On top of everything, General Motors is in the crosshairs of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The U.S. federal agency has opened an investigation into pickup trucks and SUVs made by the Detroit automaker from 2014 through 2016. An estimated 2.7 million GM vehicles could be affected. The cars could suffer from faulty brake pumps.
The agency’s investigation includes the Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade. So far, there have been 111 consumer complaints filed with the NHTSA. There’ve been nine crashes and two reported injuries so far related to the faulty brake pumps.
The NHTSA says a brake vacuum pump could deteriorate. This could subsequently cause stopping distances and braking effort to increase, potentially leading to crashes, injuries, and deaths. Right now, the agency is investigating to determine how widespread the problem is. This will help decide if a recall is required. General Motors is assisting with the investigation while monitoring complaints and warranty claims, according to GM Spokesperson Tom Wilkinson.
Without a recall, owners who experience brake problems who take their vehicle to a General Motors dealership or independent repair shop should keep their receipts. If there is a recall, they could receive reimbursement for the repair.
Comments
surprise
I was having this problem I thought I needed to change my breaks, before I schedule the visit I received the letter from GMC.
Guess what? I went to my dealer and they said my car did not have the problem even thou I knew it did. they said they looked at it, never gave me the documents the computers were “down”, and the problem ” disappeared” after 1 months guess what its back! I dislike my dealer very much now.
What model car is it
I have a 2016 Chevy malibu and just found out the vacuum pump exploded. They couldn’t give me a reason why. You better investigate the malibu 2016 cars too. I just went out of warranty. This is a very costly part to replace
My Malibu as well. 2016 with 100k on it
Me as well. I have been fishing out pieces from the top of my engine. This car has been a nightmare from the 3rd month since I purchased it. The engine had to be rebuilt because of the #1 piston. Go look that up, it wasn’t even a recall. They got away with it by putting 0it under a program instead. I’m so over these companies screwing us working class for everything we work hard for. Don’t even start me on customer service. I have file folder thick with invoice repairs, but do you know how hard I had to fight Chevy for those repairs.and how much time it consumed I got on the Internet this morning to see if I could find anything how to fish out all these broken pieces in the top of my motor. I will say now that I am totally devastated just by reading on this forum after a couple minutes. I have no idea how I’m going to going to get this car running because I do not have the strength to fight this multimillion billion dollar corporation anymore. … Sad in Texas
My 2011 F150 had an electric vacuum pump which, of course failed. They replaced it free. Then they went to driving the pump off something rotating on the engine. Had problems there when the pump seized and broke the sacrificial drive piece.
Now they’re using some kind of Venturi device to create vacuum, the results of its success are unknown, too new.
I guess the bottom line is automotive vacuum pumps are a beeach to design and have last. So, Chevys not the only one, Fords in the swim pool with them, and there may be others….
Vacuum sensor for some unforeseen reason just snapped off destroying my vacuum pump which dropped pieces into my engine destroying my camshaft. 18000 miles off warranty around $6000 to replace…. bought my 2016 Malibu because my 2008 had very little problems and 350000 miles on it. My 2016 has had nothing but problems including my transmission that was just replaced not even a year ago.
I’m having the same issue with my 2016 Malibu for the second time. Vacuum pump and sensor were replaced September 2020 (170k miles). The new pump failed again May 2021(189K miles)! The part is still under warranty, so at least I didn’t have to pay again. But I’ve been in a rental until they can order the part! I wish I could post the pictures of the failed part. Both times the part that going into the engine shattered and all the pieces has to be removed!
Got a 2017 malibu LT nice car but coming down a Mountain today my brak pedal got relly hard taking the car into a dealer relly soon lucky I got another car but I got no Vacuum to my brakes luckily I didn’t get into An accident
I owned a 2015 Buick regal with the turbocharged ecotec engine. My vacuum pump broke apart where it connects to the exhaust cam. Causing my engine to destroy itself. The car was only 3 years old with 115,000 kms on it GM refused to do anything about it. And lied by saying they did not have any records of the car every being serviced. Which I know they had as it had been in for a new oil pan gasket 2 months prior, the lady at the time mentioned it was replaced once before down in Washington DC. I ended up having to spend 6,578.00 in total to have the engine replaced with a low milage used one.
Good afternoon Mrs. Barra,
My name is LaChantris Miller and I am contacting you in the hopes of not only recovering fees that I had to pay for repairs to my 2017 Chevy Malibu but towing and suffering. But also I feel as though there should a fund or recall for the issue because this is going to kill someone. On 07/10/2021 at around 10am I was going to pick up a birthday cake for my son for his birthday party. I was coming down the street an my car started to make a loud noise then all of a sudden as I am turn back into my complex my breaks completely went out. The break pedal became hard, I could not force it down to stop. I literally has to hit a curb an coast to a stop. I called my warranty company to try and get some assistance and they sent me to Petboys here in Memphis. But because it was now after 12 noon I couldn’t get a rent a car to make it to my sons birthday party because they all was now closed. Petboys let me know that they was completely booked an they couldn’t get to me until Tuesday. So I was without a car for 4 days. So, I googled what was going with my car and I pulled up countless of other people that has had near death situations with the same vehicle same description of what happened to me. So Im asking myself why haven’t a recall be put in place? So, now it’s Tuesday morning I have to pay for a tow truck and get my car towed to the shop. Then the shop calls, and further tells me exactly what countless of other people has said that has happened to them. The vacuum pump on the brakes shattered and metal parts was thrown all around the motor. The exact same thing. So now Im out 700.00 for repairs to petboys 100.00 for towing. Stress and aggravation because this is happening on my sons birthday. We was literally almost killed in one of your cars and this could’ve been avoided. Because there are at least 30 people online that has near misses with their brakes locking up in snow on ice on the expressway just driving the freaking car when you all should have been done something. So, now we come to the fun part because I have time today. Your opportunity to find out or listen to countless of complaints about the same exact thing could have killed my family and I an I pissed off that I have to beg an borrow money to get my car towed an repaired. Im on a very small fixed income. I don’t have nearly 1,000 dollars just laying around. To hear my kids screaming in fear because I could not stop the car was very traumatic for my kids and on my son’s birthday. I want not only every single Penney I had to pay out but for the trauma that this ordeal has caused my kids. Also I want a recall placed so that no one will ever has to be caught off guard like I was an killed. Also compensation for all the other victims that has had to suffer from this continued mechanical problem or I will contact each and everyone of them an fill a class action lawsuit with a very well known attorney here in Memphis that would love this case. I will take this to ever news station in Memphis and post this on every single social media outlet. Because again if something is not done now and no one takes this seriously someone is going to killed. I called you customer service and spoke with Anna and she was very sweet but she held me on hold for an hour waiting on a supervisor to talk with at which time she told me that I could not be transfered because no supervisor was available. Unacceptable.
Aug,23,2021 AT 5:31 PM
I’m having the same issue with my 2016 Malibu for the (third time). Vacuum pump and sensor were replaced Aug. 12, 2019 (68k miles). The new pump failed again Jul 23, 2020. The new pump failed again Aug. 23,2021. The part is not under warranty, so now I have to pay again. But this part failed again so something is differently wrong with these cars. Just is crazy how they can still let people drive these cars knowing of this problem. I mean if someone didn’t know how to drive this could cost someone their life!!
My 2017 Malibu did the same thing. Vacuum pump exploded had it replaced, check engine light on and now in limp mode. Chevy told me today they have to replace the cam shafts gears and chain for a cool $3800. Absolutely crazy. No brakes and could have killed someone or myself. Major recall needs to be done
Update on my 2016 Malibu. After the second failure of my vacuum pump, my car started having other issues like the fan continued to run after the engine was shut off and not started at all. This was literally 2 weeks after having the pump replaced for the 2nd time. My husband got sick, so we just left the car so I could take care of him. So it sat from mid-May until July. Then the battery was dead and the battery was purchased from the dealership in January 2020. We charged the battery and finally got the car to start, it seemed to run fine. But when you kill the engine it wouldn’t start again. The battery would still be charged and everything. The engine just wouldn’t turn over. Then it wouldn’t say anything. We would leave it overnight and the battery would be dead again. The dealership refused to test the battery unless it was in the car which wouldn’t start. We went through recharging the battery again and it started again after a couple tries. Kill the engine and it wouldn’t start again. Battery would be dead the next day. This went on for several weeks. I wouldn’t drive the car because I couldn’t guarantee it would start. It wouldn’t even start if you tried to jump it. It sat again from mid-July until mid-September. A family friend is a mechanic and had my car from mid-September until November 16th. He ran down every error code the car threw and the car still wouldn’t start. And the codes had nothing to do with the ignition system. He called in 2 other mechanics and they had never seen anything like it and couldn’t get it to start. One last hail Mary and he called in another mechanic from over an hour away. After 2 days he found a small piece of the broken vacuum pump had lodged near one of the cam shafts and caused the car to be out of time. Not enough to completely jump time, but just enough for it not to start! There’s a long list of everything that was done. But the car is FINALLY running again after being down since mid-May. I’ve spent well over $1K on rentals over this time when I couldn’t borrow family member’s cars. And I got off easy on the repair bill, only $625 this time. Our friend was very gracious with his bill for the repair. And he warned me that there’s still a check engine light because the catalytic converter is going bad! He told me it’s drivable for now but he’s ordered that part and will put it on once he gets it. He’s been in the business for 25+ years and said he’s never seen anything like the craziness with my car. It’s still the prettiest black lemon you’ll ever see!
Same thing happened to my 2016 Malibu premier. Telling me the sensor circuit went out and it broke my cam shaft and vacuum pump
I have a 2017 Chevy Malibu Lt 1.5liter. My wife was driving my car April 2nd 2022. I was on the phone with her while she was panicking and yelling my breaks went out and she could not stop. She was pressing the break pedal down to the floor! My check engine light came on saying bad break pump sensor. I replaced the break pump sensor but still no breaks. Next I had the break vacuum pump changed and now everything works. There should be a recall on the break vacuum pump!!! My wife could have been seriously injured or died.
If you get that lawsuit going please let me know. I have all my invoices for countless repairs. I myself too was in a near muss horrific accident. I don’t see how they can get away with thus. I am going to talk with a lawyer.
I am having a similar issue with my 2016 chevy malibu premier. I just paid almost 1,700.00 to replace brakes vacuum pump through the dealership a year ago. They told me that it’s normal wear and tear to have to replace that part around 100,000 miles. My cars breaks started doing the same thing with the breaks so I took it back to the dealership to find out that the vacuum pump had broken into pieces going into different parts causing over 5,000 in parts replacements and damage. They really need to put the recall out because people need to be made aware of this issue so they can supplemented correctly instead of paying out of pocket for repairs and rentals while car is worked on.
I totally agree. My second failure happened after only 19K miles!! I did notice when I took the pump back and got a new one that GM had changed the design. The new pumps don’t have that housing that falls into everyone’s engine. So that means GM knows this is an issue, but won’t do anything about it.
My 2016 Buick Encore just had the vacuum pump explode and now they are saying I need a new engine since the pieces all went into the engine throwing off the timing and more.
On august 25/22 i had to call a tow truck as I also have a 2017 chevy cruze and the vacuum pump went while driving with my daughter and three grand daughters in the car . No warning of any kind, brakes became hard to push when trying to stop ,luckily i was able to stop us before we crashed or got hit as it was in the city at a main intersection. The vacuum pump shattered and pieces ended up in the motor and yes it also ruined my camshaft. Scary to know that this is something that can reoccur over and over again !
2017 chevy spark, vaccum pump just stopped working and I ran off road…in shop now and it’s a min $640 repair…saving my receipt
MY VACCUM PUMP WENT OUT WHILE I WAS DRIVING AND I ALMOST GOT T BONED AT AN INTERSECTION ON TOP OF THAT I DONT HAVE THE MONEY TO GET IT FIXED