Late model Suburban parking brake problem

The parking brake on my 2002 Suburban would not hold on a jeep road in Colorado. I had it fixed under warantee - it seems that there is a defect in a retaining plate that allows the brake pads to wear prematurely. The service manager stated that they would not normally have fixed it under warantee as I had over 12,000 miles on the vehicle. Because of the defect they have extended it to 24,000 miles. I have slightly over 20,000 miles on the vehicle. I recommend you have this checked out at your dealer - I would have had to fight for the repair had I waited another few thousand miles!!

Wow, it took GM 2 years to acknowledge this defect?! My '01 has the parking brake problem, but Chevy has the upper hand as my warranty is up :mad:

I found out about the parking brake problem this past week (Dec. 30, 2003). I have a 2000 Chevy Silverado pick-up with 59,500 miles. I checked the parking brake when a friend told me about the problem and sure enough, mine didn't work. I called my chevy dealer service manager and he told me that GM acknowledges a problem with the parking brake, but doesn't normally fix them if vehicle has more than 30,000 miles.

I took my truck in anyway and insisted that they call GM and request a repair. Bottom line, I got the parking brake fixed. They had to replace the left rear rotor and both parking brake shoes. A $400+ bill charged back to GM for the repair.

This problem is common on Suburbans and pick-up trucks.

Service Manager told me that to prevent the problem, frequent use of the parking brake is necessary.

Don't take NO for an answer if you have this problem. They fixed my pickup for free and I had 59,525 miles on it when I had it repaired today, Jan. 2, 2004. Repair was done by Vandergriff Chevrolet in Arlington, TX