Tl* the contact owns a 2000 chrysler lhs. The contact was driving 45 MPH when the power steering failed and the front driver side control arm detached from the vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired and the VIN was unavailable. The failure and the current mileages were 99,000.
Chrysler LHS power steering loss problems
23 of the 967 owner complaints about the Chrysler LHS describe loss of power steering, most of them for the 1996 model year.
- owner complaints
- 23
- worst model year
- 1996
- typical mileage
- 99,000
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
By model year
Often reported together
Ball joint 10Loss of power 5Transmission failure 2Won't shift 2Stalling 2Check engine light 2
What owners say
Rack and pinion and outer tie rod failure on my 1999 chrysler lhs. I purchased the car approx 30 months ago and it only had 3000 miles or 5400 kilometers. The steering failed on august 10 2008. I was pulling out of the driveway and the steering froze and I could not with all of my strength turn the wheels to the left.....when it failed, the car only had 34,544 kilometers and now has 35000. I have had it repaired at a local garage at the approx. Cost of 1400.00 dollars. Seems to me that the car has very low mileage and I have been doing alot of reading about this and this should definitely qualify as a recall item. What I really think is that chrysler should make every attempt to repair and repay all of the consumers that have already had their vehicle repaired. Also I would like them to make some serious changes to the steering system which in my eyes is a very dangerous system and is prone to failure that can cause serious injury. Now that it has been repaired, I still find some clunking noises and the steering is very stiff when you first begin driving...I also had to replace the outer tie rods because they were very noisy and unsafe and that was done approx 30 days before the steering rack was replaced....if I can assist you in any way, please contact me and I would be happy to do so. Thank you.
There were no events that LED to the failure. I was leaving work one day and I heard a loud pop from the front end of my car and then I lost power steering only when turning to the right. I took it to a dealership to have them look at it and they said I needed a steering rack, gear and a new tie rod. I had all replaced at 55,000 miles. The car now has 65,000 miles on it and it is still not right it pops when turning in either direction forward or reverse and today 7/27/08 the steering pump went out.
With only 60k miles, the steering is very difficult to turn left but no apparent problems turning right.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving 20 MPH, a snapping sound was heard followed by a loss of steering. The contact stopped and exited the vehicle to call a friend. The friend noticed two bolts lying on the ground that appeared to be part of the steering. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who determined the steering rack and pinion needed to be replaced and the steering system needed to be flushed. The manufacturer was also alerted of the problem. Updated 7/3/2006 -
In july 2004, I purchased a used '94 chrysler lhs w/95,000 miles in very good condition (exterior/interior) but within the first few weeks I experienced electrical problems (electric current not going to gauges, gauges going haywire), transmission problems (periodic 'limp mode', car erratically surging) and steering problems (rack 7 pinion, inner/outer tie rods). Within a few months I replaced the inner/outer tie rods and front/rear stabilizer links that all improved my front suspension. Just recently about a month ago, I had my local dodge dealer replace one broken transmission mount ($305) then the following week at 124,500 miles while driving to work on my local highway my transmission failed, which resulted in loss of power steering and loss of drive gears, I was able to exit safely onto my jobs parking lot before it finally gave out. I had it towed to an exclusive auto transmission shop, they had to rebuild/overhaul the transmission and torque converter ($1,800). A whopping $2,100 in repairs in about a month. There went my christmas money.
I was having some uneven and premature front tire wear problems. I thought that the inner tie rod bushings were simply worn out. I found out instead that one of the bolts that hold the inner tie rod ends to the steering rack had actually sheared/ broken, and this was allowing the excessive slop in the steering. Obviously, if the bolt would have sheared all the way off, sudden and catastrophic (possibly deadly) loss of steering would have occurred, without warning. In order to remove/extract the broken bolt, the steering rack had to be removed from the car to facilitate access to the broken bolt with an extractor. This is an expensive 6 hours of labor job, to repair a simple broken bolt. Not only is it ridiculously expensive to repair, this is an item (the tie rod to steering rack bolt) that should never break from normal usage of the automobile. I subsequently found from on-line research that this is not an uncommon problem in the chrysler lh platform cars. Also, that there have been many consumer complaints, and several lawsuits due to alleged defective design, insufficient service/inspection procedures, or materials, relating directly to the lh platform steering, including severe accidents caused by this identical failure. Also complaints of chrysler offering no assistance to the consumer (including me) in regards to this very dangerous (and expensive to repair) defect.
Dt: was driving about 50-55 MPH and lost power steering on the left side only, could make left hand turns, but this required super strength to do so. This occurred without warning, no previous problems. Has not been to dealer, expired warranty. Did take to a mechanic, but he was unable to determine what has happened, has not performed any repair service on the vehicle at this time. Did contact manufacturer.
Today when I started to drive my 2000 lhs, it would not shift to the highest gear. The RPM's remained very high. The speedometer stays at zero. The overhead instrument panel does not work. The malfunction indicator light comes on and stays on. I proceeded to drive a short distance. When coming to a stop or when slowing around a corner, the oil light comes on and I lose power steering and the engine stalls. I cannot drive the car. I will contact the dealer (bermont motors, gilbertsville, pa) immediately. My 1994 lhs had total transmission failure and needed a whole new transmission. My car was bought in december 1999 and I only have 37,000 miles on it. Besides this, the molding around one door and around one headlamp is coming off. The black trim is discolored. I am quickly loosing my confidence & dependibility in chrysler products. I doubt if I will ever buy another chrysler car.
(1) events: normal driving. (2) loss of steering control on 1997 chrysler lhs. Due to luck there was no accident or injury, although failure at a different time would easily have resulted in severe injury or death. Failure is not yet fully analyzed, but appears to be due to failure of either inner tie rod bushing or inner tie rod mounting bolt. Steering control of left side front wheel was completely lost. I will provide update when exact nature of failure is available. For legal reasons I am proceeding carefully in analyzing this failure. Complete documentation will be available after analysis is complete.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Chrysler LHS power steering loss
Which Chrysler LHS years have loss of power steering problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1996 (6 complaints), 1999 (6 complaints) and 1994 (4 complaints).
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