Model years Chevrolet Silverado 1500
2006 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
Complaints about this year name brake lines far more often than the model's other years — 19% of them, about 47× the usual rate of 0.4%.
| Complaints filed | 774 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 90 |
| Involving a crash | 46 |
| Involving a fire | 32 |
| Recalls | 0 |
| EPA combined | 16.5 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- lines — 32.3% of this year's complaints, against 6.1% across the model's other years (5.3×). Owners wrote it as: lines, brake lines, rusted, leaking.
- brake — 36.7% of this year's complaints, against 11.9% across the model's other years (3.1×).
- line — 29.2% of this year's complaints, against 7.8% across the model's other years (3.8×). Owners wrote it as: line, brake line, floor, brake fluid.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
Also unusual this year
- rusted — 15% of complaints, 38× usual
- brake line — 14% of complaints, 35× usual
- brake — 37% of complaints, 3× usual
What owners wrote
THE BRAKES FAILED WHILE IN MOTION. THE CAUSE WAS THE STEEL HYDRAULIC BRAKE LINE TO THE REAR WHEELS RUSTED AND BECAME TOO WEAK TO HOLD BRAKING PRESSURE. UPON FURTHER INSPECTION, ALL STEEL BRAKE LINES WERE VERY RUSTY.
STEEL BRAKE LINES (BRAKELINES) RUSTED THROUGH BY FRAME OF TRUCK. COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS YEAR AND MODEL. VERY DANGEROUS AS USUALLY OCCURS (AND DID IN MY CASE) WHILE DRIVING SINCE PUMPS WILL PUSH BRAKE FLUID OUT OF LEAKING RUSTED LINES WHILE DRIVING.
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2006 Chevrolet Silverado 1500? What happened to yours?
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