This is very serious and scary when it happens. The first time I was driving down the Interstate at about 55 mph and the steering wheel began shaking, then started to begin locking up. I steered to side of road, hoping to get off highway. I had a friend in the car who also was scared, not knowing what was happening. I shut off the engine and sat for few minutes - I was not sure what happened.

After restarting it seemed fine, so I went home. It happened again the next day so I took it to the repair man. It has an electric steering. I found out online that Saturn knows of the problems. GM also used the same system and did a recall on their vehicles, but Saturn did not. That’s why it does not show on car fax. This is a safety issue, the steering complete locks.

I assume this issue will come up every two to three years. The first time the Saturn Dealership (Galpin Ford in San Fernando Valley) took several tries to diagnose and repair the problem. First the pump, and then the entire steering rack assembly. two visits with somewhat lengthy repairs fixed the problem. My warranty expired so GM was kind enough to extend my warranty for a year.

Last year, this problem re-occurred, and I paid for most of the repairs. Some of these parts were luckily under the longer term warranty , but I still paid around 1600 out of pocket. The Chevy Dealership Service employee told me there was nothing that could be done to enhance the functionality or improve the repairs or parts to avoid this issue in the future. He basically said (without words) that nothing could be done, which is like admitting the parts or design are defective. Therefor I assume I will be forced to make this costly repair every two to three years. It's really unfortunate too because the engine runs like a dream. I believe the engine has a lot of life left in it, but this is a major concern and a real safety issue. The comment below states the steering seized a high speeds. I was fortunate that mine typically occurred (or was noticed) at low speeds. My young daughter was in the car with me and it's a scary thing to know your car's steering is unreliable.