We bought this 1997 malibu from my dad less than a year ago for my son to drive to college. My dad is meticulous in caring for his vehicles so all the scheduled and routine maintenance work has been done and it still only has 70xxx miles on it. My complaint is this : last night my son was parking the car when it suddenly became very hard to turn the steering wheel. He finished parking, but a short time later as he started to drive home, he realized that the power steering was completely gone. There have been so many incidents like this one that there was finally a safety recall issued in 2004. The paperwork I have states that the dealer "replaced steering gear pinion bearing and reset toein". Obviously,that remedy failed since the power steering went out anyway. I'm so thankful that no one was hurt, that it didn't happen while he was driving to or from school, and that he was home for christmas break when it happened. We'll be taking the car in to the dealer on tuesday and, because there have been so many of these incidents in the '97 malibu (and other '97 gm models) that they had to issue the recall, I expect them to fix it free of charge.
1997 Chevrolet Malibu steering complaints
Page 2 of 4: complaints 11 to 40 of 80, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Steering wheel made an irritating sound when turned. The dealership was notified. Upon inspection they indicated that the steering gear had an internal fault, and replaced it. Cause of the internal fault was not disclosed to the consumer. *ak recall campaign# 03v527000. The steering was repaired. A year later the entire steering assembly had to be replaced again. The check emissions light would come on intermittently. There were noises when the vehicle was turned left due to the steering gears internal fault and the gear was replaced, the left front tire had a steel belt showing on the inside. *sc
Dt: there was a recall regarding rack and pinion steering. This has been repaired and replaced twice. The vehicle still has problems with the steering system. Contact took the vehicle to a service dealer, and they concluded that it was a power steering pump pulley. The contact has not had this repaired, the vehicle is at the dealership at this date.
While driving steering/ front wheels locked up. Consumer contacted his personal mechanic, and was told they had never seen anything similar. Contacted the dealer. However, the priblem recurred.
While turning into a parking space power steering failed. *ak
Re: general motor corporation declines to make adjustment of complaint. *bf gm had a recall for the racket pinion steering part on the car consumer owned. The consumer had this part replaced 6 times in a 2 year period. Consumer wants to be repaid for monies spent.
Recall 03v527000 concerning steering gear bearings: consumer states after taking their vehicle for this recall repairs, vehicle commenced to make noise after starting and while driving. Vehicle was not having any problems until this repair was done. Dealer refused to do anything concerning this issue.
Consumer took vehicle to the dealer on a recall for rack and pinion. Dealer replaced the bushings at a manufacturer's expense after consumer refused to pay.
Consumer took vehicle to dealer for recall repairs. After leaving the dealer steering wheel and the brakes locked. Dealer checked vehicle, and stated that it was okay. However, vehicle was still experiencing the same problem.
The federal safety agency recall 03v527000 concerning steering gear bearing. Three weeks after having recall repairs performed the lower pinion bearing failed while turning left and consumer lost power steering. Consumer was able to maintain control of the vehicle and drove the vehicle to the dealer for inspection. Mechanic determined that the lower pinion bearing needed to be replaced.
The dealer would not honor recall #03v527000 concerning the lower pinion bearings. The dealer claimed that the parts were unavailable. *ak *sc
While driving 35 MPH consumer lost steering power. Coasted vehicle to side of the road. Consumer turn off the vehicle, and restarted it. Then, drove the vehicle to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that while turning the steering column it was hard to steer, and that the steering system needed to be replaced due to worn out parts.
After receiving a recall letter, consumer took the vehicle to gm dealership but no corrections were made. *ph the steering was hard when the consumer turned left. *sc recall #03v527000
Consumer denied reimbursement for power steering rack assembly replacement. *ph also, as consumer received recall notice dealership refused to perform recall repair since steering rack was replaced recently.
Consumer's grandmother was severely injured in a crash when she experienced the same defect as stated in the loss of power steering assist recall. *ph as stated on the recall that there's an intermittent loss of power steering when making left turns at low speed. Consumer tried to find out the cause of the accident. However, since consumer's grandmother (the driver) suffered severe brain hemorrhage and permanent short term memory loss due to accident, the only incident the consumer found out is that the driver was trying to make a left turn at low speed.
The vehicle's steering rack malfunctioned at 64,000 miles. The part was repaired twice, however the problem still exist. The cause has not been determined. Please provide any additional information.
Consumer was making a slight turn to avoid something in the road ahead when the steering wheel became very loose, and driver lost control of the vehicle. Vehicle spinned around 3 times before landing in a ditch.
When driving over bumps and turning the vehicle, a knocking noise was heard. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated the problem was the rack and pinion, but the vehicle was not covered under the recall. Please provide further details. *jb
Upon entering a major highway, my steering became very difficult to manage. I had trouble making left turns and the car would steer to the right. Forcefully, I had to steer the vehicle off the road just to make sure my tires were intact. I made it home carefully to find out that it could be related to my rack & pinion and damage to high pressure hoses.
After having the vehicle for 4 days dealership failed to replace the lower pinion bearing, but indicated they performed steering gear bearings recall 03v527000 repairs.
While driving on a curved road driver lost control. Vehicle went off the road and rolled completely over. Driver and passenger sustained injuries, and were transported to the emergency room. Witnesses stated vehicle jerked to the left before running off the road.
Consumer complained about a rack and pinion steering problem. Vehicle was involved in an accident due to rack and pinion steering failure. Driver was unable to make a left turn when crash occurred.
After the vehicle was serviced for the federal safety agency recall 03v527000 concerning lower pinion bearing in the rack and pinion, vehicle experienced ongoing steering problems. Dealer refused to admit that vehicle was running in good conditions before it was brought in for a recall.
When driving my 1997 chevy malibu, I turned left and the steering wheel locked. I almost crashed into a parked car due to the fact that I couldn't move the steering wheel at all. When I tried getting the steering wheel to move again, it wouldnt budge right but when trying left it would make a "hissing" sound, like air pressure being released. This happened at 10pm and I had passengers in the vehicle, this could have been catastrophic. This happened suddenly with no warning whatsoever. I am going back to the dealer asap.
Steering wheel makes a clicking noise when turning. Steering wheel has to be fully rotated twice before the vehicle goes into that direction.
While driving 45 MPH, the steering wheel locked. The vehicle was taken to a repair shop, where the rack and pinion was replaced. *ak while driving the vehicle had become difficult to turn one way while remaining easy to steer in the opposite direction. The rack was replaced. *scc
While making a left hand turn at 25 MPH the vehicles steering wheel suddenly locked up. *ph *jg
While making a left turn the vehicle fail to turn. Without prior warning the vehicle kept strait he was able to the vehicle by his brakes ts
While driving there is a rattling noise coming from steering wheel, and there a lot of play in wheel. Consumer feels may loose control of vehicle. Please provide any further information. Ts
Consumer states that while driving at any speed and no warning the steering bolt are lose and it is causing the steering wheel to jump around causing it to be hard for consumer to steer the vehicle. Dealer notified. Nlm
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