NHTSA Complaint #10616607 — 2009 BUICK ENCLAVE

WE INTERMITTENTLY LOSE POWER STEERING AT LOW SPEEDS. SO FAR WE HAVE NOT HIT ANYTHING, BUT HAVE COME CLOSE AT INTERSECTIONS, IN PARKING LOTS, AND IN DRIVEWAYS. I AM NOT SURE WHEN IT FIRST HAPPENED. MAYBE ABOUT A YEAR AGO. AT THE BEGINNING, IT WAS ONCE IN A WHILE. NOW JUST ABOUT EVERY TRIP WE HAVE AN INCIDENT. POWER STEERING RESERVOIR IS FULL AND PUMP APPEARS TO BE WORKING PROPERLY. WHEN I TOLD THE DEALER OF THE ISSUE I AM HAVING, THEY RECOMMENDED CHANGING THE PUMP AND GEAR AT AN APPROXIMATE COST OF $2,000. AS AN ENGINEER, I FOUND IT HARD TO BELIEVE THAT BOTH THE PUMP AND GEAR NEEDS REPLACING. I DID SOME RESEARCH ONLINE AND FOUND THAT MANY PEOPLE WITH SAME ISSUE WHO DID CHANGE PUMP AND GEAR STILL HAD THE SAME ISSUE. FURTHER RESEARCH LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THAT THE POWER STEERING SYSTEM HAS A DESIGN IS DEFECT THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED BY NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION (NHTSA). THE ENCLAVE AND OTHER GM VEHICLES HAVE A VARIABLE EFFORT STEERING (VES) SYSTEM THAT VARIES THE AMOUNT OF EFFORT TO STEER THE VEHICLE. APPARENTLY THE STEERING GEAR VALVE SOLENOID CAN STICK CAUSING LOSE OF STEERING WITH NO WARNING. I RECOMMEND THAT NHTSA REQUIRES GM TO EITHER REPLACE VES SYSTEM WITH A HIGHLY RELIABLE DESIGN OR DISABLE THE SYSTEM TO REDUCE POSSIBILITY OF HAVING AN ACCIDENT DUE TO POWER STEERING FAILURE. NHTSA IS WELCOME TO USE MY VEHICLE TO ANALYZE THE ISSUE. *JS