NHTSA Complaint #718705 — 1999 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 1500

THE FOLLOWING IS A BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF MY SAFETY DEFECT: THIS PICKUP HAS RECENTLY DEMONSTRATED THE CHARACTERISTIC OF NOT BEING ABLE TO TURN THE FRONT WHEELS OF THE VEHICLE WITH THE POWER STEERING SYSTEM WHEN AT A STOP AND ON OCCASION AT LOW SPEEDS SUCH AS IN A PARKING LOT. I CONSIDER THIS ABNORMALITY TO BE A SERIOUS SAFETY DEFECT IN THE STEERING SYSTEM OF THE VEHICLE. TO DATE, THIS VEHICLE HAS BEEN TO PARKWAY CHEVROLET IN DEER PARK, WA ON FOUR SEPARATE OCCASIONS IN ATTEMPTS TO RESOLVE THIS PROBEM. THUS FAR THE PROBLEM HAS NOT BEEN CORRECTED. THE FINAL ROAD TEST THE DEALER SERVICE SHOP FOREMAN DEMONSTRATED THE CONTINUATION OF THE PROBLEM. THIS FACT IS DOCUMENTED ON THE LAST SERVICE REPAIR ORDER. THE SHOP FOREMAN AND THE SERVICE MANAGER, KELLY CONNELLY, INFORMED ME THAT THE GM TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PEOPLE CONSIDERS THIS ABNORMALITY AS "NORMAL" AS THEY HAVE PERFORMED THEIR PRESCRIBED TESTS, THE RESULTS SHOWING "NORMAL" CONDITIONS AND AFTER ALL, "THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO ONLY OCCUR WHEN NOT ROLLING"! THEREFORE, THEY SAID THAT THEY WILL NOT AUTHORIZE ANY FURTHER WARRANTY WORK. I CONTEND THAT GM NEEDS TO DEVELOP FURTHER TESTS TO ISOLATE THE SOURCE OF THIS PROBLEM WHICH ONLY BEGAN OCCURING AFTER APPROXIMATELY 30,000 MILES OF DRIVING. I HAVE SERIOUS CONCERNS ABOUT THE SAFETY OF DRIVING A VEHICLE WHICH HAS DEMONSTRATED A PROBLEM IN THE COMPUTER CONTROLLED POWER STEERING SYSTEM. AT THIS POINT, CHEVROLET SEEMS TO KNOW THAT A PROBLEM EXISTS BUT ARE UNWILLING TO PROVIDE ANY FURTHER WARRANTY WORK ON MY VEHICLE. I BELIEVE THAT THE NHTSA SHOULD BE INFORMED OF THIS SAFETY DEFECT. CHEVROLET IS APPARENTLY UNWILLING TO PROVIDE A SOLUTION OR REPAIR TO THE PROBLEM. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME FOR FURTHER INFORMATION. FOR YOUR REFERENCE, THE CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE FILE #[XXX] AND THE TECH CASE IS #365437 SHOULD CHEVROLET BE WILLING TO LET YOU REVIEW THESE DOCUMENTS. VERY TRULY YOURS, [XXX]. *AK INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR