Other brake problem on the 2006 GMC Sierra 2500
When other brake problem gets reported
Owners of the 2006 GMC Sierra 2500 report other brake problem at a median of 35,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 30,000 miles and a quarter after 90,000 miles, from 8 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 88,000 miles. It is the 2nd most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 20,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 145,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 127,325 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
50% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17,650 miles | 28,000 miles | 35,550 miles | 88,916 miles | 144,975 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–$1,800 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 on other years
The same failure is reported on 14 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2017, at a median of 1 miles, and latest on the 1999 at 170,000 miles.
By volume the 2003 carries the most reports, with 23; the 2006 has 10. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
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.
Dt*: the contact stated the vehicle's hydroboost was too small for the truck and made too much noise when the brakes or steering were used. The dealer determined the vehicle has no problems, but the contact expressed there will be difficulty doing towing work particularly going uphill and downhill. The vehicle is only two months old and has been demonstrating this problem since the beginning of the second month.
Sudden and complete failure of brakes and steering. Started vehicle, placed in reverse, unable to stop or steer. No emergency assist from accumulator, manual brakes only. Vehicle was placed in neutral, then stopped with e-brakes and service brakes. Power steering reservoir overflowing, puddle on garage floor of fluid, fluid gushed when cap removed. Vehicle towed to dealer where it operated normally! Dealer unable to diagnose at time of this writing. Similar complaint from relative with the exact same vehicle, had same thing happen 4 times. Hydro-boost system on a diesel 2500 hd. *tr
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 gmc 2500. While driving in reverse, the contact heard a grinding noise from the front brake area. When the contact inspected the vehicle, he noticed that the bolts that held the calipers in place had sheared off on both front wheels. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership to be inspected. The current and failure mileages were 86,762.
Also reported on the 2006 GMC Sierra 2500
Loss of braking
Other steering problem
Brake line, hose or caliper failure
Steering rack, gear or tie rod failure
Other wheel or tire problem
Parking brake failure
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 10 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 other brake problem happen on the 2006 GMC Sierra 2500?
Across 8 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 35,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 30,000 miles and a quarter after 90,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other brake problem on the 2006 GMC Sierra 2500?
10 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 18 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