Chevy to potentially join Toyota in recall hell?

[deathrazor]

http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/02/autos/chevy_cobalt/index.htm

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Some 905,000 Chevrolet Cobalts built between 2005 and 2009 are the subject of a preliminary evaluation by federal officials because of complaints that drivers may lose control of the electronic power steering system.

In a filing on its Web site, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it has received 1,132 complaints alleging the sudden loss of control of the compact car, with 754 of the complaints received in the past six months.

NHTSA said there were 11 complaints that a sudden increase in steering effort led to a crash, with one injury attributed to the problem.

"GM is cooperating with NHTSA in its preliminary evaluation of power steering in the 2005-2009 Chevrolet Cobalt," said Alan Adler, a spokesman for General Motors Corp., maker of the Chevy Cobalt, in a e-mail.

Officials at NHTSA and the Department of Transportation said it's not their policy to comment on preliminary evaluations.

NHTSA opens many preliminary evaluations each year, only some of which result in recalls.

While this may not be as large of a total number as Toyota's issue, 905,000 problematic vehicles is nothing to scoff at.

 

[argatoga]

Power steering is over rated.

I might add that if you haven't done so before you should practice steering you car without the aid of the power steering pump.

This is particularly easy with my MG as it doesn't have such a luxury.

 

[Mitlov]

I might add that if you haven't done so before you should practice steering you car without the aid of the power steering pump.

How would one do that? I don't think my power steering pump has an "off" switch.

 

[Blind_Io]

Go out to an open parking lot or road, get up some speed and turn off the motor.

Or you could learn to drive on a POS Chevrolet Celebrity where the power steering cuts out randomly. We had one at my high school. Interesting that it was a Chevy also.

 

[HatePersonified]

Go out to an open parking lot or road, get up some speed and turn off the motor.

Or you could learn to drive on a POS Chevrolet Celebrity where the power steering cuts out randomly. We had one at my high school. Interesting that it was a Chevy also.

Money says most of these idiots never bother to check the PS fluid.

EDIT: Wait a minute, if by electric do they mean completely electric?

 

[Spectre]

money says most of these idiots never bother to check the PS fluid.

Except that the Saginaw steering pump used in those and many GM cars was known to occasionally have a defective pressure relief valve in some years and it would randomly dump pressure, depriving the car of power steering.

 

[Blind_Io]

If the PS fluid on that old Celebrity was the problem then the PS would just be gone. On that car it would cut in and out intermittently. In mid corner the steering would get very heavy and you would have to muscle the car around for a few minutes with no aid. Then it would cut back in suddenly, usually mid-corner, and the steering would become so light so fast that you would almost give yourself whiplash because you'd been driving without the PS pump.

 

[HatePersonified]

If the PS fluid on that old Celebrity was the problem then the PS would just be gone. On that car it would cut in and out intermittently. In mid corner the steering would get very heavy and you would have to muscle the car around for a few minutes with no aid. Then it would cut back in suddenly, usually mid-corner, and the steering would become so light so fast that you would almost give yourself whiplash because you'd been driving without the PS pump.

oops, I meant on the cobalts, meant to quote a different post, my bad.
:lol:

 

[argatoga]

Go out to an open parking lot or road, get up some speed and turn off the motor.

Exactly.

Except that the Saginaw steering pump used in those and many GM cars was known to occasionally have a defective pressure relief valve in some years and it would randomly dump pressure, depriving the car of power steering.

How do you know these things? Next you'll be telling us what bolt size was used to mount it.

 

[Blind_Io]

Looks like about a 1/2 inch.

 

[ESPNSTI]

Go out to an open parking lot or road, get up some speed and turn off the motor.

Don't turn the key all the way back though, you don't want to have the steering lock engage.
(Or do they have safe guards against that now?)

 

[thevictor390]

I drove a couple of times a 1988 Chevy Blazer (lifted with big tires) where the power steering went out at low speeds. Rather inconvenient time for that to happen.

 

[argatoga]

Looks like about a 1/2 inch.

I'm too lazy to confirm that so I'll assume you are correct.

 

[Jay]

Except that the Saginaw steering pump used in those and many GM cars was known to occasionally have a defective pressure relief valve in some years and it would randomly dump pressure, depriving the car of power steering.

Close. It was actually the spool valve in the rack and pinion; the symptom was called "morning sickness."

 

[Spectre]

That was a separate problem. The defective pressure relief valve issue showed up in some of the 70s Jags, which all had the Saginaw pump from a GM, but the rack was from a Brit vendor. The S3 fixed this by swapping out for a different valve.

 

[prizrak]

Power steering is over rated.

I might add that if you haven't done so before you should practice steering you car without the aid of the power steering pump.

This is particularly easy with my MG as it doesn't have such a luxury.

If it's a similar system to the Mazda 3 it's not a pump its more like a steering by wire system. I don't *think* it's a true SBW but it does use an electric motor for steering assist which can actually completely lock your steering. This happened to my uncle, his car was in an accident and that damaged the power steering sensor in some way so his steering would randomly lock up while driving.

 

[ja404]

Power steering racks usually differ in ratio much more than in a car that was meant to have a manual rack. Killing your power steering really wouldn't be a good comparison.

 

[NecroJoe]

My friend's '96 Ranger had no power steering, and it felt waaaay different than my '97 when the PS went out.

 

[Blind_Io]

That's because you were fighting the inactive power steering system. PS is great when it works, but when it doesn't many drivers are unable to overpower the now non-functioning pumps and machinery.

 

[smib]

There were vehicles in '96 with no power steering?