Steering Problems of Chevrolet Bolt Ev - part 2

Sticking steering wheel. Does not return to center, stiff steering. If steering wheel is not manually return to center, vehicle will continue to turn.

See all problems of the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt Ev 🔎.

Steering very stiff will not return to center on its own. Seems to be the steering rack. Not returning to center seems dangerous in certain situations. This is a 2020 vehicle but seems to be a common problem on all years Bolt Ev/euv.

See all problems of the 2020 Chevrolet Bolt Ev 🔎.

Steering gear is bound up due to a documented manufacturing error. Steering is increasingly stiff at speed, and will not return to center without significant driver input. This is a widespread issue that has been documented and causes a major safety concern to chevy bolt owners and should be addressed and repaired by the manufacturer.

See all problems of the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt Ev 🔎.

The steering wheel will not return to center after turning. The steering feels stiff, and the steering wheel will not return to center on its own.

See all problems of the 2018 Chevrolet Bolt Ev 🔎.

The steering wheel fails to return to center after turns. This requires constant manual correction to re-center the vehicle, which increases the risk of overcorrection or unintended lane departure. There are no warning lights or noise, and the issue does not appear to be related to alignment, tires, or pressure. Many other Chevrolet bolt owners are reporting the same behavior, pointing to a potential defect in the steering gear or rack. This is an very serious safety hazard that could result in loss of vehicle control and death. Gm has not issued a recall or service bulletin, and repairs are extremely expensive.

Rack and pinion steering rack is failing. The steering wheel is not returning to center, causing the vehicle to meander into oncoming traffic when executing left turns. Recently this forced a vehicle in oncoming traffic to ditch onto the shoulder. Luckily there was no incident (to their vehicle or driver) after stopping to check with the other driver. Dealer has since confirmed the failure of the steering rack with a $3k cost to replace, and that this issue is "common" with 2022-2023 Chevrolet bolts.

See all problems of the 2023 Chevrolet Bolt Ev 🔎.

The steering rack loses its lubrication make it turn harder and could potentially fail completely leading to a loss of steering. I noticed that when I am steering around a curve the steering wheel fails to pull back to the center position and has to be manually forced back. Loss of steering or steering malfunction could lead to a fatal crash. I have not had my vehicle inspected by a dealer or mechanic but have researched the problem and many people online have reported failure of the steering rack/gear as well. There is no warning from the manufacturer about this problem and could go unnoticed until the problem is severe. The manufacturer (Chevrolet) should be required to replace this faulty part at no charge to the customer.

So I bought a used bolt and the steering is sticking, at moderate speed (50mph) sweeping corners it lightly wants to pull harder into the corner and won't return to center if you let off the wheel, regardless of direction, you must always forcefully guide the steering wheel back to center. This is wrong, if your bolt does this your steering rack is likely failing. This is a malfunction, in the gm service manual for the bolt there is a diagnosis for "poor return of steering wheel" which is described as "after completing a turn, extra steering input is required for the steering wheel to return to center. ".

See all problems of the 2019 Chevrolet Bolt Ev 🔎.

The steering wheel intermittently sticks and fails to return to center after turns or minor corrections, especially at low to moderate speeds. This requires constant manual correction to re-center the vehicle, which increases the risk of overcorrection or unintended lane departure. There are no warning lights or noise, and the issue does not appear to be related to alignment, tires, or pressure. Many other chevy bolt owners are reporting the same behavior, pointing to a potential defect in the steering gear or rack. This is a serious safety hazard that could result in loss of vehicle control. Gm has not issued a recall or service bulletin, and repairs are expensive.

Steering wheel is not returning to center after a turn. It can be dangerous in certain situations where you would expect the steering to center after making a turn. Took it into a mechanic and they said its a common issue on the bolts. Power steering rack is faulty. This needs to be investigated. . . . Lots of complaints online!.

Steering wheel does not return to center.

Steering would not return to center after a turn only for left turns, even at higher speeds. Steering would be sticky at low speeds. Resulted in challenging to predict cornering particularly for left turns. Manufacturer replaced steering gear under warranty. Ok now.

Steering rack is binding, not returning to center after completing a turn. Only 50,000 miles on it.

Steering will not return to center. Stiff and sluggish.

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? steering rack. Steering wont return to center at 38,000 miles. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? car handles unpredictably posing safety risk to others and myself. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? yes. Quoted $2,700 to replace rack and pinion. I refused service as vehicle has less than 40k miles. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? no were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? no.

The steering wheel intermittently sticks and fails to return to center after turns or minor corrections, especially at low to moderate speeds. This requires constant manual correction to re-center the vehicle, which increases the risk of overcorrection or unintended lane departure. There are no warning lights or noise, and the issue does not appear to be related to alignment, tires, or pressure. Many other chevy bolt owners are reporting the same behavior, pointing to a potential defect in the steering gear or rack. This is a serious safety hazard that could result in loss of vehicle control. Gm has not issued a recall or service bulletin, and repairs are expensive. See community reports here: [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Power steering fails go return to center intermittently causing unexpected handling characteristics while turning that could cause to over/undershoot a turn. Haven't taken it to the dealer to check and there are no warnings or lights.

The steering of my 2018 chevy bolt is sticky. At moderate speeds and going around sweeping corners and curves, the steering becomes sticky and does not want to return to center - you must guide steering back to center and there is friction involved in pulling it back to center. This is a safety issue because the sticking does not allow the driver to sense true road conditions especially in adverse weather. The problem has been reproduced by the dealer and is commonly discussed in chevy bolt forums including this one: [xxx] there are no warning lights or indicators of this issue - it is something that you begin to feel with the steering. Certain weather, temperature, and driving conditions seem to make it more pronounced. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

When corning the steering wheel intermittently sticks and fails to return to center after turns, at any speed but especially at low to moderate speeds. This requires me manually turn the wheel to re-center the vehicle, which increases the risk of overcorrection or unintended lane departure. There are no warning lights or noise, and the issue us not appear to be related to alignment, tires, or tire pressure. Many other chevy bolt owners are reporting the same behavior. This leads me to believe that this is a potential defect in the steering gear or rack. This is a safety hazard that could result in loss of vehicle control. Gm has not issued a recall or service bulletin, and repairs are expensive.

Steering wheel is stiff and doesn’t return to the center point smoothly especially when going 25 mph and faster. Possible safety issue.

Well known steering issue causing steering to almost "lock" and not return to center. Seemingly caused by lack of grease on the steering gear. Obviously dangerous for all involved as it is a steering problem.

The steering wheel does not return to center when turning either direction. Steering alternates between feeling loose and tight. After doing some research online, this is definitely a common problem with this vehicle among other drivers. Often it doesn't feel safe.

The car had weird noise (clunky) when I make the turn either left or right since beginning in apri 2025. On April 17 in the morning, I drove to work while exit on freeway. When I try to turn into other street at speed of 20 mph, the car is not turning as normal as expected. It went beyond the other lane even I just turn in regularly with normal angle within my lane. (with huge clunky noise and lose control to make a turn) I was almost hit the other car on my left side as those are parallel with 2 lanes. I immediately rush to local gm dealer next day (April 18) and drop off the car for inspection. The dealer identified and confirmed there is an issue with the steering gear. (no fix due to extremely costly) I have to keep driving at risk.

My 2017 chevy Bolt Ev, (as well as others as found on the chevy Bolt Ev owners forum) has a problem with the steering wheel sticking during turns and not returning to center. The dealers want $2200 - $2500 to replace the steering rack. Since this is a frequently reported problem and can represent a hazard, should this be subject to a recall? I am puting in todays date, however this existed since purchasing the car.

Steering wheel does not return to center on its own after a turn. The wheel will remain turned, and the car will continue turning, until it is forced back to center by the driver.

Steering not returning to center when coming out of turns. Many have reported this issue with the steering rack. Concerned that steering will bind and cause an accident.

On 4/5/2025 I was driving at 35mph and the steering wheel began to violently shimmy. The vehicle became difficult to steer putting safety at risk. Slowed to 25mph but shimmy did not stop. Abs warning light came on and stabilitrak warning light came on and warning that steering was being was being automatically reduced. Driving became very difficult. Stopped and had car towed to Chevrolet. Car was diagnosed with broken left and right front axle anticlick washers and metallic debri found on sensors. Both front axle anticlick washers were replaced, sensors cleaned, and codes cleared, and brake fluid had to be flushed. Cost $850 to repair. Subsequently found out another friend had same thing happen to their 2018 bolt. This was a safety issue and put us at risk while driving.

Car is not returning to center on turns without significant effort by driver. This has almost caused multiple accidents. This is a common problem and should be a recall.

At about 40k miles my steering changed. The steering would no longer straighten out. It occurred to me on a windy road, and made the drive a lot more difficult as I was not used to it. I just got it fixed from the Chevrolet dealership and they replaced the steering box.

I am filing this urgent safety complaint regarding a critical failure of the steering system in my 2019 Chevrolet Bolt Ev, which began experiencing problems at approximately 40,000 miles. This is not an isolated incident; numerous identical reports exist from other Bolt Ev owners on public forums like reddit ([xxx]) and [xxx], often occurring at similarly low mileage (typically 30,000-60,000 miles). The symptoms began with distinct clicking and knocking sounds when turning the steering wheel. This has progressed rapidly to increased steering effort (stiffness) and a failure of the steering wheel to return to center smoothly after a turn. This constitutes a severe and unacceptable degradation of a primary vehicle control system. When I had the vehicle inspected I was informed that the degradation would progress and risk my ability to safely steer the vehicle, and that the car should no longer be operated without performing a repair. A repair diagnosis indicated failure of the steering gear/rack assembly, with an initial repair quote of over $7000. This exorbitant cost is nearly prohibitive and approaches the residual value of the vehicle itself. It is deeply concerning and frankly unacceptable that a fundamental safety system like the steering is failing prematurely on these vehicles. Furthermore, the extremely high repair cost creates a dangerous secondary safety risk: owners may be forced to choose between a financially crippling repair or dangerously deferring maintenance, continuing to operate vehicles with compromised steering and risking catastrophic failure on the road. Steering integrity is paramount and should not be failing at such low mileage under any normal operating conditions. This pattern of premature steering failure reported by numerous owners indicates a potential design flaw, manufacturing defect, or component quality issue with the Chevrolet Bolt Ev steering system that warrants immediate investigation. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Low mileage vehicle purchased preowned with only 32,166 miles, and steering wheel (steering rack & pinion) is stiff and will not return wheel to center after turning more than a quarter turn.

The rack and pinion for this bolt is getting problematic and requires repair and should be recalled.

While driving, especially at lower speeds or during small steering inputs (such as switching lanes), the steering wheel does not return to center as expected. Instead, it sticks in the turned position, requiring extra effort to manually re-center the wheel. This issue is intermittent but persistent, and worsens over time. It appears to originate from the steering gear/rack, as there is no abnormal noise or warning lights. The car does not exhibit issues with alignment or tire wear, and tire pressure is within recommended specs. This behavior creates a safety hazard, as the driver must constantly correct the wheel back to center, especially after turns or curves. This introduces risk of overcorrection, lane departure, or delayed reaction in emergencies. Multiple other bolt owners are reporting similar symptoms in this owner forum thread, suggesting a potential defect in the steering gear or electric steering system. Gm has not issued a recall or service bulletin on this yet, and repair costs are substantial out-of-pocket. This issue could result in loss of control if it worsens. Please investigate.

The steering system has developed a progressively worse clunking sound when turning the steering wheel left or right when stopped, or at slow speeds. Additionally, the steering wheel will no longer return to center when exiting a turn. (in other words, it requires effort from the driver to return the steering wheel to center).

The steering feels like it takes more input to control the steering than is reasonable. When coming out of a curve at speed, the steering doesn't return to center and continues to turn requiring additional steering input to come out of the turn.