NHTSA Complaint #10651871 — 2013 CHEVROLET SONIC

I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT BETWEEN 55 AND 65 MPH. THE SIDE I WAS ON HAD A LONG, STEADY INCLINE UPWARD. I HAD SET MY CRUISE CONTROL TO ABOUT 63 MPH. AS I WAS GOING UPHILL THE CRUISE CONTROL WAS SUPPLYING FUEL TO GET TO AND MAINTAIN MY SPEED AT 63 MPH. I WAS APPROACHING ANOTHER CAR IN MY LANE AND DECIDED RATHER THAN PASS, I WOULD SLOW DOWN. THEY WERE GOING QUITE A BIT SLOWER THAN ME SO CAME UP UPON THEM QUICKLY. I PRESSED THE BRAKE TO SLOW DOWN BUT THE BRAKE WAS HARD AS A ROCK. IT WOULD NOT BUDGE SO IT DID NOT DISCONNECT THE CRUISE CONTROL AND MY CAR KEPT ACCELERATING. I PANICKED AND TRIED TO USE BOTH FEET ON THE BRAKE. IT STILL WOULD NOT BUDGE. I WAS WITHIN 2 CAR LENGTHS OF THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME WHEN FINALLY THE CAR REACHED THE SPEED I HAD SET THE CRUISE CONTROL FOR AND THE BRAKES FINALLY DEPRESSED. IN HINDSIGHT, I HAD OPTIONS I.E. PUTTING THE CAR IN NEUTRAL, TURNING KEY OFF, TURNING TO AVOID A COLLISION, SHUTTING OFF CRUISE CONTROL, BUT THIS CAR WAS NEW TO ME, AND IN THAT MOMENT I FULLY EXPECTED THE BRAKES TO WORK. ONCE I WAS IN CONTROL, I TRIED TO RECREATE THE PROBLEM WITH NO ONE AROUND, KNOWING MY OPTIONS NOW. IT HAPPENED REPEATEDLY. A SERVICE TECH ALSO HAD IT HAPPEN TO THEM. FIRST ATTEMPT AT REPAIR DID NOT FIX IT. SECOND ATTEMPT DID. IT WAS A BAD CHECK VALVE. APPARENTLY THE CHECK VALVE LET AIR OUT OF A BOOSTER, SO I LOST MY BRAKES? THE CHECK VALVE ALSO LET FLUID FILL THE BOOSTER. THE MASTER CYLINDER AND VACUUM WERE REPLACED AS WELL. LOOKING BACK, THERE WERE SIGNS, BUT NO OBVIOUS ONES. A RANDOM HI-PITCHED NOISE (AIR SQUEAKING OUT THE CHECK VALVE). LOSS OF BRAKE FLUID. DEALER HAD TO FILL IT WHEN I BOUGHT IT AND I ADDED SOME AT 6 MONTHS. THIS WAS A DANGEROUS AND SCARY EXPERIENCE. I QUESTION THE DESIGN TO DIS-ENGAGE CRUISE CONTROL AND THE QUALITY OF THE CHECK VALVES THEMSELVES. *TR