Tl*the contact owns a 1997 chevrolet astro van. While driving at speeds of 30 MPH, the vehicle lost power and stalled. The contact stated the odometer and other unknown lights on the dashboard failed. The vehicle was diagnosed by an independent mechanic and advised the contact there was a computer failure in the vehicle. The vehicle was diagnosed by two additional mechanics which advised the contact of the same failure. The contact had not informed the dealer or the manufacturer. The VIN was not available. The current and failure mileages were not available. Updated 07/26/10. *lj updated 08/06/10
1997 Chevrolet Astro: sudden loss of power
12 of the 359 complaints about the 1997 Chevrolet Astro describe sudden loss of power.
- owner complaints
- 12
- of this car's complaints
- 3%
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? 11 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below
Sudden loss of power by model year
What owners say
While driving at low a speed, the vehicle suddenly lost power steering and brakes.this was caused by the steel rod shaft breaking in the power steering pump. The mechanic stated the hydro boost system had malfunctioned.
While traveling 30-40mph applied brakes to stop and had no brakes, pedal was hard and resisted, did not hit anything, lost all power steering however, engine still running, had to shut down vehicle and restart it. Contacted dealership, but no solution was found. *ak
Power steering pump shaft breaks without any indication that a malfunction has occurred which results in loss of power steering and brake control.
While driving about 70 MPH engine was making noise. Power steering and power brakes were affected.technician said that problem was with idler pulley and tension pulley.*ak after explosion like sound under the hood, the tensioner pulley disintegrated causing loss of power steering and power brakes.
Occurance 1) engine stopped without warning while approcahing an intersection. The resulting loss of power caused a severe control problem with the van. The reason for the failure was the fuel guage read 3/4 and the van ran out of fuel. Occurance 2) the fuel guage has totally stopped functioning, after topping off and proceeding onto highway I drove for 1/2 hour at 65, a sudden slam occured 2 or three times, appeared to be the engine cutting in and out, slowed to 55 and continued for 150 miles without further incident. Occurance 3) vehicle has no fuel guage, I am told it's out of warranty, even if full the vehicle seem to loose control momentarally, as if to loose power.
Engine has been cutting off excessively, causing a loss of power steering and power brakes. Dealer can't find the problem.
Intermittently vehicle will lose power and stop in traffic. Dealer cannot determine cause. Also, consumer noticed a white pasty fungus growing which is eating through the metal and carpet.
After coming to a complete stop then accelerating, transmission shifts abruptly from 1st to 2nd gear. Tsb's posted by gm on the transmission model 4l60-e. This transmission is used in several model trucks/vans/SUV's. Your site and other web sites post complaints on this unit from various truck owners, with the same problem. Gm refuses to participate in repairing these transmissions. Owners must pay for repairs/transmission replacements. If transmission were to suddenly go out while acclerating, vehicle would lose all power and could not avoid being struck by another vehicle, potentially causing injury and/or death of van occupants.
While backing out of a driveway at 10 MPH consumer lost power steering and brake control. Consumer had to pump the brakes until vehicle came to a stop.
Sudden and simultaneous loss of power brakes and steering. Dealer noted broken shaft in power steering pump. This failure could have resulted in a very serious accident.
While driving, the vehicle lost all engine power and power steering. The gas guage read "e", however five minutes later it read "f". Dealer stated that there may be a problem related to the float in the gas tank.
Service bulletins that may apply
- Expanded Availability for Remanufacture and Return (R&R) Electronic Control Modules
- Engine and engine cooling
- Service engine soon light and P0300 when towing, cruising uphill or on hard acceleration
- Boom type noise during engine warm up
- Rattle noise in engine
- Engine coolant leak at intake gasket
- Concerns with boom type noise during engine warm-up heard in the vehicle passenger compartment
- Revised diagnostic trouble code (DTC) P0146 HO2S circuit insufficient activity bank 1 sensor 3
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 1997 Chevrolet Astro loss of power
Is sudden loss of power a common problem on the 1997 Chevrolet Astro?
12 of 359 owner complaints about the 1997 Chevrolet Astro (3%) mention sudden loss of power. The model year with the most reports is 1997.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 1997 Chevrolet Astro?
There are 0 recalls and 11 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 1997 Chevrolet Astro
Wipers 30Brake failure 15Jerking 13Transmission failure 13Power steering loss 11Pulling 10Fuel pump 9ABS 8Fuel gauge 8No deployment 7Power windows 7Fire or smoke 6Harsh shifting 6Slipping 6
VIN decoder
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