NHTSA Complaint #10463331 — 2009 GMC SIERRA

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