"POOR RETURN OF STEERING WHEEL" or “After completing a turn, extra steering input is required for the steering wheel to return to center." I almost got into an accident because the steering wheel is very stiff and it is difficult to make left and right turns. It is only getting worse especially during cold seasons. My safety has been put at risk and can not comfortably drive my vehicle. I shouldn’t have to wait till I get into an accident for something to be taking seriously. I am nervous to drive my own car because I simply can not steer it. “This is a safety issue because it's not how a car is supposed to steer and because the rack is binding up and might eventually fail, causing it to lock up. It is especially dangerous in wet or snowy conditions”
2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV steering complaints
Page 5 of 5: complaints 101 to 126 of 126, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The steering wheel tracks the direction of turn it is not returning to center. This problem was reported and reproduced by dealer. The steering felt always different but we thought that on an electric car it should be that way until out son told us that this is wrong.
Vehicle and steering wheel will violently share for no apparent reason. Started after battery was replaced as part of recall. Tires balanced, and aligned. Only seem to happens when reach about 50% of battery capacity. Please help
The steering is very tight compared to other like models I have driven. I have, on several occasions almost had low speed collisions when turning. When turning at speeds below 45 MPH, the steering wheel will not return to center without applying what I would consider to be excessive force by the driver. The problem is worse when turning to the left. I feel that this is a safety issue as the wheel should return to center when released when in a turn at below highway speed. I purchased the car in 2020 when it had 27000 miles on it, and it exhibited the problem of tight steering at that time, although it seems to have gotten worse over the past two years. I recently posted on the Chevrolet Bolt Facebook forum asking if anyone had experience the same issue and if so, were they able to get it fixed. Multiple people responded that they had the same issue and some had fixed it by having the steering rack replaced. Soon thereafter, the post was removed from the forum by General Motors, and they contacted me via direct message. They were very insistent that they wanted to help me resolve the problem and took my information so they could arrange to have the problem diagnosed at a Chevrolet dealer. I agreed and gave them the VIN and my contact information. I made a service appointment at the dealer, and took the car in for diagnosis. The dealer kept the car for a day and they communicated to me that the steering did indeed feel tight, and that there was a service bulletin for that problem that involved reprogramming the computer that controlled the steering. They then said they test drove the car and that it was operating as it should. I picked up the car after paying their $125 fee for the service. After driving the car, I could tell no difference in the steering. It is still tight, and will not return to center when turning at speeds below about 45MPH. I communicated this service advisor and the Chevrolet representative. Both declined to be of any further assistance.
The steering on my 2017 Chevrolet bolt has a weird issue when driving highway speeds the steering feels loose and the steering wheel feels like it shaking back and fourth rapidly and making shuttering noises and the steering constantly veers while driving with any irregularity of a road surface. I have take my car to a repair shop and have good wheels and tires and had a wheel alignment service and they checked all suspension and steering component and the issue still persist. The shop told me the issue seems to be coming from the steering rack and the electric steering assist.
For some time now the steering wheel doesn’t return to center by itself. Sharp left or right turns , the wheels stay that angle when I let go of the steering wheel . I thought it would work itself out , but over the months it’s getting very noticeable. I feel for my safety .
Steering has to be manually turned back to center on any turns. New tires did not help. New alignment did not help. Reprogramming steering module did not help. This is dangerous as we are taught to let the steering bring itself back to center.
Since purchased 4/21/2022, the steering doesn’t return to center after turning. Feels like steering wheel is so tight that I have to turn wheel back after turning to be able to then go straight again.
My vehicle for months failed to correct back to straight from right turns. Later on the vehicle started making creaking noises when turning, especially tight turns. The car started to frequently turn itself tighter in right turns, where I would have to force the wheel back to straight or even compensate left to maintain a consistent turn. My local trusted mechanic diagnosed that the steering rack/gear is failing and told me I would lose all steering control should the part fail and that it was unsafe for me to continue to drive my vehicle. I had the vehicle brought to a dealership to do the work. Through discussions with other Bolt owners, this is a common problem for Bolts and particularly the 2017s.
Steering won't return to center; bad steering gear; steering sticking in one direction
The steering wheel/vehicle will not return to the center position after a turn. It requires manual effort to turn the steering wheel/vehicle back to the center position. If not, the vehicle will continue turning, thus creating an unsafe environment.
Steering does not return to center after making a turn. The steering wheel has to be pulled back to center. If my hands slip off of the steering wheel the car would lock into a turn. Yes dealer gave a price to fix. Dealer. No alerts.
Steering does not return to Center after Left or Right turns. It must be manually returned. Other Chevy Bolt owners report same condition on Chevy Forum.
The steering does not return to center after making a turn. Mechanic diagnosed as a faulty steering gear due to bad lubrication on the steering rack. Seems to be a known problem in the bolt EV community. Problem came on gradually and is now difficult to drive.
Steering did not return to center after a turn to right or left. The driver had to manually return the steering wheel back to center after a turn. The car was taken to a local GM dealer. The problem was diagnosed as internal damage and binding and the steering gear assembly was replaced. The replacement of the steering gearbox cost $2600. The problem appears to be currently fixed.
Bought a GM repurchased 2017 Chevy Bolt in July 2021 (the day of the total battery recall) and as with many, many others with this model year (per every Bolt group online and meetups), despite attempting an electronic fix twice ("relearn steering center") at both Allen Chevy, and Dave White Chevy, the issue of the steering getting stuck at about 45 degrees persists since purchase. I've contacted GM directly since purchase and taken 3 days off work, and now a 4th on Monday to get this "fixed." The problem is intermittent, so in my case, the steering gear is failing, and not completely binding yet. The intermittency has made getting this addressed impossible and quite frustrating. I have multiple videos I've sent to dealerships and GM. It's especially prominent on inclines, though I've not tried it on a decline. If you turn the wheel about 180 degrees it will mostly come back, but still needs assistance for the last 20-30 degrees. For less of a rotation (approx. 45 degrees), it gets stuck where I leave it which leaves you heading off the road or into traffic rather than centering as it should, obviously a safety issue. I drove other Bolts for an apples-to-apples and they did not have this issue. Nor does my personal or work car. So something is not physically functioning correctly and by all accounts is the steering gearing commonly failing on this vehicle JUST out of warranty.
The steering file to return to center after turning. It also sticks and binds making a audible noise when it breaks free from sticking.
The steering on my 2017 Chevy bolt does not return to center after making a turn (left or right). If you do a search, this is a common issue with Chevy Bolts and Chevy wants lots of money to fix it. I did pay Chevy to do do a software update (Service Bulletin #17-NA-148) which should have made the situation better but it made it (if anything) worse. I believe there is an issue with the steering gear and Chevy should issue a recall. Here is a recent discussion https://www.chevybolt.org/threads/steering-wont-return-to-center-bad-steering-gear-steering-sticking-in-one-direction.42988
The car has displayed a minor loss of steering power from when I received it as well as some tapping/banging from the underneath. I only recently reported it to the dealer since I thought that the loss of power was just electrical load issues under certain conditions. The dealer investigated and reported a broken steering gear. They found NO evidence that there was external damage causing this and told me to not drive the car until it is repaired.
The electronic steering has stopped automatically returning to center after turning - mostly right hand turns. Have seen other similar complaints on a Bolt forum where the entire steering mechanism had to be replaced. Our Chevy mechanic knew nothing about this but told us that this type of repair is out of warranty & would cost well over $1,000 to replace the components.
Steering wheel does not return easily to stationary position after being turned. As a result, wheel must be manually turned in order to straighten steering. This can be particularly cumbersome when in a deep curve or while maneuvering around parking lots, U-turn, etc.
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV. The contact stated while driving 40 mph, the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The contact stated that there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was diagnosed with needing a steering rack however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of failure and the contact was awaiting a response. The failure mileage was approximately 44,000.
The steering gear is failing to return the wheels to center. When you steer into a curve and you complete the curve the steering does not return to center, you must physically turn it back out of the curve. The steering wheel is tight but operates. This could be a problem for me to perform and it is hard to keep within the lines of a lane. Billion Chevy in Iowa City Iowa has confirmed the malfunction. This is a $2100 repair. There are many complaints online of this problem. Why is this not a recall???? They got a batch of bad steering gears in 2017.
Sway bar components and steering making noises and excessive movement. These issues were noticeable just after 3yr 36k limited warranty had expired (approx 23k miles on vehicle). Items later found to be faulty by dealership, GM gave significant pushback and offered limited assistance with repairs and claims the treat items on case by case basis. I have read multiple reports of these repairs being performed under warranty and with a few customers out of warranty with similar symptoms. It’s time to investigate Sway Bar and Steering turn signal switch and related component issues in Bolt EV 2017-19, possibly later and require GM to issue a recall.
Rear backup camera display freezes after placing vehicle in drive which may become distraction and create unsafe situation for driver while maneuvering in parking lot or on roadway while operating at higher speeds ' can be remedied by manually restarting infortainment system/powering off/restarting vehicle. I have seen system unfreeze for restart automatically while vehicle in motion which may cause distraction to driver and inability to adjust certain features of climate controls. Temporary loss of power to heating unit or inability to register change in fan speed (occurance once). Steering feels loose when initially moving steering wheel and component(s) making noise when turning steering wheel (resistant issue). Suspension makes loud creaking noise(s) when operating on uneven road surfaces or steep incline/decline. Steering/suspension have been ongoing issue since purchased in october 2020 ' will have dealership diagnose at possible owners expense. Date of steering issue will be utilized for section below.
The steering is binding and sticky. The car will not re-center it self in the road after making a turn. All of the oil apparently leaked out of this sealed rack and pinion and is now dry and you have to use extra effort to keep the car centered while driving and to make turns and be ready to fight it back to center once the turn is complete. Took the car to gm and they sold me a set of tires because they said the brand I bought at walmart 6 months ago was not recommended and said only michelin energy tires were recommended. Bought the tires and dealer called and said, well that didn't fix it, you need a steering rack replacement. By the way, you still owe us for the tires that we recommend that didn't fix your steering issue!
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