I went to have my 2001 chevrolet tahoe inspected and the vehicle failed the inspection due to the parking brake failing to function. i told him that i had only engaged the brake no more that 5 times since i had bought the vehicle new. the inspector told me that practically every 2001 tahoe he inspected failed due to the parking brake not functioning. i went to another repair shop that did inspections and asked if they were aware of any issues related to my 2001 tahoe. they immediately mentioned that the parking brake probably did not function. i then searched the internet and came to the nhtsa site and found all of the complaints regarding this issue. i took my tahoe into champion chevrolet in austin and had them inspect the parking brake. they called me and said that the parking brake shoes were completely worn out and the parking brake rotor/drum was rendered unusable. they told me that the cost would be over $750 to fix. i told the service manager that i was aware of the defective design of the parking brake system and requested that the work be done at no charge. they called me back and said that cheverolet would cover approximately 60% of the cost. i ended up paying over $300 to fix the manfacturers defect. i told them that i was concerned about the parking brake becoming defective again and they said that the replacement system had been redesigned to fix the problem with the original parking brake. i feel that the nhtsa should begin a defect investigation and force chevrolet to recall these vehicles and fix the defective parking brake system.*ak
2001 chevy tahoe parking brake failed - worn completely through in 35,000 miles. premature wear also damaged brake rotors. parking brake was completely inoperable. same issue occurred again october 29, 2004. next set of completely new rear main and parking brakes wore completely through within 6,000 miles. *jb
Parking brake, starts to malfunctioning every 15k, even when is rarely use, cost 130.00 to get it adjusted every time. *jb
Dt*: the contact applied the parking brake and discovered the parking brake would not engage. there were no previous problems with the parking brake. the vehicle was seen by a dealer. the dealer replaced the parking brake shoes which remedied the problem. the consumer stated the parking brake still doesn't hold, more work is needed. updated 02/27/06. *jb
For a 2001 chevrolet tahoe regarding the parking/emergency brake. this brake has been adjusted no more than three times since it was new, the first time being at about 15000 miles. it is now non-functional and the pedal presses easily to the floor. we feel this problem is a design defect as a parking brake should not 'wear out' this quickly.*ak
Parking brakes are not designed to hold vehical on slopes in excess of 11 degrees. chevrolet "claims" that it is not a parking brake but rather " a parking assist". on a vehical that weighs about 3 tons, with a 8,000 lb towing capacity it seems to me that a parking brake in a requirement.*ak
At 24,000 miles the parking brake failed. the dealer states because they produced a thinner part the brake wears prematurely. please provide additional information. *ph
Defects: abs light on at 43,600 miles. when car is turned off a loud noise is heard beneath the drivers side of the vehicle my independent mechanic said the abs unit is purging. at 20 miles and regularly there after, when the fog light power button is pressed, the rear window wiper briefly makes noise as if it had been activated. at 3000 miles and regularly there after , all four doors squeak at the hinges and must be lubricated weekly. at 10,600 miles the rear differential began to leak. both driver and passenger seat squeak and do not firmly lock into position. the driver and front passenger seats do not lock into position. the parking brake has not worked since i purchased the vehicle. *la
I had my vehicle serviced because i was hearing a scraping noise coming from the rear of the vehicle and the parking brake not engaging. parking brake pads were replaced at 39,707 miles. i paid $246.99 to have this repaired. i have never,(never) driven the vehicle with the parking brake on and was shocked to find out that the pads needed replaced. i have owned two new vehicles in the past 17 years as well as used vehicles and have never had any parking brake issues. i feel there may be a problem with the braking system which is causing the brakes to engage on there own.*ak
I took my chevy tahoe (2001) in to get the inspection done on 10/1/03 -- this is the first time the inspection has been due since the car was manufactured. i bought this truck used 6 months ago. the inspector told me that he would have to fail my truck due to a defective parking brake. i was told that he had seen a lot of them recently and that he would let me take the truck back to the dealer to get it fixed. he said the other 5-6 that he had seen very recently had taken it to the dealer because it was a recalled part and they fixed it for free. unfortunately, when i took it to my dealer, he informed me that it was not a recalled part and would not be covered -- in fact, would cost me $200-$300 to fix. he said that six months ago, when he inspected the car, it was fine. so, in the past six months, my parking brake had gone bad. i only drive my truck back and forth to work and have not used my parking brake, so it seems to me that something else must be wrong!! please help -- if it is known by so many that these are failing, why will chevrolet not do something about it? if i used my parking brake everyday, that might be one thing, but i have not used it at all.
Emergency brake failed causing vehicle to roll down a hill and collide with another vehicle. phone interview update (april 5, 2006): ms. arnecke said that the vehicle did not roll away; the vehicle failed the texas state inspection because of the parking brakes.
The parking brake was inoperable. when parking on an incline and the park brake was applied, the vehicle rolled. *jb *sc
I believe there is a serious problem with the emergency brake system in 2001 tahoe's. i learned of this problem when i went to have my car inspected in memphis, tennessee. when i drove up, the inspector said, " we might as well try your emergency brakes first since they will probably fail." i asked her why and she said that almost all tahoe's do fail. mine did. the inspector told me i needed to have the brakes fixed at a dealer. i went to a chevrolet dealer and i told them i had a tahoe and it had failed the inspection, the service manager interupted and said, "your emergency brakes failed, didn't they?" i asked how he knew and he said. " they almost all do." he said that the vast majority of them fail within one or two years. he explained that when you do not use your emergency brake there is something that makes them activate and rub against the drum. eventually they wear out. he stated he wished chevrolet would recall the system. i wrote to chevrolet. they claim my brakes wore out with regular use. to the best of my knowledge, i have never used the emergency brakes on my car. in fact i still have the same factory installed regular brakes on my car. i believe this eventual emergency brake failure in cars could cause a seriouse accident by failing at the wrong time. so do the mechanics i spoke with and the city inspectors in memphis. i find it hard to believe that chevrolet does not know of this problem. while i do not believe chevrolet will be honest about this situation, i believe any dealer mechanic will. the one that worked on my car volunteered that it was a serious problem and recommended i call you.*ak
Emergency brakes - missing parts new from factory. (non functioning) yr and vehicle - 2001 tahoe 1500 i have all records on this vehicle from new. the emergency brakes on this truck, is missing the "actuating pin"(one passenger side) which allows the brake emergency shoe (inside the rotor) to expand when the cable is pulled. this caused only one rear wheel to work, ......wearing out the shoe and scoring the rotor..............(the other rotor and shoe are still new). since the vehicle has over 36,600 miles, it is out of warranty. what is more important is how many other, tahoe, suburban etc. are missing "actuating pins" inside the adjuster, rendering it useless. in the case of a brake failure, the e-brakes would be useless. this has been this way since new......i have the diagrams from gm showing the missing part, and photos of my brakes with the missing part (please note the part is inside an enclosed piston........not able to get lost, also one shoe is completely gone the other is still new. *jb
The emergency break went out (which made a metal to metal noise all times when the suv is moving) causing the rear brake to go out. i have been in contact with the dealer on previous occasions and they stated this is not covered under warranty therefore if they look it will cost me. the dealer stated i drove with the emergency brake, which caused the brake to go out, which is untrue. i went to a personal mechanic who stated that this should not have happened and it should be covered under the warranty. after speaking with other gmc / chevrolet owners they are experiencing the same issues with the e brake going out, all have had the same response from the dealers.. *nlm
The emergency brake on this car and other models (suburban) is faulty. regardless of use, the emergency brake needs adjusted every 15-20k miles.(recommended by the dealer). the new emergency brake design does not use the normal rear brake pads..it has its own seperate brake pad inside the wheel well. this "emergency" pad burns out regardless of use. a chevrolet mechanic and dealership told me this is a faulty system and that i will need to return every 15-20 k miles to have approximately $130 of work done to adjust it...even if i didn't use it. this is a horrible design and i wish chevrolet would be responsible for their bad engineering and faulty system.
Consumer stated the emergency brake failed to hold the vehicle, dealer had been notified, however consumer was informed the vehicle was no longer under warranty.*jb
Consumer states that when vehicle is in drive or reverse, emergency brake will not hold truck. vehicle checked by dlr who advised that the lining on the rear emergency brake shoes has worn out. *mr
2001 chevrolet tahoe parking brake defect: each year now for the last 3 years i have had to replace the parking brake shoes on my 2001 chevrolet tahoe due to the poor design of the parking brake system. the current design allows the brake shoe (1 piece) to shift position within the drum cylinder resulting in premature wear and eventually brake pad failure. i understand that gm is aware of this problem but refuses to take steps to correct the defect. i feel that this is a safety issue that needs to be addressed and corrected immediately. my vehicle will not pass the annual vehicle safecty inspection at this time due to the faulty parking brake system. it costs me about $350 annually to have the parking brake pads replaced. please have this safety problem fixed before someone is seriouly injured or killed. i do have the previous worn pads if needed for review.
Faulty emergency brake. *ak
Consumer states that twice in the past year the emergency brake shoes and linings have disintegrated resulting in damage to vehicle's rear brakes. the vehicle's rear brake pads and rotors had to be replaced. incidents occurred on 10/24/01 and 11/15/02 respectively. ts
Parking brake failure. i asked my dealer to check out my brakes and was told the parking brake ruined the rotors and needed a complete replacement costing $ 800. i have never used the parking brake. i still could hear a squeak and returned for inspection, now i was told the backing plate is rusted, they cut off the bottom of the plate stating is doesn_x0019_t need it? something is very wrong with gm not taking responsibility for an obvious mistake. *ak
When the parking brake would be engaged, the pedal would go all the way to the floor. if the vehicle was on an incline, and in neutral gear, the parking brake would not hold. the dealership indicated that was a normal position for the brake and they were self adjusting. please provide more details.*jb
Park brake failure, premature wear-out. park brake shoes drop and rub on inside of drum. looking at the shoes, clips and the wear on the shoe surface it is obvious that the design of the shoe retention system is not adequate for the duty these brakes see. normal driving heats the rear brake disc repeatedly. after several hundred heat cycles the spring clips holding the park brake shoes relaxes, allowing the shoes to drop (by gravity) from their intended design position, and the lower brake shoe rests on the normally rotating brake drum. with a brake shoe resting on the rotating drum the result is lower shoe premature wear-out and leaves the upper shoe without wear. this will happen even if the park brake is never used. having worked for gm myself, in cpc-advanced suspension design group, i understand the complexities of brake system design. during my employment with gm, i worked with delco brake engineers and i am sure this failure information has been reported back to them and the appropriate department. i will be requesting to see a 2004 tahoe system to see if the design has been improved. if it has changed it indicates that there was a problem and that gm addressed it by implementing a change. since many gm customers are experiencing this problem at $200 per fix, at 200,000 vehicles that_x0019_s $40,000,000.00 _x0013_ might be a class action.
I just watched this a.m.'s local news and saw a local man extremely upset and concerned about his 2001 chevrolet tahoe's parking brake system failure. i, too, have a 2001 chevy tahoe and have had consistent problems since shortly after i purchased it brand new in february 2001. the man claimed his parking brake was not safe and in fact had failed to the point of him having to pay to replace it because gm would not. (over $300) this, after he had discovered gm had sent notices to all chevy dealerships due to the number of complaints on this very issue. the fact is that my parking brake does not work and i feel as the man in the news report said; that gm should send out a nationwide recall to have this very dangerous problem fixed! we bought our vehicles in good faith and gm should stand behind their products, particularly when safety is an issue! gm...do the right thing! for your reference, the local news channel is nbc affiliate channel 12 in phoenix, az.*ak
I have a 2001 chevy tahoe. the parking brake has always barely worked but i never had it repaired because i didn't realize it was a defective. i just thought it was a crummy brake. after reading some web sites i now realize it is defective and needs repair. i believe that this is a big problem but that people just don't realize it is not working. the only thing that holds my car from rolling down the hill and killing someone is the transmission. you really should make gm do a recall and fix this problem. *nm