Electric Power Assist Steering System Problems of Chevrolet Suburban

When the car is cold, the steering resists very strongly a turn to the right in the first 10-20 degrees of steering wheel turn to the right of straight. The strength of resistance is variable, depending on the speed of the vehicle. Sitting still, there is a slight ?hitch? or nothing at all. As vehicle speed increases, the amount of resistance increases to a max at about 20-25 mph, where it takes an ?arm wrestle? force to move the steering to the right. It resists, fights back, then with a lot of muscle ? pops through this resistance and feels perfectly normal. The hard muscle pull to the right, and subsequent release makes the track of the car tend straight, and then jerk right. When the car has this malfunction, it requires the most physical power to pull the steering to the right the first time. Successive turns to the right are easier and easier, until after about 4-5 cycles to the right, the steering is ?normal. ? symptoms are gone within 1 mile of driving. This malfunction occurs usually when the vehicle is cold and has not been driven for several days. It also is more prevalent when the outside air temperature is cold. There are exceptions to both. It resisted turns to the right in the morning, and equally as much that evening returning home from work. It has shown up in the summer, but more often in the winter. It does not do it every day. I describe it as permanent, persistently intermittent. Vehicle has been to the dealer three times, and left days and weeks at a time. At the last incident, the dealer replaced the steering position sensor. Frequency of malfunction decreased, but the problem has not been resolved. The fact that the vehicle will not take normal steering commands is in itself hazardous. On slippery surfaces, the likelihood of loss of control is severe.

See all problems of the 2002 Chevrolet Suburban 🔎.

Streering began to act eratically and felt as if I hit a patch of ice with a rapid release of turning force while making a right hand turn. On the first occasion when this occurred I was exiting a freeway cloverleaf in wet conditions and the eratic movement caused the rear of the truck to lose traction and a near loss of control. I was able to recover the the slide without an accident but found it to be an unnerving event. After researching auto forums on the web I have found numerous postings on this subject and it is related to a failure of the steering wheel sensor located at on near the base of the steering column in the passenger compartment. I replaced this sensor on 05-04-05 and the condition is now corrected. I purchased the gm part #26064468 at a dealer and did the labor myself. This is an extremely hazardous defect which will inevitable cause a serious accident, especially in adverse weather conditions.

See all problems of the 1999 Chevrolet Suburban 🔎.

1) near crashes have been caused by an erratic condition in the steering. Called gm national customer service number and gave all information and was promised someone would contact me. (never happened) 2 other families here in rochester have the same vehicle and the same problem. 2) upon turning the steering wheel, the wheel itself suddenly free-wheels several inches. This rapidly accelerates the degree of turn and makes the driver feel as if they have lost control and the entire vehicle often swerves out of control. 3) I brought it to 2 dealers here in rochester and neither was able to detect the problem on a test drive. The problem comes and goes. When it happens, it will scare the living out of you, and the driver on the other side of the road. We have all but lost control on more than one occasion. A friend of mine who also has a Suburban said he had the same problem and finally someone suggested replacing something called the power steering assist? we have a 98' Suburban and have had it since it was 7,000 miles old. It has a 350 and is an lt and has 3rd seat and four wheel drive. I think this problem affects most if not all Suburban's in our year class. Chevy is not responding to my questions. Please help.

See all problems of the 1998 Chevrolet Suburban 🔎.

While driving the electronic module for the steering failed. As a result, the steering wheel became playful, and driver almost lost control.

Steering sensor failed, causing steering wheel to skip when turning and feels like control of steering is lost momentarily. Sensor was replaced once and problem was cured for a time, but it is now recurring.