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 locked up/stopped working when trying to back up. Wouldn't work when put back in forward gear. Happened intermittently and when taken to dealer, they couldn't replicate. Next couple of months did this intermittently. Recently, it did this regularly for a day when driving...very dangerous as it would happen often when executing a turn so car could lurch into an adjacent lane and potentially end up in an accident. Warning light came on and this time took to dealer who told me they diagnosed a problem that would require replacement of at least part of the power steering assembly. This seems to be the exact same issue as what occurred with cobalts, HHR, etc. In the latest GM recall and I believe that the recall should be extended to this model year and make as well (if not for others too!). caused me enough concern to get the work done and am now working on my options to try and get GM to reimburse me based on this being an identical issue to these other makes and models.
While turning, power steering no longer present. Power steering did not return after checking fuses and replacing battery. Dealer indicated needed to replace steering gear and charged $1500. Power steering assist returned for a few days. Power steering became intermittent. When I returned to dealer, they say it was the shaft joints not functioning properly and replaced those at no charge.
Power steering failure. Steering locked up. Vehicle could be steered only with extreme manual effort. It occurred regardless of the speed of the vehicle, from 0 to 35 during this incident. When wheel was turned it would not return to previous position. For example when turning a corner, the vehicle would not straighten out when the turn was completed unless the wheel was manually pulled back, again with extreme effort. Local dealership service department was contacted but had no knowledge of any such problem. Days later the power steering returned to normal by itself! then the failure happened again without warning. This is a very dangerous situation!
I work approximately 36 miles from and while traveling home from work on the expressway I notice my power steering monitor appeared on my dashboard and my air brake warning signals came on and also my traction control signal was on and my steering became very stiff and tight very hard to control. I contact GM customer relations and explain to them that I have research other vehicles that were manufactured by them with this same problem that is now on their recall list. They were no help at all.they were looking for ways to put the responsibility in my hands to resolve the problem then to satisfy me as a customer.
While backing out of my driveway, I turned the steering wheel to the left and the steering wheel became stuck. I had to tug forcefully on the wheel for the steering wheel to come back to center. The same thing happened again 3 days later as I was making a right turn onto a busy road. I turned the steering wheel to the right and the steering wheel became stuck causing me to nearly run off the road. I had to pull with force to get the steering wheel back to center causing me to briefly swerve into the left lane. Luckily I did not run off the road or into anyone.
- Lexington, SC, USA
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The steering sticks. Extra effort is required to make corrections off center. The effort required to correct or turn the vehicle increases or sticks. This results in under or over correction or causes problems in turning and returning the wheel to center. Sometime the steering is fine and then this sticking or this could be described as the steering wheel is stuck in a rut that requires extra effort to get out of. Like getting out of a rut sometimes your go too far to the right or left due to the extra effort required while at other times only normal effort is needed. This is dangerous, I see on the internet that GM has a bulletin pit 4992A but I don't know what this bulletin indicates. My local dealer didn't know of this bulletin but said they would check. I never got an answer. This steering issued with the 2.4 L engine and the electronic power steering is a dangerous condition.
My wife noticed that it was becoming hard to steer. It continued for a few more days, so I called Chevrolet dealer to see if they had been aware of suh a problem, they told me no they had not. There were no warning light or any codes stored. I call GM customer service and was told the same thing that they are not aware of any such problem. It has become increasing worst to drive where it may lead to accident. I have no other choice but to replace one part after part.there are to many complaints out there for GM to remain blind to such a serious problem.
Equinox starts powering down occasionally during acceleration through hard right turns and, once, during a soft bump against a curb. Dashboard lights turn off, engine dies, etc. Can be restarted from stop. We had been able to duplicate the problem, but haven't been able to do so at the dealership, so it remains unfixed. We are concerned about the safety of driving a vehicle that may power down during a hard right turn and heavy acceleration. We now intentionally accelerate slowly and cautiously through right turns. We worry that we will get in a situation where, for instance, we'll need to turn out of the way of a semi trailer and our car will power down, putting us in great danger.
My new 2010 Chevy equnox developed a problem with its electric steering after it got warmed up and as driving speed increased. Dealers kept telling us that there was no issue since they could not detect an error code. On trip to Florida, steering become so difficult that it took two hands to steer at any speed above 50 mph. Dealer (vience fl.) finally changed out complete steering gear and problem went away!
Jerking in steering while driving at highway speed. Roberts Chevrolet of platte city, mo repaired the steering. When taken in they stated they had not heard of the problem. I had questioned the situation one other time at an oil change. The steering jerking was getting more intense over time, scheduled for it to be checked on June 30, 2011. On my repair order #192798 it is stated replaced steering gear. When I picked up the car I was informed they could not find anything, but they followed up with GM and got a bulletin #pit4992A. They performed the service listed in the bulletin. As of today that seems to have fixed the problem. The reason for listing the covered service is the problem seemed to be getting worse with only 18,000 miles. There has not been a recall so far as I know. We the jerking getting worse with time I was not sure if it could cause a complete steering loss while driving.
Have been having the sticky steering problem others are complaining about. It's noticeable at highway speeds on a smooth road surface and seems to happen in hotter, humid weather. I brought it to the dealer two times before to be checked and they told me just what I thought they would tell me. There are no trouble codes stored in the computer, they could not duplicate the problem and of course GM is not aware of any other problems like this one. I find that hard to believe since so many others are complaining about the exact same problem I'm having. The problem seems to be with the electric power steering on the Equinox, it really does seem like a hazard because of it locking up which is very noticeable and depending on the circumstance could be hard to handle if needing to steer quickly in a situation.
My 2010 Chevy Equinox is equipped with an electric power steering system. After the vehicle has been driven for at least 45 minutes, the steering wheel sticks or binds when trying to make minor lane correction changes. This is most noticeable on smooth road surfaces at highway speeds. An extra amount of force must be applied to the steering wheel to get it to move away from it's stuck position but once it does move, the extra amount of force used causes the steering wheel to travel past it's intended position, causing the vehicle to over correct and travel too far to the left or right. At highway speeds, this can be very dangerous and could result in loss of control of the vehicle, especially during wet and slippery road conditions. This problem should be taken very seriously. This vehicle has less than 9,000 miles on it and this condition did not exist until around the 8,000 mark.
Our 2010 Chevrolet Equinox has dangerous sticky steering at speeds of around 70 mph. More effort than normal is required to turn the steering wheel at these speeds, but then it "breaks loose" and causes the vehicle to swerve slightly. This has occurred since I bought the car new in January 2010. The local Chevrolet service department test drove it and said this was normal. I strongly disagree!
Steering sticks when having to make a slight adjustment in keeping the vehicle to drive in straight line. This occurs when driving on a freeway at speeds above 50 mph. The steering also sticks when steering into a slight bend on a freeway. This causes an over correction in keeping the vehicle in the desired path. This over correction does not result in driving the vehicle outside of the lane unless you were already riding the divider between lanes.
The problem is with the steering. After the vehicle has been driven for more than and 1/2 hour, it becomes sticky on each side of the center. I have had no serious problems as of yet, but the longer it is driven, the worse it gets. When this occurs, the natural response is to correct and sometimes this canbe quite scary or nerve racking. I have taken the vehicle to the dealership twice and they claimed there was nothing wrong.
Sticky steering, the steering wheel sticks and you have to give it a slight tug to the left or right to get it to move off the center. It is noticeable on good surfaces. I worry about the safety of the steering especially if the surface is slippery. Started in Sept 2010.
My 2010 Chevrolet Equinox steering binds up after the vehicle is warmed up. The binding happens when turning slightly to the right or left from a straight ahead position. It is most noticeable above 50 mph. The binding causes the driver to over correct and may cause an accident in wet or snow conditions. After the steering begins to bind, it intermittently binds at all speeds during that drive. When the vehicle cools down the steering returns to normal. I took the vehicle to the dealer on 10-13-2010 and demonstrated the problem to their "front end" technician. He experienced the problem but had no clue as to what the problem is. He said he would call technical assistance on 10-19-2010.
When slowly turning the steering wheel to the right all the way to almost the very end and while advancing at a very low speed, there's a small high pitch noise and "thunk" of a sound that can be heard from the front-left of the vehicle, if the radio and ventilation is quite down. It does not sound healthy and is quite disturbing knowing that there's only 3500km on this 2010 Chevrolet Equinox ls would there be other complaints likewise? and please investigate. Thank you
I had a 'sticky' steering problem back on Jan. 2010 during a trip North to Canada. It happened again last week on a long trip to sandusky Ohio, and it has gotten worse! based on my experience I think this problem happens only on very flat highway in good condition, such as the Ohio turnpike and 405 in Canada. As soon as I get into Michigan (horrible I75 condition) the problem is not noticeable anymore.
I own a 2010 Equinox and when driving in a straight path for a period of time the steering wheel binds up/sticks and I have to tug on the steering wheel to free it. Dealer cannot duplicate it but am fearful of a sudden failure at high speed while changing lanes, etc.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Clarksburg, MD, USA