NHTSA Complaint #10043383 — 1996 CHEVROLET BLAZER

APPLIED BRAKES WHILE TWO CAR LENGTHS BEHIND ANOTHER CAR IN TRAFFIC ON FREEWAY, GOING ABOUT 25 MPH. BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO FLOOR, CAR DID NOT STOP UNTIL IT HIT CAR IN FRONT OF US. WHILE BRAKING ON WET PAVEMENT, OR RR TRACKS, OR UNEVEN PAVEMENT THE ABS FAILS AND PEDAL GOES TO FLOOR. AT MY EXPENSE I TOOK CAR TO GMC DEALERSHIP TO CHECK BRAKES. I WAS TOLD CAR HAD NO OPEN RECALLS. THEY LOOKED AT ABS AND SAID THERE WERE NO ERRORS COMING UP. GMC SAID BRAKE PADS WERE WORN - THEY WERE REPLACED 6 MONTHS AGO, AND THEN AGAIN ABOUT 30 DAYS PRIOR TO ACCIDENT. MECHANIC TOOK US ON TEST DRIVE OVER UNEVEN PAVEMENT, WE TRIED TO BRAKE, AND ABS WENT TO FLOOR, STOPPING WAS EXTREMELY DELAYED. WE WERE TOLD THAT WAS "NORMAL". HE ALSO SAID THAT IF WE HAD GMC BRAKE PADS THEN WE WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO STOP BETTER. OPENED CALL WITH GMC AND WAS TOLD THAT DUE TO MILEAGE OF CAR THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO. HOW CAN A CAR BE CONSIDERED SAFE TO DRIVE IF THE BRAKES DON'T WORK? GMC RECALL 99I006000 DESCRIBES THIS EXACT PROBLEM WE EXPERIENCED. I WAS TOLD MY CAR HAD THIS RECALL PERFORMED. I WILL TAKE CAR TO 3RD PARTY FOR OPINION, AND THEN WILL SEEK LEGAL REPRESENTATION. CAR WILL SIT IN GARAGE UNTIL THEN. IT'S TOO UNSAFE TO DRIVE. *LA