Received a call today advising me that I could pick my car up when I am ready.

I spoke to a Chevy employee today that took the time to explain their findings. Wait…Let me first break to say again that this post was not ever to bash Chevy or their vehicles. My dream vehicle was (and still is) the Chevy Avalanche...and I own one...and have no plans of ever selling it. Prior to purchasing the Hybrid, I owned a 2005 Chevy Tahoe XLT...I loved that vehicle too. My fiancé owns a Suburban. I was a police officer for 13 years and drove many Chevy police cars and I found (my opinion) that the Caprice far out-performed the Crown Vic. My point is that I am a huge fan of Chevy trucks and SUV's, but there is a very important issue here that needs to be addressed.

For the “dream car” folks, I had no intentions of ever owning a Tahoe Hybrid. It was a company vehicle that I had driven a few times and liked it. When it came up for sale I bought it...not because I just had to have a Tahoe Hybrid or because it was any type of "dream car", but because it was a Chevy and I was in the market for a new SUV.

Anyway, they “possibly” found aluminum shavings in the master cylinder which “possibly” caused a hole or holes in the lip of one of the ring seals. I am not a mechanic so I may not be using the correct terminology, but I wrote it down as it was given to me the best that I could.
It’s great that they found a problem, but is it “the” problem? Maybe you guys can answer the question of if it was a failure with the master cylinder, would I still get the Stabilitrack warning and the other dash lights?

 

Well, I would expect a TSB coming on that one. That would very much cause a failure of both hydraulic systems. But, that should be a total failure and apply to all vehicles in the line, not just the hybrid.
Would the idiot-lights come on? Yes, probably, as there would be an imbalance in the brake system which triggers the pressure sensor looking for just that issue. I imagine that in the old days, it would just light a light labeled "Check Brakes", but now that system is tied to many others (ABS, Traction Control).
Well, since it is now 4x removed from whomever actually took apart your master cylinder, I would have to say this is total speculation. Tell us if you experience the problem again.
Also, did they fix the "possible holes" with a new seal and clean the shavings out, followed by a flush and fill of the brake hydraulics?

 

Hi Trock55,
Thanks for letting us know what happened , and corrected the problem. It would be interesting if this happens again. Please let us know if it does.

 

In no way would I say that the problem has been corrected. Not yet.

Twice I have heard that the problem was "corrected" and it recurred. I have given permission to one of the Chevy employees to drive it for a few days and see how it goes. But, it took almost a month for the problem to resurface after the second trip to the dealership.

Another concern is that if it truly was caused by metal shavings in the Master Cylinder, has any of those shavings made their way into other parts of the braking system...and if so, what are the short and long term effects?

 

Well Trock55 let us know what happens over the next few months.

 

So, I allowed the Chevy employee to drive the vehicle after it had been "fixed" and ready to be released to me. Of course you know from my previous post(s) that I was skeptical on the "fixed" statement.

It just so happened that the day the Chevy employee drove the vehicle home, the brakes failed on him causing him to return it to the dealership. Now the offer is to replace the vehicle.

For all of the skeptics and for the people who feel this was just to "stir things up" do your research and look at the validity of this post. If I would have picked up the vehicle as directed by Chevy (for the 3rd time), I would have had another (I think we are up to 7!) brake failure.

I was genuinely concerned for the employee and I am very glad he is ok. There will be a death involving this issue somewhere. I hope it doesnt happen but its possible that someone in one of these vehicles will have a brake failure at a stop sign, red light, stopped traffic, etc and someone will die because of it.

 

Now that a GM person has seen the problem first hand after seven failures I am sure they can fix it. Why not after all this trouble, even if you replace the vehicle have it fixed and let others know what the true problem is if you are concerned about a loss of life. After all you started this post why not take the time to end it correctly?

 

Having read through this post several times, but not lately, I can see this is a heated debate. I also can see that you want them to take the vehicle back, trock55. And I can see that others may feel it is over blown. Either way, there is good information within the post and it sounds like you have what you wanted as an end result trock. Are you going to let them replace it with another hybrid?

I reluctantly add this within this thread and wonder if others have had this experience or know of it. I notice that the brakes don't hold without more pressure on the pedal than I am accustomed to having to use. I have noticed this on several occasions, that when I am stopped, if I don't maintain a heavy constant pressure, the vehicle will roll. Rather than add a bunch of descriptions, I will leave it as stated above and wait for others to respond. Maybe this vehicle is just set up to require it. But my gut reaction is that a light foot on the brake pedal when stopped should be enough to prevent movement...and is this adjustable? Should I take it in for this?

 

The brakes on my Tahoe Hybrid feel no different than on my 2500 Chev Duramax, for what its worth.

 

good to know...