NHTSA Complaint #10819099 — 2010 BUICK ENCLAVE

THE VEHICLE'S POWER STEERING WILL, WITH INCREASING FREQUENCY, STOP WORKING FOR UP TO 10 SECONDS OR SO, LEAVING THE DRIVER WITH A CAR THAT IS EXTREMELY HARD TO TURN, AND HAVING TO BRAKE TO A EXCESSIVELY SLOW SPEED IN ORDER TO COMPLETE THE TURN IN THE SPACE AVAILABLE. THIS SEEMS TO OCCUR AT SLOWER SPEEDS, SUCH AS WHEN TURNING ACROSS AN INTERSECTION OR MANEUVERING IN A PARKING LOT. IT OCCURS ON BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT TURNS. THERE IS ALSO A GRINDING SOUND THAT OCCURS AT THESE TIMES OF POWER STEERING FAILURE. CLEARLY, THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE. ONE OF OUR TOP REASONS FOR PURCHASING FROM BUICK WAS THEIR EMPHASIS ON SAFETY FOR THE FAMILY (WE HAVE 3 CHILDREN). TO DISCOVER THAT BUICK HAVE KNOWN ABOUT THESE STEERING ISSUES FOR MULTIPLE YEARS WITHOUT ADDRESSING THEM IS DEEPLY DISTURBING TO ME AS A CUSTOMER, AND DEMONSTRATES A CORPORATE ETHICAL IMBALANCE THAT CLEARLY WILL NOT BE SELF-RECTIFYING. HERE ARE THE STEPS WE HAVE TAKEN TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE: OUR MECHANIC FLUSHED OUT THE POWER STEERING FLUID SEVERAL TIMES, BUT THIS ONLY MODERATELY RELIEVED THE PROBLEM. OUR NEXT STEP OPTIONS INCLUDE REPLACING THE COMPLETE STEERING GEAR AND POWER STEERING PUMP, BUT THOSE ARE HUGELY EXPENSIVE TASKS WITHOUT ANY GUARANTEE OF PERMANENTLY RESOLVING THE POWER STEERING ISSUES. RESEARCH ONLINE SHOWS MULTIPLE REPORTS/ TECH SERVICE BULLETINS REGARDING THIS ISSUE OCCURRING IN VEHICLES WITH THE SAME POWER STEERING SYSTEM, TO SUCH AN EXTENT THAT THERE IS A CLASS ACTION SUIT AGAINST GM. THIS APPEARS TO BE AN ENDEMIC ISSUE WITH VEHICLES SUCH AS OUR BUICK ENCLAVE 2010, AND GM NEED TO BE COMPELLED TO ISSUE A RECALL NOTICE AND RESOLVE THIS ISSUE, AS WELL AS REIMBURSING THOSE WHO HAVE HAD TO REPAIR THIS ISSUE THEMSELVES.