Is it the BCM or what?

[Rob Pob]

CURRENT MILEAGE - 37,750

 

I'm hoping this forum will steer me to where I need to be with regard to the same/similar issue with my brake pad monitor issue.

 

Since the purchase of my 2021 Trail Boss LT in August of '21, I've been bringing my truck to the dealer for 5k intermittent oil changes regularly.  Simply for peace of mind and documentation of quality care for the vehicle.  With the cost of oil and filters, its worth it to me to take it there vs DIY like I used to.  I'm not as nimble as I once was    I mention this here because I feel its important for anyone reading this, to know the level of care I've demonstrated since taking ownership of my truck.

 

 Id also like to mention, that over the many years of vehicle ownership, I've always prided myself with getting longer than normal wear out of my sets of brakes!

 

 

Now that I've mentioned all of that, let me get to the important part.  Not long after my 35k service, I had a message pop up on the gauge cluster verifying that i "replaced rear brake pads?" ........ummmm no, that wasn't done as I'm still on the original brakes..... 35k miles would NEVER in my history of owning ANY vehicle, been a point to be concerned about brake changes.  It seemed to happen a few more times soon after that but only when I used the electronic parking brake.  So I'm thinking, ok, ill have the service peeps take care of that when I arrive for my next oil change at 40k.  Just this past weekend, I happened to get a blowout (unpatchable gouge) so I brought the truck in for a full set of new tires as the factory tires were not looking their best, I was already looking for a new set anyway.  So while there at the tire shop, I asked the tech if I could just take a quick peek at the brake pads and rotors on all four.  What I found next blew my doors off!  My front pads had about 65% and looked symmetrically worn (aka NORMAL).  Then we stepped to the rears.....WHOA!   The REAR INNER pads were almost down to the metal on the pad itself!  AND, both right and left sides of the rears were SYMMETRCALLY WORN!  The outer pads on the rears were also low, AND also symmetrically worn, but not nearly as low as the inners.  If it were only one caliper and it seemed to be an isolated issue, I could live with that but when I realized how evenly the inner rears were both worn, that spoke volumes to me.  The tech advised that I get them replaced ASAP.  So i left the tire shop with 4 new tires and a raised stress level! First thing I did after that was Googled "2021 Silverado Brake Issues".....that lead me here to the GM Forum.

 

I immediately called my local Chevy dealer for appt to get brakes replaced and explained what had taken place up that point.  I asked the svc advisor if he's ever heard of this happening and to my surprise, he said no. This concerns me because now it seems like its going to be an uphill battle to get help on the matter with Chevy backing their product as a warrantable issue.  I couldn't find any recalls related to this but I did see some articles here on the forum.  I'm asking for any advice or direction from ANYONE with similar brake issues to help me out.

 

Thanks in advance everyone

[2016 Sierra Owner]

This is not the 1st post I have seen where the rear brakes were worn out before the front brakes. With that said GM defines the brake pads as a wear item and won't cover them as warranty. Yes I agree that the rear pads should not have that much wear as for the mileage you have.

[Bikerjon]

6 hours ago, Rob Pob said:

 

CURRENT MILEAGE - 37,750

 

I'm hoping this forum will steer me to where I need to be with regard to the same/similar issue with my brake pad monitor issue.

 

Since the purchase of my 2021 Trail Boss LT in August of '21, I've been bringing my truck to the dealer for 5k intermittent oil changes regularly.  Simply for peace of mind and documentation of quality care for the vehicle.  With the cost of oil and filters, its worth it to me to take it there vs DIY like I used to.  I'm not as nimble as I once was    I mention this here because I feel its important for anyone reading this, to know the level of care I've demonstrated since taking ownership of my truck.

 

 Id also like to mention, that over the many years of vehicle ownership, I've always prided myself with getting longer than normal wear out of my sets of brakes!

 

 

Now that I've mentioned all of that, let me get to the important part.  Not long after my 35k service, I had a message pop up on the gauge cluster verifying that i "replaced rear brake pads?" ........ummmm no, that wasn't done as I'm still on the original brakes..... 35k miles would NEVER in my history of owning ANY vehicle, been a point to be concerned about brake changes.  It seemed to happen a few more times soon after that but only when I used the electronic parking brake.  So I'm thinking, ok, ill have the service peeps take care of that when I arrive for my next oil change at 40k.  Just this past weekend, I happened to get a blowout (unpatchable gouge) so I brought the truck in for a full set of new tires as the factory tires were not looking their best, I was already looking for a new set anyway.  So while there at the tire shop, I asked the tech if I could just take a quick peek at the brake pads and rotors on all four.  What I found next blew my doors off!  My front pads had about 65% and looked symmetrically worn (aka NORMAL).  Then we stepped to the rears.....WHOA!   The REAR INNER pads were almost down to the metal on the pad itself!  AND, both right and left sides of the rears were SYMMETRCALLY WORN!  The outer pads on the rears were also low, AND also symmetrically worn, but not nearly as low as the inners.  If it were only one caliper and it seemed to be an isolated issue, I could live with that but when I realized how evenly the inner rears were both worn, that spoke volumes to me.  The tech advised that I get them replaced ASAP.  So i left the tire shop with 4 new tires and a raised stress level! First thing I did after that was Googled "2021 Silverado Brake Issues".....that lead me here to the GM Forum.

 

I immediately called my local Chevy dealer for appt to get brakes replaced and explained what had taken place up that point.  I asked the svc advisor if he's ever heard of this happening and to my surprise, he said no. This concerns me because now it seems like its going to be an uphill battle to get help on the matter with Chevy backing their product as a warrantable issue.  I couldn't find any recalls related to this but I did see some articles here on the forum.  I'm asking for any advice or direction from ANYONE with similar brake issues to help me out.

 

Thanks in advance everyone

37,000 miles on a 2021? I don't think you have any chance at all for a warranty claim. As 2016 Sierra Owner pointed out brakes are a wear item.

[silveradosid]

while it is a wear item its not wearing properly. there is a lot of posts on this problem, including myself. my 2014 went almost 90k miles before the brakes needed replacement. my 2020 went 55k and the rear brakes were shot due to the inner pad wearing much faster than the outer, and just like Rob the truck was being serviced by gm and they said nothing. my truck went from saying 77% to service brakes in a week, and that when i discovered the rear inner pads where gone. this is a safety issue for people 

[newdude]

On 5/7/2025 at 2:26 PM, Rob Pob said:

 

I immediately called my local Chevy dealer for appt to get brakes replaced and explained what had taken place up that point.  I asked the svc advisor if he's ever heard of this happening and to my surprise, he said no. This concerns me because now it seems like its going to be an uphill battle to get help on the matter with Chevy backing their product as a warrantable issue.  I couldn't find any recalls related to this but I did see some articles here on the forum.  I'm asking for any advice or direction from ANYONE with similar brake issues to help me out.

 

Thanks in advance everyone

 

 

Brakes are only under 3/36.  And they only warranty rotors for that whole time.  

 

TLDR, its your brakes.  These trucks need the rears lubed once or twice a year otherwise they will wear prematurely.  Simple as that.  

[silveradosid]

if the brakes need lubed once or twice, then why doesn't the dealer let us know that. they don't because they will make more money when you have to replace everything. simple as that

[diyer2]

This is a feature that was poorly/cheaply designed, simple. 

[redwngr]

2 hours ago, silveradosid said:

if the brakes need lubed once or twice, then why doesn't the dealer let us know that. they don't because they will make more money when you have to replace everything. simple as that

 

You are always so cynical.

 

 

They make money doing the brake service too. 

 

It's been my experience that at least some do suggest it, but the service is often refused.

Probably leads to not asking as often.  

 

I've been let know by both GM dealers and by independents. 

Including yesterday by the shop (not a that I had doing a winter/summer tire swap. 

 

 

[Rob Pob]

On 5/7/2025 at 9:29 PM, Bikerjon said:

37,000 miles on a 2021? I don't think you have any chance at all for a warranty claim. As 2016 Sierra Owner pointed out brakes are a wear item.

I’m not sure if you misunderstood my post or if it didn’t make sense the way I wrote it, but I wasn’t trying to get my brake pads replaced under warranty. I was simply trying to point out what seems to be a defect from the manufacturer. I’m more bothered by the fact that at my 35,000 mile oil change, they didn’t identify the problem, nor did they during any of my dealer service oil changes. It’s clearly a GM problem and I’m shocked that everyone here that’s aware of it whether you’re an owner or a technician that works on these trucks allows this and we all become complacent about it. I’m not done with this as I’ve created a case file number and I’ll be pursuing it further. I’ll post up to let anyone know that’s interested my findings and results.

[23NSBLTZ]

No, you were perfectly clear, and I agree with your concern. I would expect that the pad wear sensor should have triggered.

 

As for "I asked the svc advisor if he's ever heard of this happening and to my surprise, he said no.", I just dropped mine at the dealership this morning to have the "shuddering transmission" checked out, and I told him that the forum is overflowing with horror stories about valve bodies being on backorder and trucks being in the shop for months. The service advisor said that the 1500 have not been an issue and that he had personally only seen two 1500s but over ten HDs (non-Allison Allisons). I call BS on these dealerships.

[Bikerjon]

7 hours ago, 23NSBLTZ said:

No, you were perfectly clear, and I agree with your concern. I would expect that the pad wear sensor should have triggered.

 

As for "I asked the svc advisor if he's ever heard of this happening and to my surprise, he said no.", I just dropped mine at the dealership this morning to have the "shuddering transmission" checked out, and I told him that the forum is overflowing with horror stories about valve bodies being on backorder and trucks being in the shop for months. The service advisor said that the 1500 have not been an issue and that he had personally only seen two 1500s but over ten HDs (non-Allison Allisons). I call BS on these dealerships.

Your Service Advisor is uninformed, an idiot or a liar.

[2016 Sierra Owner]

On 5/7/2025 at 2:26 PM, Rob Pob said:

This concerns me because now it seems like its going to be an uphill battle to get help on the matter with Chevy backing their product as a warrantable issue.

 

This is why I made the comment on brake pads being a non warranty item. Other than replacing the pads it's about all you can do at this time. Replace the pads and have them inspected at each oil change for abnormal wear. If they happen to be wearing out as they did. Then they can diagnose the problem.