Recalls
| Campaign | Manufacturer | Manufacturing date | Type | # of units affected | Date Owner notified Mfg | Recall Initiated by | Manufacturers of recalled vehicles/products | Report Recieved Date | Record Creation Date | Regulation Part Number | FMVSS Number | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING | ||||||||||||||||
| 09E005000 | DORMAN PRODUCTS, INC. | E (Equipment) | 979 | 02/23/2009 | MFR | GENERAL MOTORS CORP. | 02/17/2009 | 02/17/2009 | ||||||||
| Defect Summary | Dorman is recalling 979 steering knuckles, dorman p/nos. 697-902 and 697-903, sold under dorman's oe solutionstm brand name, and napa p/nos. 7-8502 and 7-8503 which were sold for replacement use on the various vehicles listed above. a potential material or design defect could result in the steering knuckle breaking in the hub area. | |||||||||||||||
| Consequence Summary | A broken steering knuckle could result in loss of steering control and a possible crash without warning. | |||||||||||||||
| Corrective Summary | Dorman will notify owners and replace the defective steering knuckles free of charge and reimburse the repair facility or owner for labor. the recall began on february 23, 2009. owners may contact dorman's toll-free hotline at 1-800-523-2492. | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | This recall only pertains to aftermarket dorman steering knuckles and has no relation to any original equipment installed on vehicles manufactured by general motors corporation.owners may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov . | |||||||||||||||
Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING - ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM | |||||
| 070232003 | 05/01/2007 | 070232003A | 10021821 | Power steering clunk, knock noise. *kb | 06/21/2007 |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING | |||
| 10/06/2011 | 43000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2005 buick terraza. the contact was driving approximately 40 mph when the steering wheel involuntarily steered the vehicle into the right lane. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, but they were unable to diagnose the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but offered no assistance. the failure mileage was 43,000. | |||
| 10/06/2011 | 43000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2005 buick terraza. the contact was driving approximately 40 mph when the steering wheel involuntarily steered the vehicle into the right lane. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, but they were unable to diagnose the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but offered no assistance. the failure mileage was 43,000. kmj | |||
| 10/06/2011 | 43000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2005 buick terraza. the contact stated that the driver was driving approximately 40 mph, when the steering wheel involuntarily steered the vehicle into the right lane. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, but they were unable to diagnose the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but offered no assistance. the failure mileage was 43,000. sm. | |||
| 10/13/2005 | 1 | 07/15/2005 | |
| I own a 2005 buick terraza. bought the vehicle in july of 2005 at around 8000 miles noticed a vibration in the steering wheel ,took it to the dealer and they said the tires needed to be re-balanced. after i left dealership still noticed the vehicle shaking. went back to the dealership front tires are now going bald and they state it was my fault for not rotating at 5,000 miles. so they do it for me rebalance tires and say it is okay. after 4 times of going back to dealership for the vibration they say there is nothing they can do about it. so i am supposed to live with this vibration when driving at speeds of 65-70. this is a big safety issue since this will just lead to more problems down the road. the dealer points the finger to buick , buick points the finger back to the dealership and nobody wants to tack responsibility for this. *jb | |||
| 10/08/2005 | 6039 | 1 | 02/25/2005 |
| Steering locked up while driving 50 mph on a very busy four lane highway while i was in the fast lane, heading westbound. van decelerated to about 30 mph instantly, began swerving from right to left without ability to control movement of vehicle. the traction control light came on and the service stability system light also came on. could not turn off the traction control. had no control over the steering, brakes or gas. a very loud grinding noise was coming from the front of the van, sounding and feeling like every wheel was being turned in a different direction. i was able to turn the van a very hard left to steer it into an open lot, although i did have to pull in front of oncoming cars, but i had no other option as there were cars on the side of me and quickly coming up behind me. van was serviced at the dealer who said that the steering wheel sensor was faulty; case file started with buick, but after servicing, they closed the case, saying the problem was resolved. i will never drive this vehicle again and i feel there is still a major safety issue here. other sensors have been replaced, only to have those problems occur again. this van has been in for service repairs for 11 different things in the seven months that i have owned it, and it now only has 6036 miles on it. i feel that this van in particular is very unsafe and possibly other terraza's also have these same safety problems. this is something that the manufacturer should own up to and do the right thing and replace the vehicle before the unthinkable occurs.*jb | |||
| STEERING - COLUMN | |||
| 12/15/2005 | 7818 | 1 | 06/27/2005 |
| After making several turns to exit a parking lot i stopped at a stop sign at an exit, proceeded to cross westbound traffic and as i neared the median to turn onto the east bound lanes my steering wheel became locked with the car in motion. i headed straight through the median across one lane of east bound traffic and partially through the second east bound lane. heading straight toward a construction site i gave the wheel a turn to the left as hard as i could. key ring flew into the window, regained control of vehicle. engine cut out. coasted to a safe place and pulled aside. discovered the key was broken in ignition and another car key was bent approximately 40 degrees. noticed the plastic on the steering column around my cruise lever was damaged. realized another key became lodged into steering column behind the cruise lever locking the steering wheel. when i jerked the wheel, second key bent freed from the steering column and the ignition key broke in the ignition. started the engine with the broken key lodged in the ignition. i drove to the dealership where key was removed. i was charged $51.50 for new key. i have all keys and key ring. *jb | |||
| STEERING - LINKAGES | |||
| 09/10/2006 | 29000 | 4 | |
| Dt*: the contact stated the headlights flickered when the vehicle was driven 0-60 mph. when the vehicle was taken to the sales/service dealer, the problem could not be recreated. the voltage regulator was replaced, but the problem continued. the lights failed to remain bright enough to see well at night. the computer programming was reflashed. the vehicle also had an ongoing issue with the starter, sliding door opening by itself when the vehicle was parked or while idling in park. on one occasion, the child passenger fell out of the vehicle when the door opened. there were no injuries sustained. there was a problem with the steering which resulted in the contact side swiping a mailbox post on the side of the road. at a later date when the vehicle was parked in the garage, the vehicle caught on fire. there were no reports taken by the police or fire department. the manufacturer was notified and the service dealer towed the vehicle back to the dealership. | |||
| STEERING - LINKAGES - TIE ROD ASSEMBLY | |||
| 03/06/2008 | 31464 | 1 | 11/01/2005 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2005 buick terraza. the contact took his vehicle to an auto service center for a front end alignment and was informed that the tie rod ends were worn and needed to be replaced. he took his vehicle to buick and the tie rods were replaced. the current mileage was 33,000 and failure mileage was 31,464. updated 04/29/08 *bf the consumer stated the failure of the plastic seal on the tie rod was the problem. | |||