Symptom explainer · every vehicle on the site
Brake pedal goes hard or the booster or vacuum pump fails
Most reported: 2015 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 with 185 reports. Across the 103 model years on this site with at least five, owners filed 2,888.
- 2,888owner reports
- 103model years affected
- 60,000median miles
- 127involved a crash
- 1involved a fire
This is the narrower sheet inside brakes for reports about a hard pedal or a failed power assist. The pedal stops feeling normal: it turns stiff, takes far more force, and the car needs a longer distance to stop.
Part of Brake Problems, which counts 32,010 reports.
Which cars report it most · By model · When it happens · What it is and what to do
The 25 vehicles with the most reports
Each row is one model year. The bar is its count of brake booster failure reports; the share is how much of that car's complaint file this problem takes up. Bigger sellers draw more reports, so read the share alongside the count. Red dots mark crashes and fires in these reports; amber marks a recall on the same system.
- 12015 Chevrolet Silverado 15007 crashesrecall18516% of its complaints59k mi
- 22014 Ford F-1503 crashesrecall14610% of its complaints52k mi
- 32014 Chevrolet Silverado 15009 crashesrecall14110% of its complaints74k mi
- 42016 Chevrolet Silverado 150011 crashesrecall11615% of its complaints51k mi
- 52015 GMC Sierra 15004 crashesrecall10615% of its complaints54k mi
- 62015 Ford F-150recall1006% of its complaints54k mi
- 72015 Chevrolet Tahoe6 crashesrecall9815% of its complaints72k mi
- 82016 Ford F-1502 crashesrecall854% of its complaints51k mi
- 92018 Chevrolet Equinox2 crashesrecall8320% of its complaints70k mi
- 102015 Chevrolet Suburban3 crashesrecall7919% of its complaints67k mi
- 112017 Chevrolet Silverado 15009 crashesrecall708% of its complaints53k mi
- 122014 GMC Sierra 15004 crashesrecall649% of its complaints76k mi
- 132020 Chevrolet Equinox2 crashes1 firerecall6320% of its complaints90k mi
- 142019 Chevrolet Equinox3 crashesrecall5719% of its complaints79k mi
- 152015 Toyota Prius1 crash5433% of its complaints119k mi
- 162019 GMC Terrainrecall5429% of its complaints70k mi
- 172020 GMC Terrain2 crashes5428% of its complaints86k mi
- 182018 GMC Terrainrecall5123% of its complaints95k mi
- 194726% of its complaints120k mi
- 202016 GMC Sierra 15002 crashesrecall4613% of its complaints41k mi
- 212018 Toyota Camry2 crashesrecall416% of its complaints119k mi
- 222016 Chevrolet Tahoe2 crashesrecall4016% of its complaints52k mi
- 232017 GMC Sierra 15005 crashesrecall3911% of its complaints39k mi
- 24385% of its complaints60k mi
- 252016 Chevrolet Malibu1 crash374% of its complaints71k mi
Where it dominates the complaint file
Model years with at least 25 reports, ranked by the share of all their complaints that describe brake booster failure. That takes most of the sales-volume effect out (small sellers still swing more).
- 12015 Toyota Prius1 crash5433% of its complaints119k mi
- 22019 GMC Terrainrecall5429% of its complaints70k mi
- 32020 GMC Terrain2 crashes5428% of its complaints86k mi
- 44726% of its complaints120k mi
- 52018 GMC Terrainrecall5123% of its complaints95k mi
- 62025 Chevrolet Traverse1 crash3721% of its complaints5k mi
- 72020 Chevrolet Equinox2 crashes1 firerecall6320% of its complaints90k mi
- 82018 Chevrolet Equinox2 crashesrecall8320% of its complaints70k mi
- 92019 Chevrolet Equinox3 crashesrecall5719% of its complaints79k mi
- 102015 Chevrolet Suburban3 crashesrecall7919% of its complaints67k mi
By model, every year together
The 12 models with the most reports. Each chip is a model year; the darker chip is its worst year.
- Ford F-150383
- GMC Terrain159
- Toyota Prius101
When it happens
1,755 of the 2,888 reports state a mileage. The middle half fall between 42,000 and 85,000 miles; the median is 60,000. Each column is a 20,000-mile band.
Reports by model year
Every report of brake booster failure, grouped by the model year of the car. 127 involved a crash and 1 a fire. 30 people were hurt.
What owners describe
Share of the 2,888 reports that use each phrase. One report can use several.
What got replaced
Reports that name the part, across every vehicle.
What it is and what to do
The brake booster uses engine vacuum to help you press the pedal without excessive force. YourMechanic describes the main sign of a failing one as an extremely hard pedal, followed by longer stopping distances and sometimes engine stalling when the brakes are applied, and it says the car isn't safe to drive with a failed booster. Some vehicles use a vacuum pump instead of relying on the engine alone, and more than four in ten of the reports here name the pump.
About 2,900 complaints on this site fit. The median is about 60,000 miles. Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra and their SUV cousins supply more than half of the reports, and the Ford F-150 about one in eight, with the 2015 Silverado 1500 and the 2014 F-150 leading. About half mention a hard or stiff pedal, three in ten a lost power assist, more than four in ten the vacuum pump and about one in six the master cylinder. About a quarter say it happened at low speed or while parking, and about a fifth mention a crash or near miss. Three in ten mention a recall.
NHTSA has acted on several of these. GM recall 19V-645 covers 2014 to 2018 Silverado and Sierra pickups and several SUVs where the vacuum pump may lose output over time, and came out of investigation PE18-012 into a sudden hard brake pedal and longer stopping distance. Ford recall 16V-345 and later 20V-332 cover F-150 master cylinders that can leak brake fluid into the booster. Ford's 22V-150 covers the same fault on some 2016 to 2018 Expedition, Navigator and F-150 trucks. Honda recall 23V-458 covers a tie rod fastener joining the booster and master cylinder that may have been assembled incorrectly, letting the cylinder separate from the booster. Some owners on this site report a recall expiring or parts being unavailable.
If the pedal goes hard, treat the car as unsafe to drive and have it inspected before it goes back on the road. Tell the shop whether it happens right after the car sits, at low speed, or after a stop, whether a message like service brake assist showed up, and whether the fluid level has dropped. Ask them to test the booster and the vacuum supply.
Check your VIN at NHTSA's recall lookup, since the recalls above cover specific model years and engines. If one applies, the repair is free. Otherwise get it on a repair order; the FTC says a defect reported during the warranty period must be fixed even if the warranty expires before the repair.
Sources
- Symptoms of a Bad or Failing Power Brake Booster, YourMechanic
- NHTSA recall 19V-645 and investigation PE18-012, brake vacuum pump, 2014 to 2018 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra (NHTSA recall and investigation files)
- NHTSA recalls 16V-345, 20V-332 and 22V-150, Ford master cylinder leaking into the brake booster (NHTSA recall files)
- NHTSA recall 23V-458, Honda brake booster and master cylinder tie rod fastener (NHTSA recall file)
- Check for recalls, NHTSA
- Warranties, FTC Consumer Advice
- Complaint counts, mileages and phrase shares: NHTSA complaint files as tallied on this site
Counts are unique NHTSA complaints on the 1,043 vehicle model years that have a page here, grouped by the word patterns described on the method page. A vehicle needs five matching reports to be counted in this ranking. Checked Sep 29, 2026. All problem explainers.