2014-2016 Brake Recall Soon? - Vacuum Pump Failure

wforrest08 · May 3, 2019

1 hour ago, formula271 said:

I received my letter announcing the special coverage for the "increased brake pedal effort" yesterday. Has anyone else received this notice?

Coincidentally, on April 19th, I experienced a very severe "hard brake pedal" while going thru a drive-thru. In ~51,000 miles, this is the 2nd time this problem has occurred. This last instance was quite memorable. i am a large guy and had to use a lot of force on the pedal to keep the vehicle from rolling forward while idling in drive. I honestly don't believe my 120 lb wife could have applied enough force to keep the vehicle stationary. The April 19th "hard pedal" lasted several minutes thru many brake applications while idling in drive. With cars ahead and people walking in-front of vehicle in the drive-thru, I wasn't about to troubleshoot and experiment with different engine RPM to see if vacuum could be restored. Shutting vehicle off and turning back on did not restore the braking.

A quick internet search quickly yielded volumes of info regarding this issue. I reported the safety problem thru NHTSA's website on 4/20/19. Kind of interesting that less then 2 weeks later the special coverage notice is received by mail.

Does anyone know if dealer can identify faulty vacuum pump with so few occurrences of failure over 3.5 years? I dread being charged for something that very clearly matches the described hard brake pedal condition though would unlikely be able to be duplicated.  My vehicle did not throw a DTC code or "Service brake assist" alert as mentioned in the Notice. Also, the Notice mentioning "failing to follow recommended oil change intervals" contributing to this issue seems like a "deny service card" and a bit of distraction from a known defect. My vehicle has been pampered with ~5000mile OCI's since new with the recommended oil.   I do understand how the vacuum pump is lubricated with engine oil.

Vehicle is a 2015 Suburban LTZ with ~51,000miles.

approximately 3,357,584 owners have received or will be receiving their letter shortly... Got mine

I wouldn’t be waiting around to get this fixed if I was you. If the pump grenades itself it contaminants the whole oiling system.

As I already started any stealership worth a sh!t is going to replace for you even if “they” can’t duplicate the problem. If they won’t drive to the next one. I drive right by my local stealership that’s 7 miles from the house to the one that’s 30 miles South of them anytime I need a trip to the stealer. Local idiots lost my business for life.

Problem your going to have now is every stealership is fielding people with letter in hand & phone calls about this right now since everyone is getting their letter. So you might have to wait your turn or wait for parts.. And the way I read the bulletin it now has to be repaired by GM and not an independent shop with reimbursement.

lapoolboy · May 4, 2019

Yep. That's exactly why I jumped on this now. I can just envision a national backorder on the new pump in the near future.

flyingfool · June 30, 2019

is there not enough manifold vacuum to charge the booster on these trucks, I'll have to see what the scan tool say's , cause there is no reason we need a vac pump if the truck produces plenty on its own...

B88i45 · June 30, 2019

Not that it matters now but I just had the DIC message appear at 69000 miles. Reported to NHTSA, also filed a complaint about the transmission harsh shifts just because I was there and the are violent enough for me to warrant a legitimate report.

Sig line

2015 Sierra Denali

1 Wheel bearing at 40000 miles

Sharkfin leak 1 month outside cutoff date

8 speed opened up 3 times, still shifts like crap but cannot duplicate

Condensor and discharge line leak

Radiator replaced

2nd set of brakes

Vacuum pump now needs replaced

Paintor · July 1, 2019

9 hours ago, B88i45 said:

Not that it matters now but I just had the DIC message appear at 69000 miles. Reported to NHTSA, also filed a complaint about the transmission harsh shifts just because I was there and the are violent enough for me to warrant a legitimate report.

Sig line

2015 Sierra Denali

1 Wheel bearing at 40000 miles

Sharkfin leak 1 month outside cutoff date

8 speed opened up 3 times, still shifts like crap but cannot duplicate

Condensor and discharge line leak

Radiator replaced

2nd set of brakes

Vacuum pump now needs replaced

Contact Attorneys at coreywatson dot com. They are doing the Federal Class Action for the vacuum pump.

Mexy/chevy · July 9, 2019

I was just told by the dealership that I need to pay $864 to repair the brakes. My 2014 has 73,300 miles. He said it is covered up to 72,000. Does this seem fair this issue has been happening for awhile when I am backing up on a slope. I bought this truck new and I do not remember getting any letter or recall notice for this.

Please help really frustrated.

Baytrucker · July 9, 2019

I have a 2017 GMC 1500. I got the notice a few weeks ago that they are extending the warranty for this part, but they are not going to recall it. Seems like they learned noting from the ignition fiasco. What a surprise. I contacted transport Canada, and they actually called me back and said they are "investigating". Regulatory capture is pretty strong in Canada, so I don't expect anything to come of it.

I don't care about warranty so much as I care about the idea that my brakes might suddenly change their operating characteristics without warning. I live in the pacific northwest. I can't piss without hitting a mountain. I need my brakes to work reliably.

I may have to fix this out of pocket proactively. I'll just add it to the growing "GM tax" bill that continuously reminds me why I should have bought a Ford.

Edit: I just checked the gm website. I stand corrected. Transport Canada just issued a recall for the part.

GM Recall Number: N192217410

Transport Canada Recall Number: 19324

I called my dealership and the guy said GM doesn't have even remotely close to enough pumps to handle the recalls. They have no idea when they will be able to schedule me in.

Edited July 9, 2019 by Baytrucker
New Info

Paintor · July 10, 2019

15 hours ago, Baytrucker said:

I have a 2017 GMC 1500. I got the notice a few weeks ago that they are extending the warranty for this part, but they are not going to recall it. Seems like they learned noting from the ignition fiasco. What a surprise. I contacted transport Canada, and they actually called me back and said they are "investigating". Regulatory capture is pretty strong in Canada, so I don't expect anything to come of it.

I don't care about warranty so much as I care about the idea that my brakes might suddenly change their operating characteristics without warning. I live in the pacific northwest. I can't piss without hitting a mountain. I need my brakes to work reliably.

I may have to fix this out of pocket proactively. I'll just add it to the growing "GM tax" bill that continuously reminds me why I should have bought a Ford.

Edit: I just checked the gm website. I stand corrected. Transport Canada just issued a recall for the part.

GM Recall Number: N192217410

Transport Canada Recall Number: 19324

I called my dealership and the guy said GM doesn't have even remotely close to enough pumps to handle the recalls. They have no idea when they will be able to schedule me in.

You Canadian priks. You get a recall when Americans dont. Damn chinese parts killin us both.

rdk1ll · July 10, 2019

My truck is in the shop now getting the vacuum pump replaced under this recall tsb thing... question for the group. My truck has a 6" suspension lift on it and the Dealership is wanting to charge additional labor due to additional brackets that are in the way to replace the vacuum pump.... ?? I was told GM would probably not reimburse additional fees because aftermarket. Anyone else with a lift have this recall done? Did the Dealership say the same thing?

texasaggies16 · July 12, 2019

Unfortunately my truck has 75k miles.. havnt had issues yet but has anyone had luck with my type of miles?

lapoolboy · July 12, 2019

On 7/10/2019 at 9:21 AM, rdk1ll said:

My truck is in the shop now getting the vacuum pump replaced under this recall tsb thing... question for the group. My truck has a 6" suspension lift on it and the Dealership is wanting to charge additional labor due to additional brackets that are in the way to replace the vacuum pump.... ?? I was told GM would probably not reimburse additional fees because aftermarket. Anyone else with a lift have this recall done? Did the Dealership say the same thing?

My truck is lifted 6.5" and the dealer had no issue changing the pump. There are no brackets in the way of the pump. If anything, it makes the replacement easier.

RkyMtnSkier · July 19, 2019

Hey Gang!

Seeing various threads around the innerweb about hard/soft braking issues. I've got a 2017 2500 HD Duramax (all stock) and I've been noticing a "clicking" sound referenced in several places as it relates to this braking problem. I've been noticing lately what I'd call a "soft pedal" - takes two or three pumps to come to a stop at a signal. This "soft pedal" is much more noticeable when towing my ski boat that weighs around 4,200 pounds, the trailer has surge braking.

Before I go off to the "stealership" thought I'd get some opinions on whether y'all think this is related to the vacuum pump issue.

Thanks in advance!

ryanm33 · August 8, 2019

On 7/9/2019 at 1:43 PM, Baytrucker said:

I have a 2017 GMC 1500. I got the notice a few weeks ago that they are extending the warranty for this part, but they are not going to recall it. Seems like they learned noting from the ignition fiasco. What a surprise. I contacted transport Canada, and they actually called me back and said they are "investigating". Regulatory capture is pretty strong in Canada, so I don't expect anything to come of it.

I don't care about warranty so much as I care about the idea that my brakes might suddenly change their operating characteristics without warning. I live in the pacific northwest. I can't piss without hitting a mountain. I need my brakes to work reliably.

I may have to fix this out of pocket proactively. I'll just add it to the growing "GM tax" bill that continuously reminds me why I should have bought a Ford.

Edit: I just checked the gm website. I stand corrected. Transport Canada just issued a recall for the part.

GM Recall Number: N192217410

Transport Canada Recall Number: 19324

I called my dealership and the guy said GM doesn't have even remotely close to enough pumps to handle the recalls. They have no idea when they will be able to schedule me in.

The recall that you mention is just a reprogram of the brake module. I just had it done after experiencing the hard braking. My dealership would not even entertain the idea of replacing anything mechanical. I do not feel confident the re program will fix the issue when it seems to be a mechanical failure causing the issues.

parthery · August 8, 2019

The bill for mine showed $683 to replace the pump and the belt. I had the GM Extended Warranty so total out of pocket was $100. I also needed front pads which the dealer wanted $325 to do. Local place that I use did the pads and turned the rotors for $206.

I drove it for about 3 days before I was hit in the rear but it seemed to fix the problem. Unfortunately I'll never know for sure; the truck was declared a total loss late last week. Waiting for the insurance dust to settle so I can replace it in the next 10 days or so.

Samantha E · August 16, 2019

My 2015 Silverado 1500 4WD is in the shop now for this pump issue. Figures money out my pocket because they haven't recalled it yet. Sucks for a Single mom of two.