NHTSA Complaint #10441999 — 2003 CHEVROLET S10

FOUR DAYS PRIOR TO INCIDENT DATE, I HAD APPLIED BRAKES VERY HARD, COULD BE DESCRIBED AS A "PANIC STOP". ON THE DAYS FOLLOWING, I HAD NOTICED A SMALL AMOUNT OF FLUID UNDER LEFT FRONT OF VEHICLE WHEN APPROACHING VEHICLE. THEN, AFTER FOUR DAYS, I NOTICED AT A STOP LIGHT THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO CREEP FORWARD AND REQUIRED MORE PRESSURE ON THE BRAKE PEDDLE TO REMAIN STOPPED. BRAKE PEDDLE ALSO WENT FURTHER TOWARDS FLOOR. UPON RETURNING HOME I OPENED HOOD AND CONFIRMED BRAKE FLUID LEVEL WAS LOW. TOOK VEHICLE TO SHOP AND WAS TOLD ALL BRAKE LINES NEEDED REPLACING BECAUSE OF CORROSION. THE BRAKE FITTINGS ON THE LINES AND BLEED SCREWS ON CALIPERS WERE ALMOST NONEXISTENT, NOTHING BUT RUST. THE LINE ITSELF HAD SPLIT, WHICH HAD CAUSED THE LEAK. I FEEL THIS COULD HAVE CAUSED A CATASTROPHIC INCIDENT HAD I NOT HASTENED DISCOVERY BY HAVING TO APPLY HEAVY BRAKES AT A SLOW SPEED. REPLACED ALL LINES AND CALIPERS BECAUSE OF CORROSION. FIRST TIME I HAVE HAD ANY PROBLEM LIKE THIS IN THIRTY SEVEN YEARS OF OWNING A VEHICLE OF ONE SORT OR ANOTHER. *TR