Author Topic: anyone besides me having troubles with brakes on chevy 1/2 t (Read 1345 times)

rich e · « **on:** September 13, 2004, 05:24:41 AM »

Hi, I've been having a bad time with my chevy 1/2 ton silverado short box 2002. I only have 32,000 mi on it, bought it new back then, was warned by a friend to keep an eye on rear brakes 'cause they wear out fast, at about 22,000mi. I heard the warning sensors scratching so made an appointment to have rear pads installed, didn't go to dealer because it was past warranty, took it to nationally advertised brake muffler repair shop, don't want to name publicly, any how they said all the brakes front and back were shot, needed pads and rotors, 950.00. about 5,000 mi, latter started having troubles again, serious scraping, squealing sound from rear, took it back to brake shop, they inspected said everything looked fine, so I took it to dealer, rear universal gone, they repaired for free. Then a month latter, getting serious squeaks when brakes r applied but only when vehicle is almost stopped, in fact when it just about comes to stop brakes go to floor. Started pumping brakes to stop and they work ok then, wife borrowed truck and ran into a car in parking lot because brakes went to floor when almost stopped, scared her, and when she released pedal to pump it was to late and bumped the car ahead of her, cost 750.00 to fix scratch and paint. then it stated to act strange when backing up, wouldn't allow you to push on brake, act like it was pushing back. Afriend was having same problems, he told me to pull fuse on ABS, I did and brakes r working great again. However I hear the wear sensors rubbing again, I'm pissed, this thing is costing a fortune in brakes, and its only half paid for, thats why I buy new, to get away from repair bills.Previous chevys the brakes never needed replacing till 60,000 mi or more, live in rural area so most of my milage is highway driving , very little city.

Graybeard · « **Reply #1 on:** September 13, 2004, 08:03:06 AM »

I've not had any trouble of any kind with a Chevy since I traded my '83 Silverado on an '85 Bronco. Been driving Fords every since Cured all of my GM problems.

That dang Silverado seemed to stay at the shop more than my house. Brakes failed coming down the highest mountain in Alabama with less than 500 miles on it. To make it more interesting I had well over a ton of rocks in the bed. Oh yeah a fun ride to the bottom. Transmission failed at about 3000 miles and it took them almost a full month to get it back to me that time. It never ran right the entire time I owned it. Only worse lemon I've ever owned was my '77 Vega. WOW! Kept that one three months and took it back for a '77 Impala. Same dealer all this time and they really did treat me right even tho the vehicles were junk.

Finally wised up and bought a Ford and haven't looked back since.

DirtyHarry · « **Reply #2 on:** September 13, 2004, 01:00:33 PM »

I just had a 2000 half-ton silverado and I did have to adjust the emergency brake more than normal, as far as the brakes themselves they worked perfect.
I cant recall ever having any brake problems on any fords I had either, it was always internal engine problems.....

Cabin4 · « **Reply #3 on:** September 19, 2004, 04:14:22 AM »

I have a 1/2 ton 2001 extended cab short box with 65,000 miles and still the same original brakes. I was told by the dealer to expect I will get 90,000 out of my first set based on how mucg linings are remaining. HE said this is not uncommon with the new discs they are using on the trucks. I drive this truck every day to work in rush hour 25 miles round trip. I think the brakes are holding up better than I ever could have expected.

A friend of mine has a 97 model year truck and he just recently did his first break job at 155k miles !!

rich e · « **Reply #4 on:** September 19, 2004, 02:43:04 PM »

cabin4, good to hear your not having problems, I previously have owned 3 other chevy 4x4 pick-ups that have easily gone 100,000+ mi. with just normal repairs, that were expected as reasonable wear finally had to replace. But they were also paid for before any problems eventually arouse. But this 2002, is a big problem and I don't think it will see 100,000, at least not by me, thinking of getting rid of it.

Paladin · « **Reply #5 on:** September 19, 2004, 06:52:25 PM »

rich e sounds like the rubber hoses on the rear brakes have went bad. they brake on the inside and cause the brakes to be held on more than they should, thus you get premature brake wear. this is a very common problem. good luck

acearch72 · « **Reply #6 on:** September 21, 2004, 04:47:45 PM »

I bought 2 '99 Chevys. One for me and one for my son. Just sold one with 140,000 mi. on it with orig. brakes. The other one has 105,000 mi with orig. brakes.

My other son bought a 2001 Chevy and replaced brakes at about 45,000 mi and now at 110,000 it's going to the shop tomorrow for new ones as they are scraping badly.

go figure.....

Hooker · « **Reply #7 on:** September 25, 2004, 08:58:17 AM »

One question are those drum or disc brakes?
If they are disc check the slides any rust or corrosion on the slides or pins will cause premature brake ware. A common symptom of this is one brake pad being worn more than the other. or uneven ware across the pad. This is a very common malady in trucks that see lots of dirt roads and rough trails.

Pat

Cabin4 · « **Reply #8 on:** September 29, 2004, 06:51:00 AM »

Quote from: Hooker

One question are those drum or disc brakes?
If they are disc check the slides any rust or corrosion on the slides or pins will cause premature brake ware. A common symptom of this is one brake pad being worn more than the other. or uneven ware across the pad. This is a very common malady in trucks that see lots of dirt roads and rough trails.

Pat

The new chevys are disc on all 4 corners. At least my 2001 has this. This is the first I have heard of a short life issue on the brakes of the new chevy trucks. I know a number of people that own newer chvies and they all are very happy with the new brakes. They are loyal chevy truck owners and had short life issues with the 1999 and older trucks. These people own, suburbans, Tohoes and pick ups.

rich e · « **Reply #9 on:** September 30, 2004, 06:54:58 AM »

cabin4, yes they are disc brakes all the way around, And I was a loyal chevy owner also, this is my 4th 4 wheel drive and I loved em all, I also got alot of service out of them before I had any troubles, but this truck has been a thorn in my side.

DWARREN123 · « **Reply #10 on:** November 30, 2004, 03:39:13 AM »

Warped rotors can cause strange problems.

dave375hh · « **Reply #11 on:** December 01, 2004, 03:34:32 AM »

I'm fairly sure that GM had a recall on the Brakes on all the full size trucks and SUV's. I think it was the 991/2 to 2003 with ABS(anti-lock). The symptoms were the same as all of you were mentioning. Ask your respective Dealers If there was a silent recall. A silent recall is one that is only revealed when an owner comes in and complaines about a specific problem. In other words the corp. has identified a problem of an intermittent nature not large enough to trigger a whole line recall, which is the ones the media reports as a so-called public intrest report. I'm really suprised the media even reports these, because the more people that die the better their newsday is!

rich e · « **Reply #12 on:** December 17, 2004, 06:34:33 AM »

Dave375hh, thanks for the heads up, but that truck is the dealers problem now, traded it in on a new 05 silverado,z71, xtended cab. I did tell the dealer about the problem, didn't want anyone to get hurt. I only hope this new one is as good as all the others have been, and chalk the '02 up as a lemon.