Buick Park Avenue ball joint problems

Filed Aug 19, 2016 · Tires · 172,542 miles · VA

Abnormal wear pattern, low mileage, new tire < 8 months service, alignment check / good, tie rods, ball joints, shocks like new. Tire cord/ belts bare exposed on outside edge of tire 1/3 of circumference. Worn smooth, no cupping. Possible rubber compound issue. Only abnormal wear found on 1/3 of tire rotation. Tire manufacture pirelli, near zero m/s p235/55zr 17, dot ns ek f661 5014 estimated <10,000 miles pictures available

Filed Dec 21, 2009 · Body, Steering · 180,000 miles · IL

Three of the four rear sub-frame bolts rusted away, allowing the sub-frame to drop on one side affecting the alignment of the front wheels. This is due to the fact that the lower control arm for the suspension is attached to the sub-frame. If the fourth bolt was rusted as bad as the other three, the whole engine and transmission would drop along with the lower control arms and steering linkages dismounting causing total loss of steering. Please call or e-mail for VIN #-- I am away from home and do not have VIN at this time.

Filed Jul 11, 2009 · Steering · 134,000 miles · NC

My wife came home and stated this car was driving wobbly and making a noise.I inspected vehicel and found the following. Vehicle steering rack seperated from cradle..first noticed loud noise when steering rotated lock to lock..visual inspection could see tie rod contacting right side unibody rail...closer inspection found casting or rack housing cracked and seperated from it's mounting point on right side..this allowed steering rack to lift up and bind against right rail or vehicle inner structure...loss of steering and control when attempting to steer vehicle.

Filed Sep 17, 2007 · Body, Suspension · 134,500 miles · NJ

Two days before the incident I started having an alignment problem with the car. I had the car over a relatives house a half mile from my home, and decided to drive the car home and have it towed to the dealer from their. On the drive home, the right front control arm separated from the subframe (engine frame or cradle) at the after bracket which resulted in the right half shaft failing. This happened as I was turning into my development. The subframe was seriously corroded. I had the car towed to the dealer and the subframe and half shaft replaced with new parts. I contacted buick customer service to complain about a major structural failure on the car. They declined to offer any reimbursement for the repair, due to the vehicles age (nine years) and mileage (134,500). I maintain that the failure should not have occurred, and could have resulted in a serious or fatal accident had it occurred at highway speeds.

Filed May 1, 2006 · Body · 104,523 miles · MI

The "cradle" of the frame of our 1997 buick park avenue failed by rusting through. I've been driving the car for several weeks and it has been wallowing all over the road, hopping sideways when I hit bumps, pulling to the left when I braked and one of the front tires started squealing when I went around a corner. I've been trying to convince my husband that something was amiss with it and perhaps it needed an alignment. He finally drove it yesterday, realized there was something seriously wrong, and discovered the part of the frame where the engine rests, and where the wheels are attached, was rusted completely through at a spot weld near where the tie rod is bolted on. It's only by the grace of god that it didn't completely fail and result in a injurious accident, or perhaps even death. I shudder to think what might have happened when I play back in my head, driving on I-696 in the rain, in detroit, at night, with my friends coming home from a night at the fox theatre, or when my sons and I went out for my birthday. Would I be able to control the car if the front wheel fell off at 70 MPH? My brother works for jeffery buick-nissan in roseville, mi. I talked to him about it this morning. He says the frame should not have rusted through in a nine year old car. In fact, he said there was another 1997 bpa in his shop with the same problem. I can't even remember hearing about a car frame rusting through, ever. In any car. It stands to reason that if there are two 1997 buick park avenues with the same problem, at the same time, there are probably more. I realize the car is nine years old, but surely, something as fundamental as a car frame can be expected to last longer than nine years. I believe it was a manufacturing flaw and the manufacturer should repair it. Since this just happened yesterday, I've made no attempt to repair it yet. My brother will look at it first and direct me. The car is not drivable. I'm stranded.

Filed Aug 9, 2005 · Steering · 33,939 miles · FL

Dt: 2001 buick park avenue. The consumer states that the vehicle was taken to the service department on july 14, 2005. They found that the driver's side tie rod had gone bad. The vehicle had only 33,939 miles on it. The consumer decided to have both tie rods fixed. There have been no problems with the vehicle since it was replaced.

Filed Apr 28, 2005 · Body, Suspension · NE

1) customer lost steering of car 2) lower control arm mount broke from frame; mount was not fully welded to frame. (have photos and old frame) 3) replace complete sub frame

Filed Aug 6, 2004 · Body, Steering · 152,000 miles · WI

Aug4,2004: :15am on my way to work for an early start I was 2 minutes into my drive. I noticed a slight loss of assist from the power steering. The symtoms were typical of a slipping belt or low power steering fluid. From the stop at the corner of hillside and hwy60 I proceeded to turn right, but as I straightened the wheel entering the right lane the steering went tight with a clunk and the steering wheel was freewheeling. Before I could stop I found myself in the left lane staring down a semi coming down the hill. Fortunately he was alert and had enough room to stop. I talked to the driver and suggested backing my car up to the shoulder on the right side (north) of the road. The angle of the tires if they held current position would place me on the shoulder just east of hillside. The semi blocked all traffic from the west and when the east traffic cleared I proceeded. I went about ten feet and then the tires turned and I was sitting 90degree to the road blocking the left lane. At this point all I could do was direct traffic around my car. With the help of two good gentlemen we directed traffic until a tow truck arrived. In the past I have had vehicles with worn parts. Tie rod ends, upper and lower ball joints, or idler arm. Failure is incremental over days or weeks. Symptoms of shuttering or pulling indicate the car needs servicing soon. Never has any component just failed with a loss steering. This time was different; the failure was catastrophic. An instant loss of steering as the whole cradle dropped. Furthermore this problem is not new or unheard of. The following web page indicates a recall to cars of similar design as far back as 1988. C:\winnt2\profiles\gfenske\desktop\its not hot in death valley and it doesnt snow hard in buffalo.htm recall # 00v‑189,number cars recalled 713,435 front engine cradle bolts pull through corroded retainers & steering shaft separates.

Filed May 23, 2003 · Steering · 20,750 miles · AZ

Took car in for allignment and was informed that front outer tie rod ends which are supposed to be lifetime lubricated had failed. Had noticed some small problems with steering which is why I took it to dealer. Learned that they have had other cars with same problem. A steering defect is serious to me and I believe someone should look in to this and see how many cars like mine may have the same problem and you don't know about it unless you take it in for an allignment.

Filed Sep 30, 2002 · Suspension · NJ

Consumer states that the left rear control arm broke while turning a corner . Dealer and manufacturer has not been notified at this time. Nlm