Steering Rack And Pinion problems of the 2009 GMC Acadia

The vehicle has been looked over by many mechanical professionals. At slow rates of speed, intermittently the steering will stiffen and lock up making it very scary when driving. We have been told over and over that rack n pinion and pump are fine. After researching, this looks like a typical issue. Is there anything that gm can do for this?.

Having steering problems with my GMC Acadia. Vehicle has appox. 75k miles and I have had several incidents of where it was hard to steer my vehicle. I took to the GMC dealership service dept. And it's the same issues everyone else is having with this make & model vehile. Rack & pinion is leaking & I need a new power steerling pump. There is clearly a defect with this GMC make and model and the customers should have to bare the cost of these reparis. I also noticed this occurs after the warranty ends too. Cost of repairs & labor - around $2,200. Of course the repair guy also noticed 3 other things that needs to be repaired too. The cost of those recommended reparis cost $1,600.

An intermittent steering issue developed whereby steering input would become restricted and prevent the driver from adding or subtracting steering. The issue presents during turning and cornering and resulted in numerous hazardous situations and one serious near miss. Upon inspection by a mechanic, I was advised that the entire rack and pinion assembly would need to be replaced. It is not clear whether the rack and pinion were inherently defective, or the consequential damage of other steering defects which is very concerning. Upon further review, I have found that this model year along with several others have been plagued with defective steering issues. Given the apparent incidence rate and the high risk nature of the issue, I am surprised and disappointed this has not culminated in a recall.

Rack and pinion seizes up while turning. Gm knows about this issue. Happens on most of the Acadias.

Brought it to the GMC dealer to replace the power steering pump which was on recall notice only if there were problems. Loss of power steering at low speed so I took it to dealer. As a result, pump was replaced as well as rack and pinion. Pump covered, rack and pinion not, $1700. The day after I picked up the car, the transmission failed. As I got on the highway, motor revved but transmission did not engage. Was able to make it into the breakdown lane. Had to have a flatbed pick it up and bring it to the transmission shop recommended by the dealer. Transmission replaced. . . $3,140. 00. I feel that I was lucky to have been in the lane closest to the breakdown lane when this happened. Dealer offered no assistance. Eight months past warranty.

Over the last year the turning on my Acadia while at slow speeds has gotten progressively worse. This especially happens at lower speeds, but I have always been able to complete my turn. In April it finally got worse where I needed "brute force" to make a turn and I almost hit another vehicle. At this time the automobile is an "accident" waiting to happen and I will not let my wife or daughter drive it anymore. I have taken the car to my mechanic and he has replaced the power steering pump and rack and pinion and the problem still continues!!! he does not know what else to do! I see that there are many other out there having the exact same problem. Gm needs to find a solution to the problem and fix it!! this is a 45k car and these types of problems should not exist, and if they do, they should be handled by gm promptly. I am planning on filing a lawsuit as soon as I find a lawyer familiar with these gm issues.

Our 2009 GMC Acadia's power steering locks up at low speeds. This happens randomly and typically always when the wheel is turned. Once the wheel locks it remains 'stuck' for a little over 1 second. While the wheel is 'stuck' it cannot be turned. This is a very common complaint on this vehicle and creates an very dangerous driving condition. A mechanic has diagnosed this issue as a faulty rack and pinion. The mechanic also claimed that this is very common on these vehicles. I was shocked the first time the wheel became stuck while I was driving; it instantly sent me in to a panic. There needs to be a recall on this vehicle.

We drove 5 hours to get our Acadia. Only to realize the very next day less than 24 hours the steering wasn't working right. If parked or at low speeds it is as if it has no power steering. This makes it pretty much impossible to get out of any right spots, parking spots & it literally impossible to parallel park. This issue has only gotten worse. I have researched online and have seen tons of complaints of this same issue and is stating the ones who did have the issue fixed it was the rack and pinion which costed $1400-$1700 to fix! therefore a recall needs to be made of this issue due to faulty assembly before someone gets injured!.

The rack and pinion steering gear and power steering pump appear to be defective in my 2009 GMC Acadia. For the past several weeks my power steering will lock up or freeze mid-turn, which is very scary. The power steering is gone completely and I have to turn really hard before it seems to re-engage. I am unable to take tight turns in this situation and I am often on the wrong side of the road as I try to pull out of the turn waiting for the power steering to re-engage. I have been lucky so far that I have not run into any oncoming cars when the system locks up. My car is currently in the shop and we are looking at least $1500 worth of repairs.

The contact owns a 2009 GMC Acadia. The contact stated when the steering wheel was turned it made a knocking noise. The dealer performed a diagnostic test which located the failure in the steering gear box and the rack pinion ball rack assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 28,600.

My Acadia has has some problems with the power steering being "stiff" - or hard to turn in tight spots. (I. E. , parking or close turns). I took it to my repairman today and asked him to check it out. He says that he has seen issues with other vehicles, including the Acadia and the enclave - this same issue. He started taking it apart and called me and said the entire power steering system, pump, rack n pinion steering, etc. Have to be replaced. He said he has had to do this in several other vehicles like this. He said that there were already metal shavings showing up. He told me that parts and labor would be around $1,100 to get this taken care of. He said it will just gradually get worse - it shouldn't go out all together all at once, but it would get worse. I have seen 25+ other complaints on this same problem with the same vehicles. When is gm going to do something about this. I have done regular maintenance on this vehicle all along. It has approx. 80,000 miles on it right now. Has been doing this for about a year - not bad - but he is right - getting a little worse all the time.

I purchased this vehicle from a GMC dealership on March 1st 2014. The very next day I replaced a headlight (no big deal), a few days later it was veering to the left very hard so I took it back. They said the alignment was off 45 degrees, so they fixed it. 1 month later the steering started locking up when turning at slow speeds. I had it diagnosed by the gm dealership who said it was the rack and pinion, and struts and bearings. I took it to another auto shop who said it was the power steering pump and replaced it, the locking up stopped. They said the rack and pinion were bad but could last a bit longer. A month later the air conditioner was completely out(the very first time I turned it on), and a month later the entire car is whining very loudly which I am assuming is the rack and pinion finally giving out. I have spent 20k on this vehicle and had it for 6 months now. In that 6 months it has been in the shop at least once a month. That is on top of the 3 recalls it has been in for in the 6 month period also. Now it has to go back in to fix this rack and pinion. Thankfully I purchased an extended warranty, but this steering column is not all covered. I am beyond frustrated and tired of throwing in thousands of dollars when I have had the vehicle a short amount of time, and this replacing of the steering rack is a bit ridiculous since the vehicle does not even have 100k miles on it. I was told it is unsafe to drive, but when I dont have an extra few thousand dollars to throw into it after putting a huge downpayment on it, and having a brand new Ford vehicle for 9 years and never having to put a dime into it. I am sick of it. It is wrong that gm put faulty cheap parts into their vehicles.

I took my 2009 Acadia into the GMC dealer with around 65,000 miles on it after buying it used (1 previous owner) with around 42,000 miles. They told me I had a power steering leak in the rack and pinion and it would cost around $2000 to replace a seal because they have to pull the whole rack off. He told me it would be okay for a while, but eventually it would cause the power steering to go out. After researching, I've seen multiple other Acadia owners who have had the exact same problem. I have refused to pay for the repairs because I think this is a safety issue that has effected enough of this model vehicle to warrant a general safety recall. I know of 3 other people in my hometown who have experienced power steering problems with their Acadia's, and the GMC dealership acknowledged to me that it is a significant problem with GMC Acadia model years 2008-2012. If that's not enough, then I'm not sure what is, but if my power steering goes out while I'm driving, well, let this serve as notice to GMC.

The headlight went out and GMC quoted me at approximately $120 to replace. Husband attempted to replace it but you had to take off the wheel in order to get to the actual light. I gave GMC the go ahead to replace and they called me back and told me that the wiring had melted and that it would now be over $300 to do it. I told them no and made a complaint. They called me a few days later telling me they would do it but I had to pay $50 deductible (assuming they went through some type of warranty). It eventually became a recall and I am now looking into getting reimbursed for my $50. Noticed my car started over heating and took it into a mechanic friend, let us know that the water pump needed to be replaced this was at approx 45,000 miles. I did my research and the GMC warranty covered the cost. At approximately 56-57,000 miles the car started making a whining noise when driven slow or first thing in the morning when it was cold. Took it in to GMC to get it checked out and it turns out that the steering rack had a leak on each side of the wheels and pinions, and power steering pump needed to be replaced. Quote almost $1500 dollars. I could not afford that price so took it back to my mechanic to see if it would be cheaper. He ended up replacing the pinions and rack but said the pump did not need to be replaced and ended paying $600 out of pocket. I'm hoping that GMC will see that many of us are having the same problem and will make it a recall. I will not be buying anymore GMC vehicles. All I want is a reliable car that won't break the bank.

Tl- the contact owns a 2009 GMC Acadia. While driving approximately 5 mph, the contact heard a squeaking sound coming from the steering. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostics. The technician stated to the contact that the rack and pinion would have to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 43,000. Kmj.