Bulletins


BulletinBulletin dateReplacement BulletinItem no.SummaryAdded
STEERING
SB-10-02-33-00106/01/201010036545Buick/cadillac/chevrolet/gmc/oldsmobile and hummer: information on pitman arm shaft seal service kit. do not replace entire steering gear for pitman seal leak. technicians have been replacing entire steering gears due to not being able to03/28/2011
07023200103/01/200710021450Reduced steering effort (diagnose/replace steering wheel position sensor). *kb04/27/2007
03023600208/01/200310012577Revised steering wheel position sensor or steering shaft lower bearing replacement procedure and steering wheel position sensor centering procedure. *eh03/07/2005
00023500302/01/2007000235003M10012089Clunking noise under hood and can be felt in steering wheel. *eh updated *eh updated. *kb02/11/2005
000235003E08/01/2004000235003F10011223Clunking noise under hood and can be felt in steering wheel. this bulletin replaces previous bulletin 00-02-35-003e. *tt01/11/2005
00299A01/01/200400299B10007570Noise from steering at low speeds. *tt07/01/2004
01634A01/01/200410007276Supplement to 00-02-35-003d - clunking noise under hood and can be felt in the steering wheel. *tt06/09/2004
0163401/01/200410007231Intermediate steering shaft service kit. service vme. *tt06/04/2004
03023500612/01/200410005165Revised steering wheel replacement procedure. *tt02/10/2004
000235003C04/01/2004000235003D10004716Clunking noise under hood and can be felt in the steering wheel. *tt01/02/2004
000235003B01/01/2003000235003A10000950Clunking noise under hood and can be felt in the steering wheel. *tt04/04/2003
20120112/20/2001629649Subject regarding steering clunk noise. *tt04/05/2002
17120112/17/2001629629Subject regarding steering shaft clunk condition. *tt04/04/2002
000235003G04/01/2005000235003H628884Concerns that clunk noise can be heard coming from under the hood also felt in the steering wheel. *tt updated *eh gm administrative message. *tt03/21/2002
STEERING - COLUMN
000235003N04/01/200810025148Clunking noise under hood and can be felt in steering wheel and/or steering column (replace upper intermediate steering shaft [i-shaft] assembly). *pe07/14/2008
STEERING - COLUMN LOCKING - ANTI-THEFT DEVICE
01023500304/01/2001619366The deletion of the steering column / wheel locking feature on vehicles with automatic transmissions. *tt05/24/2001
26030103/26/2001619240Some customers have been noticing and / or complaining that their steering column lock shaft does not lock. *tt05/21/2001
STEERING - GEAR BOX - SHAFT PITMAN
SB-10-02-33-00106/01/201010036545Buick/cadillac/chevrolet/gmc/oldsmobile and hummer: information on pitman arm shaft seal service kit. do not replace entire steering gear for pitman seal leak. technicians have been replacing entire steering gears due to not being able to03/28/2011
STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
33863386C10013533Lack of steering assist or shudder during parking lot type maneuvers. *tt04/21/2005
STEERING - LINKAGES - ARM - IDLER AND ATTACHMENT
34993499A10014899Steering idler arm inspection procedure. *tt05/11/2005
STEERING - LINKAGES - TIE ROD ASSEMBLY
030234001A10/01/200303023400110004766Inner tie rod released for service. *tt01/06/2004
STEERING - WHEEL AND HANDLE BAR
04090204/09/2002636519Some 2500 hd and 1500 hd crew cab models may exhibit a steering column rattle or noise especially during low speed parking lot turning maneuvers. *tt11/09/2002

Investigations


NHTSA IDManufacturerDate openDate closeSubjectRecall campaign
STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
EA04012GENERAL MOTORS CORP.04/30/200402/28/2005HYDRAULIC PUMP FAILRES05V005000
 Gm is conducting a recall on all subject vehicles build between may 1999 and october 14, 1999.significant changes were incorporated into production in early october 1999, and vehicles built after that date have lower warranty failure rates.the complaint and warranty data appear to support the effectiveness of these changes. gm made additional changes in november 1999, february 2000, may 2001, and february 2004.odi will continue to monitor this problem and will take further action, if warranted, in the future.for further technical details see the attached engineering analysis report.

Consumer Complaints


Fail datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
STEERING
10/01/2005109/15/2001
 I started having a clunking noise in the steering of my 2001 chevy silverado 4wd pickup. the dealer said the steering shaft needed to be replaced due to inadequate lubrication. it cost me over $300. after that, i spoke to someone else who had a similar problem. an online search suggests other people have had a problem like this, too. is this something that you need to look into? *nm
05/12/200575000101/26/2001
 Dt: problems began 10/04 when driving at low speeds, brakes would fail. dealer reported no problems. pulsating can be heard coming from brakes. contact has pulled the abs fuse to remedy problem. steering shaft: when making a left turn, slack is felt in the wheel, contact has the steering shaft twice. popping and grinding is heard when turning. *nm
12/01/200421300105/07/2001
 A clunking noise is heard in the steering column. *tc the dealer indicated that the problem was the intermediate steering shaft and that it wasn't a safety concern. the consumer believes that it is a safety concern because between 21,300 and 23,200 miles the noise had become progressively louder. *nm
05/10/2004420001
 While turning a corner at 10 mph consumer lost the ability to steer and brake. consumer had to use the emergency brake to stop the vehicle. *ak
04/28/20037000208/01/2001
 While driving, the consumer heard a popping noise coming from the steering. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection and the mechanic determined that the intermediate steering shaft needed to be replaced. *ak gm stated that the fault was on the engineering and could not be fixed permanently. gm offered an extended warranty for a period of time. *sc *jb
12/30/2003326631
 When the consumer applied the brake the pedal went down to the floor and there was no power steering. the vehicle was towed to the dealer where the technician determined that the steering belt failed. please provide any additional information. *nm
03/12/2001300406/16/2001
 While driving at any speed the vehicle drifted to the left and right. the owner made contact with the dealer multiple times, however the problem still existed. *nlm the vehicle pulled to the right and left while in motion. the right wiper did not clean the windshield. there was a rattle noise which had come from the dash area on the left side while the vehicle was in motion. the dealer found four missing bolts under the steering. due to the vehicle going to the left, the front calipers were removed, to check movement, the rear drums for dragging, binding, adjust and reassemble. *scc *jb
07/17/200328000110/03/2001
 There is a clunk or deep frequency rattle in the steering when making slow turns. gm has performed the repair with the kit for lubrication in the intermediate steering shaft once already. the problem has returned in only 6 months and 12,000 miles. as an engineer, i am concerned long-term that the problem will manifest into a safety issue resulting in loss of life while waiting for a final and complete repair solution.*ak
04/26/20031900008/14/2001
 A month ago i took my 2001 chevrolet ext cab silverado in for service because when i drove across parking lots with minor bumps i could feel a rattle in the steering wheel. they lubricated the intermediate u-joint in the steering column, there was gm kit provided for the repair. currently the steering feels loose and the vehicle drifts while traveling down the road. i personally jacked up the vehicle and assessed for looseness. the problem appears to be in the steering column. a clicking noise can be heard and felt when the steering wheel is turned back and forth. i will be taking the truck in for service this week. i don't think that gm is correctly addressing this problem and it may lead to accidents in the future. if a manufacturer prepares a kit for repair, it tells me that they have had numerous complaints of the same type of problem. i feel gm is taking the cheap way out by lubricating vs. the high cost way or replacing the faulty part. *nlm
2
 While driving, seat belt becomes very tight, giving a feeling of clostraphobia. took vehicle to dealer.*ak consumer stated tires vibrated at a speed of 45-50, consumer was informed that the tires were out of round, also when the vehicle is driven for awhile, it seems to miss speeds, when making hard turns in either direction, there is a whining noise coming from the steering, and in cool weather the steering is hard to turn, also the service engine soon light illuminated and the vehicle would stall while driving.*jb
02/25/200111101/20/2001
 While driving the vehicle under normal operating conditions is difficult to maintain control of because it will wander back and forth. dealership explained to consumer that brain is trying to over-correct while steering.*ak
STEERING - COLUMN
05/01/20056000050003/01/2001
 Tl*the contact owns a 2001 chevrolet silverado. while driving 5 mph, the steering column made a rattling noise and the vehicle shimmied. as the speed increased, the failure worsened. there was no steering loss or warning lights. the weather was not a factor. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer. the current mileage was 80,437 and failure mileage was 60,000.
11/11/2005102000308/28/2001
 Steering column intermediate shaft fails approximately every 30,000 miles. first failed at 30k, second 60k, third 100k. failure starts with light clunking sound and progresses to loud clunk and looseness in steering wheel. the dealer and gm acknowledge a problem including even the 2005 models. the quality of steering fell gets quite vague if not replace before noise gets loud. *nm
01/03/2005213001
 The vehicle's intermediate steering shaft failed and caused a clunking noise in the steering wheel. *nm *jb
STEERING - GEAR BOX (OTHER THAN RACK AND PINION)
12/18/200110010/01/2001
 When applying the brake the power assist steering fades to nothing after 1/8 turn making it almost impossible to manuver. the power steering pump and gearbox were replaced, the problem still exist . i have had the steering wheel jerk going around curves and having to apply the brake also. i believe this is a definite safety hazzard. gm states that this is just caracteristic of this truck, i do not feel it makes it ok. something needs to be re-engineered so that the power asist is at constant pressure. i am told by manufacturer that no one has been hurt so there is no problem. it should not come to that. if i, as a business owner produce a product that has a definite problem i cannot tell my customers that is just characteristic of my work, too bad, so why can gm do that? i would appreciate your assistance in reviewing this situation. thank you, bruce a. quigley. *ak
STEERING - GEAR BOX - SHAFT SECTOR
04/24/200530500103/20/2004
 The consumer stated he placed the camper onto the truck and the power steering and power brakes failed. just went a couple yards with truck and all at once power steering and brakes because of broken shaft.camper was a pull behind 30 ft. dealer reports that this was not the first time this had happened with this truck.
STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST - POWER STEERING FLUID
12/01/2001
 At 35 mph power steering went out. vehicle was towed to dealer. power steering unit was leaking and had to be replaced. on 17 june 2002 power steering went out again, it was found to be leaking. vehicle at dealer at this time.*ak
 Power steering fluid is leaking onto rack and pinion steering, rendering vehicle difficult to steer. dealer has inspected vehicle.*ak
STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST - PUMP
11/03/2005538361
 2001 silverado power steering failed when making a left turn. *ts *** no answer required*** *jb
06/15/200544401101/22/2003
 The event being reported is the power steering stopped functioning while my 15 year old was driving. there were no signs or warnings of this failure. we were fortunate that the failure occurred in our neighborhood. the failure has been corrected by our local dealer's repair shop replacing the power steering pump.
04/27/20021
 While driving 5-10 mph consumer applied brake, the pedal went to the floor , no braking action. dealer replaced power steering pump.*jb
04/27/2001
 While driving 5-10 mph powersteering went out, brakes as well. brake pedal went to the floor. vehicle was towed to dealer, ower steering pump failed, causing the brakes to fail, as well.*ak
12/18/200110010/01/2001
 When applying the brake the power assist steering fades to nothing after 1/8 turn making it almost impossible to manuver. the power steering pump and gearbox were replaced, the problem still exist . i have had the steering wheel jerk going around curves and having to apply the brake also. i believe this is a definite safety hazzard. gm states that this is just caracteristic of this truck, i do not feel it makes it ok. something needs to be re-engineered so that the power asist is at constant pressure. i am told by manufacturer that no one has been hurt so there is no problem. it should not come to that. if i, as a business owner produce a product that has a definite problem i cannot tell my customers that is just characteristic of my work, too bad, so why can gm do that? i would appreciate your assistance in reviewing this situation. thank you, bruce a. quigley. *ak
04/11/2002103/01/2001
 Power steering went out on vehicle, which also caused power brakes to become inoperative, delaer replaced the power steering pump.*ak.*jb
STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
06/18/200558000107/15/2003
 I own a 2001 chevrolet silverado 2500hd pickup truck that i purchased used in june 2003 with approximately 36,000 miles at the time of purchase. until recently, the truck had proven to be very safe and reliable. the truck currently has 58,000 miles on it. on july 18, 2005, my wife loaded our five-month-old daughter into her car seat and then proceeded to get in to drive. upon starting the truck, she pressed on the brake to shift. she then shifted into drive only to have the truck drift forward despite her braking effort. at that time, she also noticed that she could not turn the steering wheel at all. after significant effort, she was able to stop the truck from its very low speed. we towed the truck to a local chevrolet dealer to have them diagnose the problem and problem and provide a repair cost estimate. the dealer diagnosed that the power steering pump (pump) failed. the power brakes are hydraulically assisted by the pump rather than using engine vacuum assist. the dealer stated that the input shaft to pump had sheared in half. the dealer required me to pay a core charge since the pump was so severely damaged that they would not be able to return it for a core themselves. the repair total cost $356. the pump is located deep within the engine compartment. there are no means to externally damage the pump suggesting a material or manufacturing defect within the pump. the purpose of this letter is to call attention to a problem that could have resulted in the severe injury or death of my wife and daughter had the problem occurred while traveling at higher speeds. this power steering pump problem, if systemic rather than isolated, could pose a serious safety risk to the owners of these trucks and other people on the roads. i ask that you investigate the severity of this problem and how many trucks it affects, taking further action if necessary. *jb
11/15/2004180001
 While braking at 30 mph vehicle lost power steering. consumer managed to pull over, and had the vehicle towed. dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak
10/08/2004670001
 While driving 15 mph, vehicle suddenly lost power steering. vehicle was not able to be controlled. had the vehicle towed. at the dealership, the mechanic repaired/replaced the power steering pump. *ak
09/15/200435020307/19/2001
 When starting up the vehicle power steering and power brakes do not activate. the consumer started vehicle 10 minutes later and nothing happened. twenty minutes later, consumer started vehicle and this time everything worked. this problem occurred intermittantly. *ak *nm
240001
 Power assist steering faded to nothing while driving. dealer replaced major front suspension components, including tires, but the steering failure still persisted. the cause of the failure had not been determined. manufacture rwas not claiming any responsibility at this time. *ak
06/06/2001
 Bent and twisted fingers mr. ulatowski owns a building supply company and wears out a pickup truck every year or two because of the extensive driving. mr. ulatowski's fingers are crippled from holding the steering wheel. the index, middle and ring fingers of both hands are bent over the baby fingers. information submitted on the behalf of mr. ulatowski by mike tomich 989-665-2311 mr. ulatowski wishes his identy be held confidential. dt
09/19/2002108/01/2001
 I was south bound on one way street 30 mph into green light intersection. a west bound car failed to stop and struck rear panel behind drivers rear wheel. this started a spin and threw me against drivers window. i blacked out for a second and the tried to regain control. i hit brakes hard, but wheel continued to spin at 30 mph which caused me to spin in donut fashion. this threw me against a curb and broke off the left front wheel as the trucked skipped onto the sidewalk, spun across and sheared off a small 3 diameter tree. the truck continued to spin in donut fashion towards a boy scout building, i was finally able to take my hands off of the wheel long enough to throw into neutral and stop. the engine idles down to normal after shifting into neutral. all of the accident was in a direction to the southeast of the original impact, not to the southwest as would be expected. i feel the damage would have been slight if the throttle would not have stuck, probably just the rear panel of the truck. instead there was damage to all panels and doors on both sides of the truck, plus my injuries. the good thing is that no boy scouts were in the parking lot!!*ak
02/04/20022
 Engine stops instantaneously without warning. extreme safety problem in heavy traffic as power steering is lost. crankshaft position sensor has failed in both instances.
 While driving 20 mph brake and power steering pump broke. consumer rearended another vehicle with frontal impact. brakes did not take hold. consumer contacted dealer, and mechanic stated brakes should not have broken. *ak
03/09/2001102/01/2001
 No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak
STEERING - LINKAGES - ARM - IDLER AND ATTACHMENT
280001
 Consumer states while making a sharp turn consumer heard a clunking noise, and steering wheel became very loose. took vehicle to dealer, dealer replaced the pitman arm, and idle arm. shortly afterwars problem reoccured, and tie rods were replaced. *ak
STEERING - LINKAGES - TIE ROD ASSEMBLY
280001
 Consumer states while making a sharp turn consumer heard a clunking noise, and steering wheel became very loose. took vehicle to dealer, dealer replaced the pitman arm, and idle arm. shortly afterwars problem reoccured, and tie rods were replaced. *ak
STEERING - RACK AND PINION
08/28/200313000202/28/2001
 Rack&pinion steering was leaking and causing rapid/uneven front tire wear at 13000 mi.dealer replaced with remanufactured part that is now leaking again at 18000 mi. and is now making growling noise.dealer refused to align vehicle or replace either badly worn tire. defective rack & pinion caused loss of power steering fluid creating danger of loss of steering had it not been discovered.*ak
STEERING - RACK AND PINION - RACK
03/04/20015
 While driving 30 mph vehicle vibrated uncontrollably. consumer was able to maintain control of the vehicle, and drove it to the dealer for inspection. mechanic determined that the steering rack needed to be replaced, and replaced it four times. however, the problem recurred. *ak
STEERING - WHEEL AND HANDLE BAR
06/01/2001
 The engine started knocking upon cold start up at approx. eight thousand miles, and a problem started with a engine pinging noise(valve clatter) at the same mileage. the problems were reported to the dealer several times in which no attempt for correction was made on repairing the engine knock. the valve clatter problem has been worked on more than three times with no solution. now the problem is deemed unrepairable or as the dealer states normal as my reply is that the truck did not make any noise untill 8,000 miles, if the noise is normal why did it take 8,ooo miles for the problem to arrise. at the present time the engine knocks on both hot and cold start and valve clatter is experienced upon acceleration, constant speeds, and is the worst when trying to tow a trailer of less than 30% of vehicles max gvwr. the second problem is the bumping, knocking loose steering sensation felt in the steering wheel. this problem has also been worked on several times with no solution. i have recently been informed that there are new intermediate steering shaft parts that are suppose to fix my problem, but i am not being told of a completion or delivery date on this correction. my concern is that the steering is going to malfunction causing a accident. i have contacted the dealership many times with my concerns. the only replies i have received are yes there is a problem, but we don't know how to fix it, or will call you! it seems to me that a manufacturer that can design and manufacturer millions of vehicles should know how to fix what they produce. dt