I was making a left turn and the steering locked and there was a loud bang. I wasn't able to complete the turn causing me to drive off the road and onto a lawn. The steering wheel wouldn't go back to the correct position and it seemed to be in manual steering mode. I could barely move the wheel. The car is not drivable at this time.
1997 Buick Century: steering wheel locks up
5 of the 106 complaints about the 1997 Buick Century describe steering wheel locks up.
- owner complaints
- 5
- of this car's complaints
- 5%
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? 3 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below
Steering wheel locks up by model year
- 20012
- 19992
- 19983
- 19975
What owners say
1) car needed towed to garage for starter failure. As it left the garage the steering locked up and sent car almost into oncoming traffic with 2 children in the car. There had been no other warnings of a problem. 2) it happens every time the steering is turned one direction then back to the other. It does not just come back. Especially to the left. I almost crashed 4 times just trying to get it home. 3) I filed an insurance claim on the tow company thinking they were responsible. They looked at it and said they found nothing wrong, that nothing was bent. After getting on line and investigating, I learned of this steering problem. It matches it perfectly. I had someone knowledgeable of mechanics look at the car and they said the steering gear rack needs replaced and not to drive the car as it is. It is to dangerous to drive. I also just had new intake manifold gasket from the decool problem gm has. Now I have a car that I can't drive and can't afford to fix. Nobody assumes liability and I think gm should have had this recalled and corrected.
1997 buick century-steering locks up randomly causing loss of vehicle control.
1997 buick century-steering locks up randomly causing loss of vehicle control.
Power steering locked up when making left turns. The steering wheel either locked, did not go into the full turns or was very difficult to turn. Dealership indicated that there was a defect in the rack and pinion as described in steering gear bearings recall 03v527000. However, this vehicle was not included in the recall due to VIN.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 1997 Buick Century steering lock-up
Is steering wheel locks up a common problem on the 1997 Buick Century?
5 of 106 owner complaints about the 1997 Buick Century (5%) mention steering wheel locks up. The model year with the most reports is 1997.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 1997 Buick Century?
There are 0 recalls and 3 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 1997 Buick Century
VIN decoder
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