2018 Chevrolet Tahoe Steering Problems

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle in a parking lot and returning to start the vehicle, the “Power Steering Assist Fault” message was displayed, and the vehicle was difficult to turn to the right or the left. The contact left the vehicle in the parking lot and after returning to the vehicle later and starting the vehicle, the vehicle had regained power steering assist functionality. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the 12-Volt battery needed to be replaced. The contact was advised by the mechanic that due to the weak battery, the power steering assist failed to operate as designed. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that several weeks later the power steering assist failure recurred. The contact stated that the "Power Steering Assist Fault" message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to another independent mechanic. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V455000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 84,000.

NHTSA ID

11641998

Incident

Jan 13, 2025

Mileage

84,000 mi

First occasion the car drove fine with no indication of an issue. Then once the car was turned off then on, the dash showed no lights or gauges and indicated that the steering assist is not working and the wheel was impossible to turn (almost like a limp mode but not driveable). Disconnected the battery to try and clear the issue and car drove home fine. Was told it could be a bad battery so replaced the battery and it worked fine for about a month. Then again with no indication did it again and this time it cleared itself after about 30 minutes. Dealer said there was a short in the negative battery ground cable and an open circuit in the rack and pinion mechanism but that the rack and pinion part was not available and they weren’t sure when it would be (probably due to excessive failures). Replaced the negative battery ground part and everything was fine for about 3 months until today when the car did the same thing again. We will have to keep looking for the unavailable part or I will basically have a $30k paper weight. Very concerned at the possibility that the steering will go out while I am driving as others have mentioned in previous posts. Seems as though something tragic will have to happen before they issue a recall of a part that appears to be a common failure.

NHTSA ID

11599841

Incident

Jul 7, 2024

Power steering went out with kids in the car when vehicle only had 76000 miles. There was a special coverage for 2018 models that my vin was not a part of. Had it been this wouldn't have happened to my family. I was without a vehicle for over 2 weeks since dealership had to reach out to GM to find the part. Apparently, this is big issue for other models and years which explains the part shortage. A few months prior there was a service power steering on my dash, and I couldn't turn my steering wheel. Took it to dealership and they brushed it off as computer issue. Again, I feel if my vehicle was part of the special coverage, I wouldn't have experienced this issue or had to pay over $2000 to repair it.

NHTSA ID

11526326

Incident

May 6, 2023

My wife was driving everything was working fine until a message came on the dash "steering stopped Drive with care" she was mid way in a turn to get on highway when this happened if I wasn't in vehicle to grab the wheel my wife would have ended up in a wall or worst case in the canal next to 95 with my 4 year old in the car. The vehicle is currently at a chevorlet dealer in Greenacres Florida and they say the electric steering gear has stopped working.. this seams like a very unsafe system as when it stops the steering wheel is very stiff more than a old car with no power steering. I think this needs to be investigated yesterday as someone could die from this if it hasn't happened already. As of right now I no longer feel that this is a safe vehicle for my wife to be driving

NHTSA ID

11466857

Incident

May 15, 2022

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that while his wife was driving approximately 35-40 MPH, the power steering assist failed. The failure occurred on several occasions, which nearly caused a collision. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000. The VIN was unavailable.

NHTSA ID

11455663

Incident

Mar 4, 2022

Mileage

120,000 mi

Steering Wheel hard to turn and locks for a short period when making turns going low speeds. (turning into parking spot or reversing out of parking spot) When steering in reverse, front dashboard shut down and returned in 1 second with a restart. Left in middle of road trying to back into driveway. Car parked and started, car windshield wipers were activated while in garage, radio station was reset & wouldn't allow to be changed, and car gave action required notifications on dashboard (power open & close driver window & passenger window) Park Assist Off light shows after steering issues. Tire Sensors reset Compass recalibrated

NHTSA ID

11453458

Incident

Feb 21, 2022

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated while driving 40 mph and making a left turn, the vehicle started hesitating. The steering wheel ceased. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing all four tires to be replaced. The contact replaced all four original tires however, the failure persisted. The contact took the vehicle back to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing an alignment. The contact stated that the wheels were aligned however, the vehicle but continued to experience the failure. The contact stated she had the vehicle serviced four times but continued to experience the failure. The contact also stated that the low brake fluid warning flashed off and on, even after adding brake fluid to the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired but was pending repairs. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

NHTSA ID

11423586

Incident

Jul 1, 2020

Mileage

40,000 mi

2018 TAHOE W/ 60,000 MILES BEGAN RIDING EXTREMELY ROUGH ANY SPEED. SO MUCH BOUNCE AND JARRING THAT THE CAR IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE ON ANY ROUGH ROAD.

NHTSA ID

11378433

Incident

Sep 20, 2020

Mileage

59,000 mi

WHEN STATIONARY AND TURNING ON VEHICLE I HAD DIFFICULTY TURNING STEERING WHEEL. I RECEIVED A NOTIFICATION THAT POWER ASSIST WAS NOT ACTIVE. THIS HAPPENED ONCE BEFORE AND I TOOK TO DEALER. THEY CLAIMED IT WAS THE BATTERY AND REPLACED. I SEE THERE HAVE BEEN PRIOR RECALLS ON TAHOE FOR STEERING ASSIST ISSUES.

NHTSA ID

11377606

Incident

Nov 29, 2020

Mileage

38,000 mi

THANK GOD MY WIFE OR SOMEONE WASN'T DRIVING AT THIS TIME : GOT IN THE VEHICLE, STARTED AND A SERVICE VEHICLE CAME ON.. IT SAID ' POWER STEERING DRIVE WITH CARE '. I COULD NOT EVEN TURN THE STEERING WHEEL. I GUESS A STEERING MODULE OR A SOFTWARE UPDATE IS NEEDED. CALLED LOCAL CHEVY DEALER AND THEY SAID CALL BACK MONDAY. BOUGHT TAHOE BRAND NEW IN 2018, ONLY HAS 22K MILES. I'M STUCK NOT DRIVING THE VEHICLE TILL MONDAY. *TR

NHTSA ID

11324804

Incident

May 16, 2020

Mileage

22,000 mi

STEERING ASSIST IS REDUCED DRIVE WITH CARE MESSAGE CAME UP ON THE DASH WHILE I WAS DRIVING ON A 2 LANE STATE ROAD (HIGHWAY) AND THE CRUISE CONTROL STOPPED WORKING CAUSING VEHICLE TO SLOW DOWN BELOW HIGHWAY SPEED LUCKILY THERE WAS NOT ANY VEHICLES BEHIND US. *TR

NHTSA ID

11324164

Incident

May 10, 2020

Mileage

67,800 mi