Heard and felt a loud thud sound from steering area driving home. Power steering feels like it is gone when turning left, but turns easier when turning right at low speeds. Steering wheel becomes off centered at times. Almost feels as if I might loose control of front tires during turns or at higher speeds.

- Elizabeth, NJ, USA

The contact owns a 1997 Pontiac Sunfire coupe. While driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle would not turn left at all. There was no difficulty making right turns. The vehicle was serviced by an independent mechanic and it was discovered that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The manufacturer stated that her VIN was not included in the recall for the rack and pinion. The NHTSA campaign id number was unknown. The failure mileage was 130,000 and current mileage was 138,000.

- Evanville, IN, USA

Vehicle made a grinding noise when turning. Dealer determined that rack and pinion had to be replaced. The vehicle also lost power steering when making right turns. Initially the dealer said the problem was with the rack and pinion. The consumer contacted the manufacturer three times. The manufacture wanted the dealer to recheck the vehicle at which time the dealer changed their mind and said that the tie rod was the problem. The consumer believes they changed their minds to get out of performing the recall for free.

- Mulberry, FL, USA

When turning to the left, the steering wheel became locked and the consumer hit a pole. Driver feels very lucky that the steering wheel didn't lock while at a high speed. The vehicle was totaled.

- Manning, SC, USA

While the driver made a turn the steering wheel locked up which caused the vehicle to fall into a ditch.

- Houston, TX, USA

The parts for the power steering recall 02 V 286 000 is not avialable. The dealership ramsey Pontiac GMC;Mahwah NJ;201-512-0002.

- Orangeburg, NY, USA

While daugther was driving about 30 mph she hit a guardrail and vehicle rolled over. Upon impact, air bags did not deploy, and vehicle was totaled.

- Rockwell, TX, USA