Tl* the contact owns a 1997 chevrolet lumina. While driving 35 MPH, the steering wheel seized without warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The technician diagnosed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 228,890.
Chevrolet Lumina steering lock-up problems
28 of the 2,945 owner complaints about the Chevrolet Lumina describe steering wheel locks up, most of them for the 1997 model year.
- owner complaints
- 28
- worst model year
- 1997
- typical mileage
- 100,000
Is there a fix? There are 2 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
What owners say
While driving, my car will just suddenly cut off and this occurs whether stopped at the light or while pressing the accelerator. The volt light comes on and the car just cuts off and the steering wheel locks up. My local chevrolet dealer (youman's chevrolet, macon, ga) tried to find out what was the problem by running diagnostics, but could never determine the cause. Since the problem continued to occur, and wondering if the problem could be due to the age of the car, I parked the car and purchased another car in may, 2013. The car is still parked in my yard. I decided to report this because this seems to be the same thing that is happening to the other gm cars but my model is not part of the recall. I know that there are many 1999 luminas still being driven and you need to know that this has happened.
Tl* the contact owns a 1992 chevrolet lumina. The contact was driving 30 MPH when the steering seized. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where the mechanic confirmed that sub frame that controlled the rack and pinion was corroded and detached from the vehicle. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileages were 100,000.
My husband was driving to work when an elk ran out infront of him. He swerved left to avoid the elk, the car or wheels or steering wheel locked up and the car was thrown to the right causing it to roll 4 to 5 times.
Ten months after the rack and pinion bearing/ steering recall 03v527000 repairs were performed it failed. While making a left hand turn the steering wheel locked up, causing the vehicle to go into a spin and crash into a guard rail. A mechanic inspected the vehicle after the crash and indicated that the rack and pinion broke.
Rack and pinion steering locked while the consumer was making a left hand turn. Dealer stated there was a recall for this defect.
While making left hand turn into a parking lot, the steering wheel locked up. The driver hit a parked car and both air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for analysis and the mechanic noticed that rack and pinion needed to be replaced. *ak recall#03v527000 *sc *jb followup letter sent by consumer. Consumer states that gm purposely desrtoyed the defective parts before they could be examined by an independient party. The vehicle crashed due to a low speed left hand turn steering failure which was documented before the recall occurred. Lower pinion bearing separation was mentioned on a local media channel as the reason for the recal 1997 chevy luminas
At low speed the steering locks. If feels as if the vehicle has shut off.
While making a right turn into the parking lot steering wheel locked and consumer's vehicle hit a parked vehicle. No injuries reported. Vehicle was towed to dealer, and mechanic determined that rack and pinion steering needed to be replaced.
Reimbursement for recall repairs made to 1997 chevrolet lumina.*mr while attempting to turn into a parking lot the steering wheel locked. The vehicle was towed to a local garage. Almost three years later the consumer receives a recall related to the failure she experienced. The consumer requested reimbursement from the manufacturer but was denied because the part the technician replaced was not the part covered by recall 03v527000. The technician also replaced the power steering pump nd front brakes.
Related recalls
Steering: rack and pinion
- What is wrong
- Certain passenger vehicles have lower pinion bearings in the power rack and pinion assembly in which the retainer tabs were not crimped properly. These retainers could fail and permit the ball bearings to escape.
- Risk
- If this occurs, the pinion shaft can be forced upward during left turns and back down as the steering wheel is moved back and to the right. If the pinion shaft moves further, the driver will need to exert more effort to turn the steering wheel, similar to a vehicle without power assisted steering. If the pinion shaft moves even further, the driver will require much higher effort to turn left and may not be able to turn the wheel as much as intended. With the maximum pinion shaft movement, which requires internal gear component damage, the driver can encounter high resistance to turning left, followed by unintended power assist to the right. In any of these conditions, a crash could occur.
- Remedy
- Dealers will install a new lower pinion bearing unless inspect of the existing bearing indicates that replacement of the gear assembly is necessary. Owner notification began on february 5, 2004. Owners should contact buick at 1‑866‑608‑8080; chevrolet at 1‑800‑630‑2438; oldsmobile at 1‑800‑630‑6537; or pontiac at 1‑800‑620‑7668.
Recall number 03V527000 · Recall details
Steering: steering wheel/handle bar
- What is wrong
- The four (4) steering column support bracket attaching bolts were under torqued during assembly.
- Risk
- Inadequate torque can cause these bolts to vibrate, loosen, or fall out resulting in loss of steering control and increase the potential for a vehicle crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will retorque the steering column support bracket attaching bolts to the correct specifications.
Recall number 95V030000 · Recall details
Questions about the Chevrolet Lumina steering lock-up
Which Chevrolet Lumina years have steering wheel locks up problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1997 (15 complaints), 1998 (8 complaints) and 1992 (2 complaints).
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