NHTSA Complaint #11442874 — 2002 CHEVROLET AVALANCHE 1500

STEERING: I stopped in my daughter yard and was unloading a 16ft trailer of hay and everything was working normally. When I got back in cranked the engine I started pulling forward, I did not have any power steering at all. I first thought the steering wheel had locked but I really had to power down on the steering to get it to turn. No noise, no indication, no problems of any kind with the steering or anything wrong while driving just a few minutes before. The power steering just stopped working period. I told my daughter we were lucky this hadn't happened on the road while pulling the loaded trailer. This could have been very dangerous or deadly if it had gone out while we were pulling the loaded trailer while on the road. If we had been going around a curve or making a turn and it had happened like it did in the yard while parked with NO indication of a problem it would have been very, very bad especially again with NO indications of a problem with the steering and pulling a trailer loaded with hay. I shudder to think what could have happened if we had been going around a curve at 55mph on the highway and this had happened. Power steering fluid pump up to the full line on the check stick when I pulled it out of the power steering pump. I have had the Avalanche for 3 years and have never had to add fluid nor does it have leak anywhere. Again, NO steering problems whatsoever before this.