While driving the vehicle the power steering will cut out. The vehicle is very difficult to turn and it is difficult to maintain control of the vehicle. Has almost resulted in multiple accidents when navigating parking lots or other areas at slow speeds as well.
2009 Chevrolet Traverse steering complaints
Page 6 of 9: complaints 131 to 160 of 231, newest first, as owners wrote them.
It is difficult to steer and makes a noise when steering. Had the car in to the shop and he said power steering fluid is good and to contact the dealer because there are 1,000's of complaints regarding this same very dangerous safety issue. Called the dealer and they claim to have not heard of this issue. This car has had 6 recalls and now this very dangerous safety issue that had not been recalled. Gm needs to take care of this. I am afraid to even drive the vehicle because of the seriousness of this. Nor do I feel that the consumer should pay for the repairs when this is happening in 1000's of vehicles. It is obvious that there is yet another found problem with this vehicle. I am very disappointed in gm that they are not taking these complaints serious and fixing the vehicles.
I purchased a 2009 chevy traverse new in march of 2009. The vehicle has approx 125,000 miles on it & is out of warranty. Recently the vehicle began to lose power assist in steering at low speeds making it nearly impossible to make a turn. I have been close to striking other vehicles and objects as I have tried to turn. This is intermittent & I never know when it is going to happen. This is a very, very dangerous issue & needs to be dealt with as there are several owners of this or similar gm vehicles that have the same problem, as indicated by the many internet forums related to this matter. Please, please look into this before people are injured or killed. I took the vehicle to a local repair shop, they say it needs a steering gear & pump at a cost of $1,629.58, however, after reading some posts from others who have had the repairs completed, it does not appear this fixes the problem.
While backing out of a parking spot, the steering column completely locked up and would not allow me to turn the wheel. I then attempted to pull forward at which time the brakes locked in place. Although there were no injuries, I can't help to wonder what could've happened and what my response would have been should this had happened in traffic on the freeway. I had my daughter in the car and I am still nervous about driving this vehicle.
Bought this 2009 chevy traverse used in 2011 w 17,000mi. In 2012 at approx 40,000 mi, out of warranty (of course) I notice that in a slow or stopped position and trying to turn the wheel (ie backed out of driveway in reverse at slight angle, put into drive to finish turn to drive away, the power steering acts like it is gone and is now manual steering. This doesn't happen every time but is very intermittent. Next time into dealer on transmission seal recall, I mentioned this as it continued for about a year, happening every day for a week, nothing for two weeks, again for a week, etc. When they did the recall work on the seal, it also stopped the random failure of the power steering. Always at low speed or stopped, either direction. Now at 72,000 mi, it is still doing it more often. Gave up on dealer and had a shop power flush the steering system. Did not fix the failure. Had a real battle turning the wheel when adjusting my parking into a stall in a parking garage. Very frustrating. I see other gm vehicles getting recalled for power steering issues. Hoping mine is next. Was told next would be to either replace the power steering pump at approx $800 or the rack and pinion at approx $1800. Not excited about either but if continues to worsen, won't have much choice. Very disappointed in this vehicle and poor service at the dealer where I bought it. Will not go back for service or to buy, period. I see others mentioning what reads like the same exact issue in this forum. I too am very concerned about family members driving it as well as myself if it occurs at higher speed and motion. No leaks and shop said pwr steering fluid level was fine before flush. Said they didn't know but I said try the flush which was the less expensive option, thinking something was flowing and blocking the pump action. What is the story gm?
First noticed the power steering would go out in low speeds. Especially in parking lots. We have had the dealer look at it but they said they couldn't find anything wrong with it. Needless to say it is still happening and is getting worse. It is now to the point it is difficult to make low speed turns on the streets and creates an extremely dangerous situation. It is only a matter of time before it causes an accident. Looking online it is clear there is a safety issue with these models and should have been included in the recall for other gm cars. I think the dealer just put us off so we will have to pay a significant amount of money once our warranty is over instead of making repairs while it was still under warranty. Gm needs to do the right thing and include this in a recall before someone dies in an accident.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet traverse. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel became very difficult to turn. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who diagnosed that the power steering pump was defective. The power steering pump was replaced and the steering gear toe was adjusted. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 93,186.
Steering wheel has locked up on my wife multiple times will driving. We have taken it to the chevy dealer 3 times and no problem detected dropped it off today at another dealer for them to look at.
Turning down a street when steering locked on me. Almost hit a car and almost lost control. I had to stop and try to not go up over the curb all the while another car was coming as I was crossing. It continues to do this locking while steering into parking places as well. Very scary that this happened while my children were in the car. Thank you for your time in looking into this.
The power steering goes out with no warning while going at slower speeds.
I am having issues with the power steering failing on my traverse. At low speeds the power steering seems to give out occasionally. This problem comes and goes, and it is extremely difficult to turn the wheel when this happens and am afraid of serious injury if involved in a crash because of this. Chevrolet seems to know there is a problem with this but will not cover it under any warranty.
Around the beginning of march my 2009 chevy traverse developed a winding sound when steering at a stop or low speed. At this time the steering wheel was very difficult to turn. The problem has progress and now the venice has little to no assistb. I saw that gm recently released a recall on several of its models with similar steering systems. I feel that the 2009-2012 chevy traverse lt should also be included.6
Vehicle is difficult to steer at slow speeds, especially when turning a corner or into a parking space. This has been happening for the last 3-4 months but has been more frequent lately. My daughter will be getting her license soon and I am concerned about her driving alone and panicking if this were to happen to her.
While traveling at slow speeds there is a complete loss of power steering. My wife was driving and nearly hit pedestrians because she lost power steering, it is nearly impossible to steer at low speeds, like parking and turning corners.
Power steering occasionally stops responding. Typically occurs at low speeds and parking lot situations. The issue is random, but occurring on a much more frequent basis. I am extremely concerned as my son is just beginning to drive. If a failure were to occur with him it very well could be catastrophic.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet traverse. The contact stated while driving under 30 MPH making a left or right turn, the power steering stopped working making the steering wheel very difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the technician diagnosed that the rack and pinion was defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the remedy failed to repair the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 80,000 and the current mileage was 98,000.
Starting in june of last year, the power steering in my car goes out suddenly when making turns at slower speeds. It happened intermittently last summer, didn't happen much over the colder months and now happens just about every time I make a turn. Used to only happen when turning into parking spots, has now happened a few times when turning on to side streets. A few times I ended up on the berm or grass because the wheel was so hard to turn. The power steering goes out without warning. I'm afraid it may happen when going at higher speeds and I'll end up in a bad accident. I've heard there is a class action lawsuit against gm for this very problem, but haven't heard if it's been rectified. It's ridiculous that these cars have not yet been recalled! Gm is putting millions of lives in danger.
The steering wheel locked as we were parking car. It was still on drive. Took it to dealer. No recall on this even though I've researched a lot of complaints about the steering on this car 2009 traverse. It makes me feel unsafe driving this car especially if it happens again as I am driving down the highway.
2009 chevy traverse lost steering control on the freeway almost making the vehicle uncontrollable as exiting the off ramp. Had care been driven by my wife, she would not have had the strength to get the vehicle under control and likely would have resulted in a serious accident. Subsequent investigation on the internet revealed that hundreds and hundreds of others have experienced the same malfunction. The SUV just barely turned 5 years old and has only been used in normal driving conditions. This is a very serious component defect that will ultimately cost lives, if not already. Please cross reference all of the similar complaints for all of the gm lamda platform vehicles which are virtually the same vehicle, same components, but are rebadged with different bodies and interior for each gm brand. This would include saturn outlook, gmc acadia, chevrolet traverse, and buick enclave....all with the same steering components.
I bought my traverse new in 2009 and absolutely love my crossover, however about two years after purchase I started having loss of power steering while driving. I took the car back to the dealer on more then one occasions to no avail they tell me they can't find anything wrong. I've looked online and I see numerous owners with the same problem. I've loss power steering while parking, backing up, making left or right turns I feel like a hostage with this automobile since there seems to be no known solution. I received a phone call from a mechanic who's aware of my problem and he informed me that there is a recall on the (steering:electric power assist system) however I don't see my model vehicle listed. I need help and would like to know what to do now that there is a recall on the steering but it doesn't include my vehicle.
While driving my car the power steering abrubtly stopped working. I was coming up to a stop sign and the steering wheel became very hard to turn. It turned out that the power steering pump had failed. Luckily I was on a rural road with no traffic around me. I took it to the chevy dealer and they replaced the pump at a cost of $650. My concern is what would have happened if I was in busy traffic and the power steering unexpectedly stopped working? The outcome may have been a lot different.I have been on several chevy traverse forums and I am amazed at how many owners have had the same issue with their vehicles. I would consider this a safety issue that gm should address especially in light of the recent recall they have issued recently on other models for the same problem.
After car warms up, no power steering at speeds under 20 MPH.
Intermittent steering failure in 2009 chevy traverse. Speed is not a factor since the steering just stops working at no matter what my speed is. It doesn't matter if your turning left or right. It started out just happening on occasion not very frequently. Now it is happening all the time. I have had the steering just stop working to the point that you cannot steer at all like it just locks up, not even manual steering is available. I have had the steering stop working while trying to turn a corner and have to wait for the steering to come back before I can finish the turn. It only takes a few seconds for it to come back and I have not gotten into an accident because of it yet but my fear is that it could cause an accident with this issue. This has happened doing 70 MPH down the expressway. This is my wife's car and I have great concern with her driving this car. I have read several steering issues on the internet dealing with the same issue that I am having however gm has not recalled this problem yet.
While driving through a winding road suddenly experienced loss of power-steering making it difficult to steer. Power-steering then returned as suddenly as it went away. Problem happens intermittently and especially at low speeds when turning making steering of the traverse very difficult. I believe the gm recall for power-steering failure needs to be extended to include chevy traverse models before drivers are injured.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet traverse. The contact stated that while driving 5 MPH, the power steering stop working and a result, he crash into another vehicle. A police report was not filed and no injuries were reported. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the technician diagnosed that the power steering and rack and pinion might be defective. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 60,000 and the current mileage was 90,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet traverse. The contact stated that the power steering was rough which made it difficult to make left and right turns at low speeds on multiple occasions. The contact had to apply force to turn the steering wheel. The vehicle was not taken to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing. The failure recurred for several months. An independent mechanic diagnosed that the power steering motor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 72000. Updated 5/27/14*cn the consumer stated gm paid $1100 of the $1900. Updated 08/07/14
Power steering stops working at lower speeds at times.
I have been having the following problems: steering wheel whining and grinding steering froze/stuck while turning steering wheel shaking this is scary considering I'm driving this vehicle everyday with 3 small kids in the car. After doing an online search it's not hard to find that everyone with the same vehicle is having the same problems.
Turning in dealer lot and steering became almost impossible to turn vehicle in desired direction. Almost hit a new car on lot as there was no warning power steering would fail. This has happened several times since. Seems like an accident waiting to happen. I doubt my wife would have been able to handle the vehicle in this incident. Gm dealer in carlsbad ca. Does not admit to any knowledge of the problem but goggle has hundreds of incidents.
The steering is sometimes very difficult to turn at low speeds especially when parking, making a turn into driveways or at intersections. The problem is intermittent but annoying and concerning enough that made it difficult for anyone else in the family to drive the vehicle. I am a strong individual and it is embarrassing when you try to pull into or out of a parking spot and almost swipe a vehicle because of the steering difficulty. I have siphoned and replaced the fluid multiple times and it seems to help a bit but not enough to warrant a piece of mind. I have talked with the dealership and they indicated the possible options for the fix may be in the $1000 to $1400 range. I was planning to have it fixed; however, based on some of the posts, I am hesitating to have anything done if the issue seems to come back shortly after as some indicated. I am not sure why gm has not done anything about it or the government has not forced a recall on the issue. It is a safety hazard and unless there are numerous death about the problem, no one wants to do the right thing and own up to their responsibility. I would not have known that this problem is widespread if it was not for the choking and high repair cost which may or may not fix the issue according to other posts. Is this issue unique to the 2009 chevy traverse? Or does it include other models in the SUV family (buick, gmc) and newer models? Is there any class action lawsuit against gm about this?
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