Brakes and emergency brake went out at same time

M.LOUISE

MEMBER
2002 CHEVROLET TAHOE
6 CYL
4WD
AUTOMATIC
190,000 MILES

My SUV had been driving with no problem, no warning lights, no indications of problems. Fine when I parked it on a Monday. Started it up on Wednesday, pulled out of driveway, tried to stop and the pedal went all the way to the floor. Tried to pump the pedal, but no brakes. Pushed the emergency brake on and it went all the way down and did not slow the vehicle at all. Could a bad master cylinder cause the regular brakes and the emergency brake to go out at once?

Wednesday, November 29th, 2017 AT 8:55 AM

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
34,148 POSTS

The parking brake does not use the regular brake's hydraulic system. It is totally mechanical.

The best suspect is the lining rusted off a rear brake shoe and is free to move around. The frame of the shoe will need to move much too far to contact the drum, so it will not allow any pedal pressure to build up. The parking brake moves the same shoes, and with the lining broken free, it also cannot move the shoe far enough to be effective.

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Tuesday, March 16th, 2021 AT 9:58 AM