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2004 CHEVROLET MALIBU — STEERING

1 injured · 975155 · 2013-04-22

Vehicle

Make
CHEVROLET
Model
MALIBU
Year
2004
Manufacturer
General Motors, LLC
Component
STEERING
Miles at failure
98,700
Speed
65 mph

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
1
Fire
No
Crash
No
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

WHILE ON MY WAY HOME, DRIVING NORTH ON I-95 NEAR WASHINGTON, DC, I EXPERIENCED LOTS OF ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS (NOISE AND GRABBING TO THE LEFT IN THE STEERING COLUMN, REPEATED BULB AND LIGHT UNITY FAILURES) THEN SUDDENLY, A TOTAL LOSS OF POWER STEERING. I BECAME SO SCARED WHILE NEEDING BOTH HANDS TO MANAGE IN HEAVY TRAFFIC TRAVELING AT AN AVERAGE OF 65MPH THAT I IMMEDIATELY THREW A LIT CIGARETTE OUT THE WINDOW IN A DESPERATE EFFORT TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE. THE STEERING WHEEL IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLY DIFFICULT TO STEER. I WAS UNAWARE THAT IT HAD BLOWN BEHIND MY BACK ONTO THE DRIVER?S SEAT UNTIL IT BURNT ME, MY SHIRT AND THE SEAT. IT IS BY THE GRACE OF GOD THAT I DIDN?T HAVE A FATAL ACCIDENT. IT IS PROBABLY NEEDLESS TO SAY THAT I CONTINUE TO EXPERIENCE BACK PAIN. A DISASTER IS WAITING TO HAPPEN! THE FACT IS THAT SOMETIMES WHILE DRIVING THE POWER STEERING WILL START WORKING AGAIN AS QUICKLY AS IT WENT OUT. CONSIDER THAT I COULD BE TURNING THE WHEEL AS HARD AS I CAN AND AT THAT SECOND THE POWER RETURNS TO SEND ME SPINNING. KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS IS OCCURRING MORE FREQUENTLY EVERYDAY. SOMETIMES IT DOES STOP WHEN THE CAR IS TURNED OFF AND SOMETIMES IT DOES NOT. WITH REGARD TO THE BRAKES THEY MAKE A LOUD AND GRINDING SOUND WHEN I LIFT OFF OF THEM. *TR

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10509117
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown