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Visitor support makes this site possible. Please shop at Amazon.com via Auto on Info. Thank you. Auto Lit Consumer Reports magazine Consumer Reports Used Car Buying Guide 2005 Consumer Reports Buying Guide 2005 Mathematics and Statistics Time Series Analysis by James Douglas Hamilton The Analysis of Time Series: An Introduction, Sixth Edition by Chris Chatfield Equipping the Expedition North Face sleeping bags To view more outdoor equipment, icons, and search phrases, click here. Men's Watches Men's Watches by Boccia Titanium Men's Watches by Movado To view more men's watches, icons, and search phrases, click here. Auto on Info May 2005
Don't Drive That GM Pickup or SUV
By James B. Bleeker
In another article on General Motors Corporation's braking problem, the Detroit News reports:
1. Vince Gonzalez, a 30-year employee in GM's parts division, stated:
a. He has a hard time stopping his 2000 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck,
b. He has heard that other GM pickup truck owners, including five co-workers, have had the same problem,
c. With regard to GM's claims of the problem's insignificance in the U.S., "I don't buy it."
2. Laura Hunt in northern Michigan stated that after difficulty in stopping the family's 2001 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, her husband has driven it once in the past month and that she refuses to permit her grandchildren to ride in it.
3. Dennis Hogan, a GM shareholder whose Chevrolet Tahoe sport utility vehicle seems not to want to permit him to stop at slow speeds, said "What separates the players and nonplayers is their service. That includes recalls and defects. This falls into a 'must' category, because it definitely is a safety issue."
The braking problem arises, per the Detroit News article, when salt corrodes the bearing case, the corrosion pushes the braking sensor farther from the bearing case surface (which the sensor reads), the increased distance causes the sensor to send a false "lock" reading to the ABS system's computer, the computer reduces braking pressure, and as a result, stopping distance increases.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced an investigation into GM's braking problem earlier this month. (See "General Motors Vehicles Hit with Another Safety Investigation: NHTSA to Investigate 1.3 Million GM Pickup Trucks and SUVs for Corroding Brake Part," Auto on Info, May 2005.) The affected vehicles are 1.27 million 1999-2002 Chevrolet Avalanche, Chevrolet Suburban, GMC Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade sport utility vehicles and Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks sold in 20 states - Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri.
In November 2004, GM recalled the same vehicles in Canada for the same problem. The explanation for not issuing a recall in the U.S. at the same time was that the problem then had a frequency of 3 occurrences per 100,000 vehicles in the U.S. However, NHTSA reported having received 120 complaints involving 22 accidents in the affected states of the U.S. as of early May. By these complaints alone, the problem frequency is about 10 occurrences per 100,000 vehicles. This suggests that when GM's dealer repair and complaint records are submitted, the problem frequency in the northeastern states of the U.S. may match or exceed Canada's problem frequency of 30 occurrences per 100,000 vehicles. And if not now, maybe in another year or two.
Until then, affected GM pickup truck and SUV owners may want to keep their vehicles parked.
Source for GM braking problem update: "GM Truck Owners Insist Brakes Are a Problem," Detroit News, May 27, 2005, at http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0505/27/C01-195410.htm
To view a Quick Fix solution to GM's corroding brake sensor, click here.
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The Tahoe is, of course, a Chevrolet and not a GMC, and the Cadillac Escalade was not among the vehicle models recalled in Canada. See Recall No. 2004395 on the Transport Canada website at http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/recalls/search1_e.asp.
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