Power Steering Pump Problems of Chevrolet Astro

Hi, I was driving this van when all of a sudden it stops. I had a very hard problem of trying to get off the road with no brakes or steering. I had it towed into service. They replaced everything fuel pump, sending unit, fuel filter, plugs, plug wires, distributor and reset the timing. It never did show up a check engine light or showed a code that something was wrong. I drove it two days later and it did the same thing. They checked it out and drove it again for a week and it happen again. I spent $1200 trying to get this safe to drive. It is as if the key was shut off. Finally with some of my knowledge about what can cause this to happen I checked the battery. It was only one year old. It showed up as bad under a load. When I took the van back to the repair shop they said battery showed good. Finally I took the battery back to auto zone they showed it as bad also and replaced it. Never had a problem after that. So the problem you are having with the key switch in all those cars you may have to double check the batterys. Voltage to the microprocessor should stay within limits of apx 8 volts. This might be more of a problem than the key switch. Thanks for reading this letter.

See all problems of the 2000 Chevrolet Astro 🔎.

The contact owns a 1995 Chevrolet Astro. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 mph, there was a sudden loss of power steering assist. The vehicle failed to decelerate as the brakes were applied. In order to stop the failure, the contact had to power off the engine however, the failure recurred twice once restarted. The vehicle was towed to the contact?s residence where the contact independently replaced the power steering line. In addition, the fuel pump was found to be faulty and was also replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 200,000. . . . Updated 11-12-13 the fuel pump wire connector on top of the fuel pump inside of the gas tank melted and the fuse never blew. The consumer also stated the second time the power steering line broke, he almost crashed into a hospital.

I own a 1997 chev Astro van with 151k miles. Sunday, the power steering pump went out. When it did so, the brakes turned mushy with little braking power. We were lucky as we had just come down a steep driveway. If they had failed then our choices would have been to run into the back of a car if we could have turned, run into a group of people and then continued down a steep hill into brush and forest with likely casualties. Luckily, we had just started up to leave and noticed the problem. We shut down and the local chev dealership was able to obtain a part. However, the service writer told us that to this day, many chev vans and trucks have the same system where the power steering pump acts as a booster pump for the braking system. That lack of independence between the two systems is an engineering error and should be corrected.

See all problems of the 1997 Chevrolet Astro 🔎.

: the contact stated the vehicle lost power assist steering & power assist brakes simultaneously while driving 3 mph. There were no warnings prior to the incident. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer, however, after some research, the contact discovered the power steering pump had failed, causing lack of pressure to the brakes and steering. Updated 10/25/2006 - the shaft in the power steering pump snapped.

See all problems of the 1999 Chevrolet Astro 🔎.

Events leading up to the failure of my incidents were just normal driving conditions and at a very minimal low speed, in which I was just driving and all of a sudden had no power steering or brakes. I was scared to death to no I had know control of my vehicle all of a sudden. My consequences were none other than the scare of my life and the realization that this could have been fatal had I been going faster or on a highway or any other road than a subdivision road. This situation occurred due to the power steering pump,which has a hydraulic vacuum booster for the brakes and all works together . After speaking to a service clerk at the car dealer and stating this was something I thought was a safety concern to be just driving along and lose control of your steering and brakes, he agreed. The problems was fixed by installing a new power steering pump and fluid and cleaning chemistry etc. Totaling a total of $636. 32.

Pulling into our driveway in the evening the power steering pump went out. As I tried to stop our van I noticed the brakes were also gone causing us to roll into the corner of our home (brick) at approximately 3 - 4 mph which caused approximately $2500 worth of damage to the front end of the van. No one was injured. It cost $300 to get the power steering pump replaced and another $75 just to replace the radiator fan and shroud so the vehicle could be made drivable again. After contacting several service agencies I find that the brake boost system has been incorporated into the power steering pump, hence, if you lose your power steering, you lose your brakes! I contacted Chevrolet customer service (case #1-383499552) and their answer was, "you should still have some brakes if you push hard enough. " I'm 5'10" tall and weigh 200 lbs. I had both feet pushing on the pedal trying to stop. Imagine what would happen if this happened to someone in rush hour traffic or if they were coming off of the interstate at 70 miles per hour trying to stop their vehicle. Gm needs to let people know the possibility of this happening. Nothing in the owner's manual about it. We would also like gm to pay for the damages to our vehicle caused by us not being able to stop.

2000 Chevrolet Astro van. While the consumer was leaving the driveway the steering wheel would not turn and the brakes did not work. The consumer contacted GMC. They did not have a recall for this problem. This was the second time that this happened. The first time this happened the dealership put on a new pump. The new pump failed also. The new pump was put on as a new vehicle guarantee. There were no accidents or injuries. . Updated 11/16/05.

While driving at appoximately 10 mph power steering went out, whicle left the vehicle without brakes or any power. Vehicle was towed, and the power steering pump was found to be defective.

Van was being backed into driveway,steering and brakes went hard and belt started to squeal for about 6 seconds. Belt squeal stopped but steering and brakes did not return. During inspection found power steering shaft broken.

Power steering pump went out, which rendered power steering and brakes inoperative!! backing out of driveway, couldn't stop, went across traffic, up into cul DE sac (thank goodness no other vehicles coming). $800 repair!!! only 50,000 +/- miles on vehicle.

Power steering pump failed causing the power steering to fail and also causing power assisted brakes to fail.

Consumer states that while driving, the power steering pump failed.

Power steering pump shaft breaks without any indication that a malfunction has occurred which results in loss of power steering and brake control.

Inside power steering pump shaft snapped ,will lose steering and brakes. This causes dangerous condition with loss of steering and brake failure.

Vehicle would not steer, and brakes would not work. Towed to dealer, and stated the power steering pump, that controls the hydraulic boost for the brakes failed which led to the problem. Repairwork done with a replacement pump, which was identical to the original pump. Provide further information.

When driving vehicle the shaft on the power steering pump broke. Vehicle had no steering control / power brakes. The shaft went into the power steering pump. There was no warning. Took vehicle to dealer & informed by mechanic that a weakness had occurred in the shaft.

While backing out of parking space heard a loud noise, suddenly no steering, the steering wheel went dead, no control, no brakes on vehicle, having vehicle towed to dealer. Consumer stated the vehicle was towed to residence and it was the serpetine/tensioner that failed.

See all problems of the 1996 Chevrolet Astro 🔎.

While driving at approx 25 mph, making a sharp turn, lost complete steering and brakeing and all power assist. Had to downshift in order to gain control of vehicle. Dealer replaced power steering pump. Brakes work off pump. Dealer cannot find problem. This defect can result in an accident.

See all problems of the 1998 Chevrolet Astro 🔎.

Power steering pump failed twice.

While backing out of a parking space, the steering belt tensioner fell off, causing loss of steering control. Please give any further detail.

While driving vehicle stalled, and brake pedal went down to the floor due to power steering pump malfunctioning.