Premature brake pad or rotor wear on the 2004 GMC Sierra 2500
Only 2 reports for this mode came with an odometer reading, which is too few for percentiles to mean anything. The page is here because someone linked to it; treat the figures as anecdotes, and see the full report for this year instead.
When premature brake pad or rotor wear gets reported
There are 2 reports of premature brake pad or rotor wear on the 2004 GMC Sierra 2500, 2 with a mileage attached. That is too few to place the failure on the odometer with any confidence.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 45,000 miles. It is the 26th most-reported problem on this model year.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | 38,375 miles | — | — |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $300–$1,400 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure, every year of the GMC Sierra 2500
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
This complaint covers my 2004 gmc sierra 2500hd crew cab 4WD. Almost one year ago I had a main brake line blow underneath the drivers side of the truck. The line was so corroded it was no wonder. This incident happened on 9-7-10. I was hooked to my fifth wheel camper and was preparing to pull out of driveway and when I placed foot on brake to shift into drive it blew. Thankfully I was just beginning to move. I had the truck towed to my local mechanic and he replaced the line and flushed system. Now again on 8-22-11 same situation occurred. The line blew in exactly the same position as first time only a different line this time. Not to mention the other corrosion on the brake calipers and hardware that rendered my rear brakes useless. Had to replace rotors and pads due to sticking brake pad wearing to point of metal to metal contact. Did I mention I purchased this truck new and it now has only 38,500 miles. Rarely does it get driven in snow and salt. I have all receipts for parts that this problem has caused me. Im just thankful that I wasn't towing as I usually do when im driving this truck. I've talked to my local dealership don…
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 gmc sierra 2500 hd. The contact stated that both rear brake pads and rotors were worn, in addition to the front passenger side brake pad and rotor. The contact feels that the brake pads and rotors should not have failed at 36,000 miles. The manufacturer took a report and stated that the failure was not a defect, but rather a part of normal maintenance. They refused to assist with the repair. The vehicle has not been repaired. The current and failure mileages were 36,000. Updated 11/14/08 *cn the consumer stated the brake pads would not move on slides. Updated 11/19/08. *jb
Also reported on the 2004 GMC Sierra 2500
Instrument cluster or gauge failure
Loss of braking
Other electrical problem
Brake line, hose or caliper failure
Other brake problem
Exhaust leak or fumes in the cabin
How far this goes
This page is kept out of search results because 2 reports is not enough to publish percentiles from. It stays reachable because somebody looking at this exact car would rather see the reports than be told there are none.
Complaints are voluntary, so 2 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does premature brake pad or rotor wear happen on the 2004 GMC Sierra 2500?
Across 2 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 40,000 miles. A quarter were filed before — and a quarter after —. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is premature brake pad or rotor wear on the 2004 GMC Sierra 2500?
2 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 3.5 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed