Was driving on interstate when car completely shut off, lost all power , no power steering or power brakes. Second time, came to a stop on city street and car shut off again , no power , no power steering or power brakes again. Car had to be towed. This happened after I paid modern chevrolet to fix the issue which ignition switch was found to be at fault. (the federal safety agency reference number-14v400000) affected number- 5,877,718
1997 Chevrolet Malibu: loss of power steering
9 of the 443 complaints about the 1997 Chevrolet Malibu describe loss of power steering.
- owner complaints
- 9
- of this car's complaints
- 2%
- recalls
- 1
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall and 3 service bulletins for this area of the car. See below
Loss of power steering by model year
What owners say
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.
While turning into a parking space power steering failed. *ak
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.
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'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.
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.
Power steering failed and almost caused an accident.my investigation revealed that the power steering line had a hole in it.this was caused by the exhaust pipe which burned through the insulation and the line.the loss of power steerig caused loss of control and could have caused a fire because the fluid was leeking onto the exhaust pipe.I feel this is definately a safety problem which should be looked into right away. My car will be towed to the dealer on monday morning 11june 2001.
Service bulletins that may apply
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
Questions about the 1997 Chevrolet Malibu power steering loss
Is loss of power steering a common problem on the 1997 Chevrolet Malibu?
9 of 443 owner complaints about the 1997 Chevrolet Malibu (2%) mention loss of power steering. The model year with the most reports is 2004.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 1997 Chevrolet Malibu?
There is 1 recall and 3 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 1997 Chevrolet Malibu
Wipers 27ABS 24Ball joint 23Grinding brakes 19Headlights 17Premature wear 13Stalling 13Won't start 11Steering lock-up 8No deployment 7Brake failure 7Overheating 7Engine failure 6Knocking 5
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