NHTSA ODI Complaints 10883677

Original text and source

Original text

I WAS TOWING A 17' BOAT AND CAME TO A STOP SIGN. I PRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL AND IT WENT TO THE FLOOR. THE YUKON DID NOT SLOW AT ALL. FORTUNATELY, NO ONE WAS COMING AND I ROLLED THROUGH THE STOP SIGN, MADE A RIGHT TURN, AND WENT DOWN A STEEPER HILL. PUMPING THE BRAKES AS I WENT HAD NO EFFECT. THE DASH SHOWED A 'SERVICE BRAKE' MESSAGE. I APPLIED THE PARKING BRAKE AND DOWN-SHIFTED, WHICH SLOWED IT ENOUGH THAT I WAS ABLE TO SWING WIDE INTO THE OPPOSING TRAFFIC LANE AND BARELY MAKE THE TURN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE HILL. I PULLED OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WITH THE RIGHT-WHEELS ON A SOFT SHOULDER BEFORE THE VEHICLE SLOWLY CAME TO A STOP. I REFILLED THE BRAKE RESERVOIR AND HAD MY WIFE PRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL. IT WENT TO THE FLOOR AS BRAKE FLUID SHOT ONTO THE HOT EXHAUST MANIFOLD, LEAKING FROM A RUSTED JOINT WHERE THE STEEL BRAKE LINE JOINED A FLEXIBLE, BRAIDED LINE UNDER THE HOOD. THE BRAKE LINES WERE HORRIBLY RUSTED, UNLIKE ANYTHING I HAD EVER SEEN IN MY 35+ YEARS OF DRIVING AND OWNING VEHICLES (INCLUDING 20 CARS AND LIGHT TRUCKS). THIS YUKON HAS SPENT ITS ENTIRE LIFE REGISTERED IN VIRGINIA AND HAS LESS THAN 80K MILES ON IT. I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT THEY ARE LIKE IN NORTHERN STATES. LOOKING ONLINE, I DISCOVERED THAT THIS WAS A KNOWN PROBLEM THAT THE NHTSA HAD INVESTIGATED. WHY WAS I NOT WARNED? I COULD HAVE BEEN INJURED OR KILLED, AS COULD HAVE ANOTHER MOTORIST OR PEDESTRIAN! WHEN I CALLED MY LOCAL GMC DEALER (OURISMAN OF ALEXANDRIA, VA), THE SERVICE ADVISOR CLAIMED TO BE UNAWARE OF THE PROBLEM, THE GM SERVICE BULLETINS THAT HAD BEEN ISSUED ON IT, AND THE AVAILABILITY OF THE PRE-BENT LINES AS A DISCOUNTED KIT FROM GM. HE ESTIMATED A FOUR-FIGURE LABOR BILL TO DO THE WORK, SO I AM DOING AS MUCH OF IT AS I CAN MYSELF USING NICKEL-COPPER BRAKE LINE AND A FLARING TOOL. PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DIE FROM THIS IF THE NHTSA DOES NOT FORCE GM TO DO A RECALL.

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Source

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints — Owner complaint filed with a government agency
Reporter type: Owner
Source reference: 10883677
Country / market: US
Language: en
Document version: Version 1 (1 held)
Note on the source: US federal government dataset. Complaints are unverified consumer reports, not confirmed defects.

Dates

Incident date: 2016-07-07
Received by source: 2016-07-08
Added to the source's file: Unknown: not returned by the source API
Issued / published: Unknown: not returned by the source API
First observed: 2026-10-05 03:45 UTC (initial bulk load)
This version fetched: 2026-10-05 03:45 UTC