My chevy 2006 express van brakes do not always seem to release

Go under and find the vacuum motor, it is attached to the brake release pawl, pull the pawl.

_______power brake booster, check vacuum to booster and the check valve for brake booster. primary symtom is high hard pedal that requires greater then normal pedal pressure to stop car. testing booster= pump brakes several times with engine off to deplete stored vacuum. turn on engine with pushing slightly on brake pedal. you should be able to feel the pedal fade away a bit, and then become firm. But not hard. if you feel nothing at the pedal when engine starts. Brake booster is not working. Good-day! make sure vacuum is going to booster with engine running. it may just be a bad vacuum line or check valve.

probably a fuse. if the fuses are good check the brake light switch on the brake pedal.

Hi P, The most usual cause of the brake pedal action becoming hard is a defective return seal in the brake master cylinder. When the brakes are depressed fluid is pushed into the wheel cylinders, activating the brake pads and shoes. After a few operations of the braking system the fluid fails to return to the master cylinder and with each further action the brakes become tighter. After the vehicle stands for some time the pressure gradually releases and frees the brakes. Have the brake master cylinder checked. It's good policy to replace the brake fluid once or twice a year as part of the major service. Regards John

it's your master cylinder.

If your rear brake lights are on all the time, I would first check your brake pedal. Near the top of the pedal, probably just about where the pedal is attached to its pivot, you'll see a little switch that is either pressed in or released when you step on the brakes. That's the switch that controls your rear brake lights. As an experiment, have a helper look at the brake lights while you manually pull or push this switch all the way in and out. These switches wear over time and can stick in position. Fortunately, they're not expensive to replace, if that turns out to be the problem.


If your brake light switch seems to be working properly (hard to tell if the brake lights won't go off), a second possibility is that there's a short somewhere in your wiring and your brake lights are getting power from the shorted wire. I think this is a pretty unlikely cause, because most of the wires that rub up against the brake light wiring are for your turn signals and tail lights, and these are not normally energized. If you said that your brake lights always came on when you activated your turn signal or when you turned on your other lights, then this cause would be much more likely.


Check your brake pedal switch and the wire connections to it. I have a feeling that you'll find your problem.

have same van, had same problems, answer is replace the brake servo,

you probably need to isolate thi noise better. does it occur going over bumps in the road,or only when braking. maybeput the vehicle in a lower gear and see if it occurs when jabing the gas pedal up and down. if only when braking lock at the parking brake to see if it is stuck on.but feeling like the brake is releasing and reapplying semms to indicate something is rolling around.. coul be a hard one.

Continually push the brake pedal to set the brakes. (With park brake off). Brakes are self adjusting and will adjust to correct position.

there is a cable running from handle to brake assembly it is probably broke there is a release lever under there on brake about a one inch lever hold down on brake and move this and let up on pedal.