2009 Gmc Sierra 1500 Steering Problems

Your steering tie rods may fail prematurely between 50,000 and 100,000 miles, causing your steering wheel to feel loose or wander. You might hear clunking noises from the front end, especially when turning at low speeds, and notice uneven tire wear. In severe cases, tie rods can separate, causing you to lose steering control. The fix typically involves replacing the inner and outer tie rods and having the front end alignment checked.

TWICE THE STEERING IN SIERRA HAS LOCKED UP WHILE TURNING. THE FIRST TIME I WAS TAKING A CURVE TO THE RIGHT, AND THE STEERING WHEEL WOULDN'T ALLOW ME TO CURVE RIGHT. IT WOULD STILL ALLOW ME TO TURN LEFT. AFTER COMING TO A STOP AND PARKING THE TRUCK, THE ISSUES RESOLVED ITSELF. THE SECOND OCCURRENCE HAPPENED AS I WAS TAKING A LEFT TURN. I HAD COMPLETED THE LEFT TURN, AND AS THE WHEEL WAS RETURNING TO THE CENTER(TURNING BACK TO THE RIGHT), THE WHEEL LOCKED. I WAS FORCED INTO THE NEXT LANE AND ALMOST CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. I HAD TO USE A LOT OF STRENGTH, AND I EVENTUALLY FORCED IT. WHEN IT BROKE FREE, IT MADE A LOUD POP SOUND. THE DEALERSHIP COULD NOT FIND THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM. I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE THE TRUCK.

I STATED MY TRUCK TO WARM IT UP WHEN I GOT IN AND STARTED TO DRIVE I HAD NO POWER STEERING OR POWER BRAKES. I REVVED THE MOTOR A LITTLE AND I COULD HEAR THE POWER STEERING PUMP MAKE A NOISE AND IT STARTED WORKING. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER WHO SAID THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG. *TR

I WAS BACKING OUT OF A PARKING SPACE AND BUMPED THE CURB WITH THE RIGHT FRONT TIRE AT LESS THAN 1/2 MPH. PULLED FORWARD AND THEN BACKED OUT AGAIN WITHOUT CURB CONTACT. DROVE LESS THAN 50 FEET AND WAS UNABLE TO STEER THE VEHICLE. THE RIGHT FRONT INNER TIE ROD HAD FAILED CAUSING LOSS OF STEERING. EXAMINATION OF THE FRACTURE SURFACE OF THE TIE ROD SHOWED A FATIGUE FRACTURE THAT HAD PROPAGATED TO OVER 1/3RD OF THE CROSS SECTIONAL AREA. PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE FRACTURE SURFACE WERE SENT TO A WORLD RENOWNED METALLURGIST AND WAS CONFIRMED TO BE A FATIGUE FRACTURE. I CONTACTED GM CUSTOMER CARE REGARDING MY SAFETY CONCERNS AND WAS ASSIGNED CASE NUMBER [XXX]. GM WAS COMPLETELY UNINTERESTED IN THE FACT THAT THE ROD FAILED AND HAD A PRE-EXISTING FATIGUE FRACTURE IN THE ROD. I SUGGESTED THAT THEIR ENGINEERS SHOULD EXAMINE THE PARTS TO DETERMINE WHETHER MY CONCERNS WERE VALID. AGAIN, THEIR REPRESENTATIVE WAS COMPLETELY UNINTERESTED IN EVALUATING THE SAFETY ASPECTS OF THE FAILURE OR ACCESSING THE PARTS FOR FURTHER ANALYSIS. HAD THE ROD END FAILED AT HIGHWAY SPEED, THIS EVENT WOULD LIKELY HAVE BEEN CATASTROPHIC AND ENDED IN A MAJOR ACCIDENT. GM STATED THEY WOULD NOT PURSUE THE ISSUE FURTHER BECAUSE THERE WAS AN IMPACT INVOLVED IN THE FAILURE EVEN THOUGH THE IMPACT WAS LESS THAN 1/2 MPH. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).*TR