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.
ESC displays across driver info center when driving at any speed, followed by no power steering. Problem is intermittent, seems to happen in wet/cold weather. Based on forums this is a common problem and requires a steering wheel sensor
Was driving home from work on Friday and the power steering went out and I almost ended up in a field, could not turn it. Stopped and turned it off and back on again and it went back to normal, and it went out again as I was pulling into the drive. The next day I started car up and it had its warnings across my dash and the steering was out again. I just picked it up from the shop and it cost me $1562 to get it repaired. The steering assist motor, a new steering column(electric) and R&R steering column w/sgl switch and new turn signal switch. It's all connected. I have yet to find a recall for my car on my VIN number but yet there were a few recalls on many cars including my 2009 Malibu for this exact issue but yet I never received anything in the mail about it. I hope that they intend on doing something about this, I could have been killed while trying to take a curve and had to struggle just to keep it on the road in the other persons lane until I could get pulled off the road and out of the way. From reading all that I have read on here it seems that I am not the only one with the issue.
Post recall repair for breaklights, break lights stay illuminated when not pressing the break pedal. 3rd break light doesn't always turn on. Random episodes of car sputtering and then dash warnings including: Service ESC, service traction, service hill start. Head lamps requiring replacement every 3 to 6months.
Driving down the interstate yesterday and started feeling small jerks in the steering wheel. Like something on the other side jerking it in my hand. Not enough to move the car just in my hand. Now today go outside, crank it and steering wheel will not move. The ESC and power steering indicators came on.
Vehicle has had power steering assist quit twice on two separate occasions while in a turn on county roads. Complete loss of power steering mid turn. Motor has been replaced once and is having the same problem again.
- Carthage, IN, USA
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My vehicle has lost steering after starting several times over the last week. My info screen displays an ESC and power steering message and my steering wheel is locked in place. Once the car is shut off and restarted the messages go away and steering is back to normal. I have found a recall related to this on certain vehicles of my year/make/model and also many forums of people having the same issues. However, when searching by VIN it says my vehicle has 0 recalls. I have also noticed when my vehicle is stopped, or in park my steering wheel will shake for a moment and then stop.
Power steering goes out and the traction control light comes on and service ESC message comes across the message center. Turn the car off and back on and the light goes out, power steering comes back for a second then the light trips again and it's out again. I have lost power steering while driving down a highway and also while backing out of my driveway. It is not safe to drive this car. If I am in the middle of a turn and I loosing power steering, I have to slow down and pull over to turn off the car and hope that power steering turns back on.
When driving my vehical all of a sudden the lower stearing went out and all these warning lights come on. It's super hard to steer I have 3 kids that ride in this car everyday and it's very dangerous. Also my headlight drivers side has gone out 4 times in the past 6 months and its very expensive to fix!
The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated on several occasions while driving, the drivers side headlight and rear brake lights became inoperable. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be repaired. The parts replaced was not stated by the contact. A dealer was not contacted. The contact referenced the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 14V252000 (service brakes, hydraulic, electrical system, exterior lighting, vehicle speed control, electronic stability control). The manufacturer was not contacted or informed of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 113,000.
While sitting idle my steering wheel shakes erratically. Sometimes when I start the car the service ESC and power steering shows on my dash, when I turn the car off and back on again it will not appear again and the steering is back. The steering wheel shakes while driving if I turn the steering wheel slightly to one side it stops. It seems to happen when it is very cold out.
Driving and ESC comes on and power steering shuts off. Pulled to safe place, which was hard without power... and turned car off but it happened again shortly there after.
Driving on a major expressway. The steering wheel locked up. Not allowing me to steer or control the direction the car was traveling in. Heart racing, I shifted the car in neutral.turned the ignition switch on and off several times, while still traveling at 55 miles per hour. The ability to steer came back. This is my daughter, S car. The car has sat while she repair things the dealer suggested to repair, before the steering could be checked. A module control sensor was just repaired this week. Jan.6,2020
I lose power steering while I'm driving. I have to stop and restart my car. After driving a few minutes the light comes on and says ESC and I lose power steering again.
Over the past week, my vehicle was sending me a ESC service message and I noticed there was something wrong with my power steering. This happens when my car is turned on. The power steering turns itself to manual steering making it hard to turn. I have to turn the car off resetting it to make the power steering work again. While the car is in motion the steering wheel is pulsating and I'm afraid it will go into manual steering. I brought it down to my mechanic and he informed me it was a torque sensor. He then said he did some research and found there was a recall back in 2014 (bulletin 14116B.) this bulletin explains the exact same symptoms my car is having. He called hurd Chevy in johnson ri and they told him there was a recall. I then called hurd and they told me there was no recall for my vehicle and there was nothing they could do. I then called the dealership where I bought my vehicle (diamond Chevy, auburn MA) and spoke to an advisor named sean. He told me there was a recall but the special extended warranty expired 3/25/19 and there was nothing they could do. I then contacted GM on their website and explained to them the situation. They told me there was no recall for my vehicle and there was nothing they could do. The problem is, I never received anything notifying me of this recall. It sounds like diamond knew about the recall but they never contacted me or fix it the last time I was there for maintenance. Now I'll have to pay over $500 out of my own pocket to have my vehicle fixed. I have provided bulletin 14116B and the paperwork my mechanic researched and gave me.
Power steering will work when it wants to some days it works all day other days it wont work at all and some days I loose power steering while driving my power steering light and service ESC lights come on when power steering fails this is a scary problem to have when transporting my 4 kids
The car will display an ESC service light and then the power steering will go out once that happens. When you turn the car off then back on the light goes away and then the power steering will go out again and the ESC service will display again.
Over a period of 7 days mid-Nov-2019, brake lights would work backwards. Depressing pedal, brake lights off. Pressing gas pedal brake lights on. Within a few minutes, service ESC/traction msg. Shut car off, restart, everything worked fine. Started as weather turned cold/damp. Happened both stationary and moving. Brought it to dealer, "could not replicate problem".
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Lum, MI, USA