2001 GMC Sierra

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received Defect Petition DP10-003 on March 2, 2010, requesting the investigation of model year (MY) 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD 4WD pickup trucks for corrosion failures of the vehicle brake lines.DP10-003 was granted and on March 30, 2010, Preliminary Evaluation PE10-010 was opened on more than six million model year 1999 through 2003 light trucks and sport utility vehicles manufactured and sold by General Motors Corporation (GM).On July 2, 2010, ODI received GM's response to an information request, which included GM's assessment of the frequency and safety consequences of the alleged defect. GM stated that:(1) the brake system of the subject vehicles is split front/rear and should a brake pipe suddenly fail for any reason, the affected vehicle would be capable of stopping with the pressure supplied by the remaining circuit; (2) the subject vehicles were designed to meet the hydraulic circuit partial failure requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards 105 and 135, Light Vehicle Brake Systems; and (3) should a brake fluid leak occur for any reason, the brake system malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) would illuminate and warn the driver before the brake fluid level was low enough to cause a loss of line pressure.ODI's and GM's analysis indicates that 85 percent of the complaints occurred on vehicles used primarily in States that use salt on the roads during Winter months (Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin).Overall the complaint rates per 100,000 vehicles for Salt Belt States is 43.0 and Non-Salt Belt is 3.0.In approximately 25 percent of the complaints the brake pipe failure occurred suddenly, with no warning (i.e., no MIL, Brake Fluid Loss Warning), and resulted in extended stopping distances.In 30 of these the increase in stopping distance that resulted was a factor in the crash and in 10 others the vehicle was intentionally steered off the road or into another lane of travel in order to avoid a crash.This investigation has been upgraded to an Engineering Analysis (EA11-001) for subject vehicles sold or currently registered in Salt Belt States to further assess the scope, frequency and safety risks associated with sudden failures of corroded brake pipes that can result in decreased brake effectiveness. ODI will continue to gather information on subject vehicles outside the Salt Belt as well.

THE OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION (ODI) OPENED A PRELIMINARY EVALUATION (PE06-016) ON MAY 4, 2006 BASED ON ELEVEN VEHICLE OWNER QUESTIONNAIRES (VOQS) AND EARLY WARNING (EWR) DATA ALLEGING SUDDEN ENGINE SHUTDOWN WHILE DRIVING AS A RESULT OF CRANK POSITION SENSOR FAILURES IN MY 2001-2002 GENERAL MOTORS C/K PLATFORM VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 8.1L ENGINES.IN RESPONSE TO AN INFORMATION REQUEST LETTER SENT BY ODI, GENERAL MOTORS (GM) PROVIDED OWNER COMPLAINT INFORMATION, FIELD REPORTS AND WARRANTY CLAIM DATA BASED ON A POPULATION OF 108,338 VEHICLES. THE DATA WAS CATEGORIZED BY ENGINE STALLS WHILE DRIVING, ENGINE STALLS WITH AN UNKNOWN DRIVING CONDITION, NO START CONDITIONS AND CLAIMS WHERE IT WAS INDETERMINATE IF AN ENGINE STALL OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING.GENERAL MOTOR'S RESPONSE INCLUDED 1,213 OWNER COMPLAINTS AND FIELD REPORTS OF WHICH 289 WERE CATEGORIZED AS ENGINE STALLS WHILE DRIVING ALLEGEDLY CAUSED BY CRANK POSITION SENSOR FAILURES. GENERAL MOTORS ALSO SUBMITTED WARRANTY CLAIMS FROM ITS REGULAR WARRANTY (5 YEARS/50,000 MILES) AND FROM ITS EXTENDED WARRANTY DATABASE. FROM THE REGULAR WARRANTY DATABASE THERE WERE 3,140 CLAIMS OF CRANK POSITION SENSOR REPLACEMENT OF WHICH 147 CLAIMS WERE FROM CONSUMERS ALLEGING ENGINE STALL WHILE DRIVING.GM STATED THAT 2,841 OF THE CLAIMS WERE INDETERMINATE IF AN ENGINE STALL OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING.FROM ITS EXTENDED WARRANTY DATABASE, GM SUBMITTED 1,561 CLAIMS OF CRANK POSITION SENSOR FAILURE THAT IT ALSO STATED WERE INDETERMINATE AS TO WHETHER AN ENGINE STALL OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING.IN TOTAL, GM REPORTS 4,701 CLAIMS OF CRANK POSITION SENSOR FAILURE COMBINING REGULAR WARRANTY AND EXTENDED WARRANTY.SIMILAR TO GM'S STATISTICAL ANALYSIS, ODI'S ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT THE FAILURE RATE FOR WARRANTY CLAIMS OF ENGINE STALL WHILE DRIVING AT THREE YEARS IN SERVICE IS LOW (LESS THAN 1%).HOWEVER, FURTHER ANALYSIS DETERMINED THAT THE MY 2001 VEHICLE BUILD PERIOD FROM MAY 2000 THROUGH OCTOBER 2000 HAD SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER (MORE THAN FOUR TIMES) CRANK POSITION FAILURE RATES IN BOTH CONSUMER COMPLAINT DATA AND WARRANTY CLAIM DATA THAN IN THE BUILD PERIOD FROM NOVEMBER 2000 THROUGH JULY 2001.ADDING THE CLAIMS OF KNOWN ENGINE STALL WHILE DRIVING AND CLAIMS WHERE ENGINE STALL WAS INDETERMINATE, THE FAILURE RATE AT THREE YEARS IN SERVICE FOR THIS POPULATION IS OVER 6%.AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (EA06-016) HAS BEEN OPENED TO FURTHER ASSESS THE FREQUENCY AND POTENTIAL SAFETY CONSEQUENCES ASSOCIATED WITH THE ALLEGED DEFECT IN VEHICLES BUILT FROM MAY 2000 THROUGH OCTOBER 2000.

ODI'S REVIEW OF COMPLAINT DATA RECEIVED SINCE THE CLOSE OF EA04-011 REVEALED NO INDICATION THAT THE INVESTIGATION SHOULD BE RE-OPENED.MORE DETAILS CAN BE FOUND IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE ENCLOSED IN THE DP05-009 PUBLIC FILE.ODI RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REOPEN THE INVESTIGATION IN THE FUTURE SHOULD CONDITIONS WARRANT.

IN A LETTER DATED AUGUST 29, 2005, GM NOTIFIED ODI THAT IT WAS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 1999 THROUGH 2002 C/K PICKUP TRUCKS AND SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES TO CORRECT A PROBLEM WITH ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM (ABS) WHEEL SPEED SENSOR CORROSION THAT MAY RESULT IN UNWANTED ABS ACTIVATION AND EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCES DURING LOW-SPEED BRAKING (RECALL 05V-379).GM'S RECALL COVERS APPROXIMATELY 804,000 VEHICLES CURRENTLY REGISTERED IN THE FOLLOWING 14 SALT-BELT STATES:CONNECTICUT, ILLINOIS, INDIANA, MASSACHUSETTS, MAINE, MICHIGAN, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK, OHIO, PENNSYLVANIA, RHODE ISLAND, VERMONT, AND WEST VIRGINIA.THE RECALL PROCEDURE WILL INVOLVE REMOVING THE SENSOR, CLEANING THE MOUNTING SURFACE, APPLYING A RUST INHIBITOR (ZINC-X) TO THE SURFACE, AND REINSTALLING THE SENSOR.IF NECESSARY, THE SENSOR WILL BE REPLACED. THE POPULATION AND FAILURE REPORT DATA GIVEN IN THIS RESUME ARE FOR THE FULL REGION THAT HAS BEEN CONSIDERED BY ODI AS THE SALT-BELT.THAT INCLUDES DELAWARE, IOWA, MARYLAND, MINNESOTA, MISSOURI, WISCONSIN AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA IN ADDITION TO THE 14 STATES INCLUDED IN 05V-379.THE STATES COVERED BY GM'S RECALL HAVE THE HIGHEST INCIDENT RATES FOR THE SUBJECT CONDITION, ACCOUNTING FOR 91% OF THE INCIDENTS, BUT ONLY 24% OF SUBJECT VEHICLE SALES IN THE UNITED STATES.ODI'S ANALYSIS DETERMINED THAT 840 OF THE COMPLAINTS, 244 OF THE CRASHES, AND 16 OF THE INJURIES IDENTIFIED IN THIS INVESTIGATION OCCURRED IN THOSE STATES.THE RESULTING INCIDENT AND CRASH RATES ARE 96.2 AND 28.0 PER 100,000 VEHICLES RESPECTIVELY (NOTE:RATES ARE BASED ON VEHICLE SALES, NOT REGISTERED VEHICLES). THE CORRESPONDING NUMBERS IN THE EXCLUDED PORTIONS OF THE SALT-BELT ARE 399,000 VEHICLES, 81 INCIDENTS (20.3 PER 100,000 VEHICLES), 3 CRASHES, AND NO INJURIES.THE STATISTICS IN THE REMAINING 30 STATES ARE 2,406,000 VEHICLES, 168 INCIDENTS (7.0 PER 100,000 VEHICLES), 31 CRASHES, AND ONE INJURY.GM AND ODI ARE CONTINUING TO MONITOR THE PROBLEM EXPERIENCE IN STATES THAT ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL.GM WILL PROVIDE ODI WITH UPDATED COMPLAINT, FIELD REPORT, AND WARRANTY DATA IN NOVEMBER 2005.ODI AND GM WILL REVIEW THAT DATA AND ASSESS THE APPROPRIATENESS OF THE CURRENT SCOPE OF THE RECALL AT THAT TIME.

05068A PRODUCT SAFETY RECALL FRONT WHEEL SPEED SENSOR CORROSION. MY VEHICLE WAS SERVICED FOR THIS RECALL IN 2006 WHICH INVOLVED REMOVING AND CLEANING THE ABS SENSOR AND REINSTALLING IT. NO REDESIGN WAS CREATED TO IMPROVE THIS FLAWED DESIGN. I'M HAVING THE SAME FAILURES DESCRIBED AND COVERED IN THIS RECALL. WHILE MOVING AT SLOW SPEEDS IN DRY CONDITIONS ABS KICKS IN AND INCREASES MY STOPPING DISTANCE. I HIT A PARKED CAR IN A PARKING LOT DUE TO THIS DEFECT. MY VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION AT <5MPH ON DRY PAVEMENT WHEN THE BREAKS WENT INTO 'ABS MODE' AND HIT A STATIONARY PARKED CAR. LUCKILY NO ONE WAS HURT. WHEN I CONTACTED GMC I WAS TOLD THAT THIS WOULD NOT BE COVERED UNDER THE RECALL BECAUSE IT WAS ALREADY SERVICED FOR THIS RECALL IN 2006 AND THAT THE ISSUE WAS THEREFORE CLOSED. IN MY CASE THE ORIGINAL RECALL WAS NOT ADEQUATE AND MY CAR BREAKS STILL FAILED EVEN THOUGH SERVICED IN 2006. I HOPE THIS DOESN'T START TO OCCUR WITH ALL OF THE VEHICLES THAT WERE SERVICED ~10 YEARS AGO WHICH IS WHY I'M FILING THIS COMPLAINT. LINK TO RECALL: HTTP://WWW-ODI.NHTSA.DOT.GOV/ACMS/CS/JAXRS/DOWNLOAD/DOC/ACM5671334/RCRIT-05V379-9258.PDF

NHTSA ID

10811477

Incident

Dec 20, 2015

Mileage

250,000 mi

WENT TO STOP AT TRAFFIC LIGHT AND EXPERIENCED BRAKE LINE RUPTURE DUE TO EXCESSIVE RUST. HAD TO USE EMERGENCY BRAKE TO COAST TO A STOP. FORTUNATE NO CARS WERE IN LANE.$1200.00 FOR REPAIR OF LINES.

NHTSA ID

10764366

Incident

Sep 9, 2015

Mileage

134,000 mi

BRAKE PEDAL MOVED ALL THE WAY TO FLOOR WITH NO APPARENT HYDRAULIC PRESSURE WHICH FAILED TO ENGAGE BRAKES WHEN SHIFTING INTO DRIVE. INSPECTION OF BRAKE LINES BENEATH DRIVERS SIDE DOOR REVEALED EXCESSIVE RUST AND A HOLE IN STEEL BRAKE LINE LEAKING FLUID.

NHTSA ID

10723781

Incident

May 1, 2015

Mileage

145,050 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 GMC SIERRA. WHILE SELF-SERVICING THE VEHICLE, THE CONTACT DISCOVERED THAT THE SUBFRAME WAS CORRODED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 124,000. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.

NHTSA ID

10713981

Incident

Dec 31, 2014

Mileage

124,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 GMC SIERRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE ATTEMPTING TO STOP, THE ABS FAILED AND THE VEHICLE STARTED TO PULL TO THE RIGHT. THE CONTACT DETERMINED THAT THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS A DEFECTIVE WHEEL SPEED SENSOR. THE VIN WAS NOT AFFECTED BY NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 05V379000 (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC). THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 105,000. ...UPDATED 06-11-15 *BF UPDATED 11/23/2015*JS

NHTSA ID

10700640

Incident

Jan 1, 2015

Mileage

105,000 mi

BRAKE LINE FAILED AND BROKE, UPON INSPECTION ALL BRAKE LINES WERE CORRODED AND BRITTLE, HAD TO REPLACE ALL BRAKE LINES. *TR

NHTSA ID

10692429

Incident

Feb 26, 2015

Mileage

118,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 GMC SIERRA. WHILE DRIVING 15 MPH, THE BRAKE PEDAL FAILED TO DEPRESS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THAT THE SENSORS ON THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT WAS MADE AWARE OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 05V379000 (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC); HOWEVER, THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 70,000.

NHTSA ID

10671006

Incident

Oct 15, 2012

Mileage

70,000 mi

HEADING INTO PARKING SPOT AT WALMART , APPLIED BRAKES WOULD NOT STOP , HEADING HEAD ON INTO PARKED CAR , SLAMMED EMERGENCY BRAKE , PUT INTO NEUTRAL , FINALLY STOPPED . HAD TO HAVE TOWED TO MECHANIC BRAKE LINES ALL BURST DUE TO RUST , MECHANIC SAID COST TO FIX , APPROX. $1000 OR MORE ? WHICH I DON'T HAVE . THANK GOD I WAS GOING SLOW AND DIDN'T CAUSE ANY INJURY , POUR DESIGN AND POUR QUALITY PARTS PER MECHANIC ON GM'S PART , NOTICE A LOT OF COMPLAINTS ON THESE ERA OF TRUCKS. *TR

NHTSA ID

10667811

Incident

Dec 22, 2014

Mileage

219,844 mi

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