31 problems related to hydraulic power assist steering system have been reported for the 1997 Chevrolet Suburban. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
I have lost steering and braking on 1996 6. 5 turbo diesel Suburban three times now I drive normally. I am 42 and have a family of seven. When braking the power booster has zero pressure and it is very hard to stop and at the very same time all power steering is lost. I thought the power steering pump failed, so I replaced it, no change. Still no power brakes or steering. I replaced hydroboost unit braking and steering returned. I have had to replace hydroboost three times in 8 months. I completely removed the solenoid magnet from the power steering pump to test if the power steering pump causes the hydro boost unit to fail, I did this between hydro unit 1 an 2, I reinstalled magnet between unit 2 and 3 the first time I lost braking and steering there was no warning, I went to stop and had hard, non power brakes and no power steering. The second, third time I knew to replace the hydroboost unit, when braking and turning the steering gets hard or the brakes get hard, then I replace the hydroboost unit, brake and steering return to normal I completely flushed the power steering fluid each time into a clean bucket, no big particles or hose material. This braking system is dangerous, imagine driving down a winding two lane steep downhill mountain road, with a heavy Suburban and you loose steering and brakes I turned in the original parts as cores to get my money back.
No accidents. Steering has begun instances of loss of control. Information provided during discussions with local repair shops indicates the recirculating ball steering box may have a tendency to slip. This is consistent with the intermittant failure mode experienced during driving. The vehicle is a 1997 Suburban c1500. It is not used to tow and has never been in an accident. We have owned it since new, all of the 104,000 miles have been driven by us, no children have driven this vehicle. The truck has been well cared for. We have experienced this 5 times, with the most recent being yesterday. No repairs have been made.
When turning right, steering seems to assist more, causing abrupt oversteer. Happens intermitantly.
These trucks with this steering problem are very dangerous for drivers, passengers & other motorists around these vehicles. If no one has been killed yet because of this defect gm should do something before it's too late.
I have had several owners of the Suburban and tahoe line say that their power assist has failed also and had to endure costly/over priced repairs. Dt.
Sudden, unexpected oversteering in turns, veers into turns, intermittent.
Power steering hydroboost unit surges, makes steering wheel jerk in a different direction.
Steering tension changes drastically causing oversteering, steering also locks up when applying brakes.
At speeds above 30 mph the steering becomes unstable/loose especially in turns when the vehicle jerks suddenly in the same direction as the turn. The vehicle also wanders at highway speeds and causes oversteering when changing lanes. This is a very unsafe situation when towing causing the trailer to swerve back and fourth. I bought an extended warranty on this vehicle and I am planning on taking it in to the dealership where I bought it to have it checked/repaired but based on the number of complaints I have read about this problem I believe this should be addressed by the manufacturer because it is a definite safety hazard. I have owned three gm trucks (1989,1993 and 1996) and none has felt as unstable or as dangerous as this Suburban. If the dealer is unable to correct the problem under my extended warranty do I have any other recourse to correct this problem?.
When making a right turn there is some oversteering due to a bad power steering: hydroboost unit. The dealer has been contacted.
Odi # on last report: 720833. No safety defec tlisted in summary.
Steering suddenly jerked toward the direction of pressure on the steering wheel. This should be a recall emergency before it turns into causing fatalities like the tire situation.
Ongoing problem; dealer's aware- no fixing problem- while driving exhibits a loose behavior at various speeds like driving on ice.
Experience erratic steering. Steering system makes erratic jolts in either direction. System was bled, but still persists. Feels like power steering is unstable.
I have a newspaper article from 1999 stating NHTSA investigating this problem in 1997 to 1999 GMC vehicles. Your data base shows no complaints, but the article stated 76 complaints in 1999 and 4 crashes. There must be more by now, and the replacement electronically variable orifice that was replaced in my vehicle has failed again.
Failure of this component results in immediate and drammatic loss of normal power steering control when engaging in turns. The loss of resistence results in immediate oversteer which, at highway speeds, is very dangerous, sometimes causing the driver to drop a wheel from pavement. My writing is prompted 1) experience with my Suburban; 2) a call to me today from a dealership mechanic who worked on my vehicle who informed me he had another bad one, identical to mine; 3) I drove another Suburban of the same vintage & mileage with the identical problem. Though anecdotal, the multiple occurances in vehilces with which I am acquainted raise a compelling question about a dangerous problem with Suburbans. Thank you for your consideration.
Speed sensitive steering fails when driving. Especially dangerous when negotiating a turn, the steering is hard, the sss fails, causing the steering to become loose, resulting in oversteering, causing swerving or loss of control.
Loss of steering power and excessive play in the steering for up to 4-5 seconds at highway speeds.
Speed sensitive power steering does not operate properly, it has little if any road feel, the vehicle floats when driven in wind or around trucks and other traffic. Consumer feels the vehicle is very unstable, difficult to control.
I have owned a 86,93,95,and 97 Suburban. So Suburban steering is very familiar to me. The 1997 Suburban steering is unsafe. When the vehicle was first purchased the variable assist failed pulling an RV trailer. Whenever a vehicle passed our Suburban the steering had so much oversteer that if turned in any direction it would dart left and right either going off the highway or in the other lane. Several attempts were made to repair the steering,then lemon law was invoked. Two more attempts were made,the final one resulted in all of the service manager's steering components being removed from his 98 truck and placed on the Suburban. The steering was better but poor compared to the 95 and 93 Suburban. Today the vehicle is still scary to drive on rutted wet roads at speed. Just recently a chip failed in the steering when turning left, causing over correction into other lanes. The dealer said this had happened in other vehicles and repaired the vehicle. Unless gm fixes this problem,my intent is to buy another vehicle that is safe for family. It will not be a gm Suburban. The steering needs to be completely replaced with previous non variable assist.
Intermittently when making a turn power steering wheel has too much play in it. This almost caused an accident.
The power steering on right turns oversteers. It is like a sudden surge of power steering. Since it is intermetant it is a suprise and has on a number of occasion the suprise was enough to almost lose control of the Suburban. We had it in once for repair but they couldnt find anyting. It has become worse and we have taken it back again for a repair. The service man said he has had three other complaints of the same type of problem.
The low speed power assist intermittently activates at cruise speed when making course corrections such as turning to follow the road, turning to pass and turning to correct for side wind.
The power steering failed, which caused an accident. The consumer was injured.
Erratic power steering assist while driving.
Intermittently vehicle would lose steering power. Dealer has been notified. Please provide further information.
Steering on this vehicle at highway speeds is not positive, has a floating. . Wander that makes it feel like you have no steering, and when you try to recover, it over corrects and sways.
No summary listed for above vehicle.
Ea9901 eratic power steering; when driving straight or more often on curves there is slip in the steering. The dealer is aware of the problem. The problem has not been corrected.
Steering goes soft unexpectedly in turn, resulting in tendency to oversteer, possibly into oncoming traffic.
When making a right or left turn, the steering failed.