GMC Suburban loss of power problems

Filed Jul 18, 2006 · Steering · 5,000 miles · MD

Dt*: the contact stated that the vehicle lost power steering while braking and making turns. The vehicle has been serviced for the power steering issue however the problem persists. The contact expressed the vehicle problem may be a manufacturer defect.

Filed May 5, 2006 · Fuel system · 156,000 miles · AZ

Fuel pump/connector failure. Initially engine would shut down intermittently. On last occasion, vehicle engine shut down resulting in loss of power steering, power brakes, etc. Would not restart. Former gm mechanic told me that he witnessed this problem numerous times and found most cases involved failure of electrical connector or ground connection at fuel pump.

Filed Apr 19, 2005 · Steering · 71,000 miles · WA

While driving at low speed and then on the freeway at 70 MPH my suburban lost powering steering control intermittently-on-off, on-off, on-off. At 70 MPH the vehicle repeatedly jerked to the right, and I had to jerk the wheel back to the left and swerve back into the lane. Had inspection made, and found metal shavings in power steering fluid, indicating a component failure in the power steering system. I see a technical service bulletin was issued two years ago on august 1, 2003, but no further action to date to correct this safety defect.

Filed Nov 4, 2004 · Engine · 72,000 miles · VA

Vehicle engine will intermittently stall or cut out at highway speeds. This condition occurs approximately once or twice a month under varied driving conditions. The vehicle will restart immediately after stalling. Several times when this has occurred, the service engine light will come on, but it will turn off after 20-30 miles of driving. This has been occurring for over a year now, I have taken the vehicle to three gm dealerships, and they claim they cannot replicate the problem. They have replaced the fuel pump at my expense, and the catalytic converter under warranty. I have also taken the vehicle to two independent shops for the same problem and they have also not been able to replicate the problem or offer a solution, other than replacing the basic components (spark plugs , plug wires, fule filter etc), which I have had done.. This is an extremely dangerous problem, primarily because when the engine stalls, the power brakes and steering also fail. I live in a mountainous region of virginia and have had this happen while driving mountain switchbacks. This vehicle weighs almost six thousand pounds, and a loss of power brakes and steering while descending steep mountain grades with sharp curves creates an extremely dangerous and life threatening situation. Thank you for your assistance.

Filed Jan 6, 2004 · Engine, Fuel system · 87,947 miles · VT

We have a 1996 6.5 turbo diesel gmc suburban. We had severe stalling problems. The dealer replaced the fuel pump at their cost and installed at our cost, new glow plugs, glow plug sensor, battery, and battery cables suspected to be the problem. It continued to stall. We returned to the dealer and they replaced the pump again at their cost, but we had to pay to drop the tank to check for contamination. There was a deteriorated screen we paid to replace. It still stalled. Only this time it stalled when I was going 50 MPH and approaching curves along the river. I lost all power steering and brakes. Me and my five young kids almost ended up in the river. Had it been normal winter roads, we would have. All along we've done research and had it rediagnosed by a professional diesel mechanic, so we knew to tell our dealer (automall in brattleboro vermont) to replace the pump mounted driver (pmd) sometimes called a fuel solenoid driver (fsd). After problems where automall tried to rip us off for a fake $100 deductible, they will install it at no charge tomorrow (1/7/04). We have driven just over 1000 miles total. However, this does not fix the problem. From all the research we've done, weve discovered many people have reported the same dangerous accounts of stalling. Several report having almost had serious accidents like I had two days ago. According to research, pmd failures are the most common part to fail on gm 6.5 diesels. The pmd overheats because of placement near the engine. There is a simple, yet costly fix that consumers should not have to pay to be safe. A pump driver cooler (pdc) can mount on the firewall (not the engine) to move the pmd away from the heat. Please investigate and issue a recall to install pdc's on these engines so we can once again be safe in our vehicles. My family of 7 cant afford another stall, especially during these winter months, and new pdcs alone cant guarantee safety. Thank you.

Filed Nov 18, 2003 · Brakes, Electrical · 46,801 miles · OR

While driving the serpentine belt tensioner broke from its mounting and resulted in loss of power steering and other components including charging of the battery. The alternator also shorted out. The manufacturer and the dealer were notified. *ak the consumer was told that the warranty not longer covered the belt. The brakes shuttered while braking from 60 MPH. The dealer replaced the front brake pads and resurfaced the rotors.

Filed Sep 20, 2000 · Brakes, Electrical · NJ

While going down the road at 65mph vehicle will just shut off, and brakes/ steering locked up, took to dealer and they replaced the injection pump five times, and now the problem was reoccurring again. *ak check the engine light came on, followed by loss of power and the dealer replaced injection pump, module on the pump, waste gate module but all were just bad guess.

Filed Sep 1, 2000 · Brakes · UT

The problem: the speedometer works intermittently, the brake light would come on, and the brakes would lose power. I took it to the dealer to get fixed. The brake light doesn't come on anymore. The dealer has changed all the components on the front and rear brakes. Now the brakes are really mushy and the truck pulls to the right. The dealer changed the speed sensor, but the speedometer doesn't work. My truck has been at the dealer for more than 2 weeks.

Filed Aug 2, 2000 · Electrical · NC

While vehicle was at dealer for service dealer noticed a battery leak, causing loss of power. *ak transmission makes grinding noise.

Filed Apr 28, 2000 · Engine, Transmission · AL

On april 10, transmission failed and vehicle was returned to dealership. On april 18, the vehicle was returned to the owner after having replaced the transmission, the transmission cooler, and intake manifold gasket. On april 27, 2000, the engine failed on a busy road as schools were letting out. The engine failure, put both the occupants of the vehicle at risks and the schoolchildren also, as the engine failure resulted in loss of power steering and power brakes. The driver avoided collision but with no steering and loss of braking power, the results could have been catastrophic.