Power steering issue

[LazyLion]

I have looked around here and have not seen anything like this mentioned.

From time to time, not consistently, the steering trouble light will stay on when starting and the power steering doesn't work. I have shut the car off and restarted it with mixed success. It appears that you need to leave it off for some certain amount of time for it to reset. Restart too soon and nothing changes. On one occasion I waited a couple of minutes with no success. Ended up driving the mile home w/out the power steering. The next morning all was well.

I am not sure if the instances when it happens coincide with the few occasions when I turn on the ignition and instantly fire up the car or not. As a general rule I turn on the ignition, wait for all of the systems in the car to cycle, all the dash lights to go out and I can hear that the fuel pump has reached full pressure to shut off before I crank the starter. When i have not been able to get it to reset I have shut it down for a reset/restart, waited for a minute or two, allowed it to cycle like this when I restarted it and the steering trouble light fails to go out with the rest of the lights prior to cranking (or after starting).

I am taking it in on Tuesday to see what the dealership thinks of it. It may come to nothing for a while since I can't seem to force it to happen.

Any ideas?

 

[Sonic]

You are taking it to the dealership. That's the best course of action. Post their findings, so owners who may have this issue in the future will now what the problem was.

 

[LazyLion]

I took the car to the dealership and they said it threw a code. I'm sorry but I don't know what the code actually was. They said it showed a problem with a control module. They looked to see it there were any new downloads for it and said there were no new ones so they have ordered a new module. Meanwhile I haven't had the problem reoccure.

 

[Chevrolet Customer Care]

I took the car to the dealership and they said it threw a code. I'm sorry but I don't know what the code actually was. They said it showed a problem with a control module. They looked to see it there were any new downloads for it and said there were no new ones so they have ordered a new module. Meanwhile I haven't had the problem reoccure.

That is great that your dealership was able to order a new module and address the concern you were having. Please let us all know how everything goes!

Brandon (Assisting Vanessa)
Chevrolet Customer Service

 

[jmgarn]

I bought my sonic 2 days ago and this happened to me today. I took it to the dealer to get it checked out; I'm hoping it they can get it back to me tomorrow but I'm not holding my breath. They said they hadn't encountered this problem yet.

 

[jmgarn]

I got my car back 2 days after I took it in and they replaced my steering system. The invoice said they scanned and found code C0475 in the history and that this was an internal failure code. Based on reading the invoice it looks like they had to replace the steering column. I haven't had the problem since, but its only been a few days.

 

[whitnith]

Glad to know Chevy is still having problems with the electric power steering systems.

Cobalts had it also, ending up having a mass recall.

Mine has turned off twice now in my Cobalt, both while racing, both times after having the recall done. Turn 6 at Road America, and then at an AutoX. Great times, let me tell you. I've been lucky, and had grass to run off in. I know guys who have crashed into some serious curbs and had quite a bit of damage.