2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Steering
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
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Chronological view of owner reports
In several situations, I have lost partial or complete power steering ability. Once, while driving, I recieved a SERVICE ESC message and steering became quite difficult. Another time, power steering was completely gone, making steering impossible, although every other aspect of the vehicle operated normally. In both instances, there was no clear issue and after some time with the vehicle parked and off, it would return to normal. Possible loss of power steering unexpectedly is a serious concern at this point.
Intermittent and sudden loss of power steering. The only message displayed briefly then went out was “service trailer brake controller”. Brought vehicle to Dealership. The grounding strap behind the front right wheel that goes to the frame (Earth Strap) was rotted. This seams to be a very common problem with this model truck and is dangerous.
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction. The contact stated that the brake pedal was depressed, and the vehicle came to a complete stop. The contact stated that when the vehicle came to a stop, the steering wheel was independently reset. The vehicle was driven to the residence. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a failed grounding strap. The contact was informed that the grounding strap needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 24,155.
Just recently my power steering started cutting in and out in parking lots. I have seen that there is a ongoing investigation into steering problems with these trucks. I have not took it to a shop, because it just started and has only done it in parking situations. There are no lights or warning codes on the dash. It was about two weeks ago that it started. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. I just would not like to experience it failing on the road.
On Sunday Nov. 16th, my steering wheel felt like it was "slipping", akin to how it feels when your serpentine belt tensioner is failing. I checked it out while wife turned the wheel, didn't see any problem, and we went on our way. Later in the day as we were leaving a parking lot, the problem occurred again but worse. And we got a warning about trailer brake controller needs repair. After reviewing similar problems on Reddit, I found it was still safe to drive, so we drove home without further incident. Monday I decided to take it to O'Reilly auto parts and have a code scan done. Except, as soon as I turned out of the driveway, my wheel completely froze up solid. I could NOT move the wheel (q2)! Since the wheel was still turned, I backed it into the driveway and we took our car to buy our own code scanner. It showed more than just one fault code for the brakes, there were 5. I called Fox Chevrolet to schedule al appointment for the next day. Fortunately, the failure occurred as the Advisor attempted to turn the wheel (q3). Long story short: problem was a rusted/rotted out ground wire (q1)! Behind the front driver side tire, encased in a boot. Tech told the Advisor he'd never seen that one before. $40 part, and $400 to install it (q4). I was happy it wasn't a power steering rack failure (electric) but the more I thought about it, felt I needed to report this. You needed a dealer scanner to catch this and trace it to a ground fault. Probably better for you to contact dealer Advisor and Tech to get a better breakdown on this (q1). Dealer was great, they could have sold me an $1800 steering rack and I'd have never known. Could this failure have happened to someone driving on the street and this pop up all of a sudden (q2)? I believe so. Glad I didn't find out firsthand. The problem went away overnight twice, and then all of a sudden your wheel is LOCKED. I'm curious as to if others are or have faced this, thus my submittal. Thanks for your time.
Sudden intermittent loss of power steering, issue confirmed by Chevy Dealership. No warning lights were displayed.
Lost power steering in the middle of a corner..Almost but me into pole ..No warning..later on warning came on.Truck has 32000 miles on it
No power steering alert showed up to service power steering. Very dangerous driving and power steering goes out.
While driving down the highway, the ball joints on the front passenger side prematurely failed, causing loss of vehicle control, significant damage to steering and braking components and body damage. Diagnosis is being confirmed by an independent service center. No symptoms of premature wear or imminent failure were noted.
Lost power steering! Almost impossible to make any turns. The dash has ESC fault and power steering fault. Says drive careful! How can I drive careful if I can't turn the truck? Only 79k miles! GM must recall their bad design and replace it with a design that is proven not to fail!
Randomly. The power steering has stopped working. There is a widely reported issue with the power steering in 2020 Silverados and this model now needs to be included
Loss of power in my power steering due to corrosion of a ground strap. Found service bulletin 23-NA-201 issued 12/23 for the exact problem. The dealership stated there was no bulletin or covered under warranty and is being replaced with cost to myself. I had intermittent low speed "jerking" occasionally a few days before up to the incident.
We were driving on the highway when we attempted to make a turn the Steering wheel would not turn. We almost had an accident. I, [XXX], the Driver, had to swing out, and force the steering wheel to turn to get out of traffic. The service steering system with care light and the ESC Light came on. My truck is not that old and should not experiencing this type of problem. This was a very frightening experience that I don't want to go through this anymore. I call the dealership that I purchased the truck from and learned that other models had a recall on the same issue, but my 2020 had no recall on it. So therefore, they did not have to work it in to fix it. So, I'm reporting the issue so that no one else have to experience what I did. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Power steering stopped working while making a left hand turn. Pulled to the side of the road, turned off engine. Looked in Owners Manual, no mention of electric power steering, or where to put steering fluid. Restarted engine and steering worked. Went online and found possible chassis/frame ground issue. Ground cable on RH side behind front tire was corroded badly. Went to the dealer for a new ground strap, the dealer had 1 right under the counter. new strap appears to be plated, is this a known issue?
ESC error code come on with a traction control off symbol and the drive Steering Assist Reduced Drive with care. I lost my power steering out of now here when driving on roads that are not very smooth or if I turn my wheel all the way to one side. I was able to muscle the truck home safely.
“Service power steering soon” message appeared and I took it to a Chevrolet dealership and I was informed I needed to replace the power steering module for a total of $2300 for parts a labor. Now the power steering will randomly stop, making it almost impossible to drive. There are hundreds of threads online of this model having the same issue and this should be a recall because someone is going to get injured.
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and driving over a speed bump, the contact noticed that the power steering became inoperable with the Electronic Stability control warning light illuminated and the message that the “Power Steering was Disabled” was displayed. The contact stated the vehicle became difficult to steer. The vehicle was restarted; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with power steering control module (PSCM) failure. The contact was informed that the PSCM needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 53,000.
SERVICE POWER STERING AND SERVICE ESC WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON, LOST POWER STERRING. AFTER 30 MINUTES RESTRATED THE TRUCK AND EVERYTHING WAS FINE. TOOK TO CHEVEROLET DEALER, THEY FOUND NO CODES AND COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE ISSUE, HAD NO SOLUTION FOR HELP, TOLD TO BRING BACK WHILE ITS DOING IT, YOU CAN NOT DRIVE IN THAT CONDITION. VEHICLE HAD 16,880.00 MILES ON IT WHEN PROBLEM OCCCURED,
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, the steering wheel seized. The "Loss of Power Steering - Drive with Care” message was displayed. The driver pulled over, but the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the steering module and steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 74,000.
The key will get stuck in the ignition cilinder when I try to turn off the truck. This happens several times, I got to turn it on and off several times to get the key out of the ignition barrel. The truck was taken to the dealer to be repaired, they replaced the cylinder (part #13528553) and the housing (part# 84990323) AMD it didn't fix the problem
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated when she started the vehicle and attempted to shift into reverse(R) there was an unknown warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the steering wheel was locked. The contact was unable to turn the steering wheel. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle, and the vehicle regained power steering functionality. The contact stated that the loss of power steering had occurred once. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The ESC warning light was illuminated. The contact then stated that he turned off and restarted the vehicle and the steering wheel returned to normal operation. There was no warning light illuminated; however, the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure could not be determined. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 63,000.
Popping and/or Clunking Type Noise Heard During Hard Turns at slow speeds and backing up. Seems to be a problem with the control arm
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The contact stated that after being parked for several hours, the vehicle was started and operated in drive(D) and reverse(R) however, the vehicle failed to turn to the right or left. The contact stated that the steering wheel had seized. The contact was able to disconnect the battery then reconnect the battery once the torque rebooted. The failure occurred twice. The warning light displaying an open wrench stating ESC needed resetting was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The dealer stated that the failure might be caused by the sensor in the steering column, or the module. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 13,500.
Electronic problem caused failure of power steering.
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The 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 has 33 Steering complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.