POWER STEERING FLUID LEAKS - FIRES

Steering:Hydraulic Power Assist System
Steering:Hydraulic Power Assist:Hose, Piping, And Connections
Steering:Hydraulic Power Assist:Power Steering Fluid

Summary

General Motors (GM) initiated a customer satisfaction campaign in October of 2006 to address a failure of the power steering hose and/or clamps that could occur when the engine is started in vehicles primarily operated in the following states that experience extremely cold temperatures:Alaska, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming.at the time this preliminary evaluation (PE) was opened, only 1 of the 33 complaints received by the Office Of Defects Investigation (ODI) was from a state covered by the customer satisfaction campaign.in response to an information request sent by the ODI, GM provided information that included 6 alleged fires and 1 alleged minor crash potentially related to the alleged defect. One of the alleged fires is a duplicate of a report received by ODI.of the fire incidents, 2 of the 6 alleged fire incidents occurred after the remedy detailed in the customer satisfaction program was performed.one of the vehicles was totaled as a result of the incident.it is undetermined whether the incidents were related to the alleged defect or were a by product of the repair.of the other four alleged fire incidents, 1 incident involved smoke only and no visible flames.based on the information provided, the remaining 3 fire incidents were localized events that primarily involved damage to the power steering components and surrounding wiring.all 3 of these vehicles were subsequently repaired.none of the alleged fire incidents occurred while the vehicle was unattended.ODI is aware of 1 additional alleged fire incident that was not included in GM's information request response.based on the consumer's description of the incident, the fire was quickly extinguished by a friend and the vehicle was subsequently repaired at a dealership.in total ODI is aware of 6 alleged fire incidents where the consumer alleged flames were visible.all of the alleged fire incidents occurred while the vehicle was still attended. ODI is aware 1 minor crash alleged to be related to a power steering fluid leak.the consumer alleged a minor crash occurred as the consumer was attempting to pull into a driveway and had difficulty negotiating the turn due to experiencing high power steering efforts and struck a snow bank.in a letter dated September 21, 2009, GM informed ODI that a customer satisfaction program will commence in December of 2009 for the entire us. As a remedy the power steering hose assembly for vehicles with V8 engines and the power steering return hose and clamps for vehicles with V6 engines will be replaced with upgraded components.based on the low frequencies and minor severities of the alleged fire incidents and crash, no safety related defect trend has been identified in the subject vehicles.GM's expanded customer satisfaction program will provide free repairs to vehicles excluded from the original campaign.accordingly, this investigation has been closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist.the Agency will continue to monitor complaints and other information relating to the alleged defect in the subject vehicles and take further action in the future if warranted.

Documents (24)

• OPENING RESUME APPROVED * 05/13/09 * p
• GM RESPONSE 07/31/2009 Q_6 CUSTOMER COMPLAINT CODE
• GM 7/31/2009 LETTER TO ODI
• GM RESPONSE 07/31/09 Q_7 BULLETIN
• GM RESPONSE 07/31/09 MISC PART PICTURE
• GM RESPONSE 07/31/09 RETURNED HOSE IMAGES
• GM RESPONSE 07/31/09 Q_8 WARRANTY RETURNS PN
• GM RESPONSE 07/31/09 Q_* 06072+BULLETIN+-+OWNER+LETTER
• GM RESPONSE 07/31/2009 Q_6 PROBLEM CAUSE CODE
• GM RESPONSE 07/31/09 Q_8 RED-X-POWER_DRAFT NOT COMPLETED_HOSE_9_MAY_2006
• GM RESPONSE 07/31/09 Q_11F 06072+BULLETIN+-+OWNER+LETTER
• GM RESPONSE 07/31/09 Q_11F ADMINISTRATIVE+MESSAGE
• IR TO MFR- To investigate allegations of power steering fluid leakage. * 06/04/09 * p
• CLOSING RESUME APPROVED * 10/02/09 * p
• GM RESPONSE 07/31/09 Q _8 OLD WARRANTY DATA E8623-8904-6-9680+IMPALA+2006+02-17-2006
• GM RESPONSE 07/31/09 MISC COOLER LINE PRESSURE MEASUREMENT
• GM RESPONSE Q_9 MODIFICATIONS
• GM RESPONSE 07/31/09 Q_11F 06072+GFANF
• 68KB GM RESPONSE 07/31/09 Q_12 PART SALES
• GM RESPONSE 07/31/09 Q_08-1 GM VALIDATION GM7210M
• GM RESPONSE 07/31/09 ORIGNAL IR & N090132 RESPONSE
• GM RESPONSE 07/31/09 Q_11F 06072
• MFR IR RESPONSE DATA
• MFR IR RESPONSE DATA

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