Has anyone had trouble with the wheels locking up on the 04 avalanche? I have replaced the master cylinder, brake booster, brake calibers,proportioner,brake lines. Truck is now @ dealership and the master cylinder along with brakes and brake line flushing need to be done .the cost is around $1000. Does anyone have a fix for this?
While I have never found this to be a problem back when I was swinging wrenches I have heard that sometimes a rubber brake line with an internal crack can sometimes prevent pressure from being released therefore, brake lockup.
I am not saying this is the problem but its a small possibility.
Check here for similar complaints:
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints/
see if there are any similar complaints and how they were resolved.
Hi there. just checked for car recall on avalanche 2004 and haven’t found the issue your talking about here’s the link http://www.automotive.com/2004/12/chevrolet/avalanche/recalls/index.html . You may check it. I guess, you just need to hire someone to fix it. Or could be a repair manual that will teach you how to fix it on your own.
I had this problem with a 1990 Ford Aerostar that had antilock brakes only on the rear wheels. If the antilock brakes would come on, the rear brakes would lock up and not release. The Ford dealer was stumped, but a good technician at an independent tire shop traced it down to a valve in the antilock brake system. If you have antilock brakes, and I assume it is on all four wheels, this might be the problem if all the wheels are locking up.
Impossible to determine cause of failure without actually inspecting the vehicle, but fromwhat you describe I might suspect that at some point some oil-based product like power steering fluid might have been introduced to the brake system.
If you have not done so, check the rubber brake hoses. Many Chevy trucks have a steel bracket on the hose to keep it away from moving parts, but the steel bracket can rust, the rust will cause the steel to expand, and the expansion will “squeeze” the brake hose, restricting the flow of fluid and causing the brakes to drag or lock up. This is a very common problem that can stump a lot of people, often resulting in a lot of unnecessary parts replacement and expense (and frustration) to the customer. By the way, the rubber hoses are the cheapest parts of the brake system. You may want to decline the master cylinder (again) and just have them try replacing the rubber hoses instead, since it sounds like they are just throwing parts at it anyway rather than diagnosing the problem. Might as well throw the cheapest and most likely parts at it this time.