GM recalling another 1.3-million cars over power steering woes

[LTC8K6]

http://www.autoblog.com/2014/03/31/gm-power-steering-recall-1.3-million-cars/



"Chevrolet Malibu: All model year 2004 and 2005, and some model year 2006 and model year 2008 and 2009 vehicles
Chevrolet Malibu Maxx: All model year 2004 and 2005, and some 2006 model year
Chevrolet HHR (Non-Turbo): Some model year 2009 and 2010 vehicles
Chevrolet Cobalt: Some model year 2010 vehicles
Saturn Aura: Some model year 2008 and 2009 vehicles
Saturn Ion: All model year 2004 to 2007 vehicles
Pontiac G6: All model year 2005, and some model year 2006 and model year 2008 and 2009 vehicles"


In addition to those cars, 309,160 HHRs from 2006 to 2008 and 96,324 Saturn Ions from 2003 will get lifetime warranties for their power steering motors.

 

[BUTCH1]

Guess I'll be getting something in the mail as I own an '05 Malibu LTZ, they already extended the warranty on the electric power steering to 10yrs/150K but if there going to replace it with a brand new unit for free I'm in. Thing is with electric PS is it's very light and easy to turn and if/when it fails it could easily cause an accident, the car can still be steered but with great difficulty..

 

[mmntech]

And this is why I will never own a GM vehicle that isn't a pickup truck or panel van.

 

[bruceb]

All of those have the new electric power steering assist. Instead of a pump on the motor, they use a small electric motor to help the steering effort. Another example of idiot engineers at work. They try to improve fuel economy by not having the hydraulic pump on the engine (which has done just fine for the last 60 or so years) and instead make it more complex and now it has to draw power from the alternator, which puts a heavier load on the engine. In my view, they saved nothing and caused more issues.

 

[ProchargeMe]

I hate power steering assist, it moves the wheels too much at low speeds and makes it feel like I'm over steering with a flick of the wrist.

 

[WackyDan]

Guess I'll be getting something in the mail as I own an '05 Malibu LTZ, they already extended the warranty on the electric power steering to 10yrs/150K but if there going to replace it with a brand new unit for free I'm in. Thing is with electric PS is it's very light and easy to turn and if/when it fails it could easily cause an accident, the car can still be steered but with great difficulty..

I'll be waiting on mine too. Will have had the car 9 years at end of this June... Hoping to be rid of it in 3-4 more years. Just put in the 4th battery a couple months early (they only last 3 years in this thing). I also just replaced plugs and wires as it was starting rough. Solved the problem. I also replaced the headlight assemblies last year. I had sanded and buffed, but that really didn't bring them back to life. The new assemblies from GM haven't melted through the parking light/signal portion of the light yet, so I wonder if they changed that design/material.

Heading out today for a long weekend and expecting to get 35 MPG with that V6 though. 73k on the odo.

 

[WackyDan]

And this is why I will never own a GM vehicle that isn't a pickup truck or panel van.

Our experience with quality issues on our 05 Malibu, the bailout of GM, and now these new recalls and the way GM has handled them is why I didn't even consider looking at a GM truck when I bought my F-150 in 2012. GM is off my list.

 

[desy]

Yeah whats w the batteries the MIL has a max, 3rd battery too
My dad had a 05 with steering clunk issues and got rid of it for a 09 which was a much better car, much.

 

[slag]

All of those have the new electric power steering assist. Instead of a pump on the motor, they use a small electric motor to help the steering effort. Another example of idiot engineers at work. They try to improve fuel economy by not having the hydraulic pump on the engine (which has done just fine for the last 60 or so years) and instead make it more complex and now it has to draw power from the alternator, which puts a heavier load on the engine. In my view, they saved nothing and caused more issues.

Even with their hydraulic steering, they had numerous problems and even a recall on mid to late 90's grand prix cars and similar sized autos. I had my steering rack replaced 3 times before my car was totalled and it still wasn't right. (97 grand prix gtp)

 

[LTC8K6]

I hate power steering assist, it moves the wheels too much at low speeds and makes it feel like I'm over steering with a flick of the wrist.

Most cars probably have variable assist now.

 

[BUTCH1]

I'll be waiting on mine too. Will have had the car 9 years at end of this June... Hoping to be rid of it in 3-4 more years. Just put in the 4th battery a couple months early (they only last 3 years in this thing). I also just replaced plugs and wires as it was starting rough. Solved the problem. I also replaced the headlight assemblies last year. I had sanded and buffed, but that really didn't bring them back to life. The new assemblies from GM haven't melted through the parking light/signal portion of the light yet, so I wonder if they changed that design/material.

Heading out today for a long weekend and expecting to get 35 MPG with that V6 though. 73k on the odo.

Yea, the battery is somewhat undersized for the car but in all fairness my previous car (95 Escort) also needed a new one every 3 years, down here in FL the heat kills 'em quick. I tried 2 different kits but my headlights still look like crap, I've seen 'em on Ebay for around $100/pair, I"ll probably go that route tis summer.

 

[BUTCH1]

All of those have the new electric power steering assist. Instead of a pump on the motor, they use a small electric motor to help the steering effort. Another example of idiot engineers at work. They try to improve fuel economy by not having the hydraulic pump on the engine (which has done just fine for the last 60 or so years) and instead make it more complex and now it has to draw power from the alternator, which puts a heavier load on the engine. In my view, they saved nothing and caused more issues.

Well you would be wrong as the electric motor does not need/draw current from the battery when your not turning so they do save gas at the cost of added complexity of the vehicle.

 

[WackyDan]

Yea, the battery is somewhat undersized for the car but in all fairness my previous car (95 Escort) also needed a new one every 3 years, down here in FL the heat kills 'em quick. I tried 2 different kits but my headlights still look like crap, I've seen 'em on Ebay for around $100/pair, I"ll probably go that route tis summer.

I looked at the aftermarket on the light assemblies. I didn't consider eBay, but from what I saw, the price at the dealer was only $100 more... and I just wanted to make sure they fit right, etc. What a huge difference in the appearance of the car.

There was no saving the old ones... Some lenses I've had good results with sanding and buffing... The ones on the Malibu are just not made the same as some of the others. no amount of sanding was going to get rid of the hazing. Improved them sure, but not enough to say it was worth the effort.

 

[Jimzz]

And this is why I will never own a GM vehicle that isn't a pickup truck or panel van.

I take it you're not going to own a Toyota, Hyundai, Honda, Subaru, etc... those are just some of the top 10 makers for recalls in 2013. GM was not even in the top 10 last year.

https://autos.yahoo.com/news/top-10-biggest-recalls-of-2013-174809182.html

 

[KDKPSJ]

I take it you're not going to own a Toyota, Hyundai, Honda, Subaru, etc... those are just some of the top 10 makers for recalls in 2013. GM was not even in the top 10 last year.

https://autos.yahoo.com/news/top-10-biggest-recalls-of-2013-174809182.html

And in 2014, although it's only April, GM already recalled more (6.26 million according to Wikipedia) vehicles than Toyota, the #1 recaller of 2013 (5.3 million vehicles), did last year. And at the same time, GM is investigated for hiding defects for years.

Therefore, I wouldn't consider the recall history of previous years a reliable measure, especially when evaluating GM.

 

[mmntech]

Our experience with quality issues on our 05 Malibu, the bailout of GM, and now these new recalls and the way GM has handled them is why I didn't even consider looking at a GM truck when I bought my F-150 in 2012. GM is off my list.

Yay, another rental story. The company I worked for used to be almost entirely GM exclusive up until about 2009. The last crop we got were second gen Cobalts the company bought pretty much at cost because GM looked like it was going to sink for good. We had those for a damn long time, and they sucked balls. They were all base models, which was bad enough as it was. No power locks, mirrors, or windows, though they did have AC and auto trans. They all had the sticky ignition switch, which is now part of the recall. Used to have to keep giggling the keys to try and get it to turn. The lower control arm bearings would also go in them. Always after about 20,000 clicks. Front end would rattle like crazy and scare the customers. Every single one had that problem too. I remember we had these Kia Rios, the old ones, as the cheaper class below the Cobalts. Yet they were much nicer cars. Had power everything, even had butt warmers.

We had a Malibu that blew a piston. Not sure how that happened. They also had persistent emissions problems. Probably because the oxygen sensors kept going on them.

The GM cars we had didn't really have any big problems, just a lot of little ones that added up over time. Still cost the company time to get them warranty repaired. They were just cheap, really cheaply built. The company eventually phased them out and bought a lot of Hyundais, Toyotas, and Fords. Never had any issues with those. Hell, even the Dodge minivans we had were more reliable.

The GMC/Chev trucks though were always pretty solid and reliable. We stocked mostly Silverados and Express vans. Only had one van we had an issue with that I recall. That was a lemon right from the factory and got sent back pretty quickly. The pickups got rented mostly to contractors and were thrown around quite a bit too. They stand up well to abuse. I agree though, the F-150 is a much nicer truck.

 

[Jimzz]

And in 2014, although it's only April, GM already recalled more (6.26 million according to Wikipedia) vehicles than Toyota, the #1 recaller of 2013 (5.3 million vehicles), did last year. And at the same time, GM is investigated for hiding defects for years.

Therefore, I wouldn't consider the recall history of previous years a reliable measure, especially when evaluating GM.

And GM is doing the same thing Toyota did. Any thing that is on the edge of being a recall just do the recall and bite the bullet. A lot of Toyota's recalls were a just in case type thing. They "fix" it and take their lumps in one beating not year after year.

I expect more from GM to be honest this year. They will clear out any maybes and backlogs and just take the punch now.

 

[Zivic]

And this is why I will never own a GM vehicle that isn't a pickup truck or panel van.

Please be real with what you going to put out there...

AT Moderator
Bartman39


I have owned, and do own GM vehicles. I have worked on GM vehicles... their trucks are not any good either

 

[bruceb]

I did have to replace my power steering rack (they also did the pump) due to leaking seals. It had gotten to the point of making a good size puddle. A Cardone unit and pump was put in and has been fine ever since. Nice and tight, just like when it left the factory.
This was a 1999 Grand Prix

 

[nerp]

So are we still blaming the media for this? Or has it finally sunk in to people that GM F'd up royally multiple times?

 

[Howard]

All of those have the new electric power steering assist. Instead of a pump on the motor, they use a small electric motor to help the steering effort. Another example of idiot engineers at work. They try to improve fuel economy by not having the hydraulic pump on the engine (which has done just fine for the last 60 or so years) and instead make it more complex and now it has to draw power from the alternator, which puts a heavier load on the engine. In my view, they saved nothing and caused more issues.

You are not an auto engineer for a reason.

 

[BUTCH1]

So are we still blaming the media for this? Or has it finally sunk in to people that GM F'd up royally multiple times?

Yea, they did but at least they are making it right and replacing the units, unlike (cough, Toyota cough,) who tried to deny they were having problems. I still think the ignition issues are partly user-related as I always see people with a crapton of shit on their key-chain..

 

[Viperoni]

You are not an auto engineer for a reason.

QFT

 

[phucheneh]

Yea, they did but at least they are making it right and replacing the units, unlike (cough, Toyota cough,) who tried to deny they were having problems. I still think the ignition issues are partly user-related as I always see people with a crapton of shit on their key-chain..

Toyota got royally screwed over floor mats. How do people still not get this?

I think volunteering to saw your gas pedal in half because you refused to not pile unsecured mats on top of each other was pretty generous. No, there was never a 'programming error' found, or whatever other junk people insisted on. Do not believe the rantings of Steve 'my ass is my face' Wozniak. He was exposed as not understanding what adaptive cruise control is.

 

[BUTCH1]

Toyota got royally screwed over floor mats. How do people still not get this?

I think volunteering to saw your gas pedal in half because you refused to not pile unsecured mats on top of each other was pretty generous. No, there was never a 'programming error' found, or whatever other junk people insisted on. Do not believe the rantings of Steve 'my ass is my face' Wozniak. He was exposed as not understanding what adaptive cruise control is.

Floor mats?, they just agreed recently to shell out 1.2 BILLION`to the DOJ for "misleading" them. I can't see any company paying out that much if floor mats were the culprit..
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hy-toyota-billion-dollar-justice-department-settlement-20140319,0,7794824.story