My break lights on a 2001 Chevy Malibu LS are out and I checked the bulbs and new bulbs didn’t work either. I also checked the fuse and everything looked fine. The blinkers and the back-up lights work. The center break light also works. Any idea why the other break lights don’t work? Is it a wiring this and will it be expensive?
Look for a bad ground. Are the brake lights on the trunk hood? Make sure they have a good ground. Next make sure they are getting power when the center brake light is on. If not follow the wire back unit you find power.
Also check the brake light switch. It may be out of adjustment, loose or defective.
by any chance have you had some work done on the rear end of the car? like body work, or an interior cleaning? have you changed the spare tire lately? maybe someone knocked a wire harness loose?
although the hi brake light comes on, i think you have the regular brake lights on another fuse. you said it looked ok, did you swap it for another fuse to make sure (or test it for continuity?) a fuse may LOOK ok, but it may actually be bad. i usually just swap them out to totally remove that possibility. they cost like 25 cents or so!
I hope your problem is simple as the other posters have suggested. However, the problem may in the multi-function switch that operates the turning signals, high beams, etc. My son had this problem on a 1994 Oldsmobile Cutlass. The center brake light worked, but the other brake lights did not work. The center brake light feeds through a logic circuit (basically, an AND gate). This is to prevent the center brake light from blinking simultaneously with the turn signal. However, when you apply the brakes while signaling a turn, one signal must blink while the other is constantly illuminated. Since the blinkers work, this doesn’t seem to indicate a ground.
If the problem is in the multi-function switch, the repair will run around $300.