2018 Chevrolet Suburban Steering Problems

TECHNICIAN - Was unable to perform test drive of vehicle. Inspected operation & found; Vehicle will not turn over, battery very weak. Removed battery, put on charger for approximately 45 minutes. Reinstalled battery. Vehicle had power but did not start. Was unable to get shifter into neutral. Found engine still not turning over. Found starter motor making clicking sounds. Got to turn over once but was very labored, but did not start. Disconnected shift cable at transmission and rolled vehicle into shop for diagnostic. - Scanned computer control modules & found; Approximately 30 codes total in multiple modules, with high and low voltage codes. - Inspected & found; Performed basic electrical faulty tracing. Performed battery test, voltage was low at 16%.Battery(new FY22) failed load test. Found starter making "thunking and clicking" sounds. Unable to move shift lever out of park position. Let battery charge an additional 1 hour and found battery failed testing. Tester states "short" which indicates internal failure. Tested starter draw, found excessive draw at 400amps, spec is 70-120amps. After testing tried to start. Engine turned over slowly for approximately 1 second and then made clicking sounds. Found body module voltage codes returned. Verified engine does turn over when manually turned with breaker bar. FURTHER SHIFT LOCK ISSUES OR OTHER ISSUES. Technician removed and replaced the starter assembly and the battery. Found engine started up and ran. Verified repair. Found shift lock still not working. Shifter will not leave the park position. Performed testing. Verified transmission will shift to drive and to reverse. Verified brake switch working properly and sending signal out to ABS module. Verified shift cable not frozen. Found no fault tracing available for this type of shift lock. Eliminated other possibilities which indicates the issue is with the shift lock actuator/gear shifter. Determined/Suspect; The shift lock actuator/gear shifter is faulty.

NHTSA ID

11550013

Incident

Oct 4, 2023

While slowing down to make a left hand turn at an intersection, my vehicle suddenly lost power steering and the entire system completely shut down. There was no electronic function during that time. I had to put the vehicle in park, turn the key to the off position and then start it back up. It has happened multiple times, both at low speeds in drive and reverse. This would have caused a collision if there was oncoming traffic at the intersection at that time.

NHTSA ID

11538602

Incident

Aug 15, 2023

Vehicle starts dinging with warning - Service Trailer Brake System - and warning - Action Required Steering Assist is Reduced Drive with Care - ABS Light - Traction Control. Power steering goes out and assumedly ABS and Traction Control stop working.

NHTSA ID

11511267

Incident

Mar 10, 2023

My rear left tire locks when I’m doing sharp turns and I don’t see any traction control lights come on when that happens

NHTSA ID

11510081

Incident

Mar 3, 2023

I have three occasions where I have been turning and my steering wheel locks up and is very hard to turn. I almost crashed twice. I have three young children in the car. I could not get out of the way fast enough but luckily avoided a crash.

NHTSA ID

11481232

Incident

Aug 23, 2022

When driving with the 4x4 switch in the auto setting the car would jerk while driving at high speeds. Almost seemed like the left front tire would engage on dry pavement. Also there is a loss of steering while the vehicle is in motion. Speed does not change when it happens. Seems to happen more when driving around a corner. Loss of steering happened for a split second or multiple seconds.

NHTSA ID

11453248

Incident

Feb 18, 2022

The car was slowly making right hand turn when we heard a loud noise and stopped the car Once we got out, we saw that right wheel was completely torn out. We have videos and pictures. If it would happened on the higher speed, we would be dead. The car shop told us that they never seen anything like that in the past. Per their report, upper control arm broke off then the rest followed: lower control arm, ball joint, outer tie rod, poss inner tie rod, sway bar link, abs sensor connector. Consumer also learned from dealer that certain parts do not exist anymore and new ones are available.

NHTSA ID

11449831

Incident

Feb 1, 2022

The vehicle began to shake as if it would shut down. Then, the engine light came on. Then I received three text message alerts. We were shown paperwork regarding the service history that was done at Philips Chevrolet. Now we’re getting alerts regarding work that has to be completed within 7 days.

NHTSA ID

11426679

Incident

Jul 27, 2021