Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (service brakes, ABS, rotors and pads, parking brake).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2000 GMC Sierra owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
While towing my boat I experienced brake failure. The pedal went to the floor with no pressure. Brake warning light did not come on. We were on a dirt road with no traffic and were able to stop without incident. After inspecting the brake lines a leak was found in one of the lines under the drivers side door before the line enters the brake modulator. All the lines are rusty and need to be replaced. I contacted the GMC dealer and although they have seen the problem before they are unaware of any safety problems with the brakes and that GM has no fix for the problem. They estimate the cost to replace the brake lines to be about $1200.
Vehicle: 2000 GMC Sierra ABS activates everyday at least once when coming to a stop at low speed such as a stop sign, parking space etc. This has happened for the last 6 months. Pavement is dry. I must quickly release the brake pedal and push it again firmly to stop. I've bumped another car and my garage because of this. A recall is out for this, GM recall # 05068, NHTSA # 05v37900 but my state, wisconsin, is not included. We use massive amounts of salt here. Do I have to run someone over first? I want this fixed.
Tl* the contact owns a 2000 GMC Sierra. The contact stated while braking from speeds of 10 MPH, the brakes would not engage. The contact was unable to stop the vehicle and proceeded to crash into a nearby ditch. The contact was not injured and the vehicle sustained minor damage. The vehicle was towed to a local repair shop for repairs. Neither the dealer nor the manufacture was contacted. The failure and current mileages were 105,000
Several brake lines have rusted through, this caused loss of brake fluid and loss of any braking. This has caused me to be without a truck. Do to this defect GMC has caused a very dangerous vehicle to be on the road. This will now cost me two thousand dollars to make my truck safe to drive. GMC needs to be held responsible for this poor material in brake line material. Please correct this defect before lives are lost.
My pickup truck was in motion when driving on a city street I had to slow down. The brake-petal went almost completely to the floor. I almost hit the vehicle in front of me while trying to stop. After pulling to the side of street I checked under the truck and discovered that the rear metal brake line adjacent to the truck frame had rusted and burst.
The brake lines have rotted out and failed in traffic multiple times without notice. Also the leaf spring hangers rotted and broke. The rear bumper is a rusted mess. The undercarriage of the truck looks like something that was washed ashore. Heavy duty rot. The body and cab inside still look new. Something wrong with the steel in this vehicle.
Was pulling into a parking spot doing around 5mph, put my foot on the brake and the antilock brake system activated causing my truck not to stop. Because my truck would not stop I hit the car in the parking spot ahead of me causing damage to the persons car. I am going to take my 2000 GMC Sierra to a certified GM dealership and have it looked at.
Brakes failed unexpectedly. The pedal went all the way to the floor and barely slowed down the truck at all. This was due to a brake line that rusted through. The repair was $765. Had I been in an area with higher traffic there would have been an accident.
My 2000 GMC Sierra 1500 pick up has had poor braking from the time I bought it new from the dealer. They said it was normal for this vehicle. While driving to wisconsin from our ohio home on July 1, 2004, I had to brake quickly due to heavy traffic going through downtown chicago. The brakes did not totally fail, but were poor enough that I had to quickly change to the next lane to avoid hitting the vehicle in front of me. After returning from vacation, I did some investigation online and found through a friend of a friend that GM engineers were aware of brake problems with this and subsequent models and instituted a fix with the 2003 model to correct the problem. I then contacted my local dealer, who said GM had no recall nor would they cover any repair costs incurred, since I was 3 months out of warranty even though within the mileage. …
When coming to a normal stop and speed is around 5 MPH the ABS system makes a loud noise, the brake pedal becomes stiff and the vehicle does not stop. This happened 2 years ago (the first time - approximately 42,000 miles) and the dealer replaced the front wheel speed sensors. Now the same problem is occurring. The dealer states that the wheel speed sensors need to be replaced again and note that there were no codes in the computer. The dealer was able to reproduce the problem. The ABS warning light does not come on. I contacted GM's customer assistance and was told that since the vehicle is out of warranty and the parts are out of warranty, they cannot help with the repair. My point is after the parts are replaced, this can happen again with no warning. The first time this happened, I was in rush hour traffic and had to veer off to the shoulder and hit the emergency brake. …
Related recalls
Service brakes, hydraulic › Antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip
Certain pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles May experience unwanted antilock brake system (ABS) activation. This condition is more likely to occur in environmentally corrosive areas.
Remedy: Dealers are to remove the wheel speed sensor and thoroughly clean the wheel speed sensor mounting surface on the bearing, apply rust inhibitor to the cleaned surface, grease the mounting surface, reinstall the wheel…
Parking brake
On certain pickup trucks equipped with manual transmissions and built with either pbr parking brake systems or trw parking brake systems, the parking brake friction linings May wear to an extent where the parking brake can become ineffective in immobilizing a parked vehicle.
Remedy: Dealers will install a low-force spring clip retainer for vehicles equipped with a pbr parking brake system. On vehicles equipped with the trw parking brake system, dealers will install a redesigned parking brake cable…
Service brakes, hydraulic › Foundation components › Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
Vehicle description: light duty pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles. Some of these vehicles have a clearance condition between the front right-hand brake pipe and the body cross sill that could decrease to the point of allowing contact during the life of the vehicle.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the front right-hand brake pipe for wear. If there are signs of wear, this section of the brake pipe will be replaced with a new designed brake pipe section.
Service brakes, hydraulic › Antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip
Vehicle description: light duty pickup trucks equipped with 4-wheel disc brakes. Some of these vehicles have an antilock brake system (ABS) motor containing an out-of-specification spring clip. This clip could allow the motor bearing to become misaligned. If misalignment occurs, eventually the ABS would be non-functional.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the brake pressure module valve assembly.
NHTSA investigations
Brake line corrosion failure
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received Defect Petition DP10-003 on March 2, 2010, requesting the investigation of model year (MY) 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD 4WD pickup trucks for corrosion failures of the vehicle brake lines.DP10-003 was granted and on March 30, 2010, Preliminary Evaluation PE10-010 was opened on more than six million model year 1999 through 2003 light trucks and sport utility…
Unwanted low-speed ABS activation
In a letter dated August 29, 2005, GM notified odi that it was recalling certain model year 1999 through 2002 c/k pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles to correct a problem with anti-lock brake system (ABS) wheel speed sensor corrosion that May result in unwanted ABS activation and extended stopping distances during low-speed braking (recall 05v-379).GM's recall covers approximately 804,000 vehicles currently…
Parking brake failure
Odi opened pe03-057 to assess parking brake ineffectiveness in the subject vehicles.these vehicles are equipped with four wheel disc brakes that incorporate a single-shoe drum-in-hat parking brake independent of the service brakes.complaint and warranty data indicate that the parking brake linings tend to wear out early in the life of the vehicle (at an average of 24 months in service), reducing the parking brake…
Parking brake failure
In a letter dated April 20, 2005, GM notified NHTSA that it had decided that defects that relate to motor vehicle safety exist in certain model year (my) 1999-2002 c/k 1500 series (pbr parking brake system) and my 2001-2005 c/k 2500 and 3500 series (trw parking brake system) pickups with manual transmissions.according to GM, some of these vehicles May have conditions that cause the friction linings to wear to an…
Parking brake failure
Odi's review of complaint data received since the close of ea04-011 revealed no indication that the investigation should be re-opened.more details can be found in the federal register notice enclosed in the dp05-009 public file.odi reserves the right to reopen the investigation in the future should conditions warrant.
Brake complaints in other Sierra years
Frequently asked questions
How common are brake problems on the 2000 GMC Sierra?
NHTSA has 228 complaints about the brakes of the 2000 GMC Sierra, 51% of the model year's 443 complaints. The component named most often is antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip (112 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2000 GMC Sierra brake problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 05V-379 (antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip, Aug 29, 2005); NHTSA recall 05V-161 (parking brake, Apr 22, 2005); NHTSA recall 00V-345 (hoses, lines/piping, and fittings, Oct 30, 2000). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2000 GMC Sierra brake problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 67,000 miles, and 10% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 20 crashes, 0 fires and 4 injuries and 2 deaths to brakes problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.