Nothing to do with GM. Quality control only applies to physical parts not to software.

GM doesn't even build the part Bosch does. GM has only testing on DV (Design Validation) and PV (Production Validation) parts, before PPAP (basically certifying the product for launch). That's done once per program or part (if it's carried over).

Hardware changes are retested in a limited fashion in terms of a shortened PV test to verify nothing went wrong.

SW is a whole other ball game. GM specifically is very hands off with supplier SW. They require the supplier to implement the interface so the module can communicate in the car as well as be diagnosed by GM technicians. However the core SW is typically owned by the supplier.

Suppliers have a rigorous testing procedure for the SW and share the results of such tests with GM. However GM has limited understanding of these results. Further this testing is done with a base calibration ONLY.

The calibration guys also do testing with each release but this is mostly in regards to stability and performance not in terms of diagnostic reaction (which is only tested with the base cal at the SW level).

 

This is my simple minded guess.
Pretty often weird intermittent problems can be due to a bad connection.
I tried pushing on all the connectors and cables while car was running to see if it would go out, but didn't do anything.

I assume you have a lot of miles on it since they fixed it ?

 

FWIW, we have two 2014 Chevrolet C1500 High Country trucks, as well as a 2017 2LT Z51 Stingray. About a week ago my wife was looking at data from her MyChevrolet app on her phone, specifically from 'her' truck. One of the app options is 'check for recalls'. You guessed it, 'Loss of steering assist at slow/low speeds, followed by immediate recovery, usually one second or less'. The published fix is a re-flash of the controller firmware. One of our trucks just passed 40k, the other is at around 32k IIRC. Haven't had any occurances yet, but reading this thread does make me wonder just how old this issue is, as a system.

 

​​​​
Similar, but our cars reset once shut down and restarted

 

Steering in the Silverado is a Nexteer unit. Different supplier, different software, different hardware. Zero in common.

 

According to J.D. Power Initial Quality Study, Porsche 911 ranked highest in its segment, receiving the J.D. Power Award as the vehicle with the highest level of initial quality in the premium sporty car segment. At the same time, the 911 sports car has the highest initial quality in the entire study owing to an extremely low number of consumer-reported problems.

I seriously doubt Porsche trusts the suppliers to validate the PS that goes into the 911. Corvette obviously is not meticulous about quality control and therefore its PS units regularly fail.

 

^^^^^
Please. Corvette power steering units do not "regularly fail"....gotta love the internet.

 

How do you define "regular?" A 2017 GS with under 1000 miles should not have any PS failures, let alone 3 in 3 days.

Combined with the A8 failures, Corvette quality control is seriously lacking.

 

You don't have to beg. There are two threads going now with multiple people with 2017's who's PS is failing on a regular basis, mine has cut out 5 times so far. These forums only represent a tiny fraction of Corvette owners which tells me that there are a lot of others experiencing the same issue. So, in this case, Corvette PS units DO "regularly fail'

 

Thank you sir, it is always appreciated when we have in depth information. Now I get to anxiously await future events on three fronts.

 

Porsche also has a Bosch system. It's got a lot of the same parts as the Corvette. The SW is controlled nearly the same way.

 

Problem is you don't have multiple failures. You have a single failure that for some reason recovers on a fresh key cycle.

In this thread there are maybe 3 or 4 people with failures. The frequency at which your specific unit fails is irrelevant. The unit if it actually fails more than twice (and I don't mean reduces for temp) then the unit is bad.

There are some DTCs which are tested at ignition on (which is not the same as cycling your cars ignition, PS takes 1-3 minutes to shutdown after the car is off).

If I were to guess you have a latched fault for a "minor" hardware failure. These types of failures shouldn't be recoverable, but in some rare cases the unit actually fails, but on reboot thinks it's OK and turns on (because the hardware passes the power on test). Then you drive and the part of the hardware fails (again) and removes assist. The part in this instance needs to be replaced. And you should unplug it and drive manual until you do.

BTW, that's not normal, and is an "edge case" failure.

 

You are having the same failure over and over again. Your steering for some reason on power on is passing the hardware when it should be failing it. You need to unplug it.

BTW, statistically speaking those people with issues are 10-20 times more likely to be vocal than those who are not. The amount of failures here is actually not indicative of the population. It's much higher. People come to forums mostly to complain. So your logic is backwards on that.

 

I'd be interested to know the DTCs of any unit that gets replaced. With that info i could potentially describe possible failures. The exception is the "garbage dump" DTC. There is one called like "General Electronic Failure" which could be a multitude of things.

In regards to the latched faults I've been talking about sometimes its a combination of conditions and the nearly failed part to actually trip the failure. To explain that let me use an example.

Back in the day when I worked on a specific program, we had a failure related to ECU temp and current. So when the ECU was over a certain temp (below operating temp but above cold start temp), and then drew a specific current it would have a failure (this was due to a bad batch of parts). However the power on current draw test always passed because the cold start temp was preventing the part from failing. This obviously was due to a batch of bad parts, and not normal.

So I'd venture, if these units are actually bad, it's a combination edge failure and quality spill. So not typical, but they do happen (this is by far the biggest reason for recalls). We will know of these are isolated cases or not if a recall gets issued or not. If it's not a recall it could be something more benign like the parts got mis handled (or dropped) before being installed. Power Steering units hate being dropped, they usually break inside (look fine on the outside usually as well). Electronics are not very robust to 2-3 foot drops usually.

 

I agree. In this case, it sounds like a bad batch of parts. Until the very recent multiple threads on PS failures involving newer MYs, I don't recall seeing any similar reports.

 

I don't understand why GM has not being more focused toward the Quality of their main flagship sport car: The Corvette.
The car is an amazing car, beautifully designed and with great top performance, but their reliability is questionable compared to the new 6th. Gen Camaro that almost doesn't have any complaint.
1.- Some engine failures on the first year of the Stingray and Z06.
2.-Overheating at the track.
3.-Many issues reported by owners of the new A8 automatic transmission.
4.-7 speed manual transmission skipping shifts issues.
5.-And now on '17 that GM focused to take care of the overheating issues specially of the A8 automatic transmission, now they throw the ball again with the change of some components on the electronic steering wheel system, creating problems where there were none, this is completely stupid coming from GM that now created a very hazardous driving condition. I was looking for a brand new Stingray, and now I don't know if to only focus toward the '16 year, before GM's steering update or instead getting a '17 Camaro SS 1LE which probably would not have any bothering issues, I hate to have to take any car to the repair shop for unnecessary reasons, looks like GM has to take care of their quality department of not doing their job. I have a '14 Camaro ZL1, and never had to go to the shop besides the ordinary maintenance service. What changed at GM? These issues are a f....g disgrace, Corvettes are $55+ cars not a Yugo disposable car.

 

If you think that a machine such as a car which is incredibly complex (probably the most complex electro-mechanical item you will buy in your life) is going to be able to be manufactured with zero defects over the life of the product, you are delusional. I don't mean this as an insult, I mean this as an educational point.

All cars have problems, and while you look at these items as "serious" versus "not serious" problems, statistics is statistics, parts will fail, manufacturing defects occur, and there is only so much quality control and engineering can do. Things are not perfect, and the mathematics behind them doesn't change. Quality defects can happen to any part and any manufacturer. So can design defects, look at the Takada airbag fiasco as a great example of a huge issue.

But back to my main point, just because you had no issues with your '14 Camaro and these people are having issues with their '17 Corvettes is not indicative of a process breakdown or a sudden lack of attention on GM's parts. Hundreds of people work with hundreds of suppliers to build these products. Sometimes **** happens, this is life. Usually a lesson is learned and it gets filtered back into the process thru continuous improvement, so if anything later model year cars are always better than earlier ones in terms of process, save for the quality spill (which as I'll say again are unavoidable).

Oh and BTW the new Camaro uses a Bosch gear which is a cousin (same SW and a lot of shared hardware) as the Corvette. The ATS, CTS, also use these electronics and much of the same hardware. Not that this should change anything, do you see ATS's and CTS's right now with issues?

I really think people's expectations are not in line with reality, and before anyone says other manufacturers don't have these issues, that is categorically false, they all do (yes even Toyota does), some just handle them better (and therefore the customers are happier and do not complain). If you want a simple car that does not break and you can fix it all yourself you have to go back to the 1970's.

 

Which year was the C7?

 

It was a 2016. I think it was an anomaly. I have not heard of any other 2016s with that issue.

 

Thanks for the info joemessman