Steering Is Tight problems of the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu

I have a 2008 chevy Malibu 4 cylinder and my power steering is shaky and hard to turn while I was driving. It happen January 10th 2021.

I was driving a couple days after buying thos vehicle & noticed that my power steering message came on on my dash. A few days later the steering wheel was harder to control & when I was parked my steering wheel would move on it's own. I looked online to try to figure out why it could be doing that because I had never had a car with electronic power steering & I saw that I was 1 of many people who has the same problem with the same make & model car, some of which have a recall for that very reason. I feel like it is very dangerous now driving because the steering wheel feels like it is moving on it's own while driving.

When the car was started the information panal was not reading, it consisted of mostly dashes. The car was running much louder than normal and the check engine light came on. It started saying service traction and engine power loss. I placed the car in drive, the interior lights started flashing and locks went up and down rapidly. I shut the car off and re started it, attempted to see if it would drive but it had no power, could only reverse and there seemed to be no power steering. The next day I started the car again, this time no immediate issue until I pulled out on to the street. The steering wheel was tight, and the car failed to accelerate. Loss of engine power was on the dash, engine and traction lights remained on. Restarted the car and I was able to park again. The car remains at the dealer after being towed a week ago, and they are unsure of the cause. This is extremely dangerous, especially if it were to happen on the highway I would not have had any control of the car and most definitely would have caused an accident.

I was going to make a left turn and I tried to turn the steering wheel and it would not turn using one hand, so I used 2 hands and turned as hard as I could. There was no power steering and was way harder to turn than any other vehicle I have driven without power steering. This includes large tractors, pickups, trucks and cars that had no power steering and were far easier to turn than my 2008 chevy Malibu ltz. After completing the turn, the power steering returned. It is happening almost every time I drive my car now and sometimes happens with turning right and more frequently turning left. I took it in to have it looked at and was told I need a new power steering pump at $440 installed and quite possibly rack & pinion at $660 installed. The shop added an additive to the power steering fluid and it is making it better, although it is only a bandaid and does not fix the actual problem. Gm currently has a recall for this type of problem on certain VIN numbers only. The recall has been issued using 3 bulletins. My car is not covered by these bulletins, although, the bulletins make it appear as though it is covered. I have read several other similar complaints on-line. This is an incredibly dangerous defect, as I have already had some "near misses" due to this defect.

First time it happen sitting at a red light and the steering wheel jerked out of my hands and a message came a crossed the dash reading power steering it was very hard to steer but I managed to get it off the road turned the car off and let it sit then started the back up and it was working again. It has happen 4 more times since the first time and I was moving those times and you can not steer the car it is very difficult to handle when the power steering stops working I took it back to the dealer ship where I bought it from they told me it was covered on a recall but they had to take it to a gm dealer to have it fixed. Now the gm dealer said it is not covered. But I have found the same problem with alot of chevy owners with the same year & make & model as mine it is a big safety issue and I have found were gm has sent out recall letters with extended coverage on the power steering for up to 100,000 miles. They know it exist why are they picking and choosing which ones to fix and not to fix. I am afraid to drive it not only put my family in it. They should be held accountable for there product.

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu. While driving at the speeds of 25 mph, the power steering was very hard to control when making a turn. Other times whenever the vehicle is being parked it will shake and jerk. The dealer was contacted and they stated that he will need a new electronic motor and a control module for the power steering. There have been no diagnosis and no repairs. The failure mileage was 50,000 and the current mileage was 51,800.