2021 CHEVROLET BLAZER Service Brakes Problems

Brake booster failed after 50k miles needing repair. Brake became very still, prolonging the time it takes to stop the vehicle

My name is [XXX] and I was a passenger in our 2021 Chevy Blazer with our young child in the back seat when the brakes suddenly failed while we were driving on the freeway. The brake pedal went stiff and wouldn’t respond. It was terrifying — we truly felt like we were going to crash. I was panicked, and my child was crying. Since then, I’ve been too afraid to drive or ride in this vehicle, even if it gets repaired. This isn’t the first issue with the car, and GM has not resolved it in a timely or helpful way. The vehicle is currently at the dealership and we are paying for a rental car out of pocket. I’m reporting this because I believe this vehicle poses a serious safety risk to families like mine. I’m asking NHTSA to please investigate this issue before someone gets hurt. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

While driving my 2021 Chevrolet Blazer LT on the freeway with my wife and child, the “Brake Assist” warning came on and the brake pedal suddenly became extremely stiff. I was going about 65 mph, and it became difficult to slow down safely. We were terrified. This created a serious safety hazard, as I almost couldn’t stop in time and could have caused a crash or gotten someone killed. The check engine light came on as well. I had previously taken the vehicle in for a similar rattling or braking noise back in 2021 and was told it was “fine.” Now the issue seems to have gotten worse. I have since learned that other owners have reported similar brake assist issues on 2021 Chevrolet Blazers, and it appears there are service bulletins but no recall yet. I am extremely concerned that GM has not addressed this defect, especially since it happened without warning and endangered my family’s lives. I am requesting a full investigation into this issue and for GM to take full responsibility for the repair.

Brakes bottomed out. Message on my dash board said “Brake System Failure reduce speed to 62” and the brake went on the way to the floor.

My 2021 Chevrolet Blazer experienced brake failure while driving, without any warning lights or diagnostic alerts from the vehicle’s onboard system prior to. This created a very dangerous situation for myself and others on the road, including my family who was in the car as well. Prior to this incident, I brought the vehicle to the dealership not long after purchasing it because I was constantly hearing screeching noises when braking. I thought it was rather soon to need new brakes, considering I purchased the vehicle brand new, but the issue was dismissed without any further inspection. This most definitely resulted in a missed opportunity to diagnose what is seemingly a more well known mechanical failure common among GM manufactured parts. After the brake failure, service technicians discovered that the vacuum pump had failed, causing the brakes to fail which led to engine damage by projecting shrapnel into the engine. This has rendered a $35,000 car purchase useless after 4 years of use without a $10,000 repair. I find this highly unethical. Upon further investigation, I learned that GM has previously acknowledged vacuum pump failures in several vehicles manufactured between 2014–2018 and even recalled certain models. The 2021 Chevy Blazer should be included in the list because failures of this part can lead to harm, injury, or loss of life. The documented defects in older GM models is consistent with my experience. I got oil changes and service regularly. The dealership should not have been so quick to dismiss the the brakes, knowing the history of these parts and the warning signs. This issue should be taken seriously as it is likely more widespread and is a ticking time bomb. Loss of life should not be the catalyst to trigger action in this situation. Other consumers are likely at risk without knowing it.

I am reporting a serious safety concern involving my 2021 Chevrolet Blazer, which experienced brake failure while driving, without any warning lights or diagnostic alerts from the vehicle’s onboard system. This created a highly dangerous situation for myself and others on the road. Prior to this incident, I brought the vehicle to the dealership after consistently hearing squealing or screeching noises when braking. The issue was dismissed and attributed to a change in federal regulations limiting the use of copper in brake pads—without any further inspection. This resulted in a missed opportunity to diagnose what appears to be a deeper mechanical failure. After the brake failure, service technicians discovered that the vacuum pump had failed, which impacted braking performance and also caused engine damage. While I’ve since learned that GM has acknowledged vacuum pump failures in several vehicles manufactured between 2014–2018 (via formal recalls), the 2021 Chevy Blazer is not currently included in those campaigns However, the symptoms and outcome I experienced are strikingly similar to the documented defects in older GM models. The lack of early diagnostic detection, coupled with dealership dismissal of clear warning signs, signals a potential emerging safety defect in this newer model that may not yet be officially recognized. Given the safety-critical nature of the braking system and the failure of both mechanical and procedural safeguards, I strongly urge NHTSA to investigate whether this issue is more widespread in recent GM models, including the 2021 Blazer. Other consumers may be at risk without knowing it.

The vehicle’s brakes failed while I was driving. I was luckily able to steer the vehicle off the road narrowly avoiding hitting another car. We had the vehicle towed to a Chevy dealer and they told us the fault was due to a low voltage battery. They would also not drive the vehicle until the battery was replaced because it was giving an error message of “brake system failure”. The dealer is the only place that has inspected the vehicle at this time. The warning messages appeared at the time of failure and not before. I find this to be a manufacturing defect in need of a recall as this could have easily caused harm or loss of life.

I parked on an incline using the parking brake and the vehicle could not disengage the brake

The brakes failed on my SUV as I was driving on a city street. Yes it is available for inspection. Losing my breaks almost caused a collision with the car in front of me but due to the distance between the cars and the low speed at the time, I was able to avoid collision and detour into a parking lot where I cruised to a stop with the help of a parking lot space concrete stop. The problem was not reproduced by me but the service center computer diagnostics confirmed break issues. The service center says that the cause was low voltage of the car battery which affected the brakes. This is a very dangerous situation if the vehicle can lose complete braking ability due to a low voltage battery. This is the reason for reporting the issue. They replace the battery and said that should fix the issue. They said the only recourse to avoid this happening again is to replace the battery around every 2 years. The issue was inspected by a service center owned by the manufacturer of my SUV. The warning lamps only occurred as the brake system failed. A message of "Brake System Failure" appeared and the "Check Engine" light came on. Within the previous week of the issue the SUV also had other electrical issues such as the Climate Control interface went out and the rear camera also went out.

I have made numerous complaints to Jeff Schmitt Chevy dealership Dayton, Ohio regarding parking brake being engaged upon starting vehicle even though vehicle is on flat surface. Twice now, last occurring [XXX], while gradually increasing speed to make a left hand turn the vehicle suddenly self-brakes, during acceleration, making a harsh screeching sound. I remove my foot completely from the accelerator before I accelerate again. The initial incident was reported to chevy dealership. No findings have been noted per dealership. No accidents have occurred. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The breaks make a squealing noise all the time which is concerning. I was told by Beaver Chevrolet that this is normal as the breaks were changed in newer car models. They have made a squealing noise ever since I bought the car brand new. I took the car into Beaver Chevrolet approximately 4 months ago and was told that they were unable to replace the breaks because they "weren't squealing bad enough". They did spray my breaks down, however they told me that once I hit 36,000 miles if the issue was still occuring (which it will be) that I would have to pay to have the breaks sprayed. The issue persisted and the spray they used only lasted a few days. Typically breaks should not squeal unless they have gone bad, which isn't the case here. I find this issue to be a safety hazard as how are customers supposed to know when their breaks actually do go bad if they squeal all the time. The issue was reproduced, but it is unclear what their standard is for determining the actual noise to breaking ratio.

The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Blazer. The stated that upon depression of the brake pedal, an abnormal grinding noise would emit from the vehicle without warning. When the contact notified the dealer of the failure, he was informed that they were aware of the failure however, there was no fix for the failure. The contact then received a letter from the dealer where he was informed that a repair was under development. Recently, the contact called the dealer for an update and was informed that no update was available and that the repair remained unavailable. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 429. The VIN was not available.

Mileage: 429

Car purchased on 5/19/21 with 117 miles on it. It now has 1153 miles and the brakes are grinding. The Chevy dealership states that it needs replacement brake pads, but they are on backorder. I have been uncomfortable driving the car after the dealership said it needed new brake pads and have not driven the car for two days. I can get by another four days, but I have a Dr's appointment this coming Wednesday that requires a 50 mile trip.

The brakes are noisy (like metal to metal, worn out) and the brake pedal is soft. Took the vehicle into the dealer (only 1,000 miles on odometer) they say GM is aware of a problem. How many people will die before this problem is fixed? The problem isn’t corrected, and exists today.

Vehicle only has 700 miles and there is a loud brake grinding noise when slowly down at speeds of around 40 MPH.

OCCASIONAL GRINDING NOISE WHEN BRAKING' GRINDING NOISE WHEN VEHICLE HAD LESS THAN 400 MILES

Mileage: 400

OCCASIONAL GRINDING NOISE WHEN BRAKING

Mileage: 90