Steering Rack And Pinion Problems of Chevrolet Traverse - part 2

The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that after the vehicle was serviced, the steering wheel seized intermittently without warning. The failure recurred several times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that power steering pump and the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.

See all problems of the 2011 Chevrolet Traverse 🔎.

During the winter season, I periodically started hearing a clunking sound as I was making directional turns in my vehicle (a 2009 chevy Traverse). Therefore, during my previous oil change, I asked my mechanic to take it for a test drive, but he did not hear anything at that time. Yesterday, I was in for another oil change and again I asked my mechanic to test drive it, but this time he did hear the clunking sound and ultimately found that the rack & pinion steering unit needed to be replaced. Both professionally and on computer "on-line" web sites, there are numerous complaints of early failures of the rack & pinion steering, on the GMC acadia, Buick enclave and chevy Traverse, SUV type vehicles. I have owned several vehicles over the last 30 years and never had to replace the entire rack & pinion steering unit on a vehicle that was less than ten years old (only six, in this instance) and had such low mileage (recently passed 60,000 miles). Obviously, there is a flaw in the design or in the production of this steering mechanism. There are too many premature failures on these series of vehicles. Gm should own up to their mistakes, but as with their ignition switch problems, they would rather ignore the problem. I have owned several gm vehicles and have mostly been satisfied with their products. If I have to spend almost $2000 to fix their mistake, this will be the last new (or used) gm car I purchase. My previous SUV was a 2002 Toyota highlander. I purchased it "new" and kept it for over ten years and drove over 100,000 miles on it. Other than wear and tear items (brakes, tires, battery, etc. ), I did not experience any "abnormal" failures, in any of the vehicles major components.

See all problems of the 2009 Chevrolet Traverse 🔎.

On August 6, 2014 we had our vehicle serviced by the dealer due to an airbag recall and at the time the vehicle had 38,000 miles. Shortly there after we noticed a grinding noise when we made a right hand turn. At first it happened intermittently but eventually it became noticeable at low rates of speed (5 - 10 mph). Today we took the vehicle to the dealership for the third recall this being the power steering pump. We were informed that this was covered by gm but we also had a leak in our rack and pinion and it would cost $1200 to repair. We intend to fight this since it appears it may be linked to the steering recall. We also have noticed that the driver side seat belt has cut a groove into the plastic seatbelt cover near the shoulder harness. We were told that this was not related to the earlier seat belt recall which had been serviced. This could effect the integrity of the seat belt system if the belt gets snagged by the plastic groove which has appeared. This should not happen with a car that is less than 3 years old.

Tl- the contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 10 mph, the steering wheel seized and excessive force was required without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was informed that it was uncertain if the steering pump or the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 97,000. Djr.

See all problems of the 2010 Chevrolet Traverse 🔎.

Steering becomes extremely difficult at low speeds. Dealership said it was the rack and pinion steering and it isn't covered under warranty.

I originally took vehicle to dealer to replace the timing chain. When I got the vehicle back the power steering was making a loud noise. The dealer said the power steering was fine. Approximately 6 months later I take the vehicle back to the dealer for recalls and leaking coolant. Power steering still loud. Tech found leak from rack and pinion. I am glad that my steering did not fail like other complaints. I was lucky that my vehicle had a coolant leak and the tech found the leaking rack and pinion while fixing the coolant leak. My wife drives this vehicle each day with my 3 kids and having the steering fail while in traffic could have been horrible. It is obvious this is an issue in the 2009 Traverse and is a safety issue.

The rack pinion on this vehicle is broken and had to be replaced. My mechanic told me that he has had to replace the rack pinion on several Chevrolet Traverse and GMC acadia. I have been reading forums online and this seems to be a common problem that gm refuses to admit. The rack pinion is vital to the vehicles steering and this is a serious safety issue that needs to be addressed.

At first when making left turns only if would make a funny noise, then going around a curve it felt like the Traverse was trying to die, warranty conveniently ran out in may 2014 I will have this vehicle 1 year end of October. Did not get extended warranty due to note was already high, took my Traverse to mechanic was told I needed a rack and pinion and a steering pump due to leaking, which would end up costing anywhere from different places $1600 to $2100. 00 you would think with gm going into debt so much they would make things right to keep from losing business!!! sooooo wish I would have done more investigating when I need a bigger vehicle for my 3 small children!!!.

July 2014 my Traverse had around 67,000 miles on it, and it had started overheating. We took it to a Chevrolet dealership and had the issue taken care of. We had also asked them to address the recalls that we had received notice on. One issue was fixed, and on the invoice they had made note that they would contact us when the other recall parts were in. For 2 months, no phone call from them. We had received no call that the parts were in. Then the end of September while driving back from the coast, I heard a noise that sounded like a cap being clicked by a teen. Blamed my niece, but after reading the legal documents on the lawsuit, it had to have been the same thing. The next issue that would be what I consider the last straw with this vehicle. In the next day or so, it became hard to turn at low speeds. We checked steering fluid, and it was low but no where near empty. We added additional fluid and thought that was the fix. The steering issue continued to worsen. Driving into work I needed to turn off the main hwy onto a st. , during the morning rush hour. I was barely able to make the turn. It took all I could do to turn. Was very scary, and I was thankful that our children were not in the car. When I arrived to work, I was unable to pull into the parking lot of the office. I ended up having to park on the st due to being unable to effectively turn. We took the Traverse to a different Chevrolet dealership to find out that the pump, rack and pinion, strut and cv boot were failing. Found this to be very odd, most often a cv boot wears out on a vehicle with higher miles than the 70,000miles. Cost to repair is at $2500. 00, due to Chevrolet for the neglect. Now we are looking for a different vehicle and they only want to offer 14,000 trade in?a $40,000 vehicle worth near 1/4 of what we have paid for it in only 4 years. It is now worth nothing, but I'm upside down on an loan!.

When driving at low speeds, between 15 - 25 mph, the power steering goes out and becomes difficult to almost impossible to steer. We have had several near misses while entering traffic. This happens randomly and we never know when it will occur. We took the vehicle to the dealership, and they believe it to be the rack and pinion steering, but they were unable to rectify the problem.

The steering my 2009 chevy Traverse has become difficult to handle when slowing down, while making left or right turns. The steering wheel becomes very stiff, and causes my turns to be wider than expected. I have had situations where I have had "near misses", because the lack of response of the power steering. When the car is moving at speeds of the less the approximately 10mph, the steering becomes almost impossible to handle. When the car is idle, the steering wheel will not turn with considerable amount effort. I have taken the car for service, the rack and pinion were replaced/fixed. I am still experiencing the issue, and have concerns over potential accidents if this is improved.

The power steering failed on our 2009 Traverse at low speeds while parking the vehicle. This type of power steering failure has happened before. We had the rack and pinion replaced (6 months ago) and the power steering fluid upgraded with limited success. The Traverse feels like it has no power steering and it is difficult to turn. We have had the Traverse checked at the dealership numerous times and finally paid a lot of $$$ to have the rack and pinion replaced. It did not solve the problem. This is a serious safety issue. It would be impossible to avoid an accident by turning the vehicle. Your only options are to stop and "man handle" the Traverse into position. An elderly person or a smaller person would not be able to control the vehicle at all. I am taking the Traverse back to the dealership. This is an on-going issue for the past 3-4 years. There are a lot of similar complaints on the NHTSA website. Gm has re-designed the newer Traverse/encore/acadia steering systems, so they know a problem exists. One day someone will get killed from this steering problem and everyone will wonder why a recall wasn't issued. Some type of action needs to take place with this problem. I can afford (barely) to keep shelling out thousands for repairs, but what about those people who can's? they bought a $35-$45,000 vehicle from gm and it is not safe. Now they can't afford to sell/trade it and they might not be able to afford to fix it. Action needs to be taken to fix this problem.

Letter from congressman ribble on behalf of constituent re 2011 Chevrolet Traverse ( attn: kerry niemcek). The consumer stated the power steering pump and rack and pinion malfunctioned during operation.

Bought a 2010 Traverse 2 weeks ago. Only 14,145 miles, had the steering pump and rack and pinion changed already. Still making weird noise. Surely there needs to be a recall, is gm waiting for fatalities first?.

Steering has become difficult. Recently becoming harder to turn. Vehicle is garage kept and noticed a pink puddle of fluid. This turned out to be the power steering fluid. We took to a mechanic friend who put vehicle up on a rack. He advised that the rack and pinion need to be replaced. I am terrified to drive this vehicle now. He says it will cost $1200 to fix. We don't have that kind of money. Chevy needs to put a recall on this before someone gets hurt. I love love my Traverse but am afraid to drive with my children or anyone for that matter. Please insist on a recall.

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that while turning at low speeds, the vehicle became difficult to steer. The contact mentioned that the failure was experienced multiple times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted about the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.

Currently at low speeds trying to manuever in traffic, parking, etc. , there is complete loss of power steering. Steering is not returned with increased engine rpm. Because of the conection of rack and pinion and actual manual steering it is virtually impossible to steer the vehicle. General motors declines to recognize there is an issue. Dealer ship denied any knowledge of a problem but a mechanic told the cs rep that some people were having success with increased engine rpm. Hmmmm strange if they never heard of the problem before. How many people have to be injured or killed? I read on the internet of similar complaints from many people. It was suggested ther could be low power steering fluid. This was not true but fluid was topped off.

The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph, the power steering failed without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician diagnosed that the steering pump and rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileage was 33,000.

The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that while driving 5 mph, she turned the steering wheel to the right and heard a whining noise. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection and they stated that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000.

On March 8, 2014, (2011 chevy Traverse) I was turning right into a restaurant when my power steering went out. It took all of my strength and my 20 yr old son (passenger) to turn the wheel to get off the road. We almost went into the guardrail and could have very well been plowed into from the car behind us. In parking lot we checked steering fluid & added some. On way to our house about 2 hours later it happened again when I made a left turn. This time I went off the road a bit, inches away from hedges & someone's lawn. Very dangerous. Took it to chevy dealership who wanted over $1,800. 00 to fix the power steering pump and rack & pinion. Of course it was not under warranty!!! I ended up taking it to a private shop and paid $1,470. I agree that there should be a recall and we should get our money back. If you research this like I have done. . . There are a lot of people out there with the same problem. Hope all of you file a compliant to force a recall !!!!.

Power steering would not turn at slow speed,rack a pinion totally gone.

While driving into parking lot, slowing down, the power steering failed and I was no longer able to steer the Traverse, unless I applied power (accelerated on the gas pedal). I brought the vehicle into the dealership. They diagnosed the problem as a leaking power steering pump and the rack and pinion was faulty, both which needed to be replaced (at significant cost, over $2,000).

Went to pick up my car from inspection and technician had difficulty steering the car in the lot. Diagnosed as possible electric pump steering issue. Already have been told I needed to replace rack & pinion but used leak stop and so far has been holding. Car can't even be steered to get out of parking lot. How much money will this cost now? I feel Chevrolet has many cars with similar issues. It is time for them to take responsibility.

The power steering failed on our 2009 Traverse at low speeds while pulling out of a median into traffic. This type of power steering failure has happened before. The Chevrolet dealer ship said we could have the rack and pinion replaced but could not say it would fix it and if you read the other complaint on here it didn't even fix the problem so I didn't have $1500 to throw away. This is a serious safety issue. It would be impossible to avoid an accident by turning the vehicle. Your only options are to stop and "man handle" the Traverse into position. An elderly person or a smaller person would not be able to control the vehicle at all. Gm has re-designed the newer Traverse/encore/acadia steering systems, so they know a problem exists. One day someone will get killed from this steering problem and everyone will wonder why a recall wasn't issued. Some type of action needs to take place with this problem.

The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated while driving approximately 15 mph, there was a sudden loss of power steering and the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The failure occurred on multiple occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for a diagnostic testing, who stated the rack and pinion and the power steering pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 65,000.

Power steering goes out intermittently at low rates of speed, while trying to make turns, can not turn the steering wheel when it does this, I have taken my Traverse to the local dealership 3 times but because it's out of warranty they want me to pay $1000 for parts plus labor charges to have the rack & pinion as well as the power steering pump fixed. I called gm directly 800-222-1020 and asked why so many complaints have been made but there hasn't been a recall issue & they said that people aren't reporting this issue through the dealership, so I suggest that if you have a Traverse with these problems you contact your local gm dealer ASAP!!!!! hopefully we can get some assistance with the prices of this!.

At about 53000 miles my wife started to notice a small intermittent whining sound coming from the front end. Now we loose steering at low speeds like turning a corner( very dangerous). It is going to the dealer on Monday, I am guessing we will need a new rack and pinion.

The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that while driving various speeds, there was an abnormal grinding noise heard whenever completing a turn. The dealer inspected the vehicle and stated that there was no defect with the vehicle. The failure recurred and the vehicle was taken back to the dealer, who then advised that the steering rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the dealer did not properly diagnose the vehicle until after the warranty had expired. The manufacture was made aware of the failure and declined to provide further assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 140.

This vehicle was taken to champion Chevrolet for a recall for a failing water pump seal. During that analysis, the power steering pump and rack assembly was found to be low on oil and with metal shavings in the pinion rack was near failure. The failure mode on this model and all Traverses, enclaves, and acadias is the ultimately steering lock and a probably crash. This is a definite recall item that should be finally determined by NHTSA for all years of this vehicle. The repair estimate is over $2600 as the entire front engine assembly has to be removed. Other owner experiences indicate that this repair is widespread in these gm models and is a serious safety issue.

My wife drove her vehicle (this vehicle) home, and noticed once she slowed down in our subdivision that she virtually lost all ability to control the steering of her car. She was able to make it in to our garage at great effort on her end! later that day, we attempted to drive it again and simply could not budge or with great difficulty the steering wheel. It begun to snow that afternoon and so we did not persist getting on the road. We did a few days later and noticed that at slightly higher speeds the handling of the vehicle improved, but at lower speeds we again we unable to steer the car. Research online revealed many other owners with similar experience. There is no recall. Repair blogs on this vehicle have had owners replace their rack and pinion, power steering pump, and power steering gear. Our dealer informed us the pump had to be replaced and recommended we replace the gear, we could not afford this. We have not yet driven the now "repaired" vehicle. Gm advised us to contact NHTSA!.

Towards the end of 2013 my wife and I started noticing the steering being really difficult and locking up on some occasions pulling into parking spaces and parallel parking. We experienced some near misses where the steering locked and felt like we were going to collide with the vehicle in the next parking space. We took our car to the dealership in June 2014 to have the air bag recall done and a state inspection. We also told the dealer that the coolant level was consistently staying low and the steering almost locks up at times. The dealer said the steering gear (or rack and pinion) was bad. The dealer would not pass the inspection. State inspections are performed to ensure safe vehicle conditions. If a gm dealer is not willing to perform a state inspection they are admitting this is a safety issue. The dealer performed the air bag fix, and replaced the water pump (from the coolant level complaint, prior TSB). They said the steering gear fix would have to be scheduled the following week. After two days the check engine light came on (c1100 and p00008). We scheduled the appointment to have the steering gear replaced because we were unsure if the steering would lock up on a normal turn while driving. The dealer said the c1100 was a loose cable at the control board and the p00008 was a bad timing chain (replaced under a prior TSB). The steering gear was replaced and the cost was $1,552. After reading similar complaints from other owners of chevy Traverse vehicles this is a systemic issue due to a poor design steering gear. Gm should make the right decision and stand behind their quality in a proactive way and issue a recall to have these steering gears replaced before someone gets injured.

There is a recall for the same issue that 90% of the steering issues noted on this site is for but not for the Traverse. Here are the details. We need to call gm or the safety numbers and fight to get this fixed! this is clearly an issue. We were quated 1700 to replace the rack and pinion. Lithia motors was terrible to work with. We bought the car on 11/21/2013 and noted the problem to them in less than a week after purchase and they told us they would take care of us. If I had known they wouldn't then I would have returned the car to them. I will never deal with them again and don't recommend it to anyone else! report receipt date: Mar 31, 2014 NHTSA campaign number: 14v153000 component(s): steering potential number of units affected: 1,340,447 all products associated with this recall vehicle makemodelmodel year(s)chevroletcobalt2010chevrolethhr2009-2010chevroletmalibu2004-2006,2008-2009chevroletmalibu maxx2004-2006pontiacg62005-2006,2008-2009saturnaura2008-2009saturnion2004-2007 details general motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2004-2006 and 2008-2009 Chevrolet malibu, 2004-2006 malibu maxx, 2009-2010 hhr (non-turbo), 2010 cobalt, 2008-2009 Saturn aura and 2004-2007 ion, and 2005-2009 pontiac g6. In the affected vehicles, there may be a sudden loss of electric power steering (eps) assist that could occur at any time while driving. Consequence: if power steering assist is lost, greater driver effort would be required to steer the vehicle at low speeds, increasing the risk of a crash. . Read more...

The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Traverse. While driving approximately 60 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver and the service air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The technician diagnosed that an unknown part of the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 36,020.

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that while driving approximately 10 mph, the power steering failed without warning. The power steering reset independently within moments. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the power steering pump, power steering shaft and rack and pinion were replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 62,000.

The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Traverse. The contact stated that while driving approximately 15 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The failure was recurring and on one occasion, the contact was forced to crash into a mail box in an attempt to regain control of the vehicle. The contact was not injured. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis however, the technician was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 86,000. . . . Updated 01-10-14 the consumer was informed, the vehicle needed a new rack and pinion and steering pump. Updated 01/13/14.