GMC Yukon XL 2000–2006
Common on this vehicle:
Possible causes
The documents say what to doOnly records name itThe size of a node, the width of a link and the numbers are records matching this search, not likelihoods.
FaultCrate・GMC Yukon XL 2000–2006・Brake warning / Service Brake System, Transmission and driveline
Candidate cause (the documents say what to do)
Brake pipe (brake line) corrosion and rupture
The pipes' steel-copper construction is vulnerable to galvanic corrosion if exposed to the environment.
NHTSA found the failures came with general excessive corrosion over most of the pipe assembly and appear to be expected wear-out of the coating in severe-corrosion states.
How to tell
Brake warning / Service Brake System
What to do
- In the joint inspections, scaling or flaking corrosion was taken as indicating the onset of metal loss and given the second lowest ranking (2); a leaking or previously repaired pipe was the lowest (1).
- GM noted that pipes with excessive flaking corrosion can only be fully evaluated, including remaining service life, by removing them, cleaning off the corrosion and sectioning them to assess remaining wall thickness.
- The inspections found no specific location where corrosion was visually more severe and no pattern between vehicles.
- Service records of incident vehicles also indicate that repairs are not isolated to a specific location or brake pipe.
- GM recommends replacing the entire set of pipes whenever any pipe leaks or is corroded enough to need replacement.
- On June 28, 2013 GM released 66 new part numbers for servicing brake pipes in 1999-2007 GMT800 pickups and utility vehicles.
Caution: Analysis of repair records indicates that consumers often elect to repair only the failed circuit.
What is needed
- Parts and materials
- The entire set of brake pipes (whenever any pipe leaks or is corroded enough to need replacement; GM's recommendation)
- GM brake pipe kit (a complete set of pre-formed and pre-flared pipes, for when the entire brake pipe assembly is replaced)
- Labor time
- Kit procedure: 4.5 to 6.0 hours, depending on the vehicle's configuration (labor time guideline of the October 2014 TSB)
- Forming and flaring replacement tubing to fit the vehicle: approximately 8.5 hours (base time estimate)
- Special tools
- Not stated
- Scan tool
- Not stated
Only what the technical documents state. "Not stated" does not mean not needed.
In the records
No record states work done for this cause.
Outside the documents and the records
Of the four pages read, the Yukon appears only in a single sentence of a post merged into a thread titled for a 2004 Yukon; that post gives neither the poster's vehicle and model year nor how the repair turned out. The others are records on a 2000 Tahoe, a Hummer H2 (model year not given) and the Silverado, and the Silverado thread is questions and advice only, with no repair outcome.
- A record by the owner of a 2000 Tahoe on Car Talk Community and one post merged into a 2CarPros thread titled for a 2004 Yukon (the poster does not state his own vehicle or model year) both say that the brake pipes running toward the rear of the vehicle were replaced. Car Talk Community2CarPros
- Sky Auto writes that on a Hummer H2 (model year not given) the left and right front brake pipes running over the left frame rail had corroded through and were leaking fluid, and that because the part was not supplied, the corroded stretch was cut out and remade from general-purpose brake pipe. スカイオート(埼玉)
- The owner of a 2000 Tahoe (125,000 miles (= 201,168 km)) on Car Talk Community writes that Pep Boys said it could not do the job itself and put the cost at somewhere between $1,500 and $2,000, that the dealer quoted $3,000 (possibly more if further rust turned up, and with the explanation that the steel line has to be made by hand), and that in the end an independent shop replaced the pipes from around the driver's seat rearward and the repair came to $1,600. Car Talk Community
- The same 2000 Tahoe owner writes that the fuel tank had to come down to reach the pipes running over it, and that the fuel lines, which were corroded, also failed when the tank went back in. Car Talk Community
- In a 2CarPros thread titled for a 2002 Silverado, a poster who gives his truck as a 2000 Silverado reports that while he was replacing a rotted pipe from the master cylinder to the ABS unit all of the front pipes above the frame came apart, leaving it unclear which pipe goes to which ABS port. One of the answerers in the same thread writes that looking at the ABS unit with a mirror for a stamped F or R is something to try. 2CarPros
The sentences above were written by FaultCrate from what shops' public pages and Q&A sites state as fact (none of the pages' wording is shown; a second reader checked each against its pages). A record of another vehicle says which vehicle. A Q&A thread is a question and advice, and may not say how the repair ended. The links below are places to look; the contents of pages not read were not checked.
The pages read, and other places to look (11)
Shops' repair records
- ハマーH2 ブレーキパイプ修理スカイオート(埼玉), Hummer H2, 2023
Repair videos
- Chevy Tahoe Suburban / GMC Yukon Brake Line Replacement HighlightsYouTube, Chevy Tahoe / Suburban / GMC Yukon, not read
- 1999-2006 Yukon / Tahoe / Suburban front to rear axle brake line replacement tip!YouTube, Yukon / Tahoe / Suburban 1999-2006, not read
- Chevy brake line replacement GMC Yukon Silverado Suburban Tahoe 2000 /upYouTube, GMC Yukon / Silverado / Suburban / Tahoe 2000 and up, not read
- Rusted out brake lines on Chevy, GMC, Avalanche, Yukon, Tahoe, SuburbanYouTube, Chevy / GMC / Avalanche / Yukon / Tahoe / Suburban, not read
- DIY Brake line replacement 1999-2007 Chevy Silverado 1500 with routing diagram for all 5 solid linesYouTube, Chevy Silverado 1500 1999-2007, not read
- How to Replace Rusted GM brake linesYouTube, no vehicle stated, not read
Forums and Q&A
- 2000 Chevy Tahoe brake linesCar Talk Community, 2000 Chevy Tahoe, 2014
- 2004 Gmc Yukon How Do I Bleed the Brakes2CarPros, 2004 GMC Yukon, 2012
- 2002 Chevrolet Silverado Replacement Brake Lines2CarPros, 2002 Chevrolet Silverado, 2009
- replacing factory steel brake linestahoeyukonforum.com, no vehicle stated, not read
See the evidence (1 technical documents, 0 records)
Passages of the technical documents
NHTSA's investigation covered 1999-2003 GM C/K pickups and SUVs in salt-belt states.
Products: 1999-2003 GM C/K pickup trucks and SUVs in Salt Belt states
NHTSA ODI 2015-04-08
The GMT800 platform includes 1999-2007 Silverado and Sierra 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickup trucks; 2000-2006 Suburban, Tahoe and Yukon; and 2002-2006 Escalade and Avalanche.
The GMT800 platform includes the following vehicles: 1999-2007 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 1500, 2500 and 3500 series pick-up trucks; 2000-2006 Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon sport utility vehicles; and 2002-2006 Cadillac Escalade and Chevrolet Avalanche sport-utility vehicles.
NHTSA ODI 2015-04-08
Corroded brake lines may rupture during a brake application, reducing brake effectiveness.
Brake line corrosion may result in rupture during brake application, resulting in reduced brake effectiveness.
NHTSA ODI 2015-04-08
The pipes' steel-copper construction is vulnerable to galvanic corrosion if exposed to the environment.
The steel-copper construction is vulnerable to galvanic corrosion if exposed to the environment.
NHTSA ODI 2015-04-09
A cause or a result a complaint states is the owner’s view or what a dealer told them, not an established fact.
Put together by FaultCrate from public records and technical documents. The cause and the repair are for the workshop to decide with the vehicle in front of it. Counts are records, not failure rates.

