1993 Chevrolet Suburban SERVICE BRAKES, AIR
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
DURING SLOW SPEED STOP, BRAKES WERE APPLIED WITH NO EFFECT. ACCIDENT OCCURRED. THIS HAS HAPPENED ON AT LEAST 5 OCCASIONS, ALTHOUGH THIS IS THE FIRST RESULTING IN AN ACCIDENT. REPORTED TO DEALER THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED AND I WAS TOLD IT WAS A DRIVER MISTAKE.
THE ABS SYSTEM FAILED TO STOP THE VEHICLE DURING A RAPID STOP. THE ABS SYSTEM CYCLED REPEATEDLY DURING THE RAPID STOP, BUT FAILED TO QUICKLY STOP THE VEHICLE. AS A RESULT, A MINOR ACCIDENT OCCURRED WHEN I HIT THE VEHICLE IN FROM OF ME.
ANTI-LOCK BRAKES FREE WHEEL WHEN TRYING TO STOP GOING FROM PAVEMENT TO SLICK OR WASHBOARD ROAD SURFACE. THE STOPPING DISTANCE IS NOT RELIABLE. I DISCONNECTED THE ANTILOCK BRAKE SYSTEM BECAUSE IT WASN'T RELIABLE. THE DEALER COULD NOT DOCUMENT THE PROBLEM BECAUSE IT WAS INTERMITTENT. THIS IS A MAJOR DEFECT AND NEARLY CAUSED SEVERAL ACCIDENTS BEFORE I PULLED THE ABS FUSE. CHEVROLET SENT ME A VIDEO ON ABS WHEN I REPORTED THE PROBLEM TO THEM IMPLYING THAT I DIDN'T KNOW HOW ABS WORKED. I KNOW WHEN ABS DOESN'T WORK AND THE CAR FREEWHEELS NEARLY INTO THE CAR AHEAD OF YOU. CHEVROLET SHOULD REPAIR THIS PROBLEM TO PREVENT FUTURE CATASTROPHIC ACCIDENTS AND INJURIES.
HAS FAILED THREE TIMES, ON PANIC STOPS
ABS SYSTEM ENGAGED WHEN BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED ON DRY ROADWAY, RESULTING IN NO BRAKES ON VEHICLE AND CAUSING COLLISION WITH VEHICLE IN FRONT OF MINE.
BRAKES APPLIED, ABS SEEMED TO START WORKING, THEN A 'RELEASE' SEEMED TO HAPPEN THAT CAUSED VEHICLE TO REQUIRE MUCH LONGER STOPPING DISTANCE. THEY SEEMED TO 'RELEASE' AND EVEN THOUGH STANDING ON THE BRAKES THE VEHICLE TOOK MUCH TOO LONG TO STOP. ABS WAS DISCONNECTED 1.5 YEARS AGO BECAUSE OF THIS BEING VERY UNSAFE. DEALER HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS WRONG AND NO FIX. WE FELT VERY UNSAFE AS IT WAS AND IT HAPPENED MANY TIMES. COULD NOT MAKE IT HAPPEN TO SHOW DEALER. THEY SEEMED UNAWARE OF THE PROBLEM.
NO SUMMARY
THE ABS SYSTEM ON MY SUBURBAN FAILED TO STOP MY VEHICLE IN TIME TO AVOID A COLLISION WITH THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME MAKING A RIGHT HAND TURN. I WAS NOT SPEEDING AND THE WEATHER CONDITIONS WERE GREAT. I ALSO HAD PLENTY OF SPACE BETWEEN BOTH VEHICLES. I BRAKED, THE ABS SYSTEM TOOK OVER, AND MY VEHICLE WOULD NOT STOP. I SIMPLY RAN RIGHT INTO THE BACK OF THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME. I WAS AWARE THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG AND COMPLAINED TO THE DEALERSHIP AND MY INSURANCE COMPANY ABOUT NOT BEING ABLE TO STOP. I DID NOT OCCUR TO ME TO FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE GOVENMENT UNTIL NOW. I AM CONCERNED ABOUT MY INSURANCE COVERAGE GOING UP OR EVEN BEING CANCELLED. MY WIFE HAD THE SAME THING HAPPEN TO HER 12/1/98. EXACTLY THE SAME PROBLEM AND I WILL FILE ANOTHER COMPLAINT ON HER ACCIDENT. PLEASE SEND ME ANY DOCUMENTATION I'LL NEED TO PROVE MY CASE. ALSO, WHEN MY VEHICLE WAS BEING REPAIRED IN JUNE, EVEN THE CHEVY PEOPLE ADVISED ME TO UNPLUG THE ABS SYSTEM. THEY ALL TOLD ME THAT EVEN THEY HAD UNPLUGGED THEIRS. THAT SHOULD TELL YOU SOMETHING RIGHT THERE ABOUT THEIR ABS SYSTEM. AND I'M OUT $1000.00 IN INSURANCE DEDUCTIBLES TOO. YOUR HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED. SINCERELY, SCOTT A. KUEHL
IWAS DRIVING MY SON TO AN ORTHODONIC APPOINTMENT MID MORNING, GOOD WEATHER CONDITIONS. THERE WAS RED LIGHT AHEAD WITH TWO CARS STOPPED. WHEN I BRAKED, MY VEHICLE WOULD NOT STOP, AND I HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF MINE, WHICH THEN HIT THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF IT. IT FELT LIKE I DID NOT HAVE BRAKES THAT FUNCTIONED PROPERLY. IT WAS CONFUSING TO ME AND I GUESS I BLAMED IT ON THE PAVEMENT. NOW THE SAME THING HAS HAPPENED TO ME HUSBAND AND I NOW KNOW THERE IS DEFINATLY A BRAKE PROBLEM. MY HUSBAND HAD UNPLUGGED THE ABS SYSTEM, ON THE ADVICE OF THE CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP. WE'RE BOTH CONCERNED ABOUT OUR INSURANCE AND WOULD LIKE SOME HELP IF THEY TRY TO RAISE OUR RATES. WE'RE ALSO OUT INSURANCE DEDUCTIBLES, NOT TO MENTION ALL THE NIGHTS I COULD NOT SLEEP THINKING ABOUT THE ACCIDENT. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CALL ME IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. MARIBEL KUEHL
I WAS TRAVELING AT A LOW RATE OF SPEED(30 MPH), ON DRY PAVEMENT, AND WAS CONFRONTED WITH A LINE OF VEHICLES THAT CAME TO AN ABRUPT STOP. I ENGAGED THE ABS BRAKE SYSTEN ON MY 1993 SUBURBAN ONLY TO CONTINUE FORWARD AND CONTACT THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME. THIS ABS BRAKE SYSTEM, BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE, IS MARGINAL TO POOR AT BEST RELATIVE TO RESPONSE AND PEDEAL FEEL. REGARDS, PAUL J. LEESER
CAME UP TO A INTERSECTION APPLY THE ABS BRAKE FAILED AND WENT THOURGH INTSECTION NO CRASH NO ONE WAS INJURED .
Trend Over Time
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Quick Summary
The 1993 Chevrolet Suburban has 11 SERVICE BRAKES, AIR complaints on file. 7 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.