF THE BRAKING FLUID LEAKED. THE DEALER INSPECTED THE BRAKE LINE AND NOTICED CORROSION. THE DEALER REPLACED THE BRAKE LINE AT THE OWNERS EXPENSE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 55,000.

2003 GMC YUKON XL 2500 SUDDEN BRAKE FAILURE. WHILE DECELERATING TO ENTER A RESIDENTIAL DRIVEWAY, BRAKE FAILURE OCCURRED. DUE TO LOW SPEED (<20 MPH) AT THE TIME, I WAS ABLE TO STOP THE VEHICLE USING THE PARKING BRAKE. HAD THIS OCCURRED MOMENTS EARLIER WHILE DECELERATING FROM THE FREEWAY INTO A BUSY INTERSECTION, THERE COULD HAVE BEEN FATALITIES. WHILE STOPPING, SMOKE WAS SEEN COMING FROM THE FRONT AND LEFT WHEEL WELL OF THE VEHICLE. AFTER STOPPING, I EXAMINED THE VEHICLE AND FOUND THE METAL BRAKE LINE HAD RUPTURED WHERE IT CROSSES OVER THE FRAME RAIL LEADING TO THE FRONT LEFT BRAKE. THERE WAS BRAKE FLUID SPRAYED AROUND THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ENGINE BAY, AND THE EXHAUST HEADER WAS STILL SMOKING. LUCKILY THE EXHAUST HEADER TEMPERATURE WAS LOW ENOUGH TO AVOID IGNITION OF THE BRAKE FLUID AND INITIATION OF FIRE. A LARGE PORTION OF BRAKE FLUID IN THE MASTER BRAKE RESERVOIR HAD LEAKED OUT LEAVING A TRAIL OF FLUID BEHIND THE VEHICLE ALONG THE LEFT SIDE. AN EXTREME LEVEL OF CORROSION AND FLAKING METAL WAS EVIDENT ALONG ALL THE METAL BRAKES LINES FROM FRONT TO REAR. INCIDENTALLY, THE POWER STEERING LINES WERE IN SIMILAR CONDITION. THE BRAKE LINE WALL THICKNESS IN THE RUPTURE AREA WAS SO THIN THAT IT COULD BE BENT AND CRUSHED WITH PRESSURE APPLIED BY THUMBNAIL. THE VEHICLE IS NOW AT THE LOCAL GMC DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIRS. BASED ON THE CONSISTENT AND EXCESSIVE CORROSION THROUGHOUT, I OPTED TO HAVE ALL THE BRAKE LINES AND POWER STEERING LINES REPLACED AT ONCE. BRAKES ARE THE MOST SAFETY CRITICAL DEVICE ON A MOVING VEHICLE AND MUST BE HELD TO HIGHER STANDARDS THAN ALMOST ANY OTHER COMPONENT. THE CONDITION OF THE BRAKE LINES AND RUPTURE OF A BRAKE LINE IS UNACCEPTABLE FOR A VEHICLE OF THIS YEAR AND MILEAGE. I RECENTLY SOLD A 1994 SUBURBAN THAT HAD BRAKE LINES IN MUCH BETTER CONDITION THAN THIS 2003 YUKON. CLEARLY THERE IS A MANUFACTURING OR QUALITY DEFECT IN THE LINES INSTALLED ON THIS 2003 YUKON. I RESPECTFULLY REQUEST NHTSA TO REVIEW BRAKE LINE DEFECTS ON BEHALF OF ALL OWNERS. *KB

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 GMC YUKON XL K1500. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SPEEDOMETER WAS READING INACCURATELY AND REMAINED STUCK ON A SPECIFIC SPEED. SHE WAS UNABLE TO DETERMINE HOW FAST OR SLOW SHE WAS TRAVELING. THE FAILURE OCCURRED INTERMITTENTLY. IN MAY 2011, THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A PRIVATE MECHANIC AND REPAIRED. THE DEALER ADVISED THE CONTACT THAT A SPECIAL POLICY BULLETIN WAS ISSUED; HOWEVER, THE VEHICLE MILEAGE EXCEEDED THE LIMITATIONS AND DID NOT PERFORM ANY REPAIRS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 141,000. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN. UPDATED 09/15/11 *BF UPDATED 09/26/11

I WAS BACKING THE VEHICLE INTO THE GARAGE. WHILE MANEUVERING BACK AND FORTH I STEP ON THE BRAKE PETAL TO SHIFT BACK TO FORWARD. THE VEHICLE STOPPED THEN THE PETAL WENT TO THE FLOOR BOARD ABRUPTLY. THE VEHICLE MOVED AND STUCK THE HOUSE. THE REAR BRAKE LINE HAD SPLIT OPEN AT THE ABS BRAKING VALVE. ALL OF THE BRAKE LINES AT THE VALVE WERE SEVERELY ROTTED. HAD TO REPLACE ALL THE STEEL LINES TO MAKE THE VEHICLE SAFE.

THIS IS THE SECOND TIME FOR THIS PROBLEM TO OCCUR WITH THIS VEHICLE. I FILED A COMPLAINT ( 10398842 ) WITH YOUR DEPARTMENT ON 05/03/2011. SINCE THAT DATE, WE DROVE THE VEHICLE TO DALLAS, TX FOR A CONVENTION WITH NO VEHICLE PROBLEMS. THEN ON JUNE 5TH, WE WERE RETURNING FROM HOUSTON WHEN THE VEHICLE WITHOUT ANY WARNING GAVE A MESSAGE THAT THE ENGINE WAS GOING TO REDUCED POWER WHILE WE WERE DRIVING IN TRAFFIC. WE HAD TO WORK OUR WAY TO A SAFE AREA TO PARK BECAUSE WE WERE A HAZARD TO OTHER DRIVERS. THIS AFTERNOON I CALLED GENERAL MOTORS TO GET SOME RESPONSE TO THIS PROBLEM. I WAS TOLD AGAIN THAT THE ENGINE WAS PROTECTING ITSELF FROM DAMAGE. AGAIN, I ASKED IF IT WAS MORE IMPORTANT TO PROTECT THE ENGINE THAN THE OCCUPANTS, THE REPRESENTATIVE WAS RATHER TESTY ABOUT THE ISSUE. THERE WAS NO RESPONSE WHEN I SAID THAT NO AUTOMOBILE IN AMERICA SHOULD SHUT DOWN IN TRAFFIC FOR A NON EMERGENCY. ESPECIALLY SINCE THE DRIVER LOOSES CONTROL OF THE OPERATION OF THE VEHICLE. I HAVE A PICTURE OF THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER DURING THE REDUCED POWER INTERVAL WHICH SHOWS THAT ALL GAUGES WERE NORMAL SO THERE WAS NO REASON TO EXPECT ANY ISSUES WITH THE VEHICLE. THE ENGINE WAS AT 500 RPM AND WOULD NOT GAIN SPEED. THIS IS CAUSING US TO FEAR DRIVING THIS VEHICLE. IN ANY CASE, I CANNOT SEE ANY REASON FOR ANY VEHICLE ON THE AMERICAN ROADS TO BE UNDER THE CONTROL OF ITSELF WHILE IN TRAFFIC. THE PASSENGERS SHOULD BE THE PRIMARY CONCERN. I HOPE YOU CAN GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS BEFORE AN ACCIDENT OCCURS WITH THIS VEHICLE. IF THERE ISN'T A CURRENT RECALL ON THIS VEHICLE FOR THIS PROBLEM, SHOULD THERE BE? THIS IS A LOW MILEAGE WELL MAINTAINED VEHICLE. *TR

THERE WAS A LOUD NOISE COMING FROM THE LEFT FRONT WHEEL - ONLY WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. THE DEALERSHIP REPLACED THE LEFT FRONT HUB AND BEARING FOR $550. *TR

DASH LIGHTS DON'T WORK BY HEATER LIGHTS. NEEDS A NEW CLUSTER AND CONTROL REPLACED. *TR

THIS VEHICLE DISPLAYED A MESSAGE THET THE ENGINE WAS RUNNING AT REDUCED POWER. THE VEHICLE'S ENGINE SLOWED TO IDLE SPEED WHILE WE WERE DRIVING ON A PUBLIC STREET. WE HAD BEEN PULLING A TRAVLE TRAILER JUST PRIOR TO THIS HAPPENING. THIS CREATED A POSSIBLE DANGER TO US AS WELL AS OTHER DRIVERS ON THE STREET SINCE WE COULD HARDLY GET THE VEHICLE TO POWER UP SO WE COULD GET OFF THE STREET. I CALLED THE LOCAL DEALER IN BEAUMONT, TX. I WAS TOLD THAT THIS WAS A COMMOM OPERATION TO PROTECT THE ENGING FROM DAMAGE AND THAT THERE IS NO RECALL FOR THIS PROBLEM. I WONDER WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF THIS HAD OCCURED WHILE WE WERE MOTORING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS WITH THE TRAVEL TRAILER IN TOW? IF THERE IS A CHOICE BETWEEN PROTECTING THE ENGINE OR MY FAMILY, MY FAMILY COMES FIRST. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT SHOULD BE RESOLVED BEFORE DEATHS OCCUR FROM THIS PROBLEM. I TOOK THE CAR TO A LOCAL MECHANIC WHO CHECKED THE FAILURE CODE. HE COULD NOT DETERMINE THE EXACT PROBLEM BUT HE CLEARED THE FAULT CODE P2135 FROM THE SYSTEM. WE WERE ABLE TO PULL THE TRAILER BACK HOME WITHOUT ANY MORE PROBLEMS. NO OTHER FAULT LIGHTS APPEARED ON THE RETURN TRIP. *TR

I WAS JUST DRIVING MY YUKON AND THE SPEEDOMETER WAS READING 100 MILES I KNEW SOMETHING WAS WRONG BECAUSE WHEN I STOP AND TURN IT OFF THE SPEEDOMETER STAYED AT 40 MILES AND I DONT KNOW AT WHAT SPEED AM AT WHEN AM ON THE FREEWAY, I AS A MECHANIC SHOP AN THEY TOLD ME THAT I HAD TO GO TO THE DEALER FOR THAT. *TR