- Jan 7, 2002
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WASHINGTON -- Vince Gonzalez was having a hard time controlling his 2000 Chevrolet Silverado pickup, leading to some close calls.
It was taking him so long to stop the truck that he sometimes nearly hit the car in front of him. Over time, the Troy resident lost confidence in the pickup's brakes. His wife grew so terrified she stopped riding in the truck.
Gonzalez's Silverado is one of nearly 1.3 million trucks that could be recalled to fix a brake problem, pending a government defect investigation.
General Motors Corp. recalled thousands of trucks in Canada last fall for a similar problem, saying road salt could corrode bearings, lead to false readings in a sensor and prematurely activate antilock brakes.
But so far the company says it has received too few complaints to take action south of the border.
An employee at GM's parts division for 30 years, Gonzalez has heard stories about the same kind of antilock brake problems from other truck owners. At least five co-workers had their antilock brake sensor systems replaced, he said. Gonzalez was astonished that, in news accounts, GM said the problem didn't exist in the United States.
"I don't buy it," Gonzalez said. "I've heard too many people talk about it."
The recent experience of Gonzalez and other truck owners indicates that the GM braking problem may be more widespread.
The federal government is investigating whether a defect exists in antilock brakes on 1.3 million 1999-2002 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups sold in the United States, as well as Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe and GMC Yukon sport utility vehicles.
If an antilock brake sensor malfunctions, the system can kick into gear at low speeds, taking control away from the driver and leading to longer stopping distances.
In November, GM notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that it was recalling 150,000 trucks in Canada with the problem and offered a free fix to truck owners.
GM said the problem was isolated to Canada because it is related to a particular kind of salt used there to clear the roads in the winter. Salt gets into the wheel hub and corrodes bearings, forcing a sensor away from the surface it reads to judge wheel speed. As a result, the car computer gets a false speed reading, leading the antilock brakes to kick in at the wrong time.
To fix the problem, wheel hubs and sensors were removed, and the casings that the sensors are attached to were cleaned. GM applied a zinc-based coating to the surfaces and verified that the sensors were working normally.
Since the recall in Canada, numerous drivers in the United States have reported near-misses because of braking failure.
NHTSA is still in the early stages of its U.S. probe.
http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0505/27/C01-195410.htm
It was taking him so long to stop the truck that he sometimes nearly hit the car in front of him. Over time, the Troy resident lost confidence in the pickup's brakes. His wife grew so terrified she stopped riding in the truck.
Gonzalez's Silverado is one of nearly 1.3 million trucks that could be recalled to fix a brake problem, pending a government defect investigation.
General Motors Corp. recalled thousands of trucks in Canada last fall for a similar problem, saying road salt could corrode bearings, lead to false readings in a sensor and prematurely activate antilock brakes.
But so far the company says it has received too few complaints to take action south of the border.
An employee at GM's parts division for 30 years, Gonzalez has heard stories about the same kind of antilock brake problems from other truck owners. At least five co-workers had their antilock brake sensor systems replaced, he said. Gonzalez was astonished that, in news accounts, GM said the problem didn't exist in the United States.
"I don't buy it," Gonzalez said. "I've heard too many people talk about it."
The recent experience of Gonzalez and other truck owners indicates that the GM braking problem may be more widespread.
The federal government is investigating whether a defect exists in antilock brakes on 1.3 million 1999-2002 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups sold in the United States, as well as Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe and GMC Yukon sport utility vehicles.
If an antilock brake sensor malfunctions, the system can kick into gear at low speeds, taking control away from the driver and leading to longer stopping distances.
In November, GM notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that it was recalling 150,000 trucks in Canada with the problem and offered a free fix to truck owners.
GM said the problem was isolated to Canada because it is related to a particular kind of salt used there to clear the roads in the winter. Salt gets into the wheel hub and corrodes bearings, forcing a sensor away from the surface it reads to judge wheel speed. As a result, the car computer gets a false speed reading, leading the antilock brakes to kick in at the wrong time.
To fix the problem, wheel hubs and sensors were removed, and the casings that the sensors are attached to were cleaned. GM applied a zinc-based coating to the surfaces and verified that the sensors were working normally.
Since the recall in Canada, numerous drivers in the United States have reported near-misses because of braking failure.
NHTSA is still in the early stages of its U.S. probe.
http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0505/27/C01-195410.htm
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