This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Power steering pump mounting brackets broke off ( on a power steering pump itself), car thus lost power steering, belt got off, in a turn it would have been a disaster, somehow I was able to steer it clear in a turn. I guess I was lucky.
I was driving and my serpentine belt fell off. After inspection the bracket for my power steering pump broke and caused the belt to fall off. Lost power steering while driving.
After starting up my car, there was a slight whine under the hood. I gave the car a little bit of throttle to see if the whine went away and heard a loud bang. The car was still running but my battery light was on. I needed to get home, and I thought that my car may not start again if I turned it off so I drove home. Immediately I noticed that I didn't have any power steering. As I drove my engine temperature got higher and I barely made it home without overheating. A few days later I looked in the engine compartment and saw that the power steering pump had broken free of the engine - the bracket had sheared off. That in turn caused the belt to fall off which was turning the water pump and alternator. I got on the computer and looked up the problem and found a lot of people experiencing the same problem, some driving during the incident. This is a real defective design and causes me to be concerned about the safety. I hope nothing tragic has to happen to someone for this to be considered a recall.
I was driving in stop and go traffic when I noticed the steering felt a little stiffer than usual. After about 5 miles and better flowing traffic I pulled into a restaurant for dinner when my upper radiator hose exploded. I pulled into a stall and opened the hood to inspect what happened. The hose was very apparent and after further investigation I noticed the power steering pumps pulley at a very sharp angle compared to linear with the serpentine belt. I can only assume that from the bracket on the pump breaking, it caused a chain reaction of events. First the bracket brocket putting the pump at a steep angle N forcing the belt to go off track which then caused all the other accessories to be disabled including the water pump which overheated the car.
1. events leading up to failure: I drove the car 5min and parked for 30 minute lunch. When I started the car, the power steering failed immediately and I couldn't turn the wheel. 2. the failure, frequency, consequences: Power steering pump mounting brackets fractured near the bolts that retain the part to the chassis. The pump swung loose, allowing the belt to jump. The tensioner pulleys were damaged. My mechanic is unaware of other incidences, though I found documented reports of the same failure with photos at this site: www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?T=323318 fortunately, this steering failure happened at no speed. If I had been driving, the failure could cause loss of steering, which would be especially dangerous before a turn on a mountain road. I commute in the mountains daily. 3. what was done to correct the failure labor service - original checkout $73 belts came off pulleys: Belts came off pulleys: The power steering pump broke loose from its mounting tabs. The power steering supply and return hoses are leaking, the fan belts are damaged, and the fan belt tensioner pulleys are noisy. Recommend to replace these items. See quote below. Labor service - power steering pump $1,093 labor service - power steering supply and return hoses and fluid flush $534 labor service - fan belts $280 labor service - tensioner pulleys $618.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Concord, CA, USA