This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
This happened a few times throughout may, happened a few times this week (May 29- June 5, 2013), and happened almost twenty times today - within a half hour period! I will be driving and then out of nowhere the steering wheel locks up, making it unable to turn in either direction. The screen reads 'power steering' when this happens. This is incredibly dangerous. It has happened to me most frequently either right after turning or in the middle of a turn, which is unfortunate since the state I live in has rounded exit and onramps - exactly where it happened to me today. It has happened on the highway multiple times today, while waiting at a red light, and while driving in city traffic. There needs to be a recall on this, because I wouldn't be surprised if this leads to my getting in a serious accident due to how often it is happening.
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while making a turn at 45 mph, the power steering malfunctioned and it extremely difficult to steer the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the power steering column and the power steering modular was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileage was 142,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu max. The contact stated that the steering wheel failed and could not be turned. The failure was experienced numerous times. The steering wheel returned to normal function after the engine was shut off and restarted. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 110,000 and the current mileage was 130,000. Updated 07/16/13
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving approximately 3 mph, there was a complete loss of powering steering with an illumination of a warning message. The engine was turned off and then restarted in order to reset. The vehicle was able to resume normally. The failure occurred sporadically. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000....updated 07-29-13
First started in March 2013, my power steering will occasionally go out while driving, making it very difficult to steer. The only to get it to work is to shut the car off and restart it. I feel very unsafe driving myself and my children!
- Whitehall, NY, USA
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My daughter was driving to school this morning, and everything seemed to be fine. She pulled out of our neighborhood and into the turning lane on a fast moving street to turn into her school parking lot. As she went to turn, the steering wheel locked up right as she was turning into oncoming traffic. She said it took everything in her to turn the steering wheel enough just so she could get onto the curb and out of the way. She then went to park and could barely make it into a parking space. She said when she first started to turn, a sound went off; and a gold wrench sign appeared underneath her rpms. She turned off the car once in her parking space and then turned it back on, and the steering wheel was still locked. She did it one more time, and it finally unlocked. Her, my other daughter, and my friend's two kids who were also in the car, were extremely shaken and on the verge of tears. It was a terrifying experience for them all. My most precious things in life were almost in a serious (perhaps even deadly) accident because of this power steering failure. I know this is not the first time this has been reported because I found numerous accounts of this exact same thing happening online. It's time Chevrolet finally steps up, takes responsibility for this, and recalls all these vehicles to get this power steering failure fixed before it takes a life (or lives)!
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph, the power steering assist failed without warning. The vehicle was not taken or inspection. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 69,000.
I purchased this vehicle in 2006 with 17,000 miles at the carmax superstore in naperville Illinois and have had several serious issues since. The leaking sunroof with the innumerable failed attempts at repair. The leak has never been resolved and I have resorted to covering the vehicle with a tarp during inclement weather. The constant clicking noise in the steering when moving the steering wheel back and forth and the severe stiffness in the steering wheel when curb side parking between parked vehicles. The intermittent ignition failure, the vehicle will not turn over unless you depress the accelerator slightly. There were countless futile attempts at repair for all these defects through out the years of warranty and extended warranty coverage. The failed attempts of correctly diagnosing and properly repairing these defects by the englewwood auto group in englewood New Jersey have left me unsatisfied and super frustrated. Today I am writing because the operators seat has now tilted to the right and is leaning against the center console. There was nothing of significance that occurred while driving that immediately alerted me of this problem, I was simply adjusting the seat when I noticed that the seat was rubbing against the center console. Upon inspecting underneath the seat I observed that the right rear corner does not rise when engaging the electric seat controls. The angle of the lean is so bad that it affects my posture and pains my lower back. I am also afraid that the seat will completely collapse while I am driving. When the seat is lowered all the way down it does level to its acceptable norm, but at 5 feet 4 inches tall I cannot operate safely that low to the floor. For a vehicle that is driven on average once a week it is plagued with some serious manufacturer defects that the dealerships' service department is unable or unwilling to repair.
The car steering wheel locked up and unable to control where it was going to guide as coming around curve. Ended up in ditch and shaking like crazy! im so afraid that something is going to happen. I want another car!
Sometimes when I crank there is no power steering at all. If I park on a incline it seems to never have power steering. The wrench light stays on in the dashboard and power steering is written across the radio panel.
While on my way home, driving North on I-95 near Washington, DC, I experienced lots of electrical problems (noise and grabbing to the left in the steering column, repeated bulb and light unity failures) then suddenly, a total loss of power steering. I became so scared while needing both hands to manage in heavy traffic traveling at an average of 65mph that I immediately threw a lit cigarette out the window in a desperate effort to control the vehicle. The steering wheel is almost impossibly difficult to steer. I was unaware that it had blown behind my back onto the driver"S seat until it burnt me, my shirt and the seat. It is by the grace of god that I didn"T have a fatal accident. It is probably needless to say that I continue to experience back pain. A disaster is waiting to happen! the fact is that sometimes while driving the power steering will start working again as quickly as it went out. Consider that I could be turning the wheel as hard as I can and at that second the power returns to send me spinning. Keep in mind that this is occurring more frequently everyday. Sometimes it does stop when the car is turned off and sometimes it does not. With regard to the brakes they make a loud and grinding sound when I lift off of them.
One evening while driving on the expressway @ aprox 55mph the wrench light came on and three chimes the steering wheel locked causing loss of control resulting in a collision with the concrete wall causing suspension damage and body damage to a tune of over $3600! steering and stopping are more important than going! GM needs to be held accountable for this safety issue before someone is killed.
Last year, I was driving and my cars power steering activated. It turned off almost immediately. Since last summer is happens every day, usually when I am accelerating and switching gears. This has been very dangerous. I have almost gotten in several accidents because my steering wheel will jerk. This has happened while I'm in the middle of a left turn. Please try to get a recall on this. I know a couple of people will the same make, model and year as I have, and they have the same issue. I will not take this to get fixed and spend hundreds of dollars as other have. This clearly needs to be taken care of.
The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 55 mph, the power steering assist failed and the power steering warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure was unable to be replicated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 89,000 and the current mileage was 99,000.
When driving down the road my 2004 Chevrolet Malibu lt V6 dings and a yellow wrench comes up and on the radio it stays power steering and the steering wheel became very stiff and I could no longer control my vehicle I almost hit a car trying to pull over on the side of the road but thankfully I came to a red light put my hazards lights on and turned the car on and off.... this has happened to me multiple times and different occasions this is a very dangerous feature to deal with on this car it makes it unsafe and you don't know when its going to happen it would be a miracle if Chevrolet would recall such a dangerous feature seeing how this is a manufacturer defect.
The power steering stopped working for no reason, I turned off the car and restarted which reset the power steering. It has happened a few times since then, now in the last week twice it will not reset and have to had to drive it home manually. I am taking it a dealer today, the dealer I bought it from said they fixed the steering rack but it obviously did not resolve the problem. GM has no recall on this even though they are aware of this very serious issue.
I've had on several occasions had my power steering light come on as the vehicle locks up. It hasn't happened in a while however after getting my car aligned recently the auto tech said I should get my power steering looked at and I wanted to look into.the recall again.
Approx 1-3 prior to my power steering locking up, the power steering message appeared on my dashboard. I had tried to locate the power steering reservoir when the alarm first displayed only to learn being low on power steering fluid wasn't the situation that it I owned a 2004 Chevy Malibu ls that had electric power steering. By this time it was too late, I quickly learned that situation results in your steering wheel to become completely locked! as I was pulling out of my stall at a packed parking lot. I was unable to move the steering wheel, it had completely locked up, I believe my car was only slightly moving because I was parked at a slant. I then put the car in parked, turned off the engine, said a prayer and started the car again. This time the steering wheel worked completely fine. The next day as I was driving my car to my auto mechanic I felt my steering wheel become tight again after going over the railroad tracks, I pulled over right away since there was no traffic and I didn't want to learn the hard way my steering wheel gave out again. I then turn the car back off and on even tho it wasn't locked like the night before, just for peace of mind I guess and the wheel returned back to normal. After talking with my mechanic, info I learned on line I am taking my car to a Chevy dealership because apparently this is a problem they are familiar with and are the only auto mechanic shop that carriers a special tool to "fix" the situation. If it is even fixable, based on what I'm reading I'm better off saving my money fixing the issue that can't be fixed so I can use it to get a new car! losing control of the steering wheel to a moving vehicle at any given moment is insane. The fact that 2005 and on Chevy Malibu cars have been recalled for this very issue already should make a open shut case!.. please, why must we lose a life in order to save a dollar!?
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Henrico, VA, USA