NHTSA Complaint #10086678 — 2000 GMC SIERRA

MY 2000 GMC SIERRA 1500 PICK UP HAS HAD POOR BRAKING FROM THE TIME I BOUGHT IT NEW FROM THE DEALER. THEY SAID IT WAS NORMAL FOR THIS VEHICLE. WHILE DRIVING TO WISCONSIN FROM OUR OHIO HOME ON JULY 1, 2004, I HAD TO BRAKE QUICKLY DUE TO HEAVY TRAFFIC GOING THROUGH DOWNTOWN CHICAGO. THE BRAKES DID NOT TOTALLY FAIL, BUT WERE POOR ENOUGH THAT I HAD TO QUICKLY CHANGE TO THE NEXT LANE TO AVOID HITTING THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME. AFTER RETURNING FROM VACATION, I DID SOME INVESTIGATION ONLINE AND FOUND THROUGH A FRIEND OF A FRIEND THAT GM ENGINEERS WERE AWARE OF BRAKE PROBLEMS WITH THIS AND SUBSEQUENT MODELS AND INSTITUTED A FIX WITH THE 2003 MODEL TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. I THEN CONTACTED MY LOCAL DEALER, WHO SAID GM HAD NO RECALL NOR WOULD THEY COVER ANY REPAIR COSTS INCURRED, SINCE I WAS 3 MONTHS OUT OF WARRANTY EVEN THOUGH WITHIN THE MILEAGE. I HAD THE BRAKES REPAIRED AT THE DEALER, NORRIS GMC IN MEDINA, OHIO, AND IT TOTALED $1,587, OR CLOSE TO THAT. I FOUND THAT TO BE PREPOSTEROUS AND FILED A COMPLAINT WITH GM CUSTOMER SERVICE. TO DATE, THEY HAVE OFFERED NO RETRIBUTION FOR THIS CLAIM. KNOWING THAT THEY HAD A PROBLEM, WHICH WAS SUBSEQUENTLY FIXED ON LATER MODELS IS REPREHENSIBLE TO ME AND I FEEL THEY SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST NOTIFIED OWNERS TO HAVE THEIR VEHICLES INSPECTED WHEN THEY LEARNED OF THE DEFECT. I DOUBT THAT I AM ALONE IN THIS ISSUE AND WOULD LIKE YOUR ASSISTANCE IN BRINGING GM TO OFFER SOME RETRIBUTION FOR THOSE OF US WHO HAVE HAD SIMILAR EXPERIENCES.