While driving and without warning rack and pinion failed, causing the power steering assist to lock up. Owner had to turn vehicle off in order to rotate steering wheel.
1997 Oldsmobile Silhouette: loss of power steering
6 of the 104 complaints about the 1997 Oldsmobile Silhouette describe loss of power steering.
- owner complaints
- 6
- of this car's complaints
- 6%
- recalls
- 1
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall and 1 service bulletin for this area of the car. See below
Loss of power steering by model year
- 20001
- 19986
- 19976
- 19961
- 19914
- 19901
What owners say
Upon using the passenger's sliding door and locking the door and consumer putting vehicle into drive, the door will pop open. Also, when driving through some water vehicle will lose power steering.
Driving at approx. 25 MPH on wet roads with rain. Started to slow to turn right onto side street when power steering failed. Driver had to use extreme effort to manually turn steering wheel to avoid hitting curb and tree. Driver was able to correct car direction with extreme effort while stopping car. Once the car was stopped, there was a squealing noise ,indicating belts were slipping and there was an additional clicking/tapping sound. Gm case number is 990028165. Problem 2: automatic door on passenger's side disengaged when placing shift lever from park. Dealer cleaned contacts and stated problem was solved. Explanation does not seem reasonable in that the door closed properly until the shift lever was placed out of park. Safety features should prevent the door from openning unless shift lever is in park.
While driving vehicle about 30 MPH and when it is raining, consumer could drive over a pothole and lose control due to power steering failure.
Rack pinion steering broke, causing steering wheel to lock up, and no steering ability at all, which may cause an accident.
While driving at approx 30-35 MPH coming off exit ramp started slowing down , applied brakes ,no brakes, no steering ,loss of power /electrical power. Kept pressing brakes; put car in park, restarted engine, engine started, hit gas pedal, started to proceed, went to hit brakes, again loss of power. This defect kept occurring everytime when hitting brakes, drove vehicle to local gas station. Mechanic felt something wrong with program. Called dealership, towed vehicle. Dealer found nothing wrong with vehicle.this defect is a potential for an accident.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
Steering: rack and pinion
- What is wrong
- Certain passenger vehicles and mini vans have lower pinion bearings in the power rack and pinion assembly in which the retainer tabs were not crimped properly. These and some other retainers used in vehicles assembled between january 1, 1996 and october 31, 1997, 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 january 24, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact chevrolet at 1‑800‑222‑1020, pontiac at 1‑800‑762‑2737, or oldsmobile at 1‑800‑442‑6537.
Recall number 02V286000 · Recall details
Questions about the 1997 Oldsmobile Silhouette power steering loss
Is loss of power steering a common problem on the 1997 Oldsmobile Silhouette?
6 of 104 owner complaints about the 1997 Oldsmobile Silhouette (6%) 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 Oldsmobile Silhouette?
There is 1 recall and 1 service bulletin for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 1997 Oldsmobile Silhouette
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