NHTSA Complaint #10456517 — 1999 CHEVROLET SILVERADO

ON 3/21/12 I EXITED MY DRIVEWAY IN MY 1999 CHEVROLET SILVERADO PICKUP AND STOPPED AT MY MAIL BOX TO GET THE MORNING PAPER. WHILE STOPPED WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL, THE PEDAL SUDDENLY WENT TO THE FLOOR. SEVERAL PUMP ATTEMPTS FAILED TO ACHIEVE A FIRM PEDAL. UPON INSPECTION I NOTICED A LARGE PUDDLE OF FLUID UNDER THE DRIVER??S SIDE JUST BEHIND THE FRONT WHEEL. LATER THAT EVENING I HAD MY WIFE PUMP THE BRAKES AND WITNESSED A SIGNIFICANT STREAM OF BRAKE FLUID SPEWING FROM A BUNDLE OF METAL BRAKE LINES LOCATED ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE FRAME RAIL, OPPOSITE THE ABS CONTROL MODULE. UPON FURTHER INVESTIGATION, I NOTICED ALL OF THE METAL BRAKE LINES WERE VISIBLY, AND SIGNIFICANTLY, CORRODED/RUSTED. THE LOCATION OF THE LINE RUPTURE WAS NOWHERE NEAR A JOINT, FITTING, OR LINE BEND. I PURCHASED THIS TRUCK USED IN OCTOBER OF 2008 FROM A CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP IN DANVILLE, INDIANA WITH APPROXIMATELY 89,979 MILES ON IT. THE BODY, WHEELS, AND INTERIOR ARE IN EXCELLENT SHAPE AND WOULD LEND YOU TO BELIEVE THAT THE TRUCK WAS GENERALLY WELL MAINTAINED AND REGULARLY GARAGED. THIS TRUCK HAD 101,107 MILES AT THE TIME OF THE BRAKE LINE INCIDENT. I'VE DRIVEN THE TRUCK 11,128 MILES SINCE PURCHASE, IT'S ALWAYS STORED IN A GARAGE. THERE WERE NO VISIBLE LEAKS OR INDICATORS PRIOR TO BRAKE LINE RUPTURE. HAD I BEEN ACTUALLY DRIVING ON THE ROAD, OR WORSE YET TOWING A TRAILER OR HEAVY LOAD, THIS STORY COULD HAVE HAD A SIGNIFICANTLY MORE OMINOUS OUTCOME. THE INTERNET IS FULL OF SIMILAR STORIES TO MINE. IT APPEARS THESE TYPES?? INCIDENTS ARE MORE COMMON THAN I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT. THERE APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN SOME GM PRODUCT DEFICIENCIES AND I BELIEVE THERE SHOULD BE A MANDATORY SAFETY RECALL WITH RESTITUTION BEING MADE BY GM. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE ABOUT THIS SITUATION. PLEASE ACT BEFORE SOMEONE GETS KILLED WHEN THEIR RUSTY BRAKE LINES FAIL AT THE WRONG TIME. *TR