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 2003 GMC Yukon XL owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The brakes failed while driving on a city street causing my vehicle to nearly strike a number of children at a crosswalk. After examination by a mechanic, it was determined that the brake line had corroded and burst under pressure. I have received no notice of this potential failure from GMC even though it has been investigated by the NHTSA. Shouldn't the manufacturer have an obligation to repair this potentially lethal problem? At a minimum I feel that GMC and/or the NHTSA have a moral obligation to notify owners of affected vehicles that they are driving a potentially deadly vehicle.
Brake line popped causing my 2003 Yukon XL to rear end a car stopped at a light at 30 MPH glad I am not seriously injured scariest thing that ever happened in my life not being able to stop and had plenty of room. Time for a class action suit if not one already in place. This is lives people!
I was driving on the highway at approx. 60 MPH... When all of a sudden I heard a chiming noise and my "service brake system" alert came on! I then attempted to slow down and to my unfortunate discovery the brake pedal went straight to the floor. (scary) I let the vehicle coast a bit to slow down and tried pumping my brakes.. Now please keep in mind I was driving with my 2 children in the back seat. (scarier) I was able to slowly stop and pull over. I discovered the rear brake line was leaking.. Long story short my husband came and was able to drive it home.. But basically by the grace of god!!! I did some researching- calling a few different dealership and service locations and was told it would cost anywhere from $1,500 to $600.00 to have the lines replaced,ect. I am furious that GM is trying to throw this on the consumer stating this was a "maintenance issue"... …
It was raining, I exited i95 on to rt 321 in south carolina, decelerating speed about 40 MPH on exit ramp to the right, when car in front abruptly applied brakes, I did same, and vehicle went in to skid. Kept foot on brakes, no alb engagement. Vehicle slide off road, and tires hit grave and vehicle spun 180 degrees comin to rest on precipice of cliff. We were nearly killed. The alb did not engage. The dealer said he "tested"... And siad they were fine?? How did he test on dry pavement that day? I have gotten nothing but lip service from the dealer and GM customer service. There is a serious design flaw in the alb of this vehicle, or an intermittent flaw.. Who knows how many people have died not living to tell the story about this design flaw. GM is denying any problem and is of no help. This in my opinion is a major issue, possibly with all these alb systems. …
I was traveling on a two lane county road located in oldham county kentucky and upon approaching a curve, I attempted to apply the brake to slow the vehicle but the brake pedal went to the floor and provided no braking action (severely rusted brake lines burst and resulted in total brake failure ). The curve was followed by an intersection with a stop sign in my lane. Luckily there were no vehicles in front of me and no opposing traffic at that moment, which enabled me, through the use of gears and the emergency brake, to get the vehicle stopped just beyond the stop sign. It was my understanding that modern vehicles were designed with redundancy in the braking system which would prevent total braking failure, but apparently that is not true with this vehicle. …
I was driving our 2003 GMC Yukon XL home and the brakes went the floor, let me tell you this is very scary especially with such a large vehicle. Luckily I was a block away and made it home pumping the brakes. The brake lines broke just above the rear axle. Both lines come out of a connector and they were very severely rusty, it is tough to see unless you remove the spare tire. If you look at the same brake lines that run across the rear axle, they look fine. Don't let that fool you, they May be very rusty up farther where you can't see. Doesn't make sense to me, but we also lost our brakes with no warning in our 2002 GMC Yukon. This has happened with 2/2 GMC from 2002 and 2003 there must be many others and accidents from this happening, its a very fast loss of brake fluid with no warning. GM has to do something about this if they want our business again.
On 1/4/14 my wife was sitting in the drive thru lane and when she went to put the truck in drive the pedal went all the way to the floor. Had it towed and found a rusted and leaking brake line. Second incident on 2/1/14 while driving and approaching a red light I applied the brakes and the pedal went all the way to the floor. I pumped the brakes enough to where I got the vehicle stopped after going through the intersection without being hit. I got it off the road and had it towed once again. Another brake line had burst and fluid leaked out. The mechanic states that all of the brakes lines are rusted, some more than others so I am having all of the lines replaced. Some type of recall needs to be done as I am reading on line of other owners having problems with premature rusting.two lines leaking within one month is unacceptable.
My wife was driving our kids in the neighborhood for halloween. There were lots of people and small children walking from house to house. She went to put the brakes on an the truck would not stop. She was able to blow the horn and avoid hitting anyone and came to a stop after rolling through a stop sign. I inspected the brake lines. The brake line that goes above the rear driver side tire is completely rusted and failed. After further inspection all of the brake lines will need to be replaced to avoid this from happening again. This should be recalled. You can bet if someone was injured this would be a much bigger problem. Why do we have to wait for someone to be killed from poor design and poor materials?
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 GMC Yukon XL. The contact stated that while exiting a parking space with the brakes slightly depressed, the brake pedal traveled to the floorboard abnormally. The brake warning light was also illuminated. The vehicle was then driven to the dealer and as he parked, all of the braking fluid leaked. The dealer inspected the brake line and noticed corrosion. The dealer replaced the brake line at the owners expense. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 55,000.
I started my truck. I applied the brakes and shifted into drive. I began to roll forward, then applied my brakes prior to exiting my driveway. The brake pedal went to the floor, the brake service light came on and the truck continued forward. I had to pump the brakes to come to a stop. I pulled the truck over and observed brake fluid all over the street. I crawled under the truck and saw that the brake line was rusted and that it burst somewhere in the middle of the truck on the driver's side.
Related recalls
Service brakes, hydraulic
Certain sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks, and passenger vans fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 135, ?passenger car brake systems.? Some of these vehicles were produced with an out-of-specification brake hydro-boost housing relief valve bore.
Remedy: Dealers are to replace the hydro-boost relief valve. The recall began on June 18, 2004. Owners should contact Cadillac at 1-866-982-2339; Chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438; GMC at 1-866-996-9463; or Hummer at 1-866-486-6376.
NHTSA investigations
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 Yukon XL years
Frequently asked questions
How common are brake problems on the 2003 GMC Yukon XL?
NHTSA has 25 complaints about the brakes of the 2003 GMC Yukon XL, 19% of the model year's 134 complaints. The component named most often is antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip (3 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2003 GMC Yukon XL brake problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 04V-045 (service brakes, hydraulic, Feb 4, 2004). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2003 GMC Yukon XL brake problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 120,000 miles, and 13% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 1 injury 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.