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Anyone experience power steering failure before? It is a 2017 Grand Sport with 3,236 miles, as shown in the picture below. Started the car up after work and found this message on the screen. I could not turn the steering wheel more than an inch in either direction, even with two hands and with the car rolling. Had it towed to the dealership for service. Ironically, once flatbedded to the dealership, the power steering came back online and it was fine.
Yes, here is a thread with several people saying they have experienced pretty much the same thing. Unless folks in the past just haven't posted about it, I wonder why so many of these issues are popping up all of the sudden. Certainly is a very concerning issue, especially if someone was going at any moderate speed.
Did the dealer find any stores codes? I'm the OP for the other thread that Bob posted and my car didn't store any codes, the dealer couldn't find any issue. Once I restarted the car it came back to normal.
Sorry for the duplicate thread, didn't notice the other one.
I dropped off my car after the dealership closed so they haven't had a chance to look at it yet. I'll report back when I hear from the dealership tomorrow.
VistaVette, did your power steering cut out while driving? Mine cut out when I started it up after being parked for 9 hours. It would have been a very dangerous situation if it cut out while in motion.
Sorry for the duplicate thread, didn't notice the other one.
I dropped off my car after the dealership closed so they haven't had a chance to look at it yet. I'll report back when I hear from the dealership tomorrow.
VistaVette, did your power steering cut out while driving? Mine cut out when I started it up after being parked for 9 hours. It would have been a very dangerous situation if it cut out while in motion.
Mine cut out while driving slowly in a parking lot. I parked, shut the car off, then restarted it and it was fine. I am somewhat worried that it'll happen again in a less opportune situation.
Mine cut out while driving slowly in a parking lot. I parked, shut the car off, then restarted it and it was fine. I am somewhat worried that it'll happen again in a less opportune situation.
Please post once you hear back from the dealer.
Yikes, that's scary. Glad you were driving slowly. This is a major safety issue. With 10" wide meaty tires up front, it is all but impossible to steer effectively without power.
I expect to hear back from the dealership in a few hours, will definitely report back when I do. I just hope they can diagnose the problem and not come back with "no codes, unable to reproduce". I also have an out of state road trip planned this weekend and I am worried that they'll give the car back to me without fixing anything.
I just finished speaking with the technician. You had some diagnostic trouble codes that specify we replace the power steering control module and steering rack as a unit. Unfortunately we do not have one in stock and General Motors does not have one to send us at this point. We have opened a special attention case with GM in order to find the part as soon as possible. As soon as I know more I will get in touch.
As has happened with a couple of other members who recently needed water pumps that were not in stock, you should escalate it to upper level GM mgmt. They are building new cars, so parts can be shipped from the factory, but that seems to take higher level mgmt. intervention. It's screwed up from a customer service standpoint, but it is what it is.
Call customer service and ask for an email address for GM CEO Mary T. Barra. Write a very nice letter, and tell her exactly what you've explained here, that you're being told no parts are available, with no promise of when they will be, and ask why the parts can't be shipped from the Bowling Green plant.
I just finished speaking with the technician. You had some diagnostic trouble codes that specify we replace the power steering control module and steering rack as a unit. Unfortunately we do not have one in stock and General Motors does not have one to send us at this point. We have opened a special attention case with GM in order to find the part as soon as possible. As soon as I know more I will get in touch.
While your situation isn't ideal (broken and no part available) at least there is a code record of the problem and an acknowledgment that it needs work. For me they just said no code, nothing we can do. Which means I just have to wait until it fails again.
As has happened with a couple of other members who recently needed water pumps that were not in stock, you should escalate it to upper level GM mgmt. They are building new cars, so parts can be shipped from the factory, but that seems to take higher level mgmt. intervention. It's screwed up from a customer service standpoint, but it is what it is.
Call customer service and ask for an email address for GM CEO Mary T. Barra. Write a very nice letter, and tell her exactly what you've explained here, that you're being told no parts are available, with no promise of when they will be, and ask why the parts can't be shipped from the Bowling Green plant.
Thanks for the tip. I will follow up on your suggestion.
While your situation isn't ideal (broken and no part available) at least there is a code record of the problem and an acknowledgment that it needs work. For me they just said no code, nothing we can do. Which means I just have to wait until it fails again.
Agreed, I feel better knowing that at least they are acknowledging there is a problem and doing something about it. Once the work is done, I can report back on what they did so hopefully it can help you with your diagnosis.
The power steering went on me the first time I test drove a C7 back in October of 2015. I could just barely turn the wheel. It happened when I was going around a corner and had to try to straighten it out. My shoulders and arms were sore for 2 weeks. I'll never forget the experience. But not having those parts in stock is a mortal sin in my opinion and I'm not even religious!
Update: Dealership said they opened up a "SPAK" (spelling?), which is essentially a special order requesting all other dealerships to check their inventory for this part, they must respond by a certain time and if they have it, they must give it up.
Per Foosh's suggestion, I have escalated this issue, currently working with a Senior Advisor, who is working with the dealership to locate this part and prioritize the inquiry. I will keep escalating it until I get somewhere.
I'll report back when I have more information to share.
The power steering went on me the first time I test drove a C7 back in October of 2015. I could just barely turn the wheel. It happened when I was going around a corner and had to try to straighten it out. My shoulders and arms were sore for 2 weeks. I'll never forget the experience. But not having those parts in stock is a mortal sin in my opinion and I'm not even religious!
I was told that this part is so rare because the 2017 is new and different from the earlier model years. This may explain why the issue seems to only affect 2017s.
Update: Dealership said they opened up a "SPAK" (spelling?), which is essentially a special order requesting all other dealerships to check their inventory for this part, they must respond by a certain time and if they have it, they must give it up.
Per Foosh's suggestion, I have escalated this issue, currently working with a Senior Advisor, who is working with the dealership to locate this part and prioritize the inquiry. I will keep escalating it until I get somewhere.
I'll report back when I have more information to share.
Actually, they do not have to give it up if they don't want to. I'm still waiting for a GS rocker panel. It was updated to a **** case, one dealer has it, won't sell it because "it's ordered for a customer".
Take my word for it, having a senior advisor, the GM area rep nor opening a **** case will get you back on the road. I strongly support what Foosh suggested, write a professional and polite email to: mary.barra@gm.com
Take my word for it, having a senior advisor, the GM area rep nor opening a **** case will get you back on the road. I strongly support what Foosh suggested, write a professional and polite email to: mary.barra@gm.com
Rick
Do you believe she actually reads these emails? I'm sure she has an admin that goes through her emails and filters out this kind of stuff. Can you imagine how many emails she must get in a day? I'm sure there are fair number from dissatisfied customers as well.
Well, it worked immediately for Rick (see post #17). Every CEO or agency head I've reported to has a staff specifically tasked with running down these types of issues.
The key is to write a polite letter leaving out all emotion and simply stating key facts that can easily be verified by her staff. Yes, a lot of whack job letters get weeded out, but the sensible ones usually get immediate attention.
You would be amazed how fast subordinates snap into action when the CEO's office calls and starts asking questions.
While your situation isn't ideal (broken and no part available) at least there is a code record of the problem and an acknowledgment that it needs work. For me they just said no code, nothing we can do. Which means I just have to wait until it fails again.
So in other words, wait for it to fail again which could possibly put your life in danger. Not sure I'd accept that scenario.
Power steering failure
