When turning onto an on-ramp (usually right) the vehicle will momentarily lose power steering and the steering wheel will jerk right. This jerking motion also happens intermittently while driving at highway speeds with no turning involved. Even though there is more jerking motion on a turn both are extremely dangerous situations. This has been happening for several years.
1997 Chevrolet Tahoe: loss of power steering
17 of the 410 complaints about the 1997 Chevrolet Tahoe describe loss of power steering.
- owner complaints
- 17
- of this car's complaints
- 4%
- typical mileage
- 82,000
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
Loss of power steering by model year
What owners say
Power steering input/effort had became erratic causing increased effort or worse, oversteering midway through turns. First noticed this problem last fall at winter tire changeover. I initially blamed it on icy roads but then noticed it on obviously non icy roads as well. Occurred just occasionally at first. I kept blaming tires but this spring when I changed back over to my summer tires the problem did not go away. Dealership had indicated some worn front end parts needing replacement so I had that done along with a front end alignment following. Didn't help. Found many discussions with similar experiences on the internet and most indicated replacing the steering evo sensor as the cure. I replaced that part and it seems to have fixed the problem. The sensation of the loss of steering midcorner is at the least a little disconcerting and at the most could lead to an over-reaction and a severe crash! With as many complaints online as I found I don't understand how this could have been let go and not called to my attention by the company. The company knows about this problem as the parts clerk told me they even have a retro kit available to replace this assisted steering system period!
The steering assist on the tahoe suddenly goes away and the steering goes completly loose, and then suddenly it gets firm again. This causes erratic steering and over/under adjustment which can lead to a serious crash. I took it in 2 times and the problem still comes and goes, esspecially while in a turn. This should be a recall because of the seriousness of the problem. If the pwer steering fails it should fail to a firm steering condition not a total loss of steering!!
1997 chevrolet tahoe steering problem in curves. Very dangerous. When making a turn in a curve or a lane change you experience a temporary loss of steering followed by a release causing a oversteer condition a very hazzardous situation.
1997 chevy tahoe - after making a u-turn, power steering failed. In addition, while driving curved roads, an abrupt jerking would occur in the steering.
Loss of steering control in cold weather conditions on snow and ice covered roads on my 1997 chevrolet tahoe. The variable assist steeriing would make a rapid and unexpected over adjustment when making small steering corrections. I lost control and started a "fish tail" when traveling in new york. I live in virginia and found this to be a minor problem in this climate, however, it is unsafe on slippery roads.
When making a slight right turn in a curve or a lane change you experience a temporary loss of steering followed by a release causing a oversteer condition a very hazzardous situation. I contacted the dealer and asked about a recall on this. The person in the service department said it was only a problem with the 1997 models. This problem needs to be checked out before someone gets killed. Please contact me with reply ts
Fuel pump has failed 4 times previously. Fixed it myself this time after chevrolet refused to pay for it. No problems since. Power steering assist is very jerky. Goes in and out without warning. Saw other complaints and decided I should report this one as well.
Erratic power steering assist while driving, see the federal safety agency action number: ea99011.
Steering position sensor failed, causing the power steering system to lose resistance at speed. Incident occurred while driving on a sweeping left hand turn. I was applying constant light left hand pressure on the steering wheel when the power steering system lost resistance and the wheel turned freely and quickly to the left. Before I regained control I had moved 1/2 lane to the left. The problem was very intermittent at first but grew increasingly more regular. The steering would seem to twitch and cause momentary loss of feel. I*ak finally replaced the steering position sensor and the problem was fixed. When I purchased the replacement part at the chevrolet dealership, the parts counterman new exactly what I was talking about and commented that it must be a big problem because they had a whole bin of steering position sensors. It is my contention that this should be a recall item. The sudden loss of steering control can be very un-nerving.
When negotiating curves (while driver is turning steering wheel and holding fairly consistant pressure on the wheel to maintain the turn), the steering wheel will suddenly turn (twitch) in the direction you are turning. This sometimes causes an oversteer to correct . Problem is worse when veh. Is cold and does it mostly around 35 MPH although regularly does it at all speeds also. My sense of the problem is not that the vehicle is "steering itself" , but that there is a sudden change in boost to the steering (defective speed sensitive pwr steering?) and since the driver is holding pressure on the wheel in a curve, the sudden change in steering boost causes the driver to oversteer and than overcorrection in steering, which to some complainants apparently is perceived as a loss of steering. My wife perceives it as a loss of steering and I drive the veh as much as her and can tell you the loss of steering is in the mind due to "pucker factor"! I can tell you without a doubt that the problem is very real and I have had 1 or 2 near misses with a car and jersey barricade as I oversteered with the sudden change of boost. What you need to understand is that the sudden change in boost probably occurs regularly at the appropriate speed, ( as designed into the speed sensitive steering system), but when the driver has turning pressure on the steering wheel, and the normal steering wheel back-pressure is suddenly released (or signifigantly reduced)the 1st action is a sudden oversteer (as though someone quickly jerked the wheel loose from your hands in the same direction you are already turning). I see many similiar complaints in the complaints database and a the federal safety agency action # ea99011 open investigation since may 12, 1999, seems that this is a definite widespread problem. Is there a fix on the horizon? I see that some dealers have replaced the steering speed sensor, but it is not clear if that is the cure. Any suggestions?
Problem with steering..momentary loss of steering,seems to slip then catch.service dept advised known problem with speed sensor.no factory recall.cost $250.00 to replace.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 1997 Chevrolet Tahoe power steering loss
Is loss of power steering a common problem on the 1997 Chevrolet Tahoe?
17 of 410 owner complaints about the 1997 Chevrolet Tahoe (4%) mention loss of power steering. The model year with the most reports is 1997.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 1997 Chevrolet Tahoe?
There is no recall or service bulletin for this area of the car on record.
Other symptoms on the 1997 Chevrolet Tahoe
Wipers 46ABS 29Jerking 26Fuel pump 22Brake failure 19Pulling 15Transmission failure 11Fire or smoke 6Loss of power 6Stalling 5
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