Went into the Dealership with power reduction and came out with steering problem

Tiny
CARNATIC
  • MEMBER
  • 2016 CHEVROLET MALIBU
  • V6
  • TURBO
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 130,000 MILES
My car started with already known issue of power reduction due to the pedal sensor. This was changed twice within 18 months, a year later I was having the same error. Took it to the dealership and they told me that since this was not fixing the problem then it had to be the wiring, so they chance the wiring to the pedal which of course I had to pay out of my pocket because that was not included on the special warranty of the "Sensor". Took my car back home and a week later I had the same issue! Took it back and they were pushing for a whole circuit test since of course changing the wiring did not fix the problem. L complaint that I could not be paying on these random things. Then I mentioned that I could see the white wires above the pedal and that I they should be higher up so that I don't kick them by accident.

The mechanic went back to work on it. 6 hour later he tells me that that the wiring was not installed properly and that he is going to fix it but needs a harness which they need to order and I need to come back. (Please note that the reduce power problem is something that was on and off). They gave me back my car (the reduce power was off) so the car should drive as normal, but it didn't feel right. My car felt heavy like the speed was taking so much RPM to pick up. So I turned around to tell them about it. The mechanic drove, and he said he didn't feel anything strange. So okay, l figured I was going to bring it back anyway for the to be fixed. So, on my way home and no even 10 minutes into driving my steering wheel stop working and my Stabil Trak message appear on my dashboard. Took it right back to the dealership and they are telling me that it has nothing to do with what they did. They checked to see it was my battery, but they couldn't figure it out. We turned it on again and now there was no error and started working again. Three days later my car gave me the same error and my wheel stopped working and my battery drained. I changed the battery and took it back for them to finish the wiring work for the pedal since the piece they needed had arrive. Now they gave me my car with a no working steering wheel. They said that nothing they could cause that, and they diagnose in 10 minutes that I have to chance the Rack and Pinion which cost about $2,272.86 but they are so sad that I am going through this so they can give a discount! They tried to tell me that this is mechanical, so it has nothing to do with wiring!

I am not an electrical engineer. So I ask could this be related to something they did to begin with?
Also going through some videos. It seems like my car has an electronic control for the steering wheel. So should the first step be to try to reprogram the module instead of going straight to changing the whole thing?

I don't know what to do. I feel like they are trying to take advantage!
Friday, October 29th, 2021 AT 9:59 AM

1 Reply

Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 109,755 POSTS
Hi,

You are correct. It has an electric power-assist system. When you lose power assist, do any of the warning lights come on?

As far as the rack and pinion, it's unlikely the problem. You mentioned the stability trac and ABS lights turned on. Are they still on? The electric Power Steering module works in conjunction with the ABS module.

If the lights are on, what needs to be done is this. The vehicle's can-bus needs scanned to identify if there are diagnostic trouble codes are stored. CAN stands for controller area network. Basically, all the computers/modules are tied together via a few wires. When this type of scan is done, it reads codes from all modules, including the ones in question. The codes retrieved will point us in the right direction. Here is a quick video showing how it's done:

https://youtu.be/u-4syLc-ifQ

Again, if the warning lights are on, that is what I recommend having done. If you do, let me know what codes are found and I can focus on the possible issues.

Let me know what you find or if you have other questions.

Take care,

Joe

See pics below. Pic 3 shows fuse location in the battery junction box.
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Friday, October 29th, 2021 AT 9:09 PM

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