1997 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Steering
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
VARIABLERATION POWER STEERING IS GIVING CONSUMER SOME PROBLEMS, AND HE ALMOST HAD AN ACCIDENT. CONSUMER WAS TRAVLING AT 40-50 MPH AND WHEN CHANGING LANES STEERING WENT OUT. PROBLEM WITH THE STEERING IS THAT WHEEL GETS TOO LOOSE WHEN SLOWING DOWN, AND WHEEL TURNS MORE THE IT SHOULD.*AK
STEERING GEAR BOX LOCKED . MANUFCTURER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. VEHICLE HAS BEEN REPAIRED .*AK
WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD POWER STEERING IS NOT CONSTANT, CAUSING VEHICLE TO PULL FROM ONE SIDE TO ANOTHER INTERMITTENTLY. CONTACTED DEALER, AND WAS TOLD THAT THE SENSOR ON POWER STEERING UNIT WAS DEFECTIVE. *AK
STEERING BECOMES ERRATIC AT SPEEDS OVER 35 MPH, VEHICLE WILL TURN SUDDENLY WITHOUT WARNING. STEERING POSITION SENSOR WAS REPLACED AT ABOUT 30,000 MILES, PROBLEM STILL PERSISTS.*AK
NO SUMMARY
WHEN MAKING A RIGHT TURN STEERING WHEEL WILL ACTUALLY TURN MORE, WHICH MAY CAUSE A CRASH. STEERING SENSOR HAS BEEN REPLACED THREE TIMES IN APRIL 1998/ AUG 1998, AND APRIL1999. SENSOR WAS STARTING TO GO AGAIN. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK
STEERING HAS BEEN A PROBLEM SINCE THE TRUCK WAS NEW. DEALER HASN'T FIXED IT. WHEN TURNING SLIGHTLY TO THE RIGHT THE STEERING WHEEL JERKS TO THE RIGHT CAUSING TEMPORARY LOSS OF CONTROL.
EA 99011; CRUISE CONTROL WAS SET AT 75 MPH WHEN A DEER JUMPED OUT OF THE MEDIAN, CONSUMER SWERVED TO MISS DEER, BUT STEERING WHEEL OVERSTEERED, AND VEHICLE SLID INTO A DITCH AND ROLLED OVER.*AK
CHECK STEERING WANDER AT HWY SPEEDS, REPLACED STEERING EVO SENSOR ASSEMBLY
THE VEHICLE HAS EXPERIENCED CONTINUED INTERMITTENT STEERING PROBLEMS, WHICH PULLS THE VEHICLE UNEXPECTEDLY, UNABLE TO REMEDY THE PROBLEM. *MJS
WHILE MAKING A TURN STEERING WHEEL FEELS LOOSE, AND PULLS TO THE RIGHT. TECHNICIAN SAID THAT PROBLEM WAS WITH AVA CENTER.*AK
DRIVING VEHICLE & TRYING TO MAINTAIN IT ON THE ROAD WHEN THE STEERING JERKED AWAY FROM DRIVER'S HAND. TOOK VEHICLE TO MECHANIC & INFORMED CONSUMER THAT A SPOOL VALVE IN POWER STEERING BOX CAUSED PROBLEM. DID NOT ALLOW FLUID TO FLOW THROUGH TO STEERING, STEERING BY ITSELF. AN INTERMITTENT PROBLEM. MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED.*AK *ML
STEERING WANTS TO JERK DOWN WHILE TURNING OR IN SLIGHT CURVES
STEERING WHEEL POSITION SENSOR FAILED WHEN MAKING SHORT OR LONG RIGHT HAND TURNS, THE WHEEL SKIPS OR MOVES ON ITS OWN, WHEN THIS HAPPPENS THE CONSUMERS FIRST RESPONSE IS TO OVERCORRECT THE WHEEL. NLM
EVO SENSOR ASSEMBLY FAILURE CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO WANDER. YH
POWER STEERING PUMP WENT OUT WHILE DRIVING. DEALER HAS REPAIRED VEHICLE. *AK
STEERING IS DEFECTIVE. WHEN DRIVING AT 40- 50 MPH STEERING WHEEL JERKS AND HESITATES, AND TURNS TO THE LEFT. *AK
WHEN TURNING STEERING WHEEL IT JUMPED, CAUSING DRIVER TO LOSE CONTROL TEMPORARILY. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER AND THEY PUT A PINION ROD ON, BUT THAT WAS NOT THE PROBLEM. *AK
WAS DRIVING VEHICLE & WOULD MAKE TURN AROUND ON CORNER OR CURB AND VEHICLE WOULD SUDDENLY OVERSTEER BY ITSELF. LATER ,IT WOULD STRAIGHTEN UP ON ITS OWN. DID NOT LOSE CONTROL OF VEHICLE. PROBLEM WOULD BE INTERMITTENT. TAKEN VEHICLE TO DEALER & WAS INFORMED BY MECHANIC OF NO RECALLS. *AK
VEHICLE HAS ERRATIC STEERING. THE STEERING WHEEL UNEXPECTEDLY TWITCHES OR JERKS GOING DOWN THE ROAD. IT IS MORE PREVALENT WITH JUST NORMAL DRIVING (STEERING DOWN A ROAD). *AK
POWER STEERING INTERMITTENTLY EXPERIENCES OVER SENSITIVITY RESULTING IN UNPREDICATABLE STEERING CONTROL.
NO SUMMARY.
STEERING FAILURE. LOSS OF STEERING AT VARYING SPEEDS. WHEEL IS EXTREMELY LOOSE AND UNRESPONSIVE.INCIDENTS OCCURRED ABOUT 10 TIMES PRIOR TO MAJOR OCCURANCE.MAJOR OCCURRANCE NEARLY CAUSED ACCIDENT. DEALER REPLACED 'EVO' SENSOR.
THE DESIGN OF SPEED SENSITIVE STEERING CAUSED SUDDEN OVER STEERING DURING TURNS OR LANE CHANGED. YH
WHEN TURNING A CORNER LEFT OR RIGHTSTEERING WHEEL JERKED IN THE DIRECTION THAT VEHICLE WASGOING. IF IT WAS SHARPER IT COULD PROBABLY CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. TOOK TO DEALER, AND DEALER REPLACED THE STEERING SENSOR. *AK
Trend Over Time
Complaints by year
Other Issues
Common problems reported
Quick Summary
The 1997 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 has 122 Steering complaints on file. 2 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.