Important NHTSA warning issued to GM truck owners in salt states

Gorehamj · April 9, 2015

John Goreham
Contributing Writer, GM-Trucks.com
4/09/2015

Today the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a warning to owners of vehicles in the salt states, particularly the Northeast. Saying in part that "model year 2007 and older trucks, SUVs and passenger cars (should) inspect brake lines and thoroughly wash the underside of their vehicles to remove corrosive salt after the long winter in order to prevent brake-line failures that increase the risk of a crash."

Anyone who lives in these areas already knows this is a good idea, but this time there are facts to back up the truism that "salt eats cars." GM and NHTSA, along with the Pennsylvania DOT worked for four years to determine if a recall was necessary. One will not be issued, but a close read of the full report is sure to get the attention of anyone who has a vehicle from this time span operating in states where salt is used, or even nearby states.

The key parts of the NHTSA Advisory, which you can read here, are the following:

Maintain their vehicle and prevent corrosion by washing the undercarriage regularly throughout the winter and giving it a thorough washing in the spring to remove road salt and other de-icing chemicals that can lead to corrosion.
Monitor the brake system for signs of corrosion by having regular professional inspections and watching for signs of problems, including loss of brake fluid, unusual leaks and a soft or spongy feel in the brake pedal.
Address severe corrosion, marked by flaking or scaling of the metal brake pipes, by having the full assembly replaced.

NHTSA's Administrator Mark Rosekind said, "If you own an older vehicle and live in a cold-weather state where salt and de-icing chemicals are common in winter, we strongly urge you to take these steps.”

The upshot of the report is that studies confirmed that brake tube failure can and does occur in some instances where vehicles are exposed to salt. The complete study can be read here. States listed by NHTSA for special attention are: Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Photo by Zane Merva

KMGZ400 · April 9, 2015

I know of multiple people including myself who have had brake line blow outs or shoddy corroding brake lines on their GMT800's. Almost every GMT800 older then 05 has rust on the rockers around here

MikeInCtown · April 9, 2015

Very interesting read. Count me in as one of the people who has had a brake line failure.

Live in Ohio, 2004 Sierra, line busted Spring of 2014. Cost to replace the line from the ABS block to the rear T was a bit over $200. They know this is an issue to specific vehicles and they only tell the owners to wash their cars regularly, despite temps for most of the winter being well below freezing. Government at it's best.

WilliamBos · April 9, 2015

Sad thing is most car washes recycle the water, so you are washing salt off with salty water. Did all the lines on my 04, cost $400.

Are the lines on the 07-13 stainless steel?

DanY · April 9, 2015

Had to replace the lines on my 2003 Silverado SS 3 years ago due to rust through on the rear

lines. Mechanic said PA has gotten really bad since they started using the liquid pre-treat on

roads. He also said that many states are abandoning the pre-treat method and that PA is buying

up all the applicator equipment that they can.

My neighbor with a 2000 Silverado 1500 has had 2 rear line failures. The first one was while towing

a moving trailer.

Someday the NHTSA is going to turn this into a recall. Of course it will affect a lot of vehicle beyond

GM.

Burbman · April 9, 2015

FYI, pay attention to the FUEL lines too. I replaced all my brake and fuel lines with stainless sets from Classic Tube about 2 years ago, fortunately before I had a blowout.

MS3DALE · April 9, 2015

We see a lot of brake line replacement here,not only for brakes but for the fuel and transmission oil cooler lines as well.

And its not just GM,a lot of other manufacturers are having the same issues,we see it in our used car trade-ins here.

MS3DALE · April 9, 2015

Are the lines on the 07-13 stainless steel?

No,but they do a have Black protective coating on them,and it seems to be holding up quite well,at least on all the ones I've seen in here at the dealership over the years.

higgy243 · April 9, 2015

In Michigan and the pot holes must've knocked all the salt off because I had no brake issue on my 06, never washed it either, just started showing rust in the ext cab door at the bottom. Maybe a coated line would work better, you'd think engineers would think of this isssue

Damn wish I would've read that post before I sent mine.....way to go engineers haha

PlatyPius · April 9, 2015

The right front line on my 1995 Suburban was rusted through when I bought it. The rest of them look like they could go at any time. It lived in Wisconsin until last year.

WilliamBos · April 9, 2015

No,but they do a have Black protective coating on them,and it seems to be holding up quite well,at least on all the ones I've seen in here at the dealership over the years.

Thanks. Fuel, trans lines and brake were all done on my 04 over the past two years before I traded it.

No,but they do a have Black protective coating on them,and it seems to be holding up quite well,at least on all the ones I've seen in here at the dealership over the years.

Thanks. Fuel, trans lines and brake were all done on my 04 over the past two years before I traded it.

No,but they do a have Black protective coating on them,and it seems to be holding up quite well,at least on all the ones I've seen in here at the dealership over the years.

Thanks. Fuel, trans lines and brake were all done on my 04 over the past two years before I traded it.

barry G · April 9, 2015

bizarre warning.

and fact one, proving nothing is even attempted to be normalized per the past 100 years of autos (Although LED lighting is wonderful):

Salt is not the killer, it is crazy electrical guidance with grounds slammed anywhere they feel like putting a bolt through.

anode/cathode. Just add moisture.

This means every element with a ph level is the killer, not just salt. Although salt is quite ridiculous. Not for a cars point of view, for anyones.

Below 4F we get to stare at its radioactivity as it does nothing but crunch and stick to feet.

Don't forget to vacuum the beach sand out of the carpets you southern fairy tales... the bomb is there too.

patriot · April 9, 2015

bizarre warning.

and fact one, proving nothing is even attempted to be normalized per the past 100 years of autos (Although LED lighting is wonderful):

Salt is not the killer, it is crazy electrical guidance with grounds slammed anywhere they feel like putting a bolt through.

anode/cathode. Just add moisture.

This means every element with a ph level is the killer, not just salt. Although salt is quite ridiculous. Not for a cars point of view, for anyones.

Below 4F we get to stare at its radioactivity as it does nothing but crunch and stick to feet.

Don't forget to vacuum the beach sand out of the carpets you southern fairy tales... the bomb is there too.

..Please explain the radioactivity statement.

2doorpost · April 9, 2015

I'm in Ohio- infamous for road salt.BRUTAL

Noticed this on my 2005 Siverado W/T with 77000 miles, just prior to buying my 2008 W/T

Worst part of brake lines were at the master cylinder, under the hood. Where the weather didn't get at it. Odd.

The 2008s lines were perfect ,all of them, under same conditions, when I traded it in with 70000 miles on my 2011 W/T

And the 2011s held up fine when I traded it in on my '14 W/T

Bad run of cheap parts?

JeremyW426 · April 9, 2015

I use to live in Ontario where they love salting the roads. Every oil change my vehicle got back there I always made sure to go over all the steel lines with undercoating. My father has been a mechanic for nearly 40 years and has never had to replace a brake line on a personal vehicle due to rust because of this practice.