Hydraulic Power Assist Steering System problems of the 2001 Chevrolet Silverado

I own a 2001 Chevrolet Silverado 2500hd pickup truck that I purchased used in June 2003 with approximately 36,000 miles at the time of purchase. Until recently, the truck had proven to be very safe and reliable. The truck currently has 58,000 miles on it. On July 18, 2005, my wife loaded our five-month-old daughter into her car seat and then proceeded to get in to drive. Upon starting the truck, she pressed on the brake to shift. She then shifted into drive only to have the truck drift forward despite her braking effort. At that time, she also noticed that she could not turn the steering wheel at all. After significant effort, she was able to stop the truck from its very low speed. We towed the truck to a local Chevrolet dealer to have them diagnose the problem and problem and provide a repair cost estimate. The dealer diagnosed that the power steering pump (pump) failed. The power brakes are hydraulically assisted by the pump rather than using engine vacuum assist. The dealer stated that the input shaft to pump had sheared in half. The dealer required me to pay a core charge since the pump was so severely damaged that they would not be able to return it for a core themselves. The repair total cost $356. The pump is located deep within the engine compartment. There are no means to externally damage the pump suggesting a material or manufacturing defect within the pump. The purpose of this letter is to call attention to a problem that could have resulted in the severe injury or death of my wife and daughter had the problem occurred while traveling at higher speeds. This power steering pump problem, if systemic rather than isolated, could pose a serious safety risk to the owners of these trucks and other people on the roads. I ask that you investigate the severity of this problem and how many trucks it affects, taking further action if necessary.

While driving 15 mph, vehicle suddenly lost power steering. Vehicle was not able to be controlled. Had the vehicle towed. At the dealership, the mechanic repaired/replaced the power steering pump.

I was south bound on one way street 30 mph into green light intersection. A west bound car failed to stop and struck rear panel behind drivers rear wheel. This started a spin and threw me against drivers window. I blacked out for a second and the tried to regain control. I hit brakes hard, but wheel continued to spin at 30 mph which caused me to spin in donut fashion. This threw me against a curb and broke off the left front wheel as the trucked skipped onto the sidewalk, spun across and sheared off a small 3" diameter tree. The truck continued to spin in donut fashion towards a boy scout building, I was finally able to take my hands off of the wheel long enough to throw into neutral and stop. The engine idles down to normal after shifting into neutral. All of the accident was in a direction to the southeast of the original impact, not to the southwest as would be expected. I feel the damage would have been slight if the throttle would not have stuck, probably just the rear panel of the truck. Instead there was damage to all panels and doors on both sides of the truck, plus my injuries. The good thing is that no boy scouts were in the parking lot!!.

Bent and twisted fingers mr. Ulatowski owns a building supply company and wears out a pickup truck every year or two because of the extensive driving. Mr. Ulatowski's fingers are crippled from holding the steering wheel. The index, middle and ring fingers of both hands are bent over the baby fingers. Information submitted on the behalf of mr. Ulatowski by mike tomich 989-665-2311 mr. Ulatowski wishes his identy be held confidential. Dt.

No summary listed for above vehicle.

Power assist steering faded to nothing while driving. Dealer replaced major front suspension components, including tires, but the steering failure still persisted. The cause of the failure had not been determined. Manufacture rwas not claiming any responsibility at this time.