so yeah my bro(who knows nothing about cars) was coming hom from work tonight in the familys cobalt (I just got in) and he was coming around a 90Deg corner when he said "all of the sudden the steering wheel went stiff I couldn't move it" and he was shaking and all worked up he didnt know what happend.. lol he thought a stick was jammed in the wheel

So yeah he smashed a curb with the front wheel sideways and the whole assembly on the pass-side frnt is all busted, the wheel had the craziest camber you'd ever seen.

so anyhow the ******* off a towtruck driver took it to the stealership now. he was like "haha another piece of **** cobalt off the road" I wanted to kill him.

Question is, should we harass GM to pay for the damage? afterall it was a powersteering malfunction that THEY KNEW ABOUT, I think they should, hell if it was a busy intersection it could have been a lot worse right?

What do you guys think?

 

well did u get the power steering pump replaced in it?? its been a recall for awhile now

 

We have a letter about it but the date isnt for a while yet.

 

Well if you got the letter in the mail already then they will said its your fault for not having it fixed asap. I had mine go out in a hard corner going down I-4 but Ive drove so many old school heavy ass cars with no power steering and steering wheels 2x the size of ours so It was no big deal just a little shocking at first lol.

 

good luck proving to gm that was the problem

 

You could try, but they already sent out a recall for it...

 

ive had my powersteering go out driving..and i could still pull a u turn...so idk why the wheel would lock up

 

look it wasnt me driving, it was my little brother driving, I'm sorry were not all pro drivers like you VenomSS but some people panick when steering wheel goes numb.

And they could do a diagnostic to see the code could they not?

 

do you know if it threw the code? and think about it, theyll clear it before they shell out money, they did take it to the stealership right?

 

x2 if you got the letter, then your at fault for not taking it in. Next week I'm taking mine in cuz its been acting up lately. As for the tow truck driver, he probably drives a POS mustang.... or a honda fanboy...

 

damn chill...i was just saying

 

My parents are on Vaca but I just got off the phone with my dad and he said the P/S letter was for our Malibu NOT THE COBALT, so we dont have a letter for the cobalt yet.


Oh and the dealership is the one my dad sells cars at for 30yrs, there not going to dick him around.

 

i guess im a pro to because i can do a u turn with no powersteering. I dont know where that had to come in to play maybe your brother needs to see how cars drive without powersteering to.

 

oh i got you, and like the op said it was a 90% corner, with no powersteering and low speed it makes it much harder to turn, his brother probably hasnt come across a car with no powersteering... im suprised to see how many pro drivers are on css, i too have drove without powersteering but i have yet to be driving when it goes out, im willing to bet the same for you guys too

 

yea i got mine fixed a week after i got letter but it never was out

 

I use to drive my 84 monte carlo SS without power steering..... good times..... good times.

 

Damn dude, well glad your bro's alright it could have been a lot worse.
But if you haven't received a letter from GM then it's all go for them to fix it.

 

you guys do realize that the cobalts have lil black boxes that take freeze frames of everything that is going on with the car at the point of an accident

 

There is an open recall on the powersteering. If you take it into the dealership regardless of the letter and your VIN falls under the range of Cobalts that need to have their Powersteering replaced, they will/should replace it.

 

mine is getting replaced as we speak

 

The dealerships have refused service on Cobalt's if they don't have their letter yet. If you have no letter, then they should cover it.Not everyone with a Cobalt is on a forum and knows about the recall. Hence why theres a letter sent out.... So tell them you have no letter, you have no idea about this recall, and raise hell

 

There is no power steering pump

 

The dealership can't refuse on an open recall - that's why it's open - you just have to press the issue if they continue to refuse. If they continue to refuse and do not honor an open recall, you get in an accident, they better watch out. It was in the news around the country about the powersteering recall, not just the forum. When it first came out, it was letter based.

 

i got a letter in the mail stating that they "know about the recall" and they will "send another letter when they get the parts in"...that was almost 6 months ago

 

Yes, I had the same letter, probably 6 months ago myself. I took my car in for a CEL this week and they told me the recall is now an open recall. I told them I never received my second letter, and they said it was fine, because it's an open recall.