1996 Chevrolet Impala Steering

INABILITY TO CONTROL THE STEERING ON ROUGH ROADS. STEERING IS VERY LOOSE WHILE DRIVING AT ALL SPEEDS. ALSO, VEHICLE DARTS IN BOTH DIRECTIONS WHILE BRAKING. *AK

POWER STEERING INTERMITTENTLY LOCKS UP DURING TURNS AT LOW SPEEDS. THIS SAME THING HAPPENED 3 YEARS AGO. CHEVROLET DEALERS AND CUSTOMER SERVICE BOTH DENY ANY EVIDENCE OF A RECURRING PROBLEM WITH IMPALAS ALTHOUGH THE NHTSA WEB SITE AND AN IMPALA OWNERS' WEB SITE BOTH LIST NUMEROUS OCCURRENCES OF THIS MALFUNCTION. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION THAT RENDERS THE CAR TEMPORARILY OUT OF CONTROL. *AK

STEERING ASSIST STOPS WHEN TURNING. NOT ALL THE TIME BUT IT HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES.ITS VERY SCARY WHEN IN TRAFFIC.SO FAR NO ACCIDENTS, BUT ITS JUST A MATTER OF TIME WHEN .

THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED I WANTED TO TURN LEFT INTO A SHOPPING CENTER. I SLOWED DOWN TO TURN LEFT AND THE STEERING WAS TO DIFFICULT TO TURN, I HAD TO RUN OVER A CURB AND OVER A PATCH OF GRASS TO AVOID HITTING A CAR. I STOPPED THE CAR, PUT IT IN PARK AND ATTEMPTED TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL TO THE LEFT AND RIGHT TO NO AVAIL. I SHUT THE ENGINE OFF AND STARTED IT BACK UP AGAIN, PUT THE CAR IN DRIVE AND THE STEERING WHEEL TURNED, BUT NOT WITH EASE. THIS ALSO OCCURRED ON MY WAY HOME INTO MY DRIVEWAY. THIS PROBLEM HAS OCCURED ABOUT FIFTEEN TIMES. THIS IS A "SAFETY HAZARD" AND COULD BE LIFE THREATENING. *AK

IDLER ARM HAS WORN, CAUSING VEHICLE TO DRIFT FROM LEFT TO RIGHT WHEN DRIVING. DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED.*AK

MY WIFE HAD COMPLAINED OF THE STEERING GOING OUT ON HER FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS. I COULD NEVER GET THE STEERING FAILURE TO MANIFEST ITSELF FOR ME, SO I FIGURED IT MUST HAVE BEEN AN ANOMALIE. LAST MONTH, THE STEERING PROBLEM OCCURRED FOR ME AT VERY POOR TIMES. I WAS TURNING INTO MY NEIGHBORHOOD AND LOST ALL CONTROL OF STEERING AND ALMOST RAN INTO MY SUBDIVISION'S SIGN. THE SECOND TIME WAS WHEN I WAS EXITING A PARKING LOT IN NASHVILLE, AND THE STEERING FROZE. I REV'D THE ENGINE UP TO SEE IF THE INCREASE IN PUMP PRESSURE WOULD HELP, BUT TO NO AVAIL. MY WIFE INSTRUCTED ME TO SHUT OFF THE ENGINE, AND RESTART IT. THE STEERING RESPONEDED POORLY, AND I LIMPED THE CAR HOME AND IT IS PARKED THERE TODAY AWAITING A NEW PUMP FROM NAPA. I TRIED TO PULL THE CAR OUT OF THE GARAGE THIS WEEKEND, BUT THE STEERING COULDN'T EVEN FUNCTION ENOUGH FOR THAT TASK. THIS STEERING PROBLEM ALMOST KILLED ME, MY WIFE,AND POSSIBLY ANYONE ELSE THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN UNFORTUNITE ENOUGH TO BE IN THE PATH OF THIS CAR. WITHOUT POWER STEERING, THIS CAR IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO STEER, UNLESS YOU ARE VERY STRONG AND RECOGNIZE WHAT IS HAPPENING. THANK GOD FOR 4 WHEEL ABS BRAKES! *AK

WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY AT 45MPH WENT TO APPLY BRAKES TO SLOW DOWN TO MAKE A TURN AND THE POWER STEERING WENT OUT. THIS HAS HAPPENED 4 OR 5 TIMES IN THE PAST SEVEN MONTHS. CONTACTED DEALER, HE HAS CHECKED THE POWER STEERING SYSTEM AND HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO FIND THE CAUSE. *AK

WHEN DRIVING THE POWER STEERING HAS GONE OUT THREE TIMES, CAUSING THE CONSUMER TO LOSE CONTROL. HAD TO REPLACE THE POWER STEERING PUMP TWICE DUE TO A LEAKAGE. CONSUMER LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND ALMOST HIT A TREE. *AK